The long awaited 2015 North American Cup championship game between the Dinkytown Dukes and Mississippi Mojo finally came to fruition on Sunday, December 20, with the Dukes prevailing by the score of 4-2.  

With the temperature at just under 40 degrees, it was a perfect night for bandy at the John Rose Minnesota OVAL. The stage was set with the Dukes still riding an undefeated streak that had carried over from last year’s championship run and the Mojo determined to end the Duke’s remarkable streak. The Mojo’s first order of business was to find a way to keep the Dukes’ scoring machine Jon Keseley off the board. The Mojo felt if they could contain Keseley, they were confident they had enough offensive firepower of their own with Mike Carmen, Mike Hosfield, Steve Stampe and Mikael Sandberg to prevail.

However, this hope was short lived, as Keseley put the Dukes up 1-0 after only about two minutes into the game, picking off a pass at mid-ice and then stickhandling through several Mojo defenders before shooting a forehand past Mojo keeper Derek Melander. The Mojo were able to shake off this quick strike and struck next, when Strampe drove the baseline and put a shot past Duke goalkeeper Eric Kraska at the 16 minute mark, tying the score at 1-1. But Keseley struck once again, with one of the prettiest goals seen in a long time when Kraska let loose a long bomb throw over the top of the entire Mojo defense to a streaking Keseley who took the ball out of the air, went in on a breakaway and scored to make it 2-1 Dukes. The Mojo had several chances to score to tie it up, but were unable to capitalize. Just before the half, Keseley struck again, blasting in a corner stroke for the hat trick and giving the Dukes a somewhat comfortable 3-1 lead.

In the second half the Mojo continued to attack, with Hosfield and Carmen making several long rushes,  but were met each time by a  determined Dukes defense who had most of the team packed in tight guarding the goal. Holding off the Mojo’s relentless attack paid off when John Arundel put the Dukes up 4-1 by dangling through three Mojo defenders and finding himself alone on the goal before slamming home what was the proverbial nail in the coffin. The Mojo’s Derek Peltier scored with three minutes left, but it was too little, too late and the Dukes claimed the coveted 2015 NAC Championship hardware and their name in the history books.

Jon Keseley’s hat trick in the championship game sealed the tourney MVP award. 

Referee Crew (L-R): Kevin Bowen, Eric Hemmesch, Tim Roth