The 1938/39 season concluded and here are the stories.

Iron Range Hockey League: Hibbing fell down to third place, getting jumped by the Black Bears and Reds. Virginia stayed in the final playoff spot. Soudan jumped to fifth but still missed the playoffs, as did the Flames and Rangers.

Lake Superior Hockey League: Thunder Bay continued to dominate the league, going undefeated minus one tie. The Giants were followed by the Duluth Voyageurs and Hornets. Grand Rapids stayed in the playoff picture in the 4 spot. TheSuperior Lakers improved but still missed the playoffs. Two Harbors is beginning to feel the effects of aging as they are dropping rapidly. Cloquet remained at the bottom of the table.

Twin Cities Hockey League: The Victorias claimed the top spot in the Cities, followed by South St. Paul, and the Saints. Minneapolis made a playoff spot after missing last year, and the Vulcans dropped to fifth in the league and missed the playoffs. 

 

Last edited by Section30 (6/23/2019 1:02 am)

1939 Kellogg Cup Finals 

Game 1: The Royals continue to roll as they are just too much for Thunder Bay to handle as they steal game one in Thunder Bay 3-1.

Game 2: The Giants regroup after game one and come back to tie the series at a game apiece.

Game 3: Virginia shuts down Thunder Bay's offense, only allowing 11 shots on target, as they themselves scored two to take game 3.

Game 4: In a high scoring affair, the Royals were able to take game 4 thanks to an overtime goal that sent the city into mayhem.

Game 5: The Giants, back on home ice, light the lamp 4 times as they look to inch back in the series.

Game 6: With seemingly the entire city of Virginia packed into the bleachers, the Royals looked to clinch their third Kellogg Cup. After falling behind midway through the first, the boys in blue put up 3 unanswered goals before the third period even began. This was too much for Thunder Bay to handle, despite getting one back. The Underdog story has come to fruition as the Virginia Royals have won the 1939 Kellogg Cup!

 

Last edited by Section30 (6/23/2019 1:07 am)

The 1939/40 season concluded and here are the stories.

Iron Range Hockey League: Ely remained at the top of the league with a solid all around season. The Eveleth Reds followed behind in second place with the defending champs coming third. The Ox, in their inaugural season, claim the final playoff spot, just ahead of Hibbing. The bottom 3 remain the same with it being Soudan, Chisholm, then the lowly Rangers.

Lake Superior Hockey League: Thunder Bay took the Lake Superior League again, followed closely by the Duluth Hornets. Grand Rapids jumped past the Voyageurs to finish 3rd, while Le Bleus took the 4 spot. Superior finished at .500 but missed the playoffs. Two Harbors suffered a poor season due to many players being gone for a lot of the season due to new work hours at the port in Two Harbors, which allowed Cloquet to jump out of the basement.

Twin Cities Hockey League: The Mavs took back the top spot, followed by the Victorias. The Vulcans, led by up and coming prospect Hans Tschida, the son of Lou, moved back up in the standings to finish in third place. The Saints rounded out the playoff teams, leaving the Minneapolis Hockey Club in the basement and out of the playoffs.

  

Last edited by Section30 (6/23/2019 11:13 pm)

1940 Kellogg Cup Finals 

Game 1: The Giants took an early lead in the game, but Ely crawled their way back, winning game 1 in overtime 3-2

Game 2: The Black Bears, riding a 5 game winning streak, took game 2 on away ice to take a 2-0 series lead.

Game 3: With their backs to the wall, and now on enemy ice, the Giants were able to steal back a game to bring the series within 1.

Game 4: Thunder Bay finishes off the first four games with the home team losing every game, sending the series back to Canada for game 5.

Game 5: The Giants begin to look like everything is coming together as they have rebounded, winning game 5 in dominant fashion.

Game 6: Ely will not go down without a fight however, as the Black Bears shut out the Giants 3-0 to force a game 7.

Game 7: The Black Bears came out swinging, scoring twice within the first 7 minutes of the game. Despite allowing one against, Ely was able to bury an empty net goal, clinching their fourth Kellogg Cup, their first in 15 years!

 

Last edited by Section30 (6/23/2019 11:15 pm)

 


Cloquet and Soudan actually aren't really in danger of losing their teams, despite not being competitive for some years. The Miners have a solid amount of people in the Tower-Soudan area that will be able to maintain a team, and the Broncos are located in a fairly safe place in terms of job security, thus allowing people to continue to play, this along with Cloquet being far enough from Duluth will allow it to continue to operate.

As of right now, I don't have any of the teams that are currently in the league scheduled to fold or merge in the future. Some teams that will be added wont be so lucky however. 

Last edited by Section30 (6/25/2019 10:52 pm)