USHL Teams Head North for Clyde Iron Cup

Press Release

For the second consecutive season, USHL teams will make their way to Duluth, Minnesota to compete in preseason matchups. Four USHL Member Clubs – Green Bay Gamblers, Lincoln Stars, Sioux City Musketeers, and Tri-City Storm – are set to compete for the Clyde Iron Cup at the Duluth Heritage Sports Center on September 14-15.

Last year, the Sioux City Musketeers and Green Bay Gamblers competed for the preseason title with a pair of games. Both teams earned victories but the Gamblers claimed the Clyde Iron Cup by outscoring the Musketeers 10-6 over the two games.

The preseason tournament is expanding to four USHL teams in 2012. Lincoln and Tri-City start things off with a game on Friday, September 14th at 3:00 PM (Central) while Green Bay and Sioux City meet in the nightcap at 8:00 PM (Central). The winners of each game will meet for the Clyde Iron Cup championship on Saturday, September 15th at 2:00 PM which is preceded by the third-place game starting at 11:30 AM.

The event will also help raise funds for the Northern Lights Foundation, an organization that assists youth who are facing life-threatening illnesses. In addition to the USHL teams, Duluth police and fire departments are taking the ice during the weekend to benefit the charity. A “Guns n’ Hoses” game is set for 6:00 PM on September 14th in between the two USHL contests.

“We have a goal to raise and distribute a minimum of $25,000 annually to children and their families served by the Duluth medical community,” said Dr. Ken Larson, a Duluth dentist who found the Northern Lights Foundation. We are extremely pleased to have been selected as the beneficiary of the profits from the Clyde Iron Cup and Guns n’ Hoses events. The Duluth Heritage Sports Center staff has done an excellent job of arranging some exciting hockey for us.”

It is a homecoming for a number of participants in the Clyde Iron Cup, including a pair of coaches for the Sioux City Musketeers. Second-year head coach Brett Larson is a native of Duluth. He graduated from the University of Minnesota-Duluth and served on the coaching staff for the Bulldogs prior to his USHL coaching position. Musketeers assistant coach Mark Abalan is a graduate of Duluth East High School and spent time coaching youth teams in the Duluth area. In addition, Green Bay Gamblers forward Trevor Olson was part of the Duluth East High School team that compiled a 26-2-0 record during the 2011-12 season. He also appeared in seven games for the Gamblers last season.

The Clyde Iron Cup trophy, donated by the Clyde Iron Restaurant, symbolizes the manufacturing tradition of the Duluth area and recalls the era when craftspeople supplied the world with innovative and quality products in order to build, farm, and transport. Clyde Iron Works, the company for which the trophy was named, was established in 1889 and originally headquartered in Duluth, Minnesota. It was an internationally renowned foundry and manufacturer of innovative heavy machinery that revolutionized the logging and construction industries.

In 1987, Clyde Iron Works merged with a St. Paul, Minnesota company and relocated its operations. The Clyde buildings remained vacant until Duluth developer Alessandro Giuliani purchased the 10.5 acre site in 2003. Three years later, he donated a port of the buildings and land to the Duluth Heritage Sports Center for the construction of a new hockey and multi-sports facility.

(Nathan can be reached at nathanfournier@mainehockeyjournal.com)