Well that sucked. At least Edina lost too.

1976 Kellogg Cup Great Eight


Twin Cities Vulcans vs Sioux City Packers
The Packers rolled over the competition to this point, outscoring their opponents 10-3. The Vulcans were just a much more complete hockey team than anything that the Packers had seen all season long, jumping out to an early lead and building on it as the game went on. The Vulcans were up 4-1 after two, all but putting it away with a fifth goal in the opening minute of the third to go up by 4. TO the Hogs credit they didn't give up, even with the majority Vulcan crowd making it very hard on them, continuing to press and even getting on the board for a second time. It just wasn't good enough as the Vulcans advance to the Semis with a 5-2 win.

Winnipeg Monarchs vs Fridley Foxes
The Foxes are determined to keep their dream season going, completing yet another major upset, taking down the third seeded Monarchs from Winnipeg. Fridley got off to a quick start with a goal 3 minutes in, getting the primarily Minnesotan crowd on their side as they began to chant "Lets Go Foxes". Fridley extended their lead to two in the second, but Winnipeg came back with two of their own to tie it up. The Monarchs would keep it going in the third, taking their first lead of the game on a snipe from a bad angle that snuck between the goalie and the post. It was looking bad for Fridley with the Monarchs beginning to take over. Luckily for the Foxes the Monarchs were called for too many men on the ice, giving Fridley their first powerplay chance of the game. They didn't let it go to waste, getting a shot tipped in front that found the back of the net to tie the game at 3. Overtime was needed and the crowd was electric, cheering on the underdogs from Fridley. The Monarchs began to buzz a couple minutes in, getting chance after chance, but Fridley goalie Michael Dahlquist was a man on a mission, standing on his head and robbing the Monarchs on multiple occasions to keep the game going. The Foxes were finally able to calm things down a bit and got the puck in the Winnipeg zone. They worked it down low where a winger saucered a pass into the slot for a one timer that beat the goalie blocker side. Met Center erupted as Fridley clamored over the boards to celebrate knocking off the Winnipeg Monarchs 4-3 in overtime.

Eveleth Redbirds vs Marshall Pheasants
Eveleth came down to Bloomington and did what they came to do, outworking Marshall and getting rewarded for it. The Redbirds were just the better team in this one, outplaying the Pheasants in nearly every aspect, leading to a fairly one sided (albeit low scoring) game with Eveleth advancing to the Semi Finals with a comfortable 2-0 shutout win, outshooting Marshall 39-17.

La Crosse Brewers vs St. Paul Victorias
Things got off to a picture perfect start for the V's, scoring twice in the opening period while essentially shutting down La Crosse. It was looking like another one sided game with St. Paul poised to run away with it. The second was a complete change of pace form the first, with La Crosse coming out flying to get on the board only 24 seconds in. The rest of the period was back and forth and all around even despite neither side scoring. The third was basically a complete inverse of the first with St. Paul seemingly losing the ability to do anything while La Crosse began to take over. Before long the game was tied at two and with just over 7 minutes left in regulation the Brewers got a 3 on 1 chance capped off by a backhand shot just under the bar to give the Brewers a 3-2 lead late in the game. The V's had a couple chances in the final minutes but could not convert, falling to the Brewers by a score of 3-2.

Let me know what you think, comments are appreciated!

WAY TO GO BREWERS!!!  Any time you can beat the V's in the Super Series, it's cause for celebration...now we're two wins away from bringin' the Cup home!

I'm gonna feel a bit guilty if we gotta beat Fridley to win it though...but hey, being the bad guy is fun.

Four for four on those predictions!

Dan O'Mac wrote:

Four for four on those predictions!

Assuming that your compliment was directed towards me, I am greatly humbled and I appreciate your kind words.