Granite City Lumberjacks

Granite City Lumberjacks
City St. Cloud, Minnesota
League NA3HL
Division West
Founded 2007
Home arena Sports Arena East
Colors Red, blue, white
              
General manager Brad Willner
Head coach Brad Willner
Franchise history
2007–present Granite City Lumberjacks

The Granite City Lumberjacks are a Tier III Junior A ice hockey team playing in the North American 3 Hockey League (NA3HL) and plays their home games at the Sports Arena East, located in Sauk Rapids, Minnesota. The Lumberjacks play 48 game regular season games, in addition to showcase and post-season tournament games.

History

The team was founded in 2007 as a member of the Minnesota Junior Hockey League (MnJHL).[1]

The Granite City Lumberjacks were the 2008–09 MnJHL regular season champions and qualified for the USA Hockey Tier III Jr. A National Championship Tournament, joining the 2009 playoff champions, the Minnesota Ice Hawks.[2] The team won the MnJHL championship in the 2010–11 season with a 2-1 overtime win over the Rochester Ice Hawks.[3]

In 2011, the Lumberjacks and MnJHL rival, the Minnesota Flying Aces, announced a move from the MnJHL to the NA3HL as part of the league's expansion to 16 teams for the 2011–12 season.[4] The two teams joined two expansion teams, the Twin City Steel and North Iowa Bulls, to form the NA3HL West Division.

In the 2011–12 Season, the Lumberjacks claimed the West Division Title, West Division Playoff Title and the 2012 NA3HL Silver Cup Championship.[5] However, they did not participate in the 2012 USA Hockey Tier III National Tournament.

The Lumberjacks would also win the 2015 Silver Cup Championship over the North Iowa Bulls. The Lumberjacks only qualified for the Silver Cup Tournament as wildcard after losing in the Divisional Finals to the Bulls.[6] In 2017, the Lumberjacks won their third Silver Cup Championship with a 2–1 game against the Metro Jets.

Season-by-season records

SeasonGPWLOTLPtsGFGARegular Season FinishPlayoffs
Minnesota Junior Hockey League
2007–08No statistics available
2008–09484152842381091st, MnJHL
2009–105036122742581212nd, MnJHLLost in Semifinals
2010–11453681732151001st, MnJHLBush Cup Champions
North American 3 Hockey League
2011–124833114701991061st of 4, West Div.
2nd of 16, NA3HL		Won Div. Semifinals, 2–0 vs. Minnesota Flying Aces
Won Div. Finals, 2–1 vs. North Iowa Bulls
2–1–0 in Silver Cup round-robin
(L, 1–2 vs. Jr. Blues; W, 5–2 vs. Cherokee; W, 3–2 vs. Jr. Generals)
Won Silver Cup Championship game, 2–1 vs. St. Louis Jr. Blues
2012–13483684762121222nd of 6, West Div.
4th of 17, NA3HL		Won Div. Semifinals, 3–1 vs. Alexandria Blizzard
1–1 in Silver Cup round-robin
(W, 5–2 vs. Flint Jr. Generals; OTL, 2–3 vs. North Iowa Bulls)
2013–144836120722491242nd of 6, West Div.
3rd of 21, NA3HL		Won Div. Semifinals, 2–1 vs. Alexandria Blizzard
Lost Div. Finals, 1–2 vs. North Iowa Bulls
2014–15473395711971132nd of 6, West Div.
4th of 31, NA3HL		Won Div. Semifinals, 2–1 vs. Alexandria Blizzard
Lost Div. Finals, 1–2 vs. North Iowa Bulls
2–1–0 in Silver Cup round-robin (as wild card)
(L, 4–7 vs. Bulls;W, 2–0 vs. Jr. Predators; W, 6–1 vs. Jets
Won Silver Cup Championship game, 3–2 vs. North Iowa Bulls
2015–164733113691961121st of 5, West Div.
9th of 34, NA3HL		Won Div. Semifinals, 2–1 vs. Alexandria Blizzard
Lost Div. Finals, 0–2 vs.Twin City Steel
2016–17473287711881111st of 5, West Div.
11th of 48, NA3HL		Won Div. Semifinals, 2–0 vs. Breezy Point North Stars
Won Div. Finals, 2–1 vs. New Ulm Steel
2–1–0, 2nd of 4 in Silver Cup round-robin Pool A
(L, 0–3 vs. Jets; W, 4–3 vs. Jr. Blues; W, 6–2 vs. Capitals)
Won Silver Cup Semifinal game, 3–2 vs. Binghamton Jr. Senators
Won Silver Cup Championship game, 2–1 vs. Metro Jets
2017–184733140662251071st of 5, West Div.
12th of 42, NA3HL		Won Div. Semifinals, 2–0 vs. Willmar WarHawks
Won Div. Finals, 2–0 vs. New Ulm Steel
2–0–1 in Fraser Cup round-robin Pool A
(W, 3–2 vs. Jr. Senators; OTW, 3–2 vs. Jr. Blues; OTL, 1–2 vs. Quake)
Lost Fraser Cup Semifinal game, 2–3 vs. Metro Jets

USA Hockey Tier III Junior Hockey National Championship

YearRound RobinRecordStandingSemifinal GameChampionship Game
2009[7]T, 2–2 vs. Dubuque Thunderbirds (CSHL)
W, 3–2 vs. Seattle Totems (NorPac)
OTW, 6–5 vs. Northern Cyclones (AtJHL)		2–0–12nd of 4
Div. II		L, 2–4 vs. New Hampshire Jr. Monarchs (EJHL)—
2011[8]T, 4–4 vs. El Paso Rhinos (WSHL)
W, 8–2 vs. Chicago Hitmen (NA3HL)
L, 2–3 vs. Northern Cyclones (AtJHL)		1–1–12nd of 4
Pool II		Did not advance
2015[9]W, 3–1 vs. Dells Ducks (MnJHL)
L, 3–6 vs. Northern Cyclones (EHL)
W, 4–3 vs. North Iowa Bulls (NA3HL)		2–1–03rd of 4
Div. 1		Not playedDid not advance

Alumni

The Lumberjacks have produced a number of alumni playing in higher levels of junior hockey, NCAA Division I, Division III, and ACHA college programs.[10]

References

  1. ↑ http://www.lumberjackshockey.com/page/show/179860-past-teams
  2. ↑ http://www.mnjhl.com/page/show/110431-archives%5Bpermanent+dead+link%5D
  3. ↑ Clark, Nick (March 21, 2011). "Weekly Release: Chayka's OT winner gives Lumberjacks first Bush Cup". MnJHL. Archived from the original on September 28, 2011. Retrieved August 7, 2011.
  4. ↑ Staff (July 11, 2011). "NA3HL prepares for its first full season". Hockey Weekly. Retrieved August 7, 2011.
  5. ↑ http://www.na3hl.com/news/story.cfm?id=5287
  6. ↑ http://www.na3hl.com/news/story.cfm?id=14411
  7. ↑ "2009 Tier III Jr. A Nat. Championships". USA Hockey. Retrieved August 26, 2015.
  8. ↑ "2011 Tier III Jr. A Nat. Championships". USA Hockey. Retrieved August 18, 2015.
  9. ↑ "2015 Tier III Junior Nat. Championships". USA Hockey. Retrieved September 17, 2015.
  10. ↑ http://www.lumberjackshockey.com/page/show/179505-player-advancement
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