1982 Kellogg Cup Super Series Playdowns


#17 Richfield Roosters vs #23 Edina Cake Eaters
Met Center was packed to capacity for the highly anticipated opener to the 1982 Super Series between two very good hockey teams who really don't like each other. The pace was set early with both teams not having any jitters early, both comfortable under the bright lights. We were scoreless after one, but the Roosters struck early in the second on a 3 on 1 break to open the scoring. Edina evened it up thanks to a snipe from Nanne with 3:09 to play in the second. The third was a battle, both teams got some good looks and some good licks in on one another, but nothing found the back of the net so it was off to overtime. It was high flying early in the overtime, but there weren't many shots. It wasn't until the puck took a lucky bounce in the neutral zone to send the Cake Eaters in on an odd man rush. The puck was passed to the far side and caught by a Cake Eater who pulled it to his backhand and tucked it around the Richfield goalie and into the net. Edina may not have won the Megaphone this year, but they did manage to end their arch rivals season as a consolation prize, advancing to the Great Eight with a 2-1 win in overtime.

#12 Roseau Stars vs Winona Wildcats
Winona's run was bound to come to an end at one point or another, Roseau was just the far better hockey team. The Stars shutout the Cats for 60 minutes while burying five for themselves to cruise to a comfortable 5-0 victory. The Wildcats season has come to an end, but they should be very proud of what they managed to do this year to get to this point.

#16 New Ulm Bavarians vs Brookings Buffaloes
The puck was dropped and we were off for the first of the evening matchups. New Ulm looked like the better team in the first, outshooting the Buffaloes 12-6 but failing to convert. That would come back to haunt them as the Buffs popped home two goals in a little over 3 minutes during the second to jump out to a 2-0 lead. New Ulm buried a one timer in the third to make it a one goal game, but Brookings was able to keep the door shut defensively for the final minutes of play. The final horn sounded to send the Brookings Buffaloes to the Great Eight, knocking off BEHL champs New Ulm by a score of 2-1.

#15 Brooklyn Park Panthers vs Willmar Posse
There was a lot of black and green in the stands in anticipation for the Panthers first ever Super Series game, but it seemed like nearly the entire city of Willmar made the trip to Bloomington to cheer on the Posse in their very first season. The brown and gold gave them something to cheer for early, beating a BP defenseman for a breakaway goal to get on the board 3:49 into the game. There wasn't another goal until late in the second when Brooklyn Park went tick tack toe to set up the game tying goal. The Posse got a powerplay advantage a couple minutes into the third and they were able to make the Cats pay for it, taking back the lead. Brooklyn Park was forced to pull their goalie with a minute left in the game as a last ditch effort, but Willmar was able to take control and dump it into the empty cage to secure the upset. The Posse keep their incredible season going, upsetting North Metro champs Brooklyn Park 3-1.

Great Eight predictions

St Paul Victorias over Edina
The V's beat the Eaters

Virginia over Brookings
The Royals go hunting and return with a Buffalo

Willmar over Cloquet
The Posse wrangle the Broncos to continue their run

Roseau over Fort Frances
The Stars repel the Canadian Invasion

Semi Finals Preview


#2 St. Paul Victorias vs #12 Roseau Stars
The V's were able to survive the Cake Eaters to get here, but some think Roseau may be too much for the young team from the Capital to handle. Roseau has been on fire all playoffs, having knocked off #13 Coleraine, #1 Winnipeg, and most recently #5 Fort Frances to get here. Will the V's young guns carry them to their first Finals birth in a decade? Or will Roseau add another name to their list of casualties as they look for Cup number 4?

#3 Virginia Royals vs #4 Cloquet Broncos
It's a battle of Champions to see who gets a chance to compete for the biggest title of them all. Will the Iron Range Champs have another dominant performance and get past the Broncos? Or will the Lake Superior Champs keep their incredible season going and get the chance to bring the Cup back to Cloquet for the first time since 1926?

Let me know what you think, comments are appreciated!

I can't get over the images of both coaches making baby crying faces at each other between FF and Roseau. That was an entertaining game.

1982 Kellogg Cup Semi Finals


#2 St. Paul Victorias vs #12 Roseau Stars
Met Center was filled to the gills as the V's and Stars took the ice for the first of two Semi Final matchups tonight. The first period was slow in terms of offense with both teams just kind of getting a feel for each other, but the physical side of things was there early with Roseau getting a couple big open ice hits to get a bit of momentum going late. The Stars would carry that into the second as they found the back of the net 2:51 into the period to take a 1-0 lead. The V's held off the Roseau attack for the next few minutes to keep it a one goal game and got a good look late in the period that was denied by Tim Baumgartner to keep Roseau ahead 1-0 after 2. St. Paul finally broke through on their third or fourth rebound attempt on a puck loose in the crease to tie the game at 1-1. Overtime would be needed as we remained deadlocked after three. The puck was dropped and we were underway in overtime, and before you knew it two overtime periods had passed and a winner had still not been decided. It wasn't until 16:24 into the third overtime that the V's would get a shot through a screen that hit the inside of the pipe and in. The St. Paul loyal in the crowd exploded in celebration as Victorias flooded over the boards to celebrate. The V's are headed to the Kellogg Cup Final, taking down the Roseau Stars in triple overtime by a score of 2-1.


#3 Virginia Royals vs #4 Cloquet Broncos
The puck was dropped and we were underway, although a bit later than initially planned. Cloquet looked as though they couldn't wait for the game to start, coming out absolutely flying and jumping out to a 2-0 lead before the 10 minute mark of the period. Virginia sent a man in all alone on a breakaway that got got them back to within one, beating the goalie blocker side. The second was pretty slow overall, not a lot of note happened and the score remained 2-1 Cloquet. The third picked up the tempo again and there were a number of chances for both teams, but the goalies were on top of their game. The Broncos were able to put the final nail in the Royals coffin by capitalizing on a powerplay with under 7 minutes to go, giving themselves a bit of a cushion up by two. Virginia would give it their all in the final minutes of the game, but Cloquet played smart defensively and were able to kill the clock to hold on and advance to the Kellogg Cup Finals with a 3-1 win.