This forum is hosted for free by Boardhost. Create your own free forum!
- Section30
- Moderator
Offline 
- From: Minnesota
- Registered: 5/18/2019
- Posts: 2,606
Re: MAHL Redux
As previously mentioned, we have 19 expansion clubs joining the MAHL for its inaugural season. Let’s start out in the Central Lakes League where we have 6 new teams to unveil.
Long Prairie Hockey Club
The Long Prairie Hockey Club is based in Long Prairie, MN but also draws from the nearby towns of Browerville, Clarissa, Eagle Bend & Swanville. Long Prairie is a village of over 1,300 and is the county seat of Todd County. The town's origins date back to 1846 when the US Government set up the Winnebago Reservation in Central Minnesota for the Winnebago (or Ho-Chunk) people of Minnesota with Long Prairie becoming the tribal headquarters. Another treaty relocated the Ho-Chunk to Southern Minnesota and the town of Long Prairie was soon plotted by European settlers in 1867. Long Prairie has since grown into the largest town in Todd County and has a classic small town look and feel.
The team decided on solid gold sweaters with an LP monogram on the upper left chest over the players' hearts and numbers on the back in navy. They will play their home games at the Todd County Fairgrounds which has a rink with seating for about 250.
- Section30
- Moderator
Offline
- From: Minnesota
- Registered: 5/18/2019
- Posts: 2,606
Re: MAHL Redux
Melrose Hockey Club
The Melrose Hockey Club is based in Melrose, MN but also draws from the nearby towns of Freeport, New Munich, Meire Grove & Greenwald. Melrose is a city of over 2,000 located about 35 miles west of St. Cloud. It is your run of the mill rural community, largely a farm based community with a downtown area home to small businesses and mills.
Their uniforms are cardinal with a large block M on the front for Melrose. The team will play their home games outdoors on Melrose Lake.
- •
Thread Starter- Section30
- Moderator
Offline
- From: Minnesota
- Registered: 5/18/2019
- Posts: 2,606
Re: MAHL Redux
Mille Lacs Hockey Club
The Mille Lacs Hockey Club (muh-LAKS) is based in Isle, MN but also draws from other towns on Lake Mille Lacs like Garrison, Vineland, Onamia & Wahkon. The Mille Lacs area only has a population of a few hundred, but they were able to scrounge up enough people to fill out a roster, thus forming the Mille Lacs Hockey Club. The name was chosen in honor of the famous lake which all of the towns are built on the shores of. The name Mille Lacs, French for “Thousand Lakes”, reflects the incredible size of the lake which ranks as the 2nd largest in Minnesota (excluding Superior since it isn’t entirely in MN). The Mille Lacs area is reliant on tourism and fishing as its primary industries. People from all over the state visit Mille Lacs to experience some of the best fishing in the state. It is well known for its trophy sized muskies, northern pike, & walleye.
The club decided on blue for the team color, adopting white stripes on the sleeves and socks and an ML monogram on the chest for Mille Lacs. It’s not much of a surprise but the team will call Lake Mille Lacs home, playing their home games out on the frozen ice off of Isle.
- •
Thread Starter- Section30
- Moderator
Offline
- From: Minnesota
- Registered: 5/18/2019
- Posts: 2,606
Re: MAHL Redux
Princeton Hockey Club
The Princeton Hockey Club is based in Princeton, MN but also pulls from Baldwin Township & Brickton. Princeton is a city with a population of about 1,500 about 50 miles north of Minneapolis and 30 miles east of St. Cloud. Due to its location on the banks of the Rum River, Princeton developed as a lumber community shipping trees down the river to the mills downstream. Brickmaking also became a Princeton institution with the town of Brickton developing about 2 miles northeast near the clay beds that Princeton Bricks are made from. Potato and dairy farming are also major industries in town.
The team will wear white sweaters with purple sleeves and shoulders. A stylized P for Princeton sits on the upper left chest and their socks are striped purple and white. Their home games will be played at the 250 seat Princeton Civic Rink.
- •
Thread Starter- Section30
- Moderator
Offline
- From: Minnesota
- Registered: 5/18/2019
- Posts: 2,606
Re: MAHL Redux
Sauk Center Hockey Club
The Sauk Center Hockey Club is based in Sauk Center, MN (Sawk) but also draws from nearby Little Sauk. Sauk Center is a city with a population of about 2,200. It is a small, rural, community reliant on agriculture and farming. Most residents either work in the farms or on historic Main Street which houses most of the town's businesses.
Their socks and sweaters are maroon with thin white stripes throughout the entire uniform. The team will play their home games on the southern tip of Sauk Lake after it freezes over.
- •
Thread Starter- Section30
- Moderator
Offline
- From: Minnesota
- Registered: 5/18/2019
- Posts: 2,606
Re: MAHL Redux
Staples Hockey Club
The Staples Hockey Club is based in Staples, MN but also draws from nearby Motley, Aldrich & Pillager. Staples is a city with a population of nearly 2,500 plus Motley’s over 400 for a combined population of about 3,000. Staples was built around a saw mill, even going by the name “Staples Mill” until 1889 when the town was platted. Logging continues to be a major industry in the area, but it's the railroads that have made Staples one of the biggest cities in the area. The Northern Pacific Railway established a stop in Staples in 1889, making it a key connection between St.Paul and Fargo. Talks of building a new Amtrak intercity train station in Staples have been floating around with hopes to have a station up and running as soon as 1910.
Staples went with a simple all-white look for their inaugural set. The only pop of color comes from the old english S that sits on the front of their sweaters in blue.
- •
Thread Starter- Section30
- Moderator
Offline
- From: Minnesota
- Registered: 5/18/2019
- Posts: 2,606
Re: MAHL Redux
Next we head to the Headwater Hockey Association for the next pair of expansion clubs set to join the league for its inaugural season.
Frazee Hockey Club
The Frazee Hockey Club is based in Frazee, MN (fray-ZEE) but also represents nearby Vergas. Frazee is a city with a population of over 1,500. Frazee is located just 10 miles southeast of Detroit. The town was built on the lumber industry, but now that the trees are mostly gone the town has begun to transition to more of an agricultural town. Notably, the town is quickly gaining a reputation as one of the premier turkey farming towns in the nation. What started as a couple farmers raising flocks on their farmland has quickly grown into an industry that has taken over and transformed the town.
The team chose brown as their primary color, becoming the first team in Minnesota to use the color. Their uniforms are solid brown with a western style F sewn on the front of their sweaters in white. Frazee will play their home games at Town Lake on the city’s southeastern border.
- •
Thread Starter- Section30
- Moderator
Offline
- From: Minnesota
- Registered: 5/18/2019
- Posts: 2,606
Re: MAHL Redux
Red Lake Nation Hockey Club
The Red Lake Nation Hockey Club is based in the community of Red Lake, MN but represents the entirety of the Red Lake Indian Reservation. The Red Lake Nation has a population of about 1,400 and is located around Red Lake, the largest lake in Minnesota (excluding Superior). The sport of ice hockey spread to the rez a few years ago after a local caught a game while in Bemidji. He taught some of his friends and the game spread across the reservation like wildfire, soon there were games being played between families and social circles throughout the winter as a way to entertain themselves and keep warm in the bitter cold Northern Minnesota winters. With a new league being formed in Bemidji, it was decided that a team would be formed to represent the Red Lake Nation made up of the best players from across the rez. The team will no doubt have to deal with their fair share of adversity, specifically racism being in a white dominant league, but the club hopes to use the sport of ice hockey to rally the community together and bring pride to their Nation.
They will wear white sweaters with solid red sleeves along with red & white striped socks. Player numbers are put on the front and back of the sweater in red. The team will play their home games on a frozen Lower Red Lake.
- •
Thread Starter- Section30
- Moderator
Offline
- From: Minnesota
- Registered: 5/18/2019
- Posts: 2,606
Re: MAHL Redux
Moving northeast we have four new clubs joining the Iron Range Hockey League.
Biwabik Hockey Club
The Biwabik Hockey Club is based in Biwabik, MN (BYE-wuh-bik) but also represents nearby McKinley. Biwabik is a village with a population of about 1,600 and is considered the gateway to the East Range on the Mesabi Iron Range. It is situated on two railways giving the village an early advantage on their neighbors when it came to shipping iron ore. The name “Biwabik” is derived from the Ojibwe word for “iron”.
The team chose blue as their primary color, wearing the color from head to toe with only accents of white on the germanic styled B on the upper left chest and numbers on the back of their sweaters. They will play their home games in town at the 250 seat Biwabik Park.
- •
Thread Starter- Section30
- Moderator
Offline
- From: Minnesota
- Registered: 5/18/2019
- Posts: 2,606
Re: MAHL Redux
Sparta Hockey Club
The Sparta Hockey Club is based in Sparta, MN but also draws from the nearby town of Gilbert. Sparta is a small railroad town of under 1,000 in the Mesabi Range just a couple miles east of Eveleth. The inaugural team for Sparta will contain 3 former Eveleth Reds, giving the team high expectations for their first season. In an unusual situation, the town of Sparta is actually owned by the local mining company, meaning that citizens don’t actually own their homes and they are allowed to live there because they or someone in their family works in the mines.
The team opted for a dark red like their Eveleth counterparts, but they made themselves a bit darker, going with maroon as their primary color. The sleeves and socks feature thin stripes of old gold and “SPARTA” is arched across the front of the sweater also in old gold. Their home games will be played at Sparta Rink which can seat about 250.
- •
Thread Starter