Edina – 4 ,  Minnetonka -2

That will be the front page headline of the Sunday newspapers in Minnesota this morning.  Outside the Gopher state, it doesn’t mean a whole lot because the rest of the world can’t appreciate the impact that high school hockey has on the state.  In the U. S. there is no other amateur or junior hockey league that has the popularity of the Minnesota State High School League.  More than 150 high schools around the state have varsity boys’ hockey teams, many of them from small towns where their teams are on a par with those from the bigger cities.

The annual high school championship tournament is followed closely by the entire populace and every game is televised state-wide and now on an internet live-stream as well.  For the fans whose local teams didn’t make it to the final rounds, they are generally divided into two groups of cheering squads, the Twin Cities fans versus the Iron Range  rooters.  The regional rivalries add to the excitement and the tourney games are fully sold out at the two arenas in St. Paul where there are games being played from the morning through late night during the 4-day elimination playoffs.

One of the fans’ favorites each year is the team from Roseau, a tiny town of less than 3,000 way up near the Canadian border that somehow manages to put one of the best teams on the ice every year.  They have won the state tournament more times than any other school, most recently in 2007.  This year they finished in 4th place.  Edina, one of the “Twin Cities” area teams, is a current powerhouse whose win last night gives them a total of 7 championships all-time and ties them with Roseau for the most titles.  They are hockey-crazy in Minnesota.

And we’d better get this equipment checked out now.  I need to get some more coffee started.  The Sunday breakfast will be ready in about a half-hour.

This week’s Sunday photo art comes from Death Valley

The Devil’s Cornfield