Posted by Section30  Yesterday 8:44 am | #271 |
1908 Standings pt. 1
Central Lakes Hockey League
The St. Cloud Hockey Club have claimed the Lake Bowl for the 4th time in club history and are heading to St. Paul to represent the CLHL in the Super Series. The Granites were the premier team in the league this year, finishing with 6 less losses than the next best team. Brainerd and Alexandria tied for second, both finishing with impressive 22-10-1 records. The only other club with a winning record at the end of the season was Staples. Sauk Rapids finished at .500 but had a league high 5 ties on the year. Princeton and Little Falls also found themselves tied at the end of the year, both finishing with 15-17-1 campaigns. Mille Lacs, Aitkin, Long Prairie, & Melrose were middling at best and finished with losing records. And finally at the bottom of the ladder we have Sauk Center who improved on their record from their inaugural season but still only managed to get 7 wins.
Headwater Hockey Association
We have a first time champion in the HHA with the Detroit Hockey Club taking home the Headwater Cup, turning a losing record a year ago into a championship just 12 months later. The Beltrami County clubs finished 2nd, 3rd, and 4th with the defending champs from Bemidji being the lowest finishers in the county. Blackduck and the Red Lake Nation finished on the podium, both breaking the 20 win threshold. There was a bit of a gap between the 4 and 5 teams with Park Rapids, Fergus Falls, and Pelican Rapids all finishing with losing records. Wadena had another rough go of things, but at least they weren’t 4 win Frazee.
Iron Range Hockey League
It was over before it started. The rest of the league can try, but the red menace continues to reign over the north. The defending MAHL Champions from Eveleth were dominant again this year, losing just two games all year (one against Grand Rapids and one against Keewatin) on their way to a record 8th Miners Memorial Cup. The title was almost a guarantee for Eveleth so it was a fight for second with Sparta and Soudan Mine battling until the very end with the Spartans edging out the Miners by just 2 points to finish in second. The other Vermillion Range club also did well, perhaps due to the lack of drama related to the strike over the summer, as Ely was the only other team to end with a winning record on their way to a fourth place finish. There really wasn’t much separating the rest of the league with Grand Rapids, Chisholm, Keewatin, Virginia, Hibbing, & Keewatin finishing only two wins apart. At the bottom of the league was Biwabik, the only club that failed to reach double digit wins for the year.
North Shore Hockey Association
The Duluth Hockey Club have finally won a trophy after 5 second place finishes in the last 7 years. Duluth had a really skilled team this year, leading them to their first 20 win season and first title since 1899. Last year’s champs from Two Harbors were again in the hunt but fell just short and had to settle for second. The middle of the table was very even and also pretty solid with Cloquet, Zenith City, & Superior all capable of winning on any given day but finishing about even on the year. Proctor was a punching bag again in their sophomore season, losing the season series against every other team in the league (although they did manage to win 2 games against Duluth, the only team they beat more than once.)
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Posted by Section30 Yesterday 8:51 am | #272 |
1908 Standings pt. 2
Northland Hockey League
The Northland League was truly wide open with just 16 points separating the first and last place finishers. Claiming the North Star Cup and punching their ticket to St. Paul was the Warroad Hockey Club who finished with a league best 17 wins. Their neighbors from Roseau weren’t far behind in second with Fort Frances and the defending champs from Kittson County tying for third. Morden was the last club to have a winning record with Pembina County going .500 for the year. Baudette and International Falls were both solid hockey teams that simply lost more than they won in a very competitive league. Speaking to the quality of the league is their last place finishers from Grafton who despite coming last had a pretty good hockey team all things considered, even getting to double digit wins for the year.
Red River Hockey League
We have a set of co-champions in the RRHL with Crookston and Thief River Falls both ending with 18-9-3 records. They will both be considered league champions, sharing ownership of the Red River Cup, but it will be Crookston that gets to represent the league in the Super Series. The Crooks won the tiebreaker, winning the season series with Thief River two games to one. Red Lake Falls was right there too, falling just 2 points short of the co-champs at season's end. Grand Forks had a good season but couldn’t repeat the magic from a year ago, dropping to fourth and setting a new MAHL record for ties in a season with 9. Their neighbors from across the border finished one spot behind them. East Grand Forks, Warren, & Moorhead all had seasons to be proud of, finishing above .500 and showing signs of improvement for all three clubs. There is a bit of a gap before we get to Fargo down in 8th with a losing record. Ada, Barnesville, & Mayville bring up the rear, failing to get to double digit win totals.
Minneapolis Hockey League
The Minneapolis Hockey League was a league of haves and have-nots with a drastic difference between the top and bottom of the table. Mill City defended their crown yet again, taking home the Washburn Cup for the 8th year in a row and 10th time in club history and becoming the first team to win 10 titles in any league. It wasn’t a given though with the Powderhorn Hockey Club knocking on the door but falling just short in the end, finishing just 2 points behind the Millers. Richfield bounced back after a three year decline, finishing with an impressive 20 wins on the season. The Lake Shore Hockey Club also had a 20 win season but finished 1 point behind the team some have been calling the “Tigers” due to their black and orange stripes. The last member of the “haves” is Minneapolis who had an impressive 18-10-4 campaign despite placing 5th. There was a massive gap between Minneapolis and West Minneapolis but Brooklyn finished right around their neighbors to the southwest with a 9-20-3 campaign. Anoka and Plymouth both suffered regressions this year, or perhaps the rest of the league just improved, but either way the two combined for just 8 wins against the rest of the league and 4 of those 8 coming against West Minneapolis.
St. Paul Hockey Association
After a three year absence and back-to-back second place finishes, the St. Paul Athletic Club are back on top of the St. Paul Hockey Association, bringing the Capital Cup back to the capital and getting the chance to defend their home ice as they represent the SPHA in the Super Series. Their rivals from the East Side came oh so close, falling just 3 points shy of their first title in club history. The back-to-back defending league champions, White Bear Lake, were in the hunt for most of the season but came up 6 points short and settled in third. Como Park was the fourth and final team to surpass 20 wins, finishing with a record of 20-10-3. The Wasps of West St. Paul had their best season in club history, being the last team to finish with a winning record in the SPHA this year. We had a couple ties at the end of the season with the Phoenix Athletic Club & South St. Paul tying for 6th and Stillwater & Hudson tying for 9th with North St. Paul stuck in the middle in 8th. The bottom two were Hastings and Rose who combined for a measly 8 wins against the rest of the league.
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Posted by Section30 Yesterday 8:57 am | #273 |
1908 Super Series Bracket
The committee met in St. Paul to seed the league champions during the first weekend of March. After a couple days of deliberation the second Super Series bracket was announced.
The defending champions from Eveleth were unanimously selected as the 1 seed with last year's runners up, Mill City, getting the 2 seed. The St. Paul Athletic Club was ranked 3rd but the 4 seed was much more debated. The committee split into two camps, one supporting St. Cloud and the other Duluth. In the end it was decided that the Granites of St. Cloud would be the final favorites in the 4 spot with Duluth getting the 5 seed, setting up a highly anticipated quarterfinal matchup. The Red River champs from Crookston earned the 6 spot leaving Warroad and Detroit as the final teams yet to be seeded. Detroit was eventually picked as the 7 seed and will face Mill City. The committee was skeptical of Warroad due to their lower win total, but they may be overlooking the parity of the Northland League which left the 8 seed battle tested as they head to their first Super Series.
Who are you pulling for? What are your predictions? Let me know, comments are always appreciated!
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