The Cake Eater sobriquet didn't become synonymous with Edina until the mid 1970's, so this nickname really doesn't jive with the late 1950's-60's era. I think something like Super Bees would work better, unless this is Section30's way of impersonating a 1950's version of Brandiose.

Rube Dali, the DodoHorse wrote:

The Cake Eater sobriquet didn't become synonymous with Edina until the mid 1970's, so this nickname really doesn't jive with the late 1950's-60's era. I think something like Super Bees would work better, unless this is Section30's way of impersonating a 1950's version of Brandiose.

Thanks for the comment, I'm not sure exactly when the nickname gained statewide popularity but as @Burmy87 mentioned, my grandpa graduated from Edina in the late 50s and he has told me many times about being called Cake Eaters by opponents at sporting events, granted at the time it was probably only the neighboring towns.

None the less I just think the name is definitely unique and have wanted to include it since the get go.

The 1958/59 Season has come to an end, here are the stories.


Granite
The Bearcats got back to the top of the Granite League this year, but their core is beginning to finally show signs of slowing down with Schmidt having a career low in points this year. The young Brainerd stars kept the Jacks near the top of the league but were unable to repeat as league champs. The res of the league actually didn't change from last season, the Granite is probably the most predictable league right now so this isn't a big surprise to me. Fergus Falls and Alexandria looked alright and made the playoffs. Little Falls was just short of a playoff birth, only missing by a couple wins. The Storm and 'Nados finished at the bottom of the table and were walked on for most of the season.

Iron Range
Hibbing continues to dominate the Iron Range and looks like a real threat to claim their 3rd straight Kellogg Cup. Virginia made the leap to second place and looked very good doing so. The Royals looked very deep and were helped by rookie right wing Louis Nelson. Chisholm looked pretty good again this year and they finished in third. Ely made a bit of a resurgence thanks to a late season hot streak that pushed them into the playoffs for the first time since 1953. Unfortunately for Grand Rapids, that push by the Black Bears forced the Moose out of the playoffs. One of the biggest stories of the season was the collapse of the Eveleth Redbirds. Eveleth went from finishing second and making the Kellogg Cup Finals a year ago to finishing in second last in the Iron Range. Injuries and age ravaged the team all year and the Birds were just unable to play like years past. To make matters worse, Captain Robert Mariucci decided to hang up the skates at the end of the season. Soudan finished in last yet again.

Lake Superior
Thunder Bay finished atop the Lake Superior League, just ahead of the Voyageurs who just missed out on winning their League 3 years in a row. Superior actually made the jump to third place this season thanks to a breakout year from Center Oscar Sislo. The Hornets finished in 4th place and will still make the playoffs. Cloquet looked actually pretty good, again just punished for being in such a top heavy league. Two Harbors finished at the bottom of the league yet again.

Northland
Roseau was the team to finally stop the Ice from their Northland Domination of late as the Stars claimed their 5th Northland title. The aforementioned International Falls Ice finished right on the tails of the Stars in second place. Steinbach finished in third this year and look poised to make a run again this post season. Thief River Falls took the 4 spot and will be making their first ever playoff appearance. Just missing the playoffs were Bemidji and Moorhead. The league was rounded out with Fort Frances, Warroad and Baudette.

Twin Cities
In the Twin Cities, the Minneapolis Millers claimed their 5th League title. South St. Paul remained in second with the Victorias dropping to third, and Edina claiming the final playoff spot in their first season. I would not be surprised if any of these 4 were to win the Cup this year, with the TCHL so full it means the top teams really had to earn it and these 4 did. Just missing the playoffs were the Saints, Waves, and Bears who all had respectable seasons of their own. The Vulcans and Braves both had average seasons but finished below 500. Stillwater finished in second last while the Bruins finished on the complete opposite side of the table of their biggest rivals.

Valley
Rochester repeated as league champs and the Moose and Mavs also remained in second and third respectively. The Robins made the move up to the 4th and final playoff spot this year though, forcing the Chiefs out as they finished 5th. The bottom three remained the same, but the order slightly changed. La Crosse remained in sixth, but Albert Lea and Winona swapped places at the bottom of the table.

Let me know what you think, comments are appreciated!
 

Last edited by Section30 (9/02/2019 7:04 pm)

Dan O'Mac wrote:

I understand why things are set the way they are for the image (there's a lot of teams already!), but I miss the records. It let me know how close a team was to making/missing the playoffs, who was truly atrocious, and who really crushed their opponents all season quickly.

I understand that, I'm not going back to adding records but I have a couple ideas for different ways of showing who all was dominant and such that I'll hopefully be adding soon if I can figure out whether they'll work or not.

Shame to see Grand Rapids out.  But they have had some good years lately, so maybe they'll be back.  Crazy to see how quickly the Redbirds fell off the face of the earth!  Doesn't sound like things are going to go well for a while either.

As for favorite teams... for the most part, I go with 1 per league too.

Granite: Fergus Falls Cyclones:  The burgundy and orange combo is awesome and I love it. 

Iron Range: Grand Rapids Moose: My personal favorite period.  Like the Redbirds a ton too, (4th overall I think)

Lake Superior:  Cloquet Broncos: Tough between them and the Hornets, I like them both a lot!  But yeah, Broncos are right up there with the Moose as my favorite.  Hornets are actually my 3rd favorite behind those two

International Falls Ice:  Very classic looking team and Ice is a pretty neat name for a hockey team!

Twin Cities: South St. Paul Mavericks: I do like the Braves too as well, picking only one team is tough!

Valley: Albert Lea Dragoons: They have the coolest name for a team out there!  

Last edited by Stickman (9/03/2019 3:50 pm)