While the Elite Division expansion team Dinkytown Dukes were expected to be a very competitive team right out of the gate, winning the regular season title and going undefeated in the regular season took many by surprise. Led by veterans Jon Keseley, John Arundel and goalie Erik Kraska, the Dukes rolled up an 8-0-2 record for 18 points, which was good enough to win the regular season title over the Minnesota Blades by two points. The Dukes’ Jon Keseley had another amazing year, scoring 36 goals to win the Elite League scoring title. Keseley added another 23 with the USA National Team, for a total of 59 goals. Teammate Mikael Lickteig also had a banner year, scoring 13 goals plus another 13 with Team USA. You can’t do it alone, so credit has to be given to the numerous new players on the Dukes who shined in their first year of outdoor bandy including Lucas Whalen and Greg Olson. 

The Minnesota Blades had a solid year with a record of 7-1-2, and were led by veterans Steve Nelson, Bobby Scott, BJ Bayers, Andy Sackrison, rookie Ben Grotting and the four Fronek brothers Scott, Andy, Todd and Pat. The rest of the Elite League displayed parity and were separated by only a few points. The Mississippi Mojo finished in third with a 5-5 record followed by the Twin Cities Tigers, Duluth Dynamo and Minneapolis Bandlolier respectively. The Mojo were led by veterans Mike Hosfield, Scott Arundel, Andy Hogan, former Tiger Mikael Sandberg,  plus rookie sensation Mike Carmen who finished third in league scoring with 14 goals. The Tigers were much stronger than expected after losing Mikael Sandberg and Mikael Lickteig who moved to other teams this year. The Tigers were led by Justin Milo who had a super year with 18 goals (2nd in league scoring) veteran Erik Kyllonen and several new young guns including Jake Rossman, Riley Horgan and the brothers Mac and Riley Williams. Duluth was hot and cold but on any given night can compete with anyone. Duluth head into the playoffs led by Rick Haney, Dave Plaunt, Evan Richardson and Brent Palmer. The Bandolier went into this season as a rebuilding year after Keseley and John Arundel moved on to form the Dukes expansion team. The Bandolier have a solid foundation with Andrew and Peter Knutson, Ian Middlebrook, Sam Blaisdale and several new players and will be ready for this year’s playoffs and a run at the Cup next year as well.

In Division 2, the Saints finished undefeated for the second straight year at 9-0-2, but had to work much harder this year to do it. The team was led by D-2 scoring leader Ian Middlebrook (24 goals), Brett Stopelstad and Jack Blaney. In second place was Tsunami Ice who were led by several familiar faces including Paul “Eddie” Edelstein, and John Doepke. In third place was much improved East Isles BC who were able to score more goals this season compared to the team’s inaugural season last year and could be the sleeper team for the playoffs. The team is led by founder Erik Klyllonen. Elsie’s was up and down this year finishing 4th, but as a veteran team led by the Mullin brothers Emmett and Peter, are capable of beating anyone including the Saints. While the USA Women’s national team finished in fifth, the team was competitive in every game and recorded two wins. Amy Stech had a banner year, finishing in second place in the scoring race with 13 goals.  Keeper Sarah Alquist was solid in the nets, doing her best in keeping the team in every game with save after save and Kat Greaves continued to make long rushes to set up goal scoring chances this season.

PLAYOFFS START MONDAY, FEBRUARY 9
The USA Bandy League 2014-15 playoffs start on Monday, February 9 with two first round matches in each division. In the Elite division, the Twin City Tigers play Duluth Dynamo at 7:30PM followed by Elsie’s vs USA Women’s National Team at 9:00PM. On Wednesday, February 11, the Mississippi Mojo play the Bandolier in the other first round game. The winners of the two round one Elite matches will play the Dukes and Blades who received a first round bye. On Saturday, February 14, Tsunami play East Isles in the other D-2 first round game at 4:00PM. The Saints will play the Elsies versus Women's National Team winner at 5:30PM.

The Dukes look like the favorite in Division 1, but any of the other five teams could run the table and take the cup. Teams have historically played their best bandy at the end of the year, so it is tough to predict who will be holding the Gunnar Cup on February 21. In Division 2, the Saints are the heavy favorite, but like in D-1, the other teams are more than capable of pulling off an upset. Stay tuned!