The Star Tribune high school staff set out to determine the ultimate Great 8, the finest teams to ever win a boys' hockey state championship. We took the task seriously and consulted our panel of experts: Edina's Willard Ikola, Bloomington Jefferson's Tom Saterdalen, Hill-Murray's Bill Lechner, former tournament referee and administrator John Bartz and state tournament public address announcer Dave Wright. We heard a few good stories, compared a few notes and were reminded of this tournament's rich history.
Our goal was to select teams throughout the decades, to get a vast representation from the 65 tournaments played to date. We set up the quarterfinals by era as best we could, trying to avoid new school vs. old school showdowns until later in the tournament. No seeding was necessary. All eight teams would be No. 1s.
So with apologies to worthy champions from -- among others -- Rochester John Marshall (1977), Minneapolis Southwest (undefeated in 1970), St. Paul Johnson (1963), Grand Rapids (1980), Duluth East (1995), Elk River (2001), Holy Angels (2005) and all the recent Class 1A winners -- this was our dream bracket and results from Internet voting, which included more than 10,000 total votes spread over the four quarterfinal matchups:
•1949 Eveleth (13-0) with Willard Ikola between the pipes. Fellow U.S. Hockey Hall of Famers John Matchefts and John Mayasich sharing the ice. We matched Eveleth against 1959 Roseau (30-0), with future Olympians Don Ross and Larry Stordahl leading the charge. Internet voting result: Eveleth advanced with 64 percent.
•1965 International Falls (26-0) with U.S. Hockey Hall of Famer Tim Sheehy, in the midst of a great dynasty, vs. 1974 Edina East (24-0) led by Craig Norwich, the most competitive player Ikola ever coached. Internet voting result: International Falls advanced with 60 percent.
•1983 Hill-Murray (28-0), a dominant team during a great stretch, vs. 1985 Burnsville (24-1-1), led by future Gopher Scott Bloom, one of six Division I players on the roster. Internet voting result: Burnsville with a narrow victory at 52 percent.
•1993 Bloomington Jefferson (28-0), a loaded squad and the middle of three consecutive state champs, vs. 2004 Centennial (30-1), which didn't allow a goal in three state tournament games. Internet voting results: Jefferson with 83 percent.
In the semifinals, the 1965 International Falls team (52 percent) advanced to meet the 1993 Jefferson squad (70 percent) in the finals. Really, it's hard to go wrong either way. The 1965 Broncos were the pinnacle of a five-year dynasty and, ironically, beat the Bloomington Bears 7-0. The Broncos would face more resistance from the Jaguars.