The North Star College Cup was a men's ice hockey tournament among the five
NCAA Division I
NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest level of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major collegiate athletic ...
programs in
Minnesota
Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...
. The North Star College Cup was meant to resemble the
Beanpot
A beanpot is a deep, wide-bellied, short-necked vessel used to cook bean-based dishes. Beanpots are typically made of ceramic, though some are made of other materials, such as cast iron. The relatively narrow mouth of the beanpot minimizes evap ...
tournament, and maintain the long-standing rivalries amongst the Minnesota schools from when they competed together in the Classic
WCHA
The Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) is a college athletic conference which operates in the Midwestern United States. It participates in the NCAA's Division I as a women's ice hockey-only conference. From 1951 to 1999, it operated a ...
up until the 2013–2014 season.
Format
The competitors are:
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University of Minnesota
The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public land-grant research university in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States. ...
Golden Gophers
The Minnesota Golden Gophers (commonly shortened to Gophers) are the college athletics, college sports teams of the University of Minnesota. The university fields a total of 25 (12 men's, 13 women's) teams in both men's and women's sports and com ...
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Minnesota State University
Minnesota State University, Mankato (MNSU, MSU, or Minnesota State) is a public university in Mankato, Minnesota, United States. It is Minnesota's second-largest university and has over 123,000 living alumni worldwide. Founded in 1868, it is t ...
University of Minnesota Duluth
The University of Minnesota Duluth (UMD) is a public university in Duluth, Minnesota. It is part of the University of Minnesota system and offers 16 bachelor's degrees in 88 Academic major, majors, graduate programs in 25 different fields, and a ...
Bulldogs
The Bulldog is a British breed of dog of mastiff type. It may also be known as the English Bulldog or British Bulldog. It is of medium size, a muscular, hefty dog with a wrinkled face and a distinctive pushed-in nose.St. Cloud State University
Huskies
Husky is a general term for a dog used in the polar regions, primarily and specifically for work as sled dogs. It refers to a traditional northern type, notable for its cold-weather tolerance and overall hardiness. Modern racing huskies that mai ...
Beavers
Beavers are large, semiaquatic rodents in the genus ''Castor'' native to the temperate Northern Hemisphere. There are two extant species: the North American beaver (''Castor canadensis'') and the Eurasian beaver (''C. fiber''). Beavers a ...
The tournament lasts two rounds, with first-round opponents being rotated from year to year. The second round features the consolation game and the championship game. The University of Minnesota is the only permanent participant. The other four schools each rotate a year off.
History
Prior to the 2013–2014 season all of the schools competed in the
WCHA
The Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) is a college athletic conference which operates in the Midwestern United States. It participates in the NCAA's Division I as a women's ice hockey-only conference. From 1951 to 1999, it operated a ...
. However, several teams realigned their conference affiliations in 2013, after Minnesota joined the
Big Ten
The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...
. St. Cloud State and the University of Minnesota Duluth joined the NCHC. Minnesota State and Bemidji State remain together in what has been coined the "new-look WCHA". The tournament is meant to maintain the rivalries among the Minnesota schools from the Classic WCHA.
The inaugural tournament was held at the
Xcel Energy Center
Xcel Energy Center (also known as "The X") is a multipurpose arena in Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States. Completed in 2000, it is named for its locally based corporate sponsor Xcel Energy. With an official capacity of 17,954, the arena has four ...
in St. Paul, Minnesota on January 24–25, 2014. Participating were the University of Minnesota, University of Minnesota Duluth, Minnesota State University, Mankato and St. Cloud State University.
Trophy
The trophy consists of Minnesota-grown red oak and birch as well as hickory wood historically used to make hockey sticks. Doug Johannsen of
Ramsey, Minnesota
Ramsey is a suburb 22 miles (35 km) north-northwest of downtown Minneapolis in Anoka County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 23,668 at the 2010 census. It is a northwest suburb of the Twin Cities.
U.S. Highways 10 / 169 ( ...
crafted the cup, while Bill Durand of
Anoka, Minnesota
Anoka ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Anoka County, Minnesota, United States. Its population was 17,142 at the 2010 census. Anoka is the
"Halloween Capital of the World" because it hosted one of the first Halloween parades in 1920. It ...
constructed the base. A star is used between the cup and the base and shows the tournament logo on top of the base. The star includes acrylic color in addition to pucks for each individual school participating in the tournament. Sterling Trophy Inc. designed the cup and approached Johannsen and Durand to create the trophy, and laser engraved the tournament logo onto the cup in part of the final production.
Results
Four games are listed for each North Star College Cup, in the order they were played. Winners are listed in bold. Games requiring overtime are indicated by (OT). Games requiring a shoot out are indicated by (SO) and the shootout score (3–2).
Statistics
Through the 2017 North Star College Cup, the five teams have amassed the following statistics:
Awards
See also
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College Hockey
College ice hockey is played principally in the United States and Canada, though leagues exist outside North America.
In the United States, competitive "college hockey" refers to ice hockey played between colleges and universities within the g ...
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College Rivalry
Pairs of schools, colleges and universities, especially when they are close to each other either geographically or in their areas of specialization, often establish a college rivalry with each other over the years. This rivalry can extend to both ...
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Minnesota High School Boys Hockey
Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to i ...