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Bloomington-Minneapolis Jr. Stars
The Origin's of todays United States Hockey
League (USHL) can be traced back to the early 1970s and
the launch of what was known as the Midwest
Junior Hockey League. The MJHL featured teams in
Chicago, Fargo-Moorhead, Minneapolis, St. Cloud, St.
Paul and Thunder Bay when it opened for business in
1973. In its original form, the league’s existence was
brief but successful. The 1976–77 season was to be the
MJHL’s last, concluding a four-season span that produced
20 NHL draft selections.
Despite its rapid success, the league’s strength dwindled
a bit both on the ice and off, leading to the circuit’s
closure following the 1976–77 season. Without a league,
three MJHL teams pondered the future in the summer of
1977. Eventually the clubs contacted the minor-pro
United States Hockey League, a circuit that had fallen on
hard times after a successful run that began in the 1940s.
A unique merger was formed, with the three junior teams
(Bloomington Junior Stars, Austin Mavericks, St. Paul
Vulcans) and three remaining pro teams (Sioux City
Musketeers, Waterloo Black Hawks, Green Bay Bobcats)
gathered under the USHL banner. League governors
decided on a two-division format, with the junior-aged
teams in the Midwest Division and the professionals in
the U.S. Division. The teams played an interlocking
schedule that was, predictably, dominated by the professionals.
But the arrangement still proved beneficial for
the juniors, as several parlayed the experience into
NCAA Division I scholarship offers and, later, professional
hockey careers.
The USHL’s split existence would last just two seasons.
The minor-pro wing of the league folded following
the 1978–79 season, providing junior hockey operators
with the opportunity to redefine the circuit. The 1979–80
season was the league’s first as an entirely junior arrangement,
signaling the dawn of what has become America’s
top junior hockey league. Opening as a seven-team circuit, the
USHL’s first seasonas an entirely junior-aged league featured
three teams in the Minnesota hockey hotbed of Minneapolis-St. Paul
and a fourth just over an hour away in Austin. The USHL
was a cozy contingent to say the least. The Hennepin
Nordiques claimed the league’s first Anderson Cup
championship, outdistancing the second-place
Bloomington Junior Stars by a slim two-point margin...
MORE COMING SOON....
Team Timeline
Minnesota Junior Stars MJHL 1973-75
Bloomington Junior Stars MJHL 1975-77
Bloomington Junior Stars USHL 1977-79
Bloomington Junior Stars USHL 1979-84
Minneapolis Stars USHL 1984-85
1979-1984 Team Logo
1984-1985 Team Logo
Bloomington Jr. Stars vs. Austin Mavericks game action
