Granite City Lumberjacks

Ice hockey team in Sauk Rapids, Minnesota

Granite City Lumberjacks

City| Sauk Rapids, Minnesota
League| NA3HL
Division| West
Founded| 2007
Home arena| Armadillo Deck Sports Arena
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 Armadillo Deck Sports Arena, located in Sauk Rapids, Minnesota. The Lumberjacks play 48 regular season games, in addition to showcase and post-season tournament games.

## History

[edit]

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

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Season | GP | W | L | OTL | Pts | GF | GA | Regular Season Finish | Playoffs

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Minnesota Junior Hockey League
2007–08 | No statistics available
2008–09 | 48 | 41 | 5 | 2 | 84 | 238 | 109 | 1st, MnJHL |
2009–10 | 50 | 36 | 12 | 2 | 74 | 258 | 121 | 2nd, MnJHL | Lost in Semifinals
2010–11 | 45 | 36 | 8 | 1 | 73 | 215 | 100 | 1st, MnJHL | Bush Cup Champions
North American 3 Hockey League
2011–12 | 48 | 33 | 11 | 4 | 70 | 199 | 106 | 1st 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
Advance to Silver Cup
Won Silver Cup Championship
2012–13 | 48 | 36 | 8 | 4 | 76 | 212 | 122 | 2nd of 6, West Div.
4th of 17, NA3HL | Won Div. Semifinals, 3–1 vs. Alexandria Blizzard
Won Div. finals, ?-? vs. unlisted
Advance to Silver Cup
2013–14 | 48 | 36 | 12 | 0 | 72 | 249 | 124 | 2nd 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
2014–15 | 47 | 33 | 9 | 5 | 71 | 197 | 113 | 2nd 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
Advance to Silver Cup (as wild card)
Won Silver Cup Championship
2015–16 | 47 | 33 | 11 | 3 | 69 | 196 | 112 | 1st 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
2016–17 | 47 | 32 | 8 | 7 | 71 | 188 | 111 | 1st 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
Advance to Silver Cup
Won Silver Cup Championship
2017–18 | 47 | 33 | 14 | 0 | 66 | 225 | 107 | 1st 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
Advance to Fraser Cup
2018–19 | 47 | 37 | 8 | 2 | 76 | 239 | 98 | 1st of 7, West Div.
6th of 36, NA3HL | Lost Div. Semifinals, 1–2 vs. Alexandria Blizzard
2019–20 | 47 | 33 | 13 | 1 | 67 | 229 | 107 | 2nd of 6, West Div.
9th of 34, NA3HL | Playoffs cancelled
2020–21 | 40 | 27 | 12 | 1 | 55 | 156 | 105 | 2nd of 5, West Div.
10th of 31, NA3HL | Lost Div. Semifinals, 0–2 vs. Willmar WarHawks
2021–22 | 47 | 44 | 3 | 0 | 88 | 284 | 67 | 1st of 6, West Div.
2nd of 34, NA3HL | Won Div. Semifinals, 2–0 vs. Alexandria Blizzard
Won Div. Finals, 2–1 vs. Mason City Toros
Advance to Fraser Cup
2022–23 | 47 | 39 | 6 | 2 | 80 | 233 | 111 | 1st of 6, West Div.
2nd of 34, NA3HL | Won Div. Semifinals, 2–0 Willmar WarHawks
Lost Div. Finals, 1-2 Alexandria Blizzard
Advance to Fraser Cup (Wild Card Qualifier)
Fraser Cup Champions
2023–24 | 47 | 36 | 9 | 2 | 74 | 244 | 104 | 1st of 6, West Div.
5th of 34, NA3HL | Won Div. Semifinals, 2-1 Mason City Toros
Won Div. Finals 2-0 Rochester Grizzlies
Advance to Fraser Cup

## USA Hockey Tier III Junior Hockey National Championship

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Year | Round Robin | Record | Standing | Semifinal Game | Championship Game

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2009[7] | T, 2–2 vs. Dubuque Thunderbirds (CSHL)
W, 3–2 vs. Seattle Totems (NorPac)
OTW, 6–5 vs. Northern Cyclones (AtJHL) | 2–0–1 | 2nd 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) | 1–1–1 | 2nd 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) | 2–1–0 | 3rd of 4
Div. 1 | Not played | Did not advance

## NA3HL FRASER CUP Championship

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Year | Round Robin | Record | Place | Semifinal | Championship

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2012 | L, Jr Blues 1-2
W, Cherokee) 5-2
W, Chill) 3-2 | 2-1-0 | ?? of 4
Pool | No semis | W, St. Louis Jr. Blues 2-1
Silver Cup Champions
2013 | W, Chill 5-2
OTL, Bulls 2-3 | 1-1-0 | ??? of 3
Pool | Did not advance
2015 | L, Bulls 4-7
W, Jr Predators 2-0
W, Jets 6-1 | 2-1-0 | ?? of 4
Pool | No semis | W, North Iowa Bulls 2-1
Silver Cup Champions
2017 | L, Jets 0-3
W, Jr Blues 4-3
W, Capitals 6-2 | 2-1-0 | 2nd of 4
Pool B | W, Senators 3-2 | W, Metro Jets 2-1
Silver Cup Champions
2018 | W, Senators 3-2
OTW, Jr Blues 3-2
OTL, Quake 1-2 | 2-0-1 | ?? of 4
Pool A | L, Metro Jets 2-3 | Did not advance
2022 | L, Bighorns 0-2
W, El Paso Rhinos) 5-0 | 1-1-0 | 2nd of 3
Pool B | Won Semi Final, 4-3
Northeast Generals | L, Rochester Grizzlies 0-4
2023 | L, Blizzard 1-3
W, Jr. Brahmas 6-1 | 1-1-0 | 2nd of 3
Pool W | Won Semi Final, 4-2
Helena Bighorns | W, Blizzard 6-5
Fraser Cup Champions
2024 | W, West Bend Powwer 4-2
W, Gillette Wild 6-1 | 2-0-0 | 1st of 3
Pool A | Lost, Semi Final, 1-2
Northeast Generals | Did not advance

## Alumni

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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

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1. ^ http://www.lumberjackshockey.com/page/show/179860-past-teams[permanent dead link‍]
2. ^ "Archived copy". www.mnjhl.com. Archived from the original on 3 October 2010. Retrieved 14 January 2022.`{{cite web}}`: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
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.[permanent dead link‍]
5. ^ "Granite City Lumberjacks crowned NA3HL Champions".
6. ^ "Granite City wins 2015 NA3HL Silver Cup".
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. ^ "Player Advancement | Home | Granite City Lumberjacks Hockey". Archived from the original on 2011-03-01. Retrieved 2010-06-01.

## External links

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* Lumberjacks Webpage Archived 2017-06-02 at the Wayback Machine