The year was 1983. A year that Iron Range Conference fans of that era will never forget. A year that was completely turned upside down in one evening. That day became known as Black Saturday.
The season started out with a different tone than recent past years. Grand Rapids was not the heavy pre-season favorite; Hibbing had lost 15 seniors from its 3rd place state tournament team from the year before and also welcomed in a new head coach; Greenway had two transfer students from California step in to play huge roles; A young Eveleth team that had won just two games the prior season came out of nowhere to be a contender; International Falls was plagued by injuries and illnesses, but somehow stayed in games; The IRC seemed up for grabs with Virginia, Hibbing, and International Falls all preseason favorites.
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2005-11-05:
What Happened to the Rink Rats?
Declining enrollment. Poor coaching. Political games. Over-participating parents. College scholarships. NHL scouts. Open enrollment.
All of these elements have been used as excuses for many hockey programs at one time or another for their lack of success. Every year you hear it; This team would have been great if so-and-so would have stayed with the team and not gone off to play Junior hockey or transferred to another school; This team was great, but the coach blew it; Or we could've been better because my kid was better than this kid and this kid was on the top line because so-and-so is buddies with the ...
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