1974 Kellogg Cup Playoffs; First Round - North


Bemidji Blue Ox vs Little Falls Pilots
The Babes proved why they were the top seed in the north, thoroughly dominating a good Little Falls squad. The Pilots were lucky to have a goalie having a career night to keep things from getting ugly, when the final horn sounded the shots were 53-6 in favor of Bemidji but the score was only 2-0 for the Ox.

St. Cloud Bearcats vs Superior Lakers
The Lakers went into the MAC and had to endure the over 2,000 screaming fans. The Bearcats took the lead late in the first, turning a defender inside out to set up a one time tap in. Superior and St. Cloud battled for two more periods but neither team could seem to find the back of the net despite their best efforts. The final horn sounded and the crowd erupted, the score was still 1-0, sending the hometown Bearcats to the second round.

Hibbing Greyhounds vs Eveleth Redbirds
One of the most underrated rivalries in the MAHL was on full display in the Hibbing Memorial Building as nearly 4,000 fans from both towns packed in like sardines. The last time these two faced off in the playoffs was back in 1958 when the Greyhounds won the Kellogg Cup in Hibbing over the Redbirds. Despite happening 17 years ago this game is still fresh in the minds of everyone in attendance with Hibbing making sure Eveleth remembers, always using "58" as a quick comeback or insult towards Redbird fans. On the ice things were just as testy with a number of penalties for both teams and nearly a fight that got broken up before any punches were thrown. Fittingly enough, the game ended tied 3-3 meaning we would need extra hockey to determine a winner. Eveleth broke up a Hibbing chance, picking up the puck and sending it up ice. The Hibbing defenseman stepped up at the blue line but the puck carrier chipped it off the boards, past the defender and to himself. He was in with a defender reaching out from behind him and a teammate trailing behind. He protected the puck and drove into the slot, lofting a backhander which was stopped by the Greyhound. However, the rebound off the blocker went right back into the slit where the trailing forward was there to smack it home, finally ending the 58 taunts.

Grand Rapids Moose vs Roseau Stars
It was a heavyweight tilt in the first round here with two ranked teams facing off right off the bat. Grand Rapids took full advantage of the home ice advantage, scoring two in the first to take the lead. Roseau would answer back in the second, but Rapids scored in the final minute of the period to regain a 2 goal lead. The Moose added to their lead once again on the powerplay in the third and while the Stars did score one more, it was not enough as they fall in the first round to the Moose by a score of 4-2.


Thunder Bay Giants vs Fargo Titans
Thunder Bay came into this game feeling confident and poised to make a deep run in this years playoffs. Then the game happened and all of that went right out the window. There's no real way to describe what happened but things just fell apart for the Giants. The one bright spot was a powerplay goal late in the first to tie the game at 1, but besides that it was a very rough game for Thunder Bay. On the other hand, Fargo was looking very very good. The Titans may have dropped this year, but they are still a good hockey team and they made sure people remembered that, putting up 4 on the notorious Thunder Bay defense to win 4-1. After the game ended 30 year veteran and face of the franchise Joshua Staal took a lap around the ice, thanking and applauding the fans to which he received an ovation in return. Rumors are swirling that this could have been Staal's last game as a Giant.

Steinbach Barbarians vs Grand Forks Jets
It was a close one in Steinbach as the Jets jumped out to an early lead. The hometown Barbarians were trailing 2-1 heading into the third. Things began to finally open up for the Barbs when a Grand Forks defenseman lost his edge with the puck, getting picked up by a Steinbach winger who went in all alone on a breakaway and buried it under the arm to tie the game. From there the momentum was all in favor of the Barbarians and it became clear that it was only a matter of time before a shot from the point found its way into the back of the net, giving Steinbach a 3-2 lead which they would hold onto to advance.

Warroad Lakers vs Duluth Voyageurs
Warroad won the only previous game between these two by a score of 3-2 in the first round of the 1967 playoffs. The Lakers would improve their record to 2-0 against le bleus in this one, finding the back of the net 5 times to the Voyageurs 2 to advance to the second round.

East Grand Forks Pointers vs Brainerd Lumberjacks
To the frozen pond we went for the Pointers-Lumberjacks first round matchup. Things got off to a shaky start for the hometown team when Brainerd was given a 5 minute major pp. Luckily for EGF the Jacks were unable to convert, actually swinging momentum in favor of the Pointers who used it to take the lead. Brainerd would tie it up at 1 in the third and we were beginning to look like overtime until Brainerd went to the box for high sticking with 42 seconds left. East set up the attack and got a shot on goal. The rebound was cleared to the corner and EGF again set up. This time they dished it to a man down low to the side of the goal who caught the pass and turned and fired. The shot was again saved, but the rebound shot off the leg pad of the goalie to the dot where a Pointer was first to it, burying the rebound home with 11 seconds left in the game. The Pointers killed off the remaining time, advancing in dramatic fashion and sending the Lumberjacks home in the first round for the first time in 7 years.

Let me know what you think, comments are appreciated!

Thehealthiestscratch wrote:

Add another 4 to the Grand Rapids goal tracker. I can't speak regarding regular season, but their postseason offense is consistently dangerous!

Indeed, Grand Rapids has garnered a reputation leaguewide of being a very offensive team that is always among the top in the MAHL in terms of goals in a season and goals per game average.

I'm new here and there are so many teams i don't know who to root for! My friend says i should cheer for the Blue Ox but he's a Houston Texans fan in real life so IDK

Dan O'Mac wrote:

Rugrat wrote:

I'm new here and there are so many teams i don't know who to root for! My friend says i should cheer for the Blue Ox but he's a Houston Texans fan in real life so IDK

I'm from Wisconsin, so I felt like I needed to support those Wisconsin teams (Superior, La Crosse, and Eau Claire). However, there are a few teams that I root for solely based on their look. Silver Bay, East Grand Forks, Luverne, Hastings, Owatonna, and International Falls.

So my best recommendation is to head to the Wiki and pick some looks you like.

Thanks. I'll go check it out (I am from Washington State btw)
 

There is so many i can't pick but i think i will go with the Ely Black Bears