Feature Story

Will high school hockey play fewer games?

 

By Wally Shaver

Let’s Play Hockey Columnist

 

Nine years ago, the Minnesota State High School League approved a measure allowing hockey teams to add more games to their schedule. Instead of 25 contests during the season, schools could go up to the current mark of 31 games when you include playoffs. Now, take a wild guess as to why reducing the number of games may occur. 

Budget cuts. Craig Perry, an Associate Director for the Minnesota High School League said, “Our Board of Directors received a request from some schools in central Minnesota to consider a reduction of games across the board to help cut costs. This is not coming from the High School League. We have a Board of Directors meeting coming up March 2 and the primary agenda item will be to review cutting games.”

Please understand, despite anything you may have heard or rumored regarding this subject is false – absolutely nothing has been decided and won’t be until a review is conducted. Nothing has been proposed.

“We have found some schools need assistance in financing and what we have to look at are what are some options to help schools financially. We would first have to determine if cutting games actually leads to savings and whether or not this is a universal statement,” added Perry.

The discussion is not sport specific.  Different communities are effected by different sports. As an example, while one school may save money by cutting one football game from the schedule, another school may lose $20,000 in gate receipts – an amount that can go a long way in an Activities Directors’ budget.

Does this pose a problem for high school hockey? Mike MacMillan, Executive Secretary of the Boys High School Hockey Coaches Association, thinks so. “This will be detrimental to the sport. Some kids may be coerced to leaving high school early to play in the USHL or NAHL junior leagues or look into places like the Ann Arbor program or Shattuck-St. Mary’s prep school.”

Hockey is the only high school sport that has alternatives available to the athletes during the season. “We’ve surveyed our member schools and have found no one is losing money on hockey and almost everyone is making money. We will be submitting these surveys to the Board for them to see,” added MacMillan.

The High School League and MacMillan agree on the need to look at options. Can conferences look at profit sharing? How about bus scheduling changes? “Other options could include raising ticket prices, don’t schedule basketball and hockey games on the same night, review ice costs with the local rinks and many other areas where schools can look to generate more revenue. School AD’s have always had these options available to them to save money,” said MacMillan. 

With a nation currently embroiled in a financial mess, it is obvious the effects would spill into our school districts. Now the High School League Board of Directors will have to decide on the options and what changes should be made to help budgets. “There are multiple directions this could go and whether it is an issue or not will vary by school district,” said Perry.

Stay tuned, nothing has been decided yet and it may all end up being a moot point. We’ll see.

 

Two boys’ high school hockey coaches reached major milestones within the past two weeks. Lorne Grosso of Rochester Mayo and Roy Nystrom of Albert Lea both recorded career win No. 600. Only three others in U.S. high school history have achieved that mark in hockey. 

Grosso’s 600th win came against Nystrom’s Albert Lea squad last week in a 5-2 triumph, four days after Albert Lea had beaten Mayo by the same score. Nystrom’s milestone was achieved versus Rochester John Marshall in a 6-2 win on Feb. 10. 

Adding to the irony of Grosso’s achievement against his coaching brethren, is the fact these two were linemates at the University of Minnesota under the tutelage of John Mariucci. 

Nystrom gained 506 wins in 36 years at Albert Lea and an additional 94 with Grand Forks Central in North Dakota where he also won three state tourneys in seven years. Grosso nailed his 600 all with Mayo where he is in his 42nd season. 

Next in line for these two skippers will be famed Edina coach Willard Ikola who had 616 career wins. The top two career win leaders hail from the east: Edward Burns won 695 games with Arlington, Mass., and Bill Belisle is the kingpin with 806 at Mt. St. Charles Academy in Rhode Island. 

Congratulations to these two outstanding people on their remarkable careers in achieving this significant milestone. 

 

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