High school hockey in Minnesota predates the official documented start of: 1945 by almost 40 years where youth high school hockey can be traced to the late 1890’s to
early 1900’s (depending on what source you read or investigate.) The then popular game
of ice polo was evolving and hockey was taking over as the more popular winter pastime.
Hockey had spread south from Canada to communities such as: Warroad, Roseau, Warren,
Hallock, Argyle, Stephen, Thief River Falls, Crookston and Baudette. Hockey eventually
flourished in the small range city of Eveleth, and Duluth. As the sport grew in popularity
throughout the state in the men’s leagues, more rinks started to emerge and along with it the game of hockey gained tremendous popularity among Minnesota’s youth. The first schools to form a varsity team in Minnesota were: St. Paul Mechanic Arts, St. Paul Central, St. Paul Academy, Minneapolis North, Minneapolis East, Minneapolis West and Minneapolis Central. By 1900 two of the schools, St. Paul Central and St. Paul Mechanic Arts, were playing in a four-team men’s senior amateur circuit called the Twin City Senior Hockey League along with the St. Paul and Minneapolis Hockey Clubs. Most of the games were played at the old Star Roller Rink located at Fourth Avenue and 11th Street, which had been converted from a roller rink with natural ice for hockey in 1900. Several teams that year competed for the state amateur “mythical” championship, which featured teams from Minneapolis, St. Paul, Duluth and Two Harbors. By 1909 Roseau and Warroad began their high school hockey rivalry which continues on today. St. Paul Public High School hockey championships were held for the first time as well in 1909. By 1914 the Minneapolis High School Hockey Conference, which included East, West, North, and Central, as well as the St. Paul City Conference teams: Mechanic Arts, Central, Humboldt and Johnson, whom all maintained their very own school maintained outdoor rinks for team play. During the 1920’s the metro teams - tired of playing each other - began playing the northern teams more
frequently. One of the first “north vs. south” games was in
1922 when St. Paul Central defeated Duluth Central (5-3) in
Duluth. On March 19, 1923, Eveleth beat St. Paul Mechanic
Arts (9-2) for the second state “mythical state championship”,
an event that last took place in 1900. By 1926, the Northeastern
Minnesota High School League was formed with teams from
Duluth (Central and Cathedral) and the Iron Range Cities:
Duluth, Eveleth, Chisholm, Virginia and Hibbing. High School
hockey nonetheless was very popular throughout the entire
state through the mid to late thirties. By 1925 natural ice was
installed in the White Bear Lake Hippodrome at the Ramsey
County Fairgrounds in White Bear Lake, and it happened to
be the only indoor facility in the Twin Cities to possess indoor
ice for the next 25 years. With the new White Bear Lake rink in operation the Bears high school team was resurrected and with it became the first Twin City suburb to ice a high school team. By the end of the 1920’s hockey was sponsored by some 25 high schools in Minnesota. The 1930’s however were a difficult time in America during the Great Depression forcing many public schools to drop their hockey programs. While some communities were forced to cancel hockey, others embraced youth hockey as an inexpensive form of entertainment and with it the game flourished. High School hockey briefly resurged in the late 1930’s but was slowed due to the impact of WWII in the early 1940’s. At the conclusion of WWII hockey was thwarted back into popularity not only in youth hockey, but in the college ranks and Minnesota was leading the way with Mr. Gene Aldrich “driving the bus” for youth hockey’s movement in Minnesota.
The late Gene Aldrich, former director of athletics for junior and senior high schools in St. Paul, had one child, a son named John. Gene Aldrich was, in a sense, also the father of another offspring- the annual Minnesota State High School Hockey Tournament, the first and most successful one of its type in the United States. Gene conceived the tournament in 1944, and because of his lobbying it was born in the St. Paul Auditorium shortly past 2 p.m. on Thursday, February 15, 1945, when the Thief River Falls Prowlers, and the White Bear Lake Bears faced off before 856 spectators.Thief River Falls won that first game 3-2, even though White Bear Lake led 1-0 after one period on a goal at 9:29 by
defenseman George Kieffer, who, starting from his own blue
line, carried the puck in alone and shot it past Prowler goalie
Ralph Engelstad for the tournament’s very first score.
(Engelstad much later in life would donate $100 Million+ to
River Falls high school to build 2 rinks that bear his name
today) And so it began, Minnesota’s biggest single athletic
event, since George Kieffer scored that first goal.
The 1945 tournament consisted of eight teams, from so-called “regions” of Minnesota, that were invited to play for three
consecutive days, Thursday through Saturday, to determine the state champion. Although the regions (today called classes A and AA) have been realigned and teams now must qualify through playoffs, the basic structure of single-elimination play to determine consolation, third-place, second-place, and championship winners remains the same as it was in the beginning.
Joining Thief River Falls (Region 8) and White Bear Lake (Region 2) in that first tournament in 1945 were: Rochester (Region 1), Granite Falls (Region 3), St. Paul Washington (Region 4), St. Cloud Tech (Region 5), Staples (Region 6), and Eveleth (Region 7). Eveleth’s Golden Bears won the championship by edging Thief River Falls (4-3) in the final game, which contrasted with the drubbings Eveleth had inflicted on its first two opponents, Granite Falls (16-0) and Washington (10-0). Washington won third place by beating St. Cloud Tech (7-1) and White Bear Lake shut out Granite Falls (4-0) for the consolation title. The all-tournament team of players selected for their excellence consisted of Neil Celley, Clem Cossalter, Pat Finnegan, and Wally Grant of Eveleth, Bob Baker, Jim Doyle, and Wes Hovie of Thief River Falls, and John Okoneski, the goalie of Washington. The Celley-Finnegan-Grant line, one still revered in Eveleth, scored 23 of Eveleth’s 30 tournament goals. It was Grant’s two third-period goals that brought Eveleth from behind to win in the championship game.Although they fell victims to Eveleth in what is still the worst defeat in tournament history, the Granite Falls Granites of 1945 have become one of the most famous teams in Minnesota hockey lore, especially to those who cheer for the underdog. As did Staples, the Granites came to the tournament without regular uniforms. They were accustomed to playing in long pants and sweatshirts, with perhaps the most storied feature of their outfits being the newspapers and magazines that the players stuffed into their pants for shin guards. At the start of the tournament, Granite Falls was loaned uniforms for the tournament borrowed from St. Paul Monroe High School, although goalie Gorman Velde stuck with his trusty football helmet to help protect himself from the 31 shots that Eveleth whizzed his way. Once the game began, unexpected delays occurred; the Granites were unacquainted with blue lines and offside rules, so referee John Gustafson provided instructions as to how the game was to be played. Granite Falls won its next game, downing Rochester (2-1) in the first round of consolation play on Friday. The Granites came to the tournament the next year for their second and last time, losing both games they played. Of all the teams in the 1945 tournament, only Staples never returned.In 1945 even the Eveleth team wore pieced-together uniforms. The jerseys were borrowed from the powerful Eveleth Junior College, and the breezers and skates were secondhand from the National Hokey League’s Chicago Blackhawks team, which then trained in Virginia, Minnesota. Eveleth was, however, prepared in the departments that count most: skating, passing, and shooting. With only 28 high schools in Minnesota having hockey squads registered as of 1945, teams such as Eveleth actually played other high schools infrequently; the Golden Bears were usually matched against amateur junior and senior teams from the Iron Range in games in which 20-minute periods, rather than the customary 12-minute periods of high school games, were typical. Accordingly, Eveleth dominated the early tournaments. The 1945 team was, therefore, more than a novelty; Cliff Thompson, who coached Eveleth into 12 tournaments, rated his first championship among his best teams.With the first tournament over, Aldrich and his financial backer, Elmer Engelbert, assessed its success to decide whether to continue the next year. Aldrich had in fact planned the tournament carefully, arranging for its financing, civic promotion, and news coverage. Receipts from the attendance of 8,434 allowed Aldrich to reimburse Engelbert and then pay expenses. Aldrich had rented the Auditorium for $429.19. Liability insurance was also modest by today’s standards- $58.00. Tickets were printed for $159.84 and sold for commissions of $155.17. Trophies and medals cost $232.66. A major expense was $1,848.34 for lodging and meals for teams at the St. Paul Hotel. The teams also had traveling expenses ranging from $187.00 for Thief River Falls, which came the farthest, down to nothing for the local Washington team. The expenses for the Board of Control of the Minnesota State High School League were $236.50. Officials, trainers, and scorers were paid $242.00. Finally, after the final deduction of $46.12 for miscellaneous expenses (pucks, signs, and towels), a profit of $135.06 remained. This was given to the High School League. So, Aldrich considered the new arrival sufficiently healthy to rate another try in 1946.Attendance increased to 11,035 for the 1946 tournament, whose balance matured amazingly beyond that if its predecessor; two games went into overtime
and seven were decided by one goal. Spurred by a hat-trick by the mysterious
“Masked Marvel”, Roseau won the championship game (6-0) over Rochester.
Before losing to Roseau, Rochester scored one of the tournament’s first upsets by
surprising Eveleth (2-1) in a strange semifinal game. Against Eveleth, coach Cliff
Monrud’s Rockets were deployed in their defensive zone to form a cordon around
their goalie, Clark Wilder, and sent passes to such forwards as Ray Purvis, who
broke away for both Rochester goals. Eveleth took third place by defeating St.
Paul Johnson (1-0), and St. Cloud Tech beat White Bear Lake for consolation
honors, again (1-0). The other entries were Granite Falls and Minneapolis West.
The tournament was now an established event being run both in control, and
financially as well by the Minnesota State High School League as it is today.
From 1945 through 1991 the tournament consisted of a single class, eight team tournament instead of the present day two class (AA and A) tournament.
Private schools were not allowed to play in the Tournament until the 1970s. In
1992-93, the tournament was composed of Tier I and II teams. This two-year experiment sent the top team from each of the eight sections to the Tier I portion of the tournament and the remaining teams conducted a playoff to determine who would be included in the Tier II tournament. In 1994, the dual class system was adopted and teams were placed into a class structure based on school enrollments.
Since 1994, the MSHSL's process to determine section assignments for boys' hockey is based on school enrollments and activity classifications. The basic premise is to place the largest 64 schools divided into two classes: AA and the remaining high schools in Class A. Both Classes are then divided into 8 Sections each (157 high schools- approximately 256 schools - and over 6,500 participants in total due to cooperative team arrangements) field sanctioned varsity teams competing in the Minnesota State High School League (MSHSL). Teams are placed into their section assignments with geographic location as a primary consideration. High schools initially placed in Class A have the option to play at the Class AA level.Beginning with the 2007 state tournament, the top four teams in each class will be seeded. Coaches of the participating schools will vote to determine the seeded teams the Sunday before the state tournament. The four teams are then bracketed so that if the seeded teams advance, the top seed will play the fourth seed while the second and third seeds will play each other. The quarterfinal opponents of the seeded teams will be determined by a blind draw.Today having prospered, high school hockey players throughout Minnesota participate in a maximum of 25 contests, excluding the Minnesota State Boys' High School Hockey Tournament. Teams currently play three 17-minute periods to comprise a game. A lengthened period time was recently adopted by the Minnesota State High School League. Boys hockey concludes their season with a four day tournament in March, notably called the “tourney” that features sixteen teams competing for championships in both classes, A and AA. The tournament is now held at the X-cel Energy Center in St. Paul, home of the NHL’s Minnesota Wild. Based on tournament attendance, ice hockey is one of the most popular high school sports in the state. Standing room only crowds converge from around Minnesota to watch the state’s best high school teams in action with record breaking attendance each year of 120,000+ spectators. The tournament is a showcase for Minnesota sports that can draw on a tradition built by its participants and supporters, who have served in a way befitting that of Gene Aldrich back when it all began in 1945.
Source in part: "Skate for goal" Author: Gary L. Phillips, 1982; Don Clark Notes Collection
State Boys’ Hockey Tournament Leading Scorers — 1945-2008
1945 Wally Grant, Eveleth 9 4 13
Pat Finnegan, Eveleth 8 5 131946 Rube Bjorkman, Roseau 4 1 5
Bob Harris, Roseau 3 2 51947 Rube Bjorkman, Roseau 6 0 6
Dave Reipke, St. Paul Johnson 5 1 6 Francis Tholl, St.Cloud 4 2 6 Jim Broker, St. Cloud 4 2 6 John Matchefts, Eveleth 3 3 61948 John Matchefts, Eveleth 9 5 14
1949 John Mayasich, Eveleth 7 4 11
1950 John Mayasich, Eveleth 11 1 12
Ray Beauchamp, Williams 5 7 121951 John Mayasich, Eveleth 15 3 18
1952 Jack Petroske, Hibbing 3 8 11
1953 Roger Bertelson, St. Paul Johnson 4 1 5
Jack Stoskopf, Warroad 4 1 5 Mike Castellano, Eveleth 3 2 5 Gerald Palkovich, Eveleth 2 3 51954 Dick Jinks, St. Paul Harding 8 0 8
1955 Merv Meredith, Minneapolis Southwest 5 1 6
1956 Cliff Strand, Thief River Falls 4 3 7
1957 Oscar Mahle, International Falls 7 1 8
1958 Ken Pederson, South St. Paul 6 2 8
1959 Dan Cullen, International Falls 6 1 7
Jim Stordahl, Roseau 4 3 71960 Bill Silvertson, Duluth East 5 1 6
Jim Ross, Duluth East 3 3 61961 Craig Falkman, St. Paul Johnson 5 0 5
Jon Hall, Minneapolis Roosevelt 0 5 5 Tom Brindley, St. Paul Johnson 2 3 51962 Glen Blumer, International Falls 3 3 6
Jim Amidon, International Falls 4 4 8 Doug Woog, South St. Paul 2 4 61963 Jim Amidon, International Falls 4 4 8
1964 Rob Shattuck, St. Paul Johnson 3 4 7
1965 Pete Fichuk, International Falls 4 3 7
1966 Bob Tok, Greenway, Coleraine 5 3 8
1967 Craig Sarner, North St. Paul 2 9 11
1968 Mike Antonovich, Greenway, Coleraine 3 6 9
1969 Mike Antonovich, Greenway, Coleraine 7 1 8
1970 Paul Miller, Minneapolis Southwest 4 2 6
Lee Marshall, Warroad 3 3 6 Frank Krahn, Warroad 1 5 61971 Jerry Meier, Hastings 3 2 5
Dave Otness, Edina 2 3 51972 John Shewchuck, South St. Paul 2 4 6
Warren Miller, South St. Paul 2 4 61973 Joe Micheletti, Hibbing 7 4 11
1974 John Rothstein, Grand Rapids 5 2 7
1975 Erin Roth, Grand Rapids 3 7 10
1976 Steve Christoff, Richfield 5 4 9
1977 Scott Lecy, Rochester John Marshall 5 2 7
Scott Kleinendorst, Grand Rapids 4 3 71978 Aaron Broten, Roseau 4 3 7
1979 Aaron Broten, Roseau 6 6 12
1980 Jay North, Bloomington Jefferson 4 3 7
Scott Richart, Irondale 6 1 7 John Bader, Irondale 2 5 71981 Tony Kellin, Grand Rapids 3 6 9
1982 Steve Bianchi, Bloomington Jefferson 1 6 7
Jim Johannson, Rochester Mayo 5 2 71983 Todd Okerlund, Burnsville 2 6 8
1984 Paul Ranheim, Edina 4 3 7
1985 Tod Hartje, Anoka 3 3 6
Pat Marolt, Hibbing 4 2 61986 Scott Bloom, Burnsville 5 5 10
1987 Jason Miller, Bloomington Kennedy 6 2 8
John Young, South St. Paul 2 6 81988 Larry Olimb, Warroad 2 4 6
Kevin Degel, Bloomington Jefferson 0 6 6 Chris Marinucci, Grand Rapids 1 5 61989 Sean Rice, Bloomington Jefferson 5 3 8
1990 Chris Gotziaman, Roseau 4 2 6
Justin McHugh, Minnetonka 4 2 61991 Mark Strobel, Hill-Murray 4 3 7
1992 -- I Joe Bianchi, Bloomington Jefferson 6 1 7
Tim McDonald, Bloomington Jefferson 4 3 7 Jon Hillman, Blaine 3 4 7 Mike O’Connell, Apple Valley 3 4 71992 -- II Scott Lynch, Minneapolis Roosevelt 4 5 9
1993 -- I Jamie Langenbrunner, Cloquet 3 10 13
Sergei Petrov, Cloquet 6 7 131993 -- II Mark Amundsen, Lake of the Woods 6 4 10
1994 -- AA Ryan Kraft, Moorhead 8 1 9
1994 -- A Brian Bolf, Hibbing 2 8 10
1995 -- AA Dave Spehar, Duluth East 9 0 9
1995 -- A Ryan Dolder, Hutchinson 7 2 9
1996 -- AA Dave Spehar, Duluth East 9 4 13
1996 -- A Josh Heppner, Warroad 1 6 7
Kaine Martell, Warroad 2 5 7 John Pohl, Red Wing 5 2 71997 -- AA Brian Nelson, Moorhead 5 0 5
1997 -- A Dom Talarico, Proctor 3 7 10
1998 -- AA Jeff Taffe, Hastings 3 4 7
1998 -- A Johnny Pohl, Red Wing 3 8 11
1999 -- AA Mike Klema, Roseau 7 2 9
1999 -- A Troy Riddle, Benilde-St. Margaret’s 7 2 9
2000 -- AA Brandon Bochenski, Blaine 3 4 7
2000 -- A Todd O’Hara, Breck School 3 3 6
2001 -- AA Trevor Stewart, Elk River Area 4 5 9
2001-- A Ryan Miller, Fergus Falls 7 2 9
BJ Radovich, Hermantown 5 4 92002 -- AA Kevin Rollwagen, Academy of Holy Angels 3 4 7
Jimmy Kilpatrick, Academy of Holy Angels 1 6 72002 -- A Brandon Harrington, *Rochester Lourdes 3 5 8
2003 -- AA Josh Frider, Moorhead 4 1 5
2003 -- A Shea Walters, Hibbing 3 6 9
2004 -- AA Rob Johnson, Duluth East 5 3 8
2004 -- A Blake Wheeler, Breck School, Golden Valley 6 5 11
2005 -- AA Matt Overman, Bloomington Jefferson 4 2 6
Josh Levine, Bloomington Jefferson 2 4 6 Jay Barriball, Academy of Holy Angels 4 2 62005 -- A Quinn Ellingson, Albert Lea 5 2 7
Cory Ellertson, Albert Lea 4 3 72006 -- AA Ben Kinne, Cretin-Derham Hall, St. Paul 3 6 9
2006 -- A Karl Gilbert, Hermantown 5 3 8
2007 -- AA Matt Reber, Edina 1 6 7
Tyler Barnes, Burnsville 4 3 72007 -- A Drew LeBlanc, Hermantown 4 4 8
2008 -- AA Ben Goff, Woodbury 5 3 8
2008 -- A Ben Hanowski, Little Falls 7 3 10
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63 Years of Tournament History and Team Photos!!
1904 Duluth Central High School Hockey Donated by the RIP/ Tommy/ Butch Williams Collection
St. Paul Mechanic Arts were a high school hockey "powerhouse" in the early 1920's**
1945-2008 State Tournament complete year-by-year team rosters/results and team photos
Academy of Holy Angels Stars: Royal, Vegas Gold:
2002, 2005
Albert Lea Tigers: Cherry and Blue
Alexandria Cardinals: Red and Black
Andover Huskies: Black and Gold
Anoka Tornadoes: Maroon and White: 2003
Apple Valley Eagles: Brown, Gold and White: 1996
Austin Packers: Red & White
Bagley/Fosston Flyers: Maroon and Gold
Becker/Big Lake/Milaca Bulldogs: Blue and White
Bemidji Lumberjacks: Navy Blue and White
Benilde-St. Margaret's Red Knights: Red and White:
1999, 2001
Blaine Bengals: Navy, Columbia Blue, and White:
2000
Blake Bears: Royal, Kelly, White
Bloomington Jefferson Jaguars: Columbia Blue, Silver:
1981, 1989, 1992-93, 1994
Bloomington Kennedy Eagles: Navy Blue, Gold: 1987
Brainerd Warriors:Blue and White
Breck Mustangs: Blue and Gold: 2000, 2004
Buffalo Bison: Purple and White
Burnsville Blaze: Black and Gold: 1985-86
Cambridge-Isanti Bluejackets: Royal Blue and White
Centennial Cougars: Scarlet and White: 2004
Champlin Park Rebels: Navy, Silver, White
Chaska Hawks: Purple and Gold
Chisago Lakes Wildcats: Forest Green, Gold, Black
Chisholm/Cook Bluestreaks: Red and Blue
Cloquet/Esko/Carlton Lumberjacks: Purple and White
Coon Rapids Cardinals: Red and White
Cretin-Derham Hall Raiders: Purple and Gold: 2006
Crookston Pirates: Navy and Gold
Crosby-Ironton/Aitkin Rangers: Maroon & White
Delano/Rockford/Watertown-Mayer Tigers: Orange
and Black
Detroit Lakes Lakers: Red and White
Dodge County Wildcats: Scarlet, Blue & White
Duluth Central Trojans: Red and White
Duluth Denfeld Hunters: Maroon and Gold
Duluth East Greyhounds: Red and Grey: 1960, 1995,
1998
Duluth Marshall Hilltoppers: Black and Gold
Eagan Wildcats: Royal, Kelly, Silver, White
East Grand Forks Green Wave: Green, White and Red
Eastview Lightning: Black, Blue, White, Silver
Eden Prairie Eagles: Scarlet and Black
Edina Hornets: Green and White: 1969, 1971, 1974*,
1978*, 1979*, 1982, 1984, 1988, 1997
*From 1972 to 1981, the Edina School District operated
two high schools-- Edina East and Edina West--each with
their own respective sports teams. The State Hockey
Championship was won by Edina East in 74, 78 and 79.
Elk River Elks: Red, White, Black: 2001
Ely Timberwolves: Red and White
Eveleth-Gilbert/Mesabi East Golden Bears: Gold &
Black: 1945, 1948-51, 1993, 1998
Fairmont Cardinals: Cardinal and White
Faribault Falcons: Green, Black and White
Farmington Tigers: Orange and Black
Fergus Falls Otters: Maroon and Gold
Forest Lake Rangers: Maroon and Gold
Grand Rapids Indians/Thunderhawks: Orange, White
and Black: 1975-1976, 1980
Greenway Raiders: Kelly Green and White: 1967-68,
1992
Hastings Radiers: Royal Blue, Gold
Henry Sibley Warriors: Red and Gold
Hermantown Hawks: Blue and Gold: 2007
Hibbing Bluejackets: Navy Blue and White: 1952, 1973
Hill-Murray Pioneers: Green, White and Black: 1983,
1991, 2008
Holy Family Catholic/Waconia Fire: Forest Green
and White
Hopkins Royals: Royal Blue and Silver
Hutchinson Tigers: Black and Yellow
International Falls Broncos: Purple and Gold: 1957,
1962, 1964-66, 1972, 1995
Irondale Knights: Maroon and Gold
Kittson Central Wolfpack: Orange, Gold, Black
and White
La Crescent Lancers: Kelly Green and White
Lake of The Woods Bears: Maroon and Gold
Lakeville North Panthers: Red and White
Lakeville South Cougars: Cardinal Red and Gold
LeSueur-Henderson/St. Peter:
Litchfield/Dassel-Cokato Dragons: Green, White
and Black
Little Falls Flyers: Purple and White
Luverne/Pipestone Area Cardinals: Red and White
Mahtomedi Zephyrs: Navy and Gold
Mankato East Cougars: Black and Gold
Mankato West Scarlets: Red and White