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OUT OF THE GATE

Okay, okay so the season has already started.  So what’s your point?  Is it to confirm the fact that it’s been almost a month now and you just want to make me wallow in misery on account of I am late getting started AGAIN!  You should all be used to that by now since it’s been 16 YEARS IN A ROW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  One thing is for certain, if I had a regular sports reporter type job, everything would be on schedule, just like a perfect world.  Now wouldn’t that be unbelievably amazing, me, in a regular job?

Anyway, I was in attendance, once again, at the jamboree in Virginia and I have to say that I was most impressed with the West Range end of things, as out of the six teams, Grand Rapids & Greenway impressed me the most.  At the moment, they are (1-0) (3-0) & (1-0) (3-1) respectively.  The Grand Rapids Thunder Hawks have some big skates to fill as they went (7-0) (23-4-1) last season.  Greenway had another sub-500 record again last year and they started the season with 9 losses in a row.  Last year in their first 3 games, they were outscored 13-5, but they have had a big turnaround this year as they played the same 3 teams and outscored them, 19-8.  They will be back in the IRC and play all the conference teams this year except Grand Rapids.  Eveleth-Gilbert had a perfect .500 record last season at 13-13 and went 2-6 in the conference.  It will be a chore to reach that mark this year.  They have a junior by the name of Cole Jackson, who is an all-around athlete and should be their go-to guy.  My unknown quantities this year are Hibbing-Chisholm, International Falls and Virginia MIBC.  Of the 3, VMIBC had the best record at 20-8, but lost to Hibbing-Chisholm 5-0 at the DECC in the section final.  One could say that it was probably the worst game they played all season.  They did everything wrong whilst Hibbing-Chisholm did everything right.  When I think of the International Falls Broncos, I think of those perennial power-house teams from the 60’s, eh?  What a dynasty Larry Ross built up there in the hinterland.  For those of you who had seen the 1972 State Tournament final between them and the then Grand Rapids Indians witnessed a classic.  There I go again, living in the past.  Well, when it comes to high school hockey, that is where all my great memories are.  So here is hoping that this year will become another great memory.  See ya at the rink!