Once again, a LOVELY job on the rebrands...(Alexandria's rebrand is awesome, as were Cannon Falls and Kenora's brands..the Muskrats name is one I can get behind).

Mason City's you knocked out of the park!  It truly feels like a labor of love (I had been hoping for the league to expand to Iowa, knowing Mason City would likely be first, as well as for a team to be called the "Musicians"...both were executed BEAUTIFULLY here!)

You know where to e-mail 'em 

This offseason is top-notch. I like the color schemes for the new teams, the Kenora monogram, and the Norsemen rebrand. All in all, a great job.

Thank you all, I'm glad you like the new looks! Without further delay, lets get on with the season.

1967/68 Regular Season


Blue Earth Hockey League
Sioux Falls seemed to have solved the issues they dealt with the last couple seasons, reclaiming the Blue Earth League title. Mankato and New Ulm battled for the second spot for most of the year, with the Moose ultimately claiming the spot thanks in large part to having a much easier schedule at the end of the year, with the diamonds having to play Sioux Falls twice and St. Peter in their last three games compared to Mankatos 4 game home stand to end the regular season. St. Peter was comfortably in the four spot, clinching the playoffs and finishing in their own little bubble, not really close to the teams above or below them in the final standings. Mason City struggled in their inaugural season, failing to reach double digit wins. This was another yer to forget for the Dragoons, winning only handful of games and finishing in last again.

Granite Hockey League
Make that nine Granite Hockey League championships in a row for the Brainerd Lumberjacks who continued to pummel their competition despite losing their star goalie to the North Stars. Fergus remained in second, boasting an impressive work ethic and determination that could help them turn some heads in the playoffs. The Bearcats stayed in third, pulling away in the last month from a three team battle for the final two playoff spots. The four seed was taken by the Norsemen who punch their ticket to the playoffs after missing the previous three years. The Storm were the third team in this race and ultimately were the losers, missing out on the post season. Little Falls and Sauk Rapids finished at the bottom of the table.

Twin Cities Hockey League (West)
Make that three Twin Cities Hockey League championships in a row for the Mighty Millers who move into sole possession of the second most championships in TCHL history with 9 titles. The Cake Eaters from Edina had a great season, only losing 5 games all year and looking very dangerous come playoffs. There was another battle in the standings, this time four teams for the final two spots. For almost the entire season Bloomington, Burnsville, Osseo, and the Vulcans were within 5 points of one another. Nobody knew how it would pan out, and when the dust finally settled, it was the Screaming Eagles and Bears that were left standing, with the Vulcans and Bucks on the outside looking in. The Bakers finished in seventh, nothing too crazy, but respectable. Anoka was hit hard with the injury bug this year, even losing their goalie for a month and a half after taking a shot from the corner off the side of his head. Minnetonka struggled this year, there's not much else to say.

Twin Cities Hockey League (East)
The Mavericks are back on top, getting their first 1st place finish since 1941 (they then went on to win the Kellogg Cup), stopping the run of St. Paul championships. Speaking of St. Paul, it was the Victorias and Saints who finished two and three behind SSP. Stillwater took the final playoff spot, finishing 3 games ahead of West St. Paul who took fifth. The final three remained the same.

Valley Hockey League
The Robins claim their 5th Valley championship in the last 6 years, holding off the Brewers late season surge to hold on. La Crosse was floating around the middle of the pack until the last 10 games of the year, when the Brewers went on a crazy hot streak, going 8-1-1 in the span and nearly clinching their first title. The Mustangs move back into the top three after a disappointing season a year ago. Red Wing dropped to fourth, but will take it as they stay in the playoffs. Northfield and Austin both finished right around 500. Cannon Falls struggled in their inaugural season, but they still managed to beat out Winona for the last seed.


Iron Range
The Moose are loose and they ran away with the Iron Range championship, Didi Miller is in his prime and looks to lead Grand Rapids back to the Kellogg Cup. Virginia moved up to second, winning back the Quad City Trophy. Eveleth had a bit of a resurgence this year, moving up to third place. Ely finished in fourth, making the playoffs, but not looking nearly as strong as just a few years ago. The Pioneer Mine in Ely closed in 1967 so some people moved to find new work, but unlike Soudan Ely has more than just mining, so the team will survive, they just might not be as good as they had been. Hibbing took a big step back this year, inability to finish was the problem with the Hounds this year. Despite having the talent and often outplaying, and out shooting opponents, the Greyhounds just couldn't put it away, missing open opportunities or whiffing on open shots. Chisholm remained in last despite being a decent hockey team.

Lake Superior Hockey League
The Lake Superior Hockey League had the biggest impact from the NHL's expansion, losing Broncos superstar Brady Millen and the Voyageurs rising star Ricky Williams who had helped lead Le Bleus back to a league title after nearly missing the playoffs the year before. Due to the shake up, it was Thunder Bay that emerged champions. The Giants and their veteran defense led by Joshua Staal held opponents to an average of 1.45 goals per game. The Hornets stayed in second, keeping Benjamin Beaver. The Broncos fell to third without Millen, and despite not looking as strong, I wouldn't count them out. Superior is back in the playoffs, ending a five year playoff drought. The Lakers edged out the Voyageurs, ending Le Bleus 18 year playoff streak. Silver Bay and Two Harbors finished 1 game apart and in sixth and seventh. Grand Marais struggled to keep up again, finishing in eighth.

Northland Hockey League
Warroad got back on top, winning their 4th Northland crown. The Monarchs were on their heels in second. International Falls took third, having a great season in their new home indoors. Roseau took the four spot, getting back into the playoffs. Steinbach made a bit of an attempt in the end, but it wasn't enough to get them back to the post season as they are on the outside looking in. Oh Baudette, what happened? Many are saying that the Walleye's incredible run to a Northland championship were nothing but a fluke. Baudette went from reaching the great eight, to falling to the bottom half of the standings for their league. Fort Frances and Kenora had a bit of a spark between the two when they met up, possibly a rivalry in the making. The Trappers and Muskrats finished in seventh and eighth, not the best, but its hard in the Northland. The Beltrami County teams had another lackluster season, finishing in the basement.

Red River Hockey League
J-E-T-S JETS! JETS! JETS! The Grand Forks Jets have won their first Red River Hockey League title. It was a three team battle for the top spots, with Thief River taking the second seed and EGF the three spot. Fargo claimed the final playoff spot, beating out Crookston and Moorhead, and having a great opening season in their new arena going 7-3-2 in the John E. Carlson Coliseum.

Let me know what you think, comments are appreciated!

LOVE IT!  For the first time since '51, BOTH Wisconsin teams are goin' to the playoffs!

You KNOW I'm dreamin' of a Lakers-Brewers Cup Final...

1968 Kellogg Cup Playoffs; Knockout Round


Stillwater Volunteers vs Bloomington Bears
The Volunteers took an early lead, but the Bears turned the tides dramatically shortly after. Bloomington turned around and scored 4 goals before the end of the first. Stillwater got to within tow, but that would be as far as they would get as the Bears advance on the road.

St. Cloud Bearcats vs St. Peter Governors
The first was scoreless, with the Govs goalie robbing the Cats blind on multiple occasions. Cloud got on top on a 5 on 3 powerplay late in the second to finally take the lead in a game they had thoroughly dominated. The Governors continued to get bailed out by their goalie, keeping them in the game despite the one sided way of the game. The clock finally expired and the Bearcats advance with a dominant 1-0 win.

Rochester Mustangs vs Alexandria Norsemen
The Mustangs were hosting their first playoff game at the brand new Graham Arena in front of a sold out crowd of over 1,700. The Norsemen tried to get the crowd out of the game, getting the first goal of the game, but the Stangs knotted it up before the end of the first. Alexandria managed to not only kill off a penalty, but score a shorty. Rochester was controlling play and pinning the Norse in their own zone for over two minutes. The gassed Alexandria skaters were taken advantage of by the Mustangs who set up a nifty passing play leading to a game tying goal. The Norsemen blocked a shot with under 30 seconds left in the second. The deflection went out of the zone and the winger who blocked the shot was the first to the loose puck, going in on a breakaway. Rather than do some fancy dekes, the Norseman fired a quick shot glove side, beating the goalie and giving his team a 3-2 lead after 2. The Mustangs had nothing to lose, so they became very aggressive, keeping their foot on the gas until they managed to bury a rebound and tie the game yet again. Overtime began and Rochester kept the pressure on Alexandria. The Mustangs worked the puck around the offensive zone, getting the puck to the point. The defenseman decided to backhand a pass to his d partner, but the pass was intercepted by Alexandria winger Einar Gaffaney who was all alone on a breakaway. He came in head on, pulling the puck to his backhand and burying a shot over the pad sending Alexandria on.

Osseo Screaming Eagles vs Red Wing Chiefs
The first was scoreless, but the Eagles finally broke the deadlock in the second on a nice shot from the circles. Osseo added to their lead 4:11 later to take a two goal lead into the third. Osseo continued to control play in the third, netting a third goal and all but finishing this one. Red Wing would get on the board with a few minutes left, but it would not be nearly enough to overcome the deficit.

Let me know what you think, comments are appreciated!