Granite City Lumberjacks
# Granite City Lumberjacks

The Granite City Lumberjacks are a Tier III Junior A ice hockey team playing in the North American 3 Hockey League (NA3HL) and plays their home games at the Armadillo Deck Sports Arena, located in Sauk Rapids, Minnesota. The Lumberjacks play 48 regular season games, in addition to showcase and post-season tournament games.

## History

The team was founded in 2007 as a member of the Minnesota Junior Hockey League (MnJHL).

The Granite City Lumberjacks were the 2008–09 MnJHL regular season champions and qualified for the USA Hockey Tier III Jr. A National Championship Tournament, joining the 2009 playoff champions, the Minnesota Ice Hawks. The team won the MnJHL championship in the 2010–11 season with a 2-1 overtime win over the Rochester Ice Hawks.

In 2011, the Lumberjacks and MnJHL rival, the Minnesota Flying Aces, announced a move from the MnJHL to the NA3HL as part of the league's expansion to 16 teams for the 2011–12 season. The two teams joined two expansion teams, the Twin City Steel and North Iowa Bulls, to form the NA3HL West Division.

In the 2011–12 Season, the Lumberjacks claimed the West Division Title, West Division Playoff Title and the 2012 NA3HL Silver Cup Championship. However, they did not participate in the 2012 USA Hockey Tier III National Tournament.

The Lumberjacks would also win the 2015 Silver Cup Championship over the North Iowa Bulls. The Lumberjacks only qualified for the Silver Cup Tournament as wildcard after losing in the Divisional Finals to the Bulls. In 2017, the Lumberjacks won their third Silver Cup Championship with a 2–1 game against the Metro Jets.

## Season-by-season records

| Season | GP | W | L | OTL | Pts | GF | GA | Regular Season Finish | Playoffs |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Minnesota Junior Hockey League ||||||||||
| 2007–08 | No statistics available | No statistics available | No statistics available | No statistics available | No statistics available | No statistics available | No statistics available | No statistics available | No statistics available |
| 2008–09 | 48 | 41 | 5 | 2 | 84 | 238 | 109 | 1st, MnJHL | |
| 2009–10 | 50 | 36 | 12 | 2 | 74 | 258 | 121 | 2nd, MnJHL | Lost in Semifinals |
| 2010–11 | 45 | 36 | 8 | 1 | 73 | 215 | 100 | 1st, MnJHL | Bush Cup Champions |
| North American 3 Hockey League ||||||||||
| 2011–12 | 48 | 33 | 11 | 4 | 70 | 199 | 106 | 1st of 4, West Div. 2nd of 16, NA3HL | Won Div. Semifinals, 2–0 vs. Minnesota Flying Aces Won Div. Finals, 2–1 vs. North Iowa Bulls 2–1–0 in Silver Cup round-robin (L, 1–2 vs. Jr. Blues; W, 5–2 vs. Cherokee; W, 3–2 vs. Jr. Generals) Won Silver Cup Championship game, 2–1 vs. St. Louis Jr. Blues |
| 2012–13 | 48 | 36 | 8 | 4 | 76 | 212 | 122 | 2nd of 6, West Div. 4th of 17, NA3HL | Won Div. Semifinals, 3–1 vs. Alexandria Blizzard 1–1 in Silver Cup round-robin (W, 5–2 vs. Flint Jr. Generals; OTL, 2–3 vs. North Iowa Bulls) |
| 2013–14 | 48 | 36 | 12 | 0 | 72 | 249 | 124 | 2nd of 6, West Div. 3rd of 21, NA3HL | Won Div. Semifinals, 2–1 vs. Alexandria Blizzard Lost Div. Finals, 1–2 vs. North Iowa Bulls |
| 2014–15 | 47 | 33 | 9 | 5 | 71 | 197 | 113 | 2nd of 6, West Div. 4th of 31, NA3HL | Won Div. Semifinals, 2–1 vs. Alexandria Blizzard Lost Div. Finals, 1–2 vs. North Iowa Bulls 2–1–0 in Silver Cup round-robin (as wild card) (L, 4–7 vs. Bulls;W, 2–0 vs. Jr. Predators; W, 6–1 vs. Jets Won Silver Cup Championship game, 3–2 vs. North Iowa Bulls |
| 2015–16 | 47 | 33 | 11 | 3 | 69 | 196 | 112 | 1st of 5, West Div. 9th of 34, NA3HL | Won Div. Semifinals, 2–1 vs. Alexandria Blizzard Lost Div. Finals, 0–2 vs.Twin City Steel |
| 2016–17 | 47 | 32 | 8 | 7 | 71 | 188 | 111 | 1st of 5, West Div. 11th of 48, NA3HL | Won Div. Semifinals, 2–0 vs. Breezy Point North Stars Won Div. Finals, 2–1 vs. New Ulm Steel 2–1–0, 2nd of 4 in Silver Cup round-robin Pool A (L, 0–3 vs. Jets; W, 4–3 vs. Jr. Blues; W, 6–2 vs. Capitals) Won Silver Cup Semifinal game, 3–2 vs. Binghamton Jr. Senators Won Silver Cup Championship game, 2–1 vs. Metro Jets |
| 2017–18 | 47 | 33 | 14 | 0 | 66 | 225 | 107 | 1st of 5, West Div. 12th of 42, NA3HL | Won Div. Semifinals, 2–0 vs. Willmar WarHawks Won Div. Finals, 2–0 vs. New Ulm Steel 2–0–1 in Fraser Cup round-robin Pool A (W, 3–2 vs. Jr. Senators; OTW, 3–2 vs. Jr. Blues; OTL, 1–2 vs. Quake) Lost Fraser Cup Semifinal game, 2–3 vs. Metro Jets |
| 2018–19 | 47 | 37 | 8 | 2 | 76 | 239 | 98 | 1st of 7, West Div. 6th of 36, NA3HL | Lost Div. Semifinals, 1–2 vs. Alexandria Blizzard |
| 2019–20 | 47 | 33 | 13 | 1 | 67 | 229 | 107 | 2nd of 6, West Div. 9th of 34, NA3HL | Playoffs cancelled |
| 2020–21 | 40 | 27 | 12 | 1 | 55 | 156 | 105 | 2nd of 5, West Div. 10th of 31, NA3HL | Lost Div. Semifinals, 0–2 vs. Willmar WarHawks |
| 2021–22 | 47 | 44 | 3 | 0 | 88 | 284 | 67 | 1st of 6, West Div. 2nd of 34, NA3HL | Won Div. Semifinals, 2–0 vs. Alexandria Blizzard Won Div. Finals, 2–1 vs. Mason City Toros West Div. CHAMPIONS 1–1–0, Fraser Cup round-robin Pool B (L, 0–2 vs. Bighorns; W, 5-0 vs. Rhinos) Won Semifinal game, 4-3 vs. Generals Lost Fraser Cup Championship game, 0-4 vs. Rochester Grizzlies |
| 2022–23 | 47 | 39 | 6 | 2 | 80 | 233 | 111 | 1st of 6, West Div. 2nd of 34, NA3HL | Won Div. Semifinals, 2–0 Willmar WarHawks Lost Div. Finals, 1-2 Alexandria Blizzard Wild Card Qualifier 1–1–0, Fraser Cup round-robin Pool A (L, 1-3 Blizzard; W, 6-1 vs. Brahmas) Won Semifinal game, 4-2 vs. Bighorns Won Fraser Cup Championship game, 6-5 vs. Alexandria Blizzard Fraser Cup Champions |

## USA Hockey Tier III Junior Hockey National Championship

| Year | Round Robin | Record | Standing | Semifinal Game | Championship Game |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 2009 | T, 2–2 vs. Dubuque Thunderbirds (CSHL) W, 3–2 vs. Seattle Totems (NorPac) OTW, 6–5 vs. Northern Cyclones (AtJHL) | 2–0–1 | 2nd of 4 Div. II | L, 2–4 vs. New Hampshire Jr. Monarchs (EJHL) | — |
| 2011 | T, 4–4 vs. El Paso Rhinos (WSHL) W, 8–2 vs. Chicago Hitmen (NA3HL) L, 2–3 vs. Northern Cyclones (AtJHL) | 1–1–1 | 2nd of 4 Pool II | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 2015 | W, 3–1 vs. Dells Ducks (MnJHL) L, 3–6 vs. Northern Cyclones (EHL) W, 4–3 vs. North Iowa Bulls (NA3HL) | 2–1–0 | 3rd of 4 Div. 1 | Not played | Did not advance |

## Alumni

The Lumberjacks have produced a number of alumni playing in higher levels of junior hockey, NCAA Division I, Division III, and ACHA college programs.

