Posted by Section30  5/28/2025 4:10 pm | #61 |
1899 Standings
Arrowhead Hockey Association
It was a two horse race for the Miners Memorial Cup with Duluth and Two Harbors far and away the best teams in the inaugural season of the AHA. Duluth would go on to clinch the trophy with just one more win than Two Harbors. The two combined for just three losses on the season, they split the season series 1-1 and Two Harbors lost on the road to the third place Soudan Mine Team. Those were the only teams to finish with winning records with Eveleth, Zenith City, Queen City, Superior, & Hibbing rounding out the table, all within two wins of each other.
Red River Hockey League
There was some shuffling at the top of the RRHL this year with Thief River Falls ending the season atop the table. They clinched their first ever Red River Cup title in rather comfortable fashion too, finishing three wins ahead of second place Crookston. Last year’s champions, Kittson County, and Warren finished tied for third with .500 records and Pembina County ended with just two wins on the year, losing the season series against every other team in the league.
Twin Cities Hockey Association
Mill City was the team to beat this year, getting back on top of the Twin Cities to bring the Washburn Cup back to Minneapolis after finishing the year 11-4-1. The St. Paul sides remained in the top three, both finishing with winning records but the East Siders finishing two points ahead of the Athletics. The Minneapolis Club was actually pretty good, splitting or winning the season series against everyone but Mill City who beat them in all four meetings, despite that they still finished with a losing record for the year. In last place we had Stillwater who finished their sophomore season with just three wins to their name.
Independents
Bemidji played the most games of any independent club, playing each Indy team at least once and losing just one of their four matchups. Brainerd played the next most with three contests and ended up winning one, losing one, & tying one. St. Cloud only had two games, losing to Brainerd before upsetting Bemidji on the road. And finally there’s Park Rapids who challenged Bemidji and wound up getting their asses handed to them in front of their friends and families in the town's first ever hockey game.
And thus concludes the 1898/99 season. Let me know what you think, comments are always appreciated!
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Posted by Steelman 5/28/2025 7:29 pm | #62 |
Arrowhead = Stripe City. Haha. Seriously though, Duluth stands out just by having a wordmark and no stripes. Nice to see some early success by TRF.
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Posted by Section30 6/05/2025 4:45 pm | #63 |
1899/00
As we approach a new century, hockey is beginning to boom in Minnesota. There’s a new league that formed and the number of teams competing in the now four Minnesota-based leagues has also nearly doubled, going from 22 clubs to 40 for the upcoming season.
Formerly Independent clubs Bemidji, Brainerd, Park Rapids, & St. Cloud have come together with 6 other nearby communities to form a new hockey league in the heart of the state. The aptly named “Central Minnesota Hockey League” is located in the middle of lake country and is based out of Brainerd. Each team will play one home and one road game against the rest of the league. Teams will compete for the Lake Bowl, going to the team with the best record at the end of the season.
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Posted by Section30 6/05/2025 4:46 pm | #64 |
There’s a lot of new teams to cover so we’ll start in the Arrowhead where we have three new clubs.
Cloquet Hockey Club
The Cloquet Hockey Club is based in Cloquet, MN (kloh-KAY) but also represents nearby Scanlon. Cloquet is a village of about 3,100 in Carlton County located 25 miles southeast of Duluth. It is a town reliant on the lumber industry. Born out of three lumber mills; it has remained a major center of the logging industry, earning the nickname “Wood City”. The team wears red sweaters with a white sash and script C for Cloquet over the players hearts. They play their home games outdoors on Pinehurst Pond.
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Posted by Section30 6/05/2025 4:47 pm | #65 |
Ely Hockey Club
The Ely Hockey Club is based in Ely, MN (EE-lee) but also represents nearby Winton. Ely is a city of about 3,700 located just 16 miles south of the Canadian border. Ely joins the Soudan Mine Hockey Club as the second team on the Vermilion Iron Range and like other Iron Range towns is almost entirely reliant on the iron ore mining industry. The team wears white sweaters with “ELY” in blue on the front and they will play their home games outdoors on a frozen Shagawa Lake.
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Posted by Section30 6/05/2025 4:47 pm | #66 |
Grand Rapids Hockey Club
The Grand Rapids Hockey Club is based in Grand Rapids, MN but also represents nearby La Prairie. Grand Rapids is a city of about 1,500 and is the county seat of Itasca County. Grand Rapids is a lumber community, growing in recent years with lumberjacks shipping millions of logs down the river. The town also sits at the uppermost limit for steamboats travelling up the Mississippi. The team has decided to wear orange and white stripes with a black GR monogram sewn on the front. They play their home games on the north side of town on Crystal Lake.
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Posted by Section30 6/06/2025 9:31 am | #67 |
Moving west we have 6 new clubs helping form the newest league in the state, the Central Minnesota Hockey League.
Aitkin Hockey Club
The Aitkin Hockey Club is based in Aitkin, MN (AY-kin). Aitkin is a city of over 1,700 and is the county seat of Aitkin County. The town was born thanks to the Northern Pacific Railroad and has grown into a key city in the logging and riverboat industries. They wear blue, red, and white stripes and will play their home games at the Aitkin County Fairgrounds which can seat about 250 spectators.
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Posted by Section30 6/06/2025 9:31 am | #68 |
Alexandria Hockey Club
The Alexandria Hockey Club is based in Alexandria, MN but also represents the nearby communities of Kensington, Carlos, Garfield, Brandon & Forada. Alexandria is a city of about 2,700 and is the county seat of Douglas County. There are some who claim that Vikings made it to the Alexandria area as early as the 14th Century after a Swedish immigrant named Olof Öhman found a stone on his property late in 1898. The stone, now known as the Kensington Runestone, has nordic runes engraved claiming a group of Eight Götalanders and 22 Northmen arrived in what is now Kensington, MN in the year 1362. The team wears white sweaters with an old english A sewn on the front in red for Alexandria. They will play their home games on the frozen pond at Noonan Park.
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Posted by Section30 6/06/2025 9:32 am | #69 |
Detroit Hockey Club
The Detroit Hockey Club is based in Detroit, MN but also represents nearby Audubon, Lake Park & Callaway. Detroit is a city of about 2,100 and is the county seat of Becker County. The city was once a resting place on the Red River Oxcart Trails before growing with the Northern Pacific Railroad coming to town. The team wears red sweaters with a white old english D on the front and they will play their home games on Detroit Lake.
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Posted by Section30 6/06/2025 9:33 am | #70 |
Fergus Falls Hockey Club
The Fergus Falls Hockey Club is based in Fergus Falls, MN but also draws from Elizabeth, Foxhome & Dalton. Fergus Falls is a city of about 6,100 and is the county seat of Otter Tail County. The city is situated along the dividing line between the forests to the east and great plains to the west with numerous lakes left behind from melted glaciers. The team has decided to wear sweaters of alternating orange & maroon stripes, the favorite colors of one of the players' wives. They will play their home games outdoors on a frozen Lake Alice.
