Ducks stave off Bush Cup elimination (2015)

The Dells Ducks were on a mission in the 2014-15 season to finally lay claim to the Minnesota Junior Hockey League’s Bush Cup.

But the team endured more than a detour on the road to the championship in the spring of 2015. In fact, the road swerved in Dead Man’s Curve fashion when the teams biggest rival, the Rochester Ice Hawks opened the Best of Three Championship series with a 5-2 win in Lake Delton.

The Ducks spent most of the season chasing the Ice Hawks who racked up a long season opening winning streak to grab control. The Ducks however were equally as dominant down the stretch and the teams crossed the finish line together with matching 35-6-1 regular season records.

The Ducks were given the nod as regular season champions and both teams were dominant in their opening playoff rounds, the Ducks breezing past Ironwood Yoopers and the For

 

est Lake Lakers while the Ice Hawks downed the Minnesota Owls and Hudson Crusaders in division play. Final Four crossover matches saw the Ducks getting by Wooster Oilers and the Ice Hawks advanced past the Illiana Blackbirds

The Icehawks defeated the Ducks a few times during the season, but all the late season meetings went the Ducks way, so the home fans and Ducks players were a little stunned by the opening game loss. But just like that, the team was looking at the prospect of missing out on Nationals unless they could pull out a win in front of a huge, always loud and mean Ice Hawks’ home crowd.

About 30 hard core Ducks fans made the trip to Rochester for Game 2 on the Saturday night, sitting right behind the Ducks’ bench and witnessing the team’s get up off the mat 5-1 in game two of the Best of Three Bush Cup Championship series, meaning for the third year in a row, the Ducks were heading into a winner-take-all game for the Championship trophy.

But that’s another story.