2014 Minnehaha Maulers: From left to right: Nick Oliver, Brooks Bertsch, Jake Rossman, Andrew Prochno, Chris Halden, Mikael Lickteig, Steve Jecha. Not pictured; Archie Skalbeck, Joe Howe, and Mike Morin

It took every last point in the standings, and every last minute of their final match for the Minnehaha Maulers to win the 2014 USRBL regular season title. The Maulers held on for a 7-6 win over the Duluth Tigers in a thrilling cap to a spectacular 2014 regular season.

Usabandy.com was able to catch up with Maulers player/coach, Chris Halden, to get his thoughts on the 2014 Maulers and their first USRBL regular season title;

ABA:  How long has this core group been playing together?

CH:  It started with Archie and Morin 4 years ago. They came over fresh outta high school and immediately showed promise. Prochno and Rehkamp came the year after that, and then Brooks Bertsch came in two seasons ago. Nick Oliver was the rookie this year, and man did he pick things up in a hurry. The guys just kept coming, and bringing their buddies along, it really worked out well.

Another key that shaped the current Maulers was the Trade of Mikael Sandberg to the Duluth Tigers for a case of beer. Lots of backlash from that initially, but I was confident with the youth movement, and here we are.

ABA: The Maulers finished the regular season in 2nd last year, what made the difference in 2014?

CH:  The guys are really confident. They know the game. They are used to the stick and ball now. The shooting has also improved.  And Jex and I have stepped our games up. They were bitching at me after that first goal last week. I knew I had to step my game up. Carry my weight out there.

ABA:  Silky smooth scorer Archie Skalbeck finishes with 27 goals in 9 games this season, more than 50 over the past two. Is he the best player in the league?

CH:  I don’t wanna just go out and say he is the best player, there are a lot of great players in our league. I’d say he’s basically the best natural scorer out there. Kes will come down and shoot a cannon, but Archie doesn’t do that. He grinds it out. He get’s a ton of chances a game out of hustle. He’ll find a way to score. Not so much on bandy ability, more on just sheer athleticism. His consistency is there as well, scored at least 2 goals in every game he played in.

ABA:  Mikael Lickteig has exploded onto the USA Bandy scene. Talk for a minute about his development.

CH:  He played 1 regular season game last year. Didn’t ink him for the playoffs because we though we didn’t need him. Then we got him out there in the winter. He wasn’t really that good, but you could just see the guy was gonna be good. He was quick. He’d get better every time he played. Then in the winter he went overseas, and his skill level went up several notches. He’s really competitive. He comes to play. He’s out there so intense, going hard, wants to score. Of all the guys in the league, I think he’s the most improved player. He went from a stiff to bombing them in. He’s also definitely one of our leaders.

ABA:  We all know Skalbeck and Lickteig have had big seasons, but who is the unsung hero of the 2014 Maulers?

CH:  Prochno. He is so smooth. He’s like our engine. Breakout, playmaker, he is really a talented player. Also Morin, he has really stepped it up the past few games. I’ve told him he’s gotta take the bull by the horns here, and I think he’s responded.

ABA:  So finally, the big question; Can the Maulers finish the job and capture the 2014 Cannon Cup?

CH:  Yes. I definitely think we can do it. It’s gonna be hard, they’re gonna be close games. Going to be very hard without Archie. I’d say we are one of the favorites, but not the favorite. We can do they job. We wanna do it. But the league is so good, the goalies are good. We’re not going into the playoffs cocky, the guys respect the talent of the league, they’re respectful. When we won the league everyone was very happy, and we were proud of our accomplishment.

Playoffs begin with 3 blowouts and 1 nail-biter

We are off and running with the 2014 Cannon Cup playoffs. In the 7 vs. 10 play-in game The Orioles dispatched The Saints with a dominating performance and a score of 8-1. The 8 vs. 9 match up saw a very competitive 6-5 victory for The Yaks over the Duluth Tigers.

The quarterfinals got underway Wednesday night at Parade Ice Garden, with two minor upsets that both had majorly lopsided scores. The 6th seeded Washburn Dynamo put up 10 goals on former champ Sirius BC, while Dynamo’s goalie of the year candidate Anders Jecha only let 2 sneak behind him. The Flying Sparrows kept things close until the half (3-5), but an eventual 11-4 victory for Spanky’s United will see this former champion through to the semifinal round.

The top 2 seeds take the playoff ice for the first time next Monday evening; The Minnehaha Maulers are up against the surging Yaks, while the Mississippi MoJo square off in a quarterfinal rematch against the defending champion Orioles.