1970/71 Regular Season


Blue Earth Hockey League
The Bavarians remain atop the BEHL, holding off a pesky Mankato team to claim their third title. Behind Mankato were the Flickertails who had a surprisingly good sophomore season, reaching the playoffs for the first time. The final playoff spot went to the Governors who dropped to fourth, leaving Mason City on the outside looking in. There was a bit of a drop after the Musicians, leaving the Hawks, Green Giants, and Drags in the bottom of the table.

Southwest Hockey Association
The Flying Dutchmen flew in from out of nowhere, going on an 11 game point streak to end the season, surpassing the Packers and Shockers who dropped to second and third. Rounding out the top four were the Stamps in their inaugural season. Marshall was fighting for the final spot for most of the season, but suffered a couple key injuries late that caused them to miss out on the post season. Yankton and Brookings round out the league in sixth and seventh.

Twin Cities Hockey League (West)
Edina and Minneapolis once again battled for that top spot in the West, with the Cake Eaters besting the Millers in their two regular season games to win the tiebreaker and advance to the championship despite having the same record. Osseo and Bloomington also punched their tickets to the playoffs, beating out Burnsville, Bloomington West, and Anoka who all finished within 4 games behind. The Bakers had a bounce back season, moving out of the basement to eighth, ahead of the Bandits and Muskies.

Twin Cities Hockey League (East)
South St. Paul made some noise last year in the playoffs and they built on it this season, finishing atop the East and beating the Cake Eaters in the championship game to claim their first TCHL title since 1940, their ninth overall. Arguably the biggest surprise in the MAHL this year was the rise of the Braves. White Bear Lake made the leap from seventh place last year, to their highest finish in franchise history, coming in second place. The Braves began the season hot, though most people didn't think anything of it, but they just kept winning. They kept it going throughout, finishing above very good Victorias and Saints teams. The Vulcans were on the short side of White Bears great season, getting bumped out of the postseason for the 3rd time in the last 5 years. It was fiarly close between the Vols, Rockets and Waves in the middle of the pack, with the Raptors in far last.

Valley Hockey League
Things are back to normal in the Valley with a Rochester team reclaiming the throne. It was a three team race for the top spot with the Mustangs claiming the prize ahead of the Brewers and Robins. Red Wing remains in the playoffs in the four spot, ahead of Austin and Northfield. Winona actually did something this year... kinda. The Cats finally broke out of last place after 12 straight last place finishes, surpassing an illness riddled Cannon Falls team.


Granite Hockey League
Surprise surprise, the Lumberjacks won the GHL. They were once again followed by the Bearcats and Cyclones who both had solid seasons. The Storm crawled back into the playoffs with Little Falls and Alec dropping to 5 and 6 with Sauk Rapids once again bringing up the rear.

Iron Range Hockey League
The Moose remained atop the Iron Range, clinching their 4th title in the last 5 years. Hibbing remained in second, ahead of the Redbirds and Royals. Ely and Chisholm both had solid rosters and could have likely compete in another league, but due to the competition in their league they will miss out on the playoffs, coming in fifth and sixth.

Lake Superior Hockey League
After a dip in play last year, the Lakers are back on top of the Lake Superior League for the third time in franchise history. The Giants and Hornets didn't make it easy for Superior, with both having very good seasons in their own right, coming in second and third respectively. Two Harbors made some adjustments this season and it seemed to work as the Pack returns to the playoffs after missing the last 5 years. Le Bleus were on the outside looking in all season, having gotten off to a slow start and working to recover all year, in the end it wasn't enough as they finished in fifth. Grand Marais had their best season to date, finishing only 4 games under .500 and beating some of the big dogs in the league for the first time. Cloquet continues to drop, only beating out the Beavers.

Northland Hockey League
Roseau continued their dominance at home, only losing once in front of the Green Army. The Stars were also very good on the road, finishing in distant first and looking like heavy favorites to repeat come playoffs. Steinbach had another very good season, remaining in second place and holding onto the Maple Leaf Trophy. Warroad continued their trend of bouncing up and down in the standings, moving all the way up to third, finishing ahead of a very good Winnipeg squad in fourth. Kenora had their best season yet, nearly making a late season push for the playoffs but coming up just short in fifth. Baudette, Bemidji, and Fort Frances all had middle of the pack seasons, all floating around 500. Blackduck moved up to ninth, not coming in last for the first time. Sitting in last are the once dominant International Falls Ice who have fallen considerably in the last decade.

Red River Hockey League
Grand Forks continued their impressive season from a year ago, repeating as RRHL champs ahead of their cross river rivals to the East. Is this the end of the "Big Three"? The Titans made the move to third place, surpassing an aging Railers team. Thief still finished in fourth and will remain in the postseason, perhaps their veteran experience will be enough to carry them. Missing the playoffs we have the Kings and Huskies.

Let me know what you think, comments are appreciated!

Also, I 've been looking at the BEL map and shouldn't Faribault be here?
It is north of Albert Lea. The logo is around where Blue Earth is.

Last edited by JamHeronArk (2/28/2020 10:20 pm)

1971 Kellogg Cup Playoffs, Knockout Round


Osseo Screaming Eagles vs St. Peter Governors
St. Peter came into Osseo looking to prove that they deserved home ice, and they found themselves up 2-1 after the first. The Eagles managed to knot things up late in the second. The third period was slow, with a lot of whistles and no real action, sending us to overtime with the score still tied 2-2. Overtime was completely different from the third, with both teams coming out flying and getting some good looks. Osseo had a 3 on 2 where they took a shot from the dot. It was saved, but the rebound went right to an Eagle who just had to tap it into the open net, sending Osseo to the second round.

Sioux City Shockers vs Red Wing Chiefs
Red Wing came out swinging, striking in the opening minute, stunning the 3,500 Shocker supporters on hand. Luckily for Sioux City, they tightened up their defense from then on, holding the Chiefs to only 17 more shots and no more goals. Meanwhile the Shockers went on the attack, pinning Red Wing in their zone for long periods of time and finding the back of the net three times to advance with a 3-1 victory, their first playoff win in franchise history.

Faribault Flickertails vs Bloomington Bears
Faribault came into this game with high hopes of winning their first ever playoff game, and to do it in front of their friends and family. But Bloomington was on a mission to play spoilers, taking a commanding 3 goal lead by the midway point of the game and adding another in the third, all while keeping the Tails off the board. The Bears advance with a humiliating 4-0 shutout over the Flickertails in Faribault.

Rochester Robins vs Spirit Lake Stampeders
It was a goal scorers kind of game at Graham Arena as the Robins and Stamps exchanged blows back and forth for 60 minutes. Once the final horn had sounded and the dust had settled the scoreboard read 5-3 in favor of the hometown Robins, sending the inaugural Stampeders home.


Eveleth Redbirds vs Virginia Royals
One of the oldest rivalries in the MAHL was on full display at the historic Eveleth Hippodrome as the Redbirds welcomed their neighbors to the north. Eveleth got on the board first, adding to it before the end of the first to take a 2-0 lead heading into the second. Virginia bounced back early in the second, but the Reds answered back to give themselves a 2 goal cushion once more. Virginia needed a miracle, down 2 with under 5 minutes to go, but anything is possible in the playoffs and a lucky bounce got the Royals to within one late in the third. They pulled their goalie with a minute left and set up in the Eveleth zone. The Eveleth faithful tried to give their boys all they could, breaking out into booming "Go Reds Go" chants (the chant has been used since the teams founding, prior to the name change) but Virginia was applying the pressure. The clock got down to the final 10 seconds and the Royals fired a shot on goal. It was blocked by a defenseman, but the puck remained in the slot. A Royal was able to get a decent whack at it in the middle of a scrum in front. The goalie couldn't see the puck and the shot slid through the five hole, tying the game with under 2 seconds to go, sending us to overtime. One overtime came and went with no score. Midway through the second ot period, the Redbirds were able to headman a pass behind the Royals defensemen, sending a man in all alone on a breakaway. He got to the slot and pump faked, getting the goalie to drop, and then tucked it around the downed keeper into the net, sending Eveleth on to the second round, knocking off their arch rivals in double overtime.

Winnipeg Monarchs vs St. Cloud Storm
Despite their lowest ever finish in the regular season, the Monarchs are still the Monarchs, and they made sure that nobody forgot that in this one sided affair. The scoreline is closer than the game really went, with Winnipeg outshooting St. Cloud 45-9 and thoroughly dominating throughout, winning by a final score of 4-1.

Fergus Falls Cyclones vs Thief River Falls Railers
The Cyclones and Railers squared off for the first time since 1953 when both teams were members of the Northland Hockey League, a league that neither team is still in. It was ultimately the hometown Cyclones that would get the victory in this one, holding an aging Railers squad off the scoreboard while popping in two to win by a score of 2-0.

Fargo Titans vs Two Harbors Wolfpack
It was a defensive duel, with goals seemingly impossible to find for wither team. Shots were low on both sides, and scoring chances were few and far between. This left us with the score the same at puck drop as it was at the end of regulation, 0-0. We went to overtime and it was more of the same, with neither side wanting to give an inch. The Pack were buzzing for a minute or so in the Titans zone, coming as close as hitting the pipe, but it would not go. Fargo managed to finally clear the zone and get a change, dumping the puck into the Wolfpack zone. Two Harbors broke out of their zone, but the puck carrier held on for a second too long before making the pass, allowing a Titan to get a stick on it. The turnover happened right inside the blue line and the Fargo forward just had to take a couple strides before ripping a shot from the high slot. The puck rang off the crossbar and down, sending the over 4,000 on hand into mayhem as Fargo advances with a 1-0 overtime win.

Let me know what you think, comments are appreciated!

I've got a good feeling about the THREE-TIME LAKE SUPERIOR LEAGUE CHAMPIONS!!!  For sure I'm hyped up for the first-ever Battle of the Lakers in the first round...

The Brewers, too, got pretty good odds, because White Bear Lake isn't exactly known for their playoff success...I'm ready to open up some more Old Styles and see this be the year they get to the Met Center (hopefully they and Superior both).