Could Saturday’s JM Mayo game signal the end to a long-standing rivalry?

Jan. 13—The way Matt Erredge and Pete Moehnke see it, there are three options for the immediate future of the John Marshall High School boys hockey program.

None of them are right for players, coaches or fans of hockey in Rochester.

But it is reality.

The 2023-24 season will see the Rockets face the following options. The Rockets can start the season with 14 skaters (forwards, defensemen, combined); Forge a co-op agreement with another program in the area; 3. Let the program go dormant.

“What we can state is that at JM, participation numbers for a lot sports are dwindling,” Erredge said. Erredge has coached at JM since 2000 and is currently in his third year as head coach. “The school borders haven’t helped. This was 10 years ago when Jay (former Rockets coach), Ness, saw it coming. …

“We also know that boundaries won’t be redrawn in one spot. We do realize that.”

All three options have their pitfalls.

Rockets expect to have 14 skaters next year due to graduations and the possibility that a few Rochester Youth Hockey Association (RYHA) players from JM’s area will make the jump to high schools in the future. The full roster for a game usually includes 18 skaters, including six forwards and six defencemen. JM’s youth level numbers aren’t much better, as long as there is no public school boundary.

The Rockets started the season with a 20-player roster. They have since lost one player to injury and had several other players leave with illness or personal reasons.

They could have a worse roster next season.

Moehnke is JM’s assistant coach. He stated that “the expectation for next year is that we won’t have enough players for a JV team, and we’ll have a smaller roster for a Varsity squad.” “This means that we are only a few injuries or illnesses away of having to forfeit those games.”

Competitiveness is another issue. JM will struggle to find 25-game opponents with such a small roster. JM cannot rely on Big Nine Conference rivals to fill the majority of these slots. As it is this season, JM plays seven Big Nine teams — Mayo, Mankato East, Mankato West, Owatonna, Albert Lea, Winona and Red Wing — just once.

For players who play at JM, forming a cooperative with another program is the best way to go. However, this means that JM players will lose their identity as Rockets players. It will take conversations with other programs in the area to find one willing to co-op.

The last option, which is to let the program go dormant. This is something Erredge, Moehnke, and other JM hockey alumni seem determined to prevent from happening. If the numbers improve, there is always an option to bring JM’s hockey program back.

Erredge stated, “No one wants to see the JM program disappear; that’s what nobody is hoping for.” “We feel stress about this… the alumni fact. It’s the same guys who were on the 1977 state championship team that care so deeply about it. … They all want to see us find some solution.”

The possibility that JM won’t exist as a program on its own after the season makes Saturday’s game even more interesting.

At 3 p.m., the Rockets will face Mayo at Graham Arena I. This will be their only matchup this season, excluding a matchup for Section 1AA playoffs.

After 56 years of service and 126 games

, Saturday’s game — the 127th in the rivalry’s history — could be its last, at least for the time being.

Moehnke, an alumnus of JM, stated that “Across the board it doesn’t really matter who one team is or how their season looks like.” “These games are 51 minutes, sometimes 59 minutes, of — you grew up playing against these guys, you grew up playing with them, and there’s nothing more fun than going out and competing against them.”

It’s possible that Saturday’s match will be the last between these long-time rivals. However, it’s been quite a showdown within the city, filled with memorable moments over the past six decades.

Looking back on some of the biggest and most competitive games between the Rockets and Spartans — and their long time coaches, Gene Sack of JM and Lorne Grosso of Mayo — perhaps no matchup in the history of the rivalry that began in the 1966-67 season carried more weight than one that wasn’t even played in Rochester.

It was held at Mariucci Arena, Minneapolis, the brand new home of the University of Minnesota’s hockey team, on February 24, 1999. It was a high-stakes affair.

It was the Section 1 championship match, with the winner moving on to the state tournament at Target Center, Minneapolis. Target Center hosted The Tourney, while the Xcel Energy Center was being built.

Matt Notermann, the current Mayo head coach, is the hero of this game.

Notermann said, “The first thing that comes to mind when I think of JM, is the first varsity game I went to as a child, as PeeWee or otherwise, the stands were full, and the parking lots full,” You had to get there right at the beginning of the JV games if you wanted to have a spot to sit.

“… When we were young, our youth hockey teams had been split. We played against each other, and it was great. Because you knew that the other kids lived across the town, it was easy for both teams to become a bit of a rival.

Mayo was the top seed for the section tournament 1999. It had already defeated JM twice in the regular season. However, on this night the Rockets led 4-3 with four minutes left in regulation. Mayo didn’t want to lose a great opportunity. Max Bahr scored the second goal in the game with 3:26 left to go in the third. This tied the score at 4-4 and forced OT.

“You take a game that already has pressure and meaning on it, and then add some real meaning and pressure — the chance to go the state tournament,” Notermann said. Mariucci was the venue. Those were the days they would cancel school so that everyone could attend a game such as this.

“If I pretend I don’t recall it vividly, right down to puck drop, and down to goal, I’d lie.”

They fought through the entire scoreless first OT. Jeff Whitney, then assistant coach at Mayo, approached Notermann and asked him if there was enough energy to play every other shift.

Notermann stated to him that he would go all the way until he wins.

This didn’t take very long. Mayo won the first faceoff in the second OT, and defenseman Brandon Wiltgen deposited the puck into JM’s zone. It bounced off the JM endboards, right to Notermann who was cutting to his net. He collected the puck and shot it past Tom Lovett, JM’s goalie, for a win of 5-4. Mayo was now back in the state tournament.

Notermann stated, “Those were games, I’d have trouble falling asleep the night prior.” “I can remember the band playing, and the crowd. It was full. Graham (Arena), was packed to the gills. It was like I hadn’t seen it in a while. It was packed and three to four people were deep at the ends. Everybody in town was there, and every player knew it.

JM was no stranger to big wins against Mayo, especially during the Rockets’ golden age in the late 1970s.

As JM was en route to its state championship in 1977 — to this day, the only high school hockey state championship won by a Rochester team — the Rockets had to go through the Spartans three times. JM beat Mayo twice in the regular season — 7-3 and 5-2 — then the Rockets found themselves matched up with the Spartans in the Section 1 quarterfinals.

It was JM right from the beginning.

Scott Lecy had 112 points at the end of that season. He scored eight in a playoff victory against Mayo (11-2). Lecy recorded four goals, four assists and his linemate Bruce Aikens added two assists and a hat- trick. Three goals were scored by the Rockets in the second half.

Sack spoke of Lecy, “I’ve never seen a player score in so many ways.”

There have been many more memorable moments shared by both sides of this rivalry over the years. Mayo took the lead in the all time series in 2013-14, and JM followed three years later.

Mayo leads the series at 67-58-1. It was back in the lead in 2017-18. The Spartans won 10 consecutive games against Mayo, their longest-running rival (it won 14 consecutively from 1996-97 to 2001-02).

Notermann stated that they used to play pick-up games at Churchill, and then would go crash Allendale (Park where the JM children played),” Notermann added. It was sometimes hard, but it was still fun. Outdoor games are more than just kicking it around. You are trying to win.

It’s been this way for both men and women. It was always your desire to have neighborhood pride.

John Marshall vs. Mayo boys’ hockey rivalry was established during the 1966-67 season. Saturday’s game at Graham Arena I at 3:00 p.m. will be the 127th in a series that spans nearly six decades. Here’s a list of the most successful series between the Spartans and Rockets.

All-time Series Record Mayo Leads 67-58-1

Longest winning streak Mayo, 14 (1996-97 — 2001-02)

Current winning streak Mayo, 10 Games

Last 10 Mayo games Mayo leads 10-0-0

All-time goals Mayo 435 and JM 383

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