Alternate History Sports / MAHL Redux

**Posted by Sevsdast** Yesterday 8:20 am

Here is a poster from the Eveleth vs Superior game that took place in the 1901-1902 season, from the small city of Eveleth trying their hardest to promote the game to their peers.

Last edited by Sevsdast (Yesterday 8:21 am)

**Posted by Section30** Yesterday 8:53 am

Sevsdast wrote:

Here is a poster from the Eveleth vs Superior game that took place in the 1901-1902 season, from the small city of Eveleth trying their hardest to promote the game to their peers.

Very cool, I always love to see fan art!

**Posted by Section30** Yesterday 8:56 am

Midway through the season, on December 17th, a pair of brothers named Orville & Wilbur Wright completed the first controlled, sustained flight of an engine-powered, heavier-than-air aircraft in Kitty Hawk, NC. The Wright Brothers are credited with inventing, building, & flying the first airplane; revolutionizing transportation and giving humanity the ability to fly for the first time.

Here in Minnesota, we were playing hockey.

1904 Standings

**Posted by Section30** Yesterday 8:57 am

Arrowhead Hockey Association
The red reign of terror has come to an end with Two Harbors finally dethroning the four-time defending champs to clinch the first title in club history. The Two Harbors area had been struck with another tragedy prior to this season when the Belle P. Cross wrecked off the shores of Castle Danger back in April 1903. It was a three horse race for the Miners Memorial Cup with the aforementioned Two Harbors team fighting neck and neck with Duluth and Eveleth at the top of the table. The rest of the league was actually very evenly matched with no teams being particularly “bad” despite all finishing with losing records. Hibbing, Superior, & Ely round out the top half of the standings with Chisholm, Virginia, Zenith City, Grand Rapids, Cloquet, & Soudan Mine filling out the bottom half with very little separating them.

**Posted by Section30** Yesterday 8:58 am

Central Minnesota Hockey League
The St. Cloud Hockey Club has gone back-to-back, claiming the Lake Cup for the third time in the last four years with a dominant 19-5 campaign. The Granites were in a league of their own, finishing 10 points ahead of the next best team by season's end. Brainerd and Detroit both had good seasons but weren’t quite up to the level of St. Cloud, finishing second and third respectively. The Blackduck Hockey Club made massive improvements in their sophomore season, going from 5 wins to 13 in the span of one year to finish in fourth. Aitkin and Park Rapids were the only other squads to finish with winning records with Little Falls finishing right at .500 for the year. Fergus Falls, Pelican Rapids, & Alexandria were middle of the pack but ended up on the losing side more often than not while Wadena, Sauk Rapids, & most notably Bemidji all had seasons they would like to forget. Bemidji isn’t far removed from their first Lake Bowl, going from the top of the ladder all the way to the bottom in just five years' time.

**Posted by Section30** Yesterday 8:59 am

Red River Hockey League
We have a first time champion up in the RRHL with the Red Lake Falls Hockey Club taking home the Red River Cup with a win in the final game of the season. RLF came into the contest tied at the top of the standings with their rivals, Thief River Falls, and as fate would have it they were scheduled to meet in Thief River for the final game of the season. The visitors walked away with a 6-4 win, sweeping the season series 2-0 and clinching the Red River Cup, preventing TRF from repeating as champs. There was a distinct split between the top and bottom halves of the league this year with East Grand Forks, Pembina County, & Crookston keeping in the hunt and finishing the season with winning records. There was a four win gap between the 5th place and 6th place finishers with Fargo, Kittson County, Warren, Grand Forks, & Moorhead bringing up the rear.

**Posted by Section30** Yesterday 9:00 am

Minneapolis Hockey League
Same sh-t, different league. The Mill City Hockey Club was far and away the best team in the new Minneapolis Hockey League, winning the Washburn Cup for the fourth consecutive season and 6th time overall. It was a battle for second place with the Millers clearly destined for the title since day one. Richfield exceeded expectations, due in large part to having two former Mill City players on their roster, players from Richfield who played for Mill City before getting their own team. They were joined by Lake Shore & Anoka who each reached double digit win totals and finished with winning records. Powderhorn and Minneapolis were both ok, getting wins here and there but ultimately finishing nowhere near contention. Then in last place we had West Minneapolis who really struggled in their first year of play, finishing their inaugural season with a .166 win percentage.

**Posted by Section30** Yesterday 9:05 am

St. Paul Hockey Association
The premier team in the capital city remains the St. Paul Athletic Club, taking home the Capital Cup in the SPHA’s inaugural season, their third title in team history. The season started out pretty even, but eventually it turned into a two team battle for the title between the Saints and White Bear Lake who both managed to put together 20 win campaigns with just 3 losses each. The tiebreaker came down to ties with White Bear tying two more times than St. Paul to give the Athletic Club the Cup. Hudson, South St. Paul, East Side, & Stillwater were middle of the pack and finished right around even in wins and losses. Como Park & the Phoenix Club were right there too, but were a little less skilled and failed to get to double digit wins. Down in the basement we have West St. Paul and Rose with 6 wins each. WSP did manage to set a new record for the most ties in one season with 7.

Thus concludes the 1903/04 season and the first decade of Minnesota hockey.

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