2/7/05

MSU's 1980 championship hockey team had perfect timing

By Jim Rueda
Free Press

This one falls under the right-place-at-the-right-time category.

It occurred 25 years ago at what was then the new All Seasons Arena. It involved an NCAA Division II regional playoff game between the Mankato State men's hockey team and rival St. Scholastica.

The game has crystallized in my memory. Not so much the details of the game itself, but the atmosphere in which it was played.

It was my senior year of college and, as a member of the MSU Vets Club, I had been a loyal fan of the skating Mavericks throughout my college career. The Vets Club was, if I may brag a little bit, the No. 1 supporter of the MSU team.

We roared approval at every MSU goal and made sure to chastise the opposition at every mistake. It may not have been great sportsmanship but, hey, that's what we felt our job was back then. And I truly believe it gave the Mavericks home-ice advantage.

Paul Mattson, a forward in that storied game 25 years ago, said his dad believed the Vets Club was a true difference maker. "He once told me he thought the Vets Club was good for two wins a year," Mattson said.

But back to the game.

That Wednesday night was special not just because of the playoff ramifications and not just because of the packed arena. It was special because a month earlier the U.S. Olympic men's hockey team had pulled off the most stunning upset of the century by knocking off the Russians and winning a gold medal.

That Olympic victory made hockey fans out of just about every one, particularly in the State of Hockey. And that's why the electricity was flowing throughout the arena that night.

St. Scholastica had defeated MSU twice during the regular season and had lost only two games heading into the regional playoff. The Mavericks, meanwhile, were 27-9-1. A good record but probably not good enough to be selected to the four-team national tournament without winning the regional title.

So the fans came looking for the upset. Hoping they would be there to witness lightning in a bottle again, as they had seen on TV a month earlier.

And they weren't disappointed. MSU scored early and often, taking a 6-1 lead in the first period, moving to 8-4 after two periods and then burying the Saints in the third. The final result was a 14-6 triumph.

The frenzied fans, who had chanted U-S-A during the Olympics, now chanted M-S-U as the Mavericks took their victory lap. It was the team, of course, that won the game. With players like Steve Forliti and Greg Larson and John Passolt and Tom Kern and Mark Weinkauf and Steve Carroll, they were unquestionably a talented bunch.

But I like to think I played a tiny part in what turned out to be a national championship season for the Mavericks. The team went undefeated at nationals to give MSU its first and only hockey championship.

After the award presentation following the St. Scholastica game, with the sound still deafening inside ASA, team captain Steve Loomis lifted the playoff trophy over his head and skated by the fans, pointing to the crowd.

"I wanted them to know the trophy was for them," Loomis told a reporter afterward. "They're behind us 100 percent ...."

Yes we were Steve, and thanks for the memories.

Jim Rueda is the Free Press sports editor. To contact him, call 344-6381 or e-mail him at jrueda@mankatofreepress.com.