Historical Section Tournament Structure

[Traxler]

I didn't follow high school hockey before the two class system. How were the section tournaments structured? Did every team make the playoffs like now? Or was it only the top 16 or top 8 in each section? Also, wasn't there a point when there were only 7 sections and a wild card entrant into the tournament?

[gitter]

I didn't follow high school hockey before the two class system. How were the section tournaments structured? Did every team make the playoffs like now? Or was it only the top 16 or top 8 in each section? Also, wasn't there a point when there were only 7 sections and a wild card entrant into the tournament?

Yes every team made it, and the brackets were large, with numerous byes depending on the number of teams in each section.

The 7 region format pre-dates me, but I believe the 8th team was the runner up in an assigned section. I'm not sure if the section rotated annually or if it was determined on the "strength" of the section - someone else would have comment on that.

[gitter]

Here is some interesting section score info:

http://www.hmpioneers.net/hockey/playoff.htm

[east hockey]

I didn't follow high school hockey before the two class system. How were the section tournaments structured? Did every team make the playoffs like now? Or was it only the top 16 or top 8 in each section? Also, wasn't there a point when there were only 7 sections and a wild card entrant into the tournament?

Yes every team made it, and the brackets were large, with numerous byes depending on the number of teams in each section.

The 7 region format pre-dates me, but I believe the 8th team was the runner up in an assigned section. I'm not sure if the section rotated annually or if it was determined on the "strength" of the section - someone else would have comment on that.

At one time (prior to when privates joined the MSHSL in 1974-75), the loser of the Region 7 title game would play the loser of the Region 8 title game. The winner of that game would represent Region 3 at state.

Further back, I believe it would rotate between the two region as to who would be the Region 3 entry.

Also, if memory serves, they were called Regions prior to the private schools joining and giving us more teams to dislike.

Lee

[elliott70]

I didn't follow high school hockey before the two class system. How were the section tournaments structured? Did every team make the playoffs like now? Or was it only the top 16 or top 8 in each section? Also, wasn't there a point when there were only 7 sections and a wild card entrant into the tournament?

I believe the 'old region' was number 3.
What I remember about it was for a while the runner-up of either Section 7 or Section 8 would go to State (it rotated every year). At some point in the 60's the runner-ups began playing each other to represent region 3.
This stopped some time in the early 70's, I think 1974. But at that time the Duluth schools were in a region with some north metro schools. So 3 northern schools still had a shot at state.

Sorry, started typing before Lee's entry.

[Traxler]

Thanks for all this info, guys. I really appreciate it.

[karl(east)]

A few other things I learned while doing my history project on East this summer:

Prior to the 1974 shake-up that added private schools and did away with the section 3 back door to the north, the teams were divided into districts. At the end of the season there was a district tournament, and the top teams in districts went on to an 8-team regional tournament. For example, Duluth East was in District 26 with 9 or so Duluth-area teams, and Districts brought the field down to 4, which played the top 4 Iron Range area teams in the Region 7 tourney quarterfinals.

The Metro also had its own back door for a while out of Region 1, though they did away with it before 1974. At first it pitted the second place teams of Regions 4 and 5 (St. Paul and Minneapolis public schools, respectively); later it became a 4-team playoff that also included the second place teams in regions 2 and 6 (the two suburban regions at the time).

If you go way back there are some really bizarre systems, with odd byes here and there; for a while the Minneapolis city champ got a free pass to the Tourney while everyone else played off to see who would go to the back-door game. I remember finding one instance where the coaches just voted on a State Tourney rep after the regular season. I can only imagine how that would go over today.

[East Side Pioneer Guy]

The term "region" was used after the privates entered the equation. Later, region denoted one class sports and section was used for two class sports.

Harding's best team ever, around 1960, made the tournament via a one game play-off for region 1. That team is in the school's hall of fame and has a plaque in the school with the season's record.

There was a bit of a push a few years ago for girls gymnastics to go to 7 sections, with the 8th team being the highest scoring of the runners-up. No competition would need to be held, They would simply go by the teams scores in their respective meets. I'm not a fan of gymnastics, but I would have liked to see them do it just to see how well it worked.

[elliott70]

The term "region" was used after the privates entered the equation. Later, region denoted one class sports and section was used for two class sports.

Harding's best team ever, around 1960, made the tournament via a one game play-off for region 1. That team is in the school's hall of fame and has a plaque in the school with the season's record.

There was a bit of a push a few years ago for girls gymnastics to go to 7 sections, with the 8th team being the highest scoring of the runners-up. No competition would need to be held, They would simply go by the teams scores in their respective meets. I'm not a fan of gymnastics, but I would have liked to see them do it just to see how well it worked.

Region was always used.

Region 7 champs right on the trophies sitting in Falls sr high....

[East Side Pioneer Guy]

Right. I didn't mean to imply it started in 1975. Just that the term was still used for a time after the privates were invited in.

[elliott70]

Right. I didn't mean to imply it started in 1975. Just that the term was still used for a time after the privates were invited in.

Right.
And I for one am glad Hill joined the system as they add quality teams with quality people ( some not so much of the later).

[Nuts&Bolts]

Ah the good old days when there were #17 or 18 teams in a region with the sub-region games where the winner got the #1 seed. Must have been fun seeding that many teams. I do miss the times when the lower seeds pulled those upsets.

[TTpuckster]

So, at one time, yes it was the runner up of Region 7 vrs Region 8 played and the winner also went to state.
When I was there we played Eveleth and won to go to state as Region 3.

This was in 1971.

I know I'm old, but not as old as Elliot

[elliott70]

So, at one time, yes it was the runner up of Region 7 vrs Region 8 played and the winner also went to state.
When I was there we played Eveleth and won to go to state as Region 3.

This was in 1971.

I know I'm old, but not as old as Elliot

Who is?


I would add a smiley face, but too much work for an old man.

[upnorthfan]

Roseau won Region 8 in 1969, defeating Warroad. Warroad made it to state through the "backdoor", to represent Region 3. Warroad then defeated Roseau by a goal at state and went on to play in the now famous state championship game in which Henry Boucha got taken out on a hard hit by the Edina player and Edina eventually won.

[East Side Pioneer Guy]

Roseau won Region 8 in 1969, defeating Warroad. Warroad made it to state through the "backdoor", to represent Region 3. Warroad then defeated Roseau by a goal at state and went on to play in the now famous state championship game in which Henry Boucha got taken out on a hard hit by the Edina player and Edina eventually won.

That Edina-Warroad game made the state tournament. It wasn't that big of a deal, it was never the same after that. The tournament was at the Met Center, and on TV. Soon the single class basketball tournament was history and hockey took center stage every March.

[greenway1969]

Region 7 had a unique way for their tournament. The teams were first in districts that were established by the MSHSL for all sports. The four districts in Region 7 were 25 (Forest Lake area), 26 (Duluth area), 27 (East range: Falls, Eveleth, Virginia and more), and 28 (Hibbing, Greenway, Rapids and Chisholm). District 25 did not have any hockey teams. The two finalists in the District 27 and 28 tournament advanced to the Region 7 tournament. The top 4 teams in the District 26 tournament advanced to the Region 7 tournament. The four Range teams were ranked and the four Duluth teams were ranked. Range 1 played Duluth 4, Range 2 played Duluth 3, Range 3 played Duluth 2, and Range 4 played Duluth 1. An odd thing happened in 1968. Greenway lost to Hibbing in the District final but advanced to the Region tournament. They then lost to the Falls in the Region final but advanced to state through the backdoor by beating Bemidji, the Region 8 runner-up. They then went on to win the State Tournament.

[wbmd]

The term "region" was used after the privates entered the equation. Later, region denoted one class sports and section was used for two class sports.

Harding's best team ever, around 1960, made the tournament via a one game play-off for region 1. That team is in the school's hall of fame and has a plaque in the school with the season's record.

There was a bit of a push a few years ago for girls gymnastics to go to 7 sections, with the 8th team being the highest scoring of the runners-up. No competition would need to be held, They would simply go by the teams scores in their respective meets. I'm not a fan of gymnastics, but I would have liked to see them do it just to see how well it worked.

Region was always used.

Region 7 champs right on the trophies sitting in Falls sr high....

From what I remember, 'sections' replaced 'regions' for the 1976-77 season.

[hockeydad]

No, they still used Regions through the 1980s and into the early 90s. It was sometime in the 90s when they did away with Regions and Districts and went to sections and subsections in many of the sports.... around the time, but maybe not at the same time, that they went to two classes in hockey.

[wbmd]

No, they still used Regions through the 1980s and into the early 90s. It was sometime in the 90s when they did away with Regions and Districts and went to sections and subsections in many of the sports.... around the time, but maybe not at the same time, that they went to two classes in hockey.

Not in hockey - maybe in other sports, but not in hockey.

[alcloseshaver]

Any good memories from region 2 when it encompassed Duluth down to the TC suburbs.

[wbmd]

Any good memories from region 2 when it encompassed Duluth down to the TC suburbs.

When Cloquet advanced to the State Tournament in 1982.

[alcloseshaver]

Where did they play the section finals? was it rotated North and South?

[wbmd]

Where did they play the section finals? was it rotated North and South?

Yes, it was rotated between Duluth and the Fair Grounds Coliseum.

[MNHockeyFan]

Has anyone ever laid out a whole history of this? It would be great to see what the major changes were made by the MSHSL, chronologically by year (backdoors, regions, districts, sections, etc.)

The example cited by greenway1969 is classic...