Thehealthiestscratch wrote:

Anoka - This change just makes sense. There is no reason to put your location on the home jersey, it is there to represent the city when you're on the road. No grade change, just a smart move.

Austin - I think the color change does a lot for the Mavs. Thinning the stripes tones down the yellow and makes a better balance between all the colors. "A" on the shoulder looks clean. No complaints here. B- -> B

Twin Cities - Going all in on the red feels right for the Vulcans. While I think the breezers and gloves look much better on their white jersey, it does make their look feel more aggressive. The best part of the update is how they treated the shoulders for both outfits. That all red needed the yellow shoulders to not make that red too much, and the striping under the shoulders to match their arm stripes is a far superior look. Very bold. B -> B+

Two Harbors - This feels like a change just for clean-up sake. While it looks better, I am not writing home about it. Good choice on the shoulders matching the base. B -> B

Marshall - This is what I have been waiting for with this team. The addition of the Pheasant gives them some much needed character. Filling in the striping with black really changes the team's identity in a simple way, and I think it looks better. With that said, I think the M could use an outline to be more in line with their new striping. It doesn't give the overall look a dramatic negative change, I just think it might add to it. C -> B+

Moorhead - I think the new logo is nice, but I just prefer the angle of the previous logo more. The original makes the dog look more fluffy, how I imagine many Huskies in the cold would be. The new one feels sharp and lacking character compared to the last. Great logo, I just think a more subtle update could have worked. The new striping is so much better than their original. While the previous one felt right for the logo, I don't see it working for the new one. It was a good choice to change to the Toronto like look. A -> A

Inver Grove - This team feels mid pack. I like the simplicity of the logo, but it doesn't stand out in the MAHL. I think the mane also is a little strange, almost borderline bubbly or gear shaped.The pipe striping looks good around the traditional thick stripe on the white. I would have liked to see a gold away jersey, but it does have a healthy amount of the color in it so I'll accept it. B-

Mound - I like the overall look of this team. A simple skull that looks great on the chest, striping that switches up the look but stays similar and a milk/bone color that is unique to the league. I think they have a classic with this. I would say that the bone color could have had a little more cream to stand out, and I would have loved to see that gold in the logo used minimally in their jerseys to further separate their identity from the rest. Maybe a thin gold band in the black of the bone jersey, it could even stay in the same place for the other jersey too. A

Great set!
 

Thank you, always love hearing your thoughts!

Rube Dali, the DodoHorse wrote:

So, when do we get an expansion team for Detroit Lakes?

Funny you mention that... rumor has it the Red River Hockey League is looking to finally expand beyond 6 teams and Detroit Lakes is near the top of the list.

1975/76 Regular Season - North


It was the year of St. Cloud in the Granite with the Bearcats and Storm taking the top two spots in the league. The Cats held onto the Chunk and were ranked 14th in the MAHL, the only ranked team from the GHL. Brainerd had another solid season, remaining in the hunt in third. Taking the final playoff spot is Little Falls who managed to nudge out Fergus Falls who fell back to earth after a magical season last year, missing the playoffs entirely in fifth. There wasn't really a bottom dweller this year, rather three teams that just weren't quite as competitive as the rest. The Bulldogs had their best season in recent memory, giving Sauk Rapids fans hope that their years of being the redheaded step child may finally be coming to an end. Alec and Princeton round out the league.


The Iron Range is in a Renaissance, appearing to be returning to their glory days of old. The Redbirds went back to back, keeping the Quad City Trophy and being ranked 3rd in the MAHL. Coleraine is back with a vengeance after their disastrous season last year. The Trout were determined to prove their worth, making a point this season by winning the season series against their arch rivals and defending Kellogg Cup champs Grand Rapids 2-1-1, finishing just ahead of them in the Iron Range and in the MAHL rankings. Moving into the playoffs for the first time is Mountain Iron who is trying to earn the respect they deserve being the newby in the heart of the league. The Cougars played as a unit, working very well on the defensive side of the game to keep themselves in the game despite lacking some offensive firepower. With Mountain Iron in the playoffs, that left Hibbing and Virginia on the outside looking in, heating up the rivalries between all of them. Coming ahead of the Royals were the Miners who came out of nowhere to put together their best season since re-forming. They even took back the Miners Hard Hat from Ely for only the second time ever. Ely and Chisholm were middling teams for most of the season, dropping towards the bottom as the season wore on. Coming in last were the Kellys who only won 5 games this year.


Superior is back on top, winning their 5th crown and finishing ranked 4th in the MAHL. Le Bleus continue to climb back toward the top of the league coming in second with a sweep of silverware for the third straight year. Thunder Bay dropped to third and is beginning to look on the back half of this cores prime years, but don't count out the Giants come playoffs. Grand Marais took the final playoff spot, becoming the first winners of the Agate. The Hornets had a hot start to the season, but they cooled down midway through and wound up dropping to 5th, missing the playoffs for the third year in a row, tying their all time record for years without playoffs in franchise history. Silver Bay, Two Harbors, and Cloquet were all around .500 on the season with the Huskies and Spikes still struggling as younger squads.


Oh Canada, three of the four playoff teams from the Northland Hockey League are coming from the Great White North with Steinbach leading the way, winning their first NLHL title and being ranked the second best team in the MAHL. Hot on their heels are the Winnipeg Monarchs who are back with a vengeance after two years in a row with no playoffs. The only Minnesotan team in the playoffs are the Warroad Lakers who look as dangerous as ever, winning back the Bell and finishing ranked 8th. Our final playoff spot went to Fort Frances, ending their 13 year playoff drought at long last. The Trappers exploded on offense this year, being the highest scoring team in the NLHL by 13 goals. They swept their arch rivals the Ice to hold the Can-Am Cup for the 7th time in the last 8 years. This left a very good Roseau team in fifth with International Falls and Baudette behind them. One of the biggest stories of the season was the fall of the Blue Ox. Bemidji was plagued all year with injuries to top players, causing the Babes to go from the best team in the league to an 8th place finish. The Muskrats struggled this year, much to the pleasure of much of the league. Kenora has garnered a reputation as a cheap team, leading the league in penalty minutes and causing much of the league to mutually have a dislike for the "Rats" as they are not so lovingly referred to as by opposing fans. Coming in last yet again is Blackduck, struggling to compete with the bigger cities.


There was little change in the Red River this year with only two teams changing placement in the standings. For the first time in 7 years, the "Big Four" of the RRHL will not be playing post season hockey. The Crookston Kings put together a solid season to push past Thief River and into the playoffs. Grand Forks ran away with the league this year, pulling away from EGF at the end of the season to finish 5 games ahead as well as being ranked 12th. The Pointers and Titans remained in second and third, each having competitive seasons as usual, look for both teams to potentially turn some heads in the playoffs. The aforementioned Kings slid into the four spot with the Railers in fifth and Moorhead in sixth. Despite coming in last yet again, things are beginning to look up for the Huskies with a group of up and comers who came into their own this season and who look poised to bring Moorhead out of the gutter after over a decade of disappointment in Moorhead.

Let me know what you think, comments are appreciated!7.0.1

Well.......... #10 is our favorite rank to be. Moose look like they are gearing up to be loose again. 

Thehealthiestscratch wrote:

Well.......... #10 is our favorite rank to be. Moose look like they are gearing up to be loose again. 

The Moose are definitely not to be take lightly in the playoffs. Despite a third place finish Grand Rapids is still considered one of the most potent offensive teams in the MAHL.

JamHeronArk wrote:

Just a heads up: In the RRHL write-up, you put Grand Rapids (Home of the Loose Moose) instead of Grand Forks (Home of a really big fork, honestly, the fork is really too big, why is this fork so magnificent).

Coleraine and Tower-Soudan are looking like they are moving up. I'm a bit frightened of the Canadian Invasion. Congrats to Crookston for making the Postseason! 

Thanks for pointing that out, I have to catch myself all the time mixing those two up, this one must have slipped past me, its fixed now.