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1964 Kellogg Cup Playoffs; First Round Day 2
Twin Cities Vulcans vs Alexandria Norsemen
The Vulcans had their way on offense in this one, exposing the Norsemen defenders and lighting the lamp 6 times in this 6-1 blowout.
Rochester Robins vs Rochester Mustangs
"The Battle of Rochester" playoff edition. This rivalry game lived up to all the buildup. Both teams offenses were on full display in this one as the score was tied at five apiece at the end of regulation. The scoring disappeared once overtime began as both teams were very cautious to not give the other anything to work with. Two overtimes came and went in the Rochester Mayo Civic Auditorium which remained packed with nearly 5,000 fans of both teams. The Robins were sent to the penalty kill 6 minutes into the third overtime, setting up the Mustangs with a golden opportunity. The Mustangs set up but lost control, the Robins went the other way on an odd man rush. The puck was moved up and the Robins were in on a breakaway, but the Mustang goalie came up huge, making the save. A Mustang defender picked up the rebound and passed it up on an odd man rush the other way where a shot was fired through a Robins legs as a screen, blocking the goalies view of the puck and finding the back of the net to send the Mustangs to the second round.
St. Paul Victorias vs South St. Paul Mavericks
The Mavs came out looking lost with most of their team in their first playoff game and for it to be at the Auditorium is no easy task. The V's jumped out to an early 2-0 lead, but SSP got one back in the second to bring the score to 2-1. The Victorias would add a goal before the period ended and add one more early in the third to take a commanding 4-1 lead which remained the score at the final horn.
Edina Cake Eaters vs Burnsville Bucks
The Bucks put up a good fight in their first playoff appearance, heading into the third period tied 2-2 with a very good Edina team. The third period is where the Eaters took control though, owning time of possession and outshooting the Bucks 14-6 in the period as well as scoring the go ahead goal which turned out to be enough to send Edina to the second round.
Cloquet Broncos vs Hibbing Greyhounds
The Greyhounds got on the board first, but Cloquet bounced back with a pair before the end of the first to lead 2-1. The Broncos built on their lead in the second, Millen striking twice to give Cloquet a 4-1 lead. The Hounds bounced back a bit in the third, scoring once. Cloquet answered back. Hibbing bounced back with one more to bring the score to 5-3 with just over 5 minutes left. Hibbing pulled their goalie with just under 3 minutes left and held the puck in the Cloquet zone for the majority of the final minutes, but the Bronco defense held strong, keeping the score at 5-3 until the final horn sounded, sending them on.
Grand Rapids Moose vs East Grand Forks Pointers
Grand Rapids began the game strong, breaking the deadlock in the first and looking in control. Disaster struck late in the first when Moose star Didi Miller went down strange and seemed to not be able to put any weight on his left leg. With their top man gone, the Moose lost a bit of momentum and the Pointers began to take over. They finally tied it with just seconds left in the second. The third was scoreless and overtime was needed. The first few minutes were back and forth with both teams getting decent looks. The Pointers got a face off in the Moose zone and won it to the defenseman who took a quick shot through the mass of bodies between him and the goal. The puck took a few bounces and wound up deflecting to the left of the pile where a Pointer happened to be ready to slap it home to send EGF to the second round.
Roseau Stars vs Warroad Lakers
The first "Battle for the Bell" playoff match up since 1948 saw two of the biggest rivals in the MAHL do literal battle on the ice at the Roseau Memorial Arena where over 3,000 of the two towns combined 3,500 were in attendance to watch the Stars and Lakers. This one got physical early with a fight breaking out in the opening minute and 3 players being ejected. The Stars struck first, Soosi on a deflection in front to give Roseau the lead 6:38 into the game. The lead lasted until just over midway in the second when a Star was given a 5 minute major for slashing when he slashed the Laker bench after some comments were made prior to a face off in front of Warroad's bench. The Lakers made him pay though, scoring twice in the 5 minute span to take the lead. Roseau would tie it int the third though and overtime would be needed. The Stars seemed in better shape as overtime began, out skating Warroad and setting up in the offensive zone. A flurry of shots were fired on net, rebounds being battered back on goal until it finally trickled up and over the pad and past the goal line to give Roseau the win over their biggest rivals.
Virginia Royals vs Ely Black Bears
Virginia seemed to have learned from last years disappointing loss, coming out looking very determined and aggressive. The Black Bears had no answer for the Royals defense and were unable to get on the board, giving Virginia a 2-0 shut out win.
Let me know what you think, comments are appreciated!
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Embarrassing for the Railers, but all teams must know heartbreak if they are going to know success. I’d say Robins vs Mustangs has to be a little controversial right? Even if the ranking is true, the Robins have to feel cheated knowing they won the league and ended up in the same place that second did. Good Rochester battle for the first round though, it should be one of the highlighted games.
Last edited by Thehealthiestscratch (12/15/2019 9:48 pm)
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1964 Kellogg Cup Playoffs; Second Round
St. Paul Saints vs Fergus Falls Cyclones
The Saints came out looking like the better team, controlling the flow of the game and taking a commanding 4-0 lead early in the third. The Cyclones got a couple back but would be unable to complete the comeback as they lose 5-2 in St. Paul.
Minneapolis Millers vs New Ulm Bavarians
A rematch of last years first round match up saw the Diamonds play a lot closer than last year, but still come short of beating the powerhouse from Minneapolis as the Millers win 3-2.
Twin Cities Vulcans vs Rochester Mustangs
The biggest surprise of the second round was the Mustangs knocking off the fifth ranked team in the MAHL on the road. The Vulcans either held the lead or were tied for all of regulation, but Rochester was persistent and stuck with the Vulcans and forced overtime. The Mustangs got possession of the puck in the neutral zone and passed it over to Dan Colins who took it into the Vulcans zone. He slid off the side wall towards the slot where he was able to get a shot off before the Vulcan defenseman was there. The shot beat the goalie over the glove and sends Rochester to the Super Series for the first time.
St. Paul Victorias vs Edina Cake Eaters
This was a low scoring affair with both teams playing great defensively. The Victorias were ultimately the better offensive team it turned out though as they were able to find the back of the net twice while Niskanen was strong in net for the V's, only allowing one against.
Grand Forks Jets vs Fargo Titans
The Battle of North Dakota had its first playoff edition as the Jets and Titans squared off. This has been a rather one sided rivalry to this point with Fargo only besting Grand Forks three in their 17 regular season meetings. This one went just about the same as the rest with Grand Forks controlling play and leaving with a 4-2 victory to get back to the Super Series.
Thunder Bay Giants vs Two Harbors Wolfpack
The Pack gave it their best but the Giants seem to have solved them. Thunder Bay shut down all of the Two Harbors offensive attacks, shutting them out in a 3-0 win over their Lake Superior League rivals.
Cloquet Broncos vs East Grand Forks Pointers
The Broncos were in for more than they expected with EGF as the Pointers came out and quickly put a pair of goals on the board to take a 2-0 lead. Cloquet finally answered back in the second on a snipe from Millen to bring them to within one. The Broncos began to pickup the pace a bit in the third, controlling the flow of the game and building momentum. It was only a matter of time until they found the back of the net and tied the game, they did so 11:03 into the third. The period ended tied and we would need overtime. The puck dropped and Cloquet picked up where they left off, pinning the Pointers in their own end and wearing them down until Brady Millen was left open down low. He took a step out and fired, beating the goalie short side and sending the Broncos to the Super Series.
Roseau Stars vs Virginia Royals
The Stars and Royals dealt blow after blow to one another in this high scoring game. Roseau would wind up on top in the end thanks in large part to a 3 point, 2 goal, game from Soosi to send Roseau to St. Paul and snub Virginia yet again.
Let me know what you think, comments are appreciated!6.5.0
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Thehealthiestscratch wrote:
Embarrassing for the Raiders, but all teams must know heartbreak if they are going to know success. I’d say Robins vs Mustangs has to be a little controversial right? Even if the ranking is true, the Robins have to feel cheated knowing they won the league and ended up in the same place that second did. Good Rochester battle for the first round though, it should be one of the highlighted games.
I'm not sure who you're referring to as the Raiders. As for the Rochester v Rochester game, the Robins and Mustangs both currently call the Rochester Mayo Civic Auditorium home and play one another during the regular season there 3 times a year. The teams and fan bases knew this was a possibility and when the ranking came out it just happened to be that way. The town actually had a very good reaction to it, getting to see both hometown teams play one another in the playoffs, everyone in town at least was aware of the game going on, many were in attendance.
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1964 Kellogg Cup Super Series; Playoff Tree
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Shouldn't the winner of the 4-13 game play the winner of the 5-12 game and the winner of 3-14 play the winner of 6-11? That's how it works in most other tourneys. Great stuff as always
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Section30 wrote:
Thehealthiestscratch wrote:
Embarrassing for the Raiders, but all teams must know heartbreak if they are going to know success.
I'm not sure who you're referring to as the Raiders.
I think he meant the TRF Railers.
Last edited by Burmy87 (12/15/2019 8:39 pm)
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sportsfan7 wrote:
Shouldn't the winner of the 4-13 game play the winner of the 5-12 game and the winner of 3-14 play the winner of 6-11? That's how it works in most other tourneys. Great stuff as always
That... is my bad, I'll leave it as is for the last couple years and this year just for simplicity sake, but going forward I will fix that, thanks for pointing that out.
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Go 'Stangs and Jets...I love seeing first-time Kellogg Cup champs.
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I thinks its either gonna be the 'stangs and Jets vs the Saints in the finals. Roseau has hid a quiet season, headed to St Paul might be the time for them to make some noise.