Love To Hate

Why It Matters

You can’t talk about the MAHL without talking about rivalries. Rivalries are arguably one of the most important aspects of the league as a whole, getting to represent your town as you fight against your neighbors for bragging rights, or in some cases Rivalry Trophies. It is an honor for players to get to play for their hometowns and with many players having lived near and played against people from nearby towns for most of their lives, teams get to know each other. When you play against your rivals it’s a chance to get one up on your coworker or friend who happens to live in the next town over, it’s about one city against another. Rivalry Trophies are common among the fiercer rivalries around the league as a prize to play for to symbolize the rivalry between two or more teams.

Notable Rivalries

Sometimes a team is out of playoff contention and all they really have to play for are those big rivalry games. Many of the biggest rivalries also just so happen to be the oldest such as Minneapolis-St. Paul who play for the Veterans Cup, Roseau-Warroad who compete for the Victory Bell, and Duluth-Superior who fight for the Anchor. Not all rivalries date back quite that far, but that doesn’t mean the hate is any less real. Some of the biggest newer rivalries are Maplewood-White Bear Lake who compete for the Barrel, Apple Valley-Burnsville who play for the Antlers, and Mountain Iron-Virginia who fight for the Miner's Pickaxe. Though perhaps there are no fiercer rivalries than the ones between crosstown teams. The oldest Rivalry Trophy in the MAHL belongs to one of the fiercest rivalries in the MAHL between the St. Paul Victorias and St. Paul Saints who have played for the Milk Jug since 1946. Some other huge crosstown rivalries include the Duluth Hornets and Duluth Voyageurs who play for Benjamin Beaver, the Rochester Mustangs and Rochester Robins who play for the Civil War Trophy, and the Bloomington Bears and Bloomington West Terriers who battle for the Bone. Winning the season series against your rival wins you the trophy for that year, plus bragging rights.

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