A Disgrace to Northern Hockey Duluth East’s Refusal to Play Single A Neighbors Is Holding the Region Back

In Minnesota’s Northland, high school hockey is more than a sport. It is part of the region’s identity, built on generations of local rivalries, packed arenas, and communities that take enormous pride in their teams. That is what makes Duluth East’s refusal to schedule nearby Class A opponents so difficult to understand.

The Greyhounds have one of the richest traditions in Minnesota high school hockey. Yet a scheduling approach that leaves regional rivals off the calendar deprives players, fans, and the broader Northland hockey community of matchups that should be among the highlights of every winter.

Classification is supposed to organize competition, not dictate which neighboring communities deserve to compete against one another. If a game makes sense competitively and generates genuine interest, why should the Class A designation become an obstacle?

The end of the Duluth East and Cloquet/Esko/Carlton rivalry represents a significant loss for Northland hockey. For decades, the Greyhounds and Lumberjacks gave fans a familiar regional matchup with history, emotion, and community pride attached to every meeting.

These were games people circled on their calendars. The schools represented neighboring hockey communities whose players, families, and supporters understood the significance of the rivalry. The atmosphere surrounding these games was part of what made high school hockey special.

When Cloquet moved to Class A, the rivalry disappeared from the schedule. If classification was the reason, that is a disappointing way to treat a tradition that existed long before the distinction between the two programs became an issue.

High school hockey should be about creating meaningful competition. It should not be about abandoning familiar opponents because they happen to compete in a different class.

Then there is Hermantown.

The Hawks have established themselves as one of Minnesota’s most successful high school hockey programs, building a reputation that extends well beyond Class A. They are practically neighbors to Duluth East, and a regular-season meeting between these programs would be one of the most compelling matchups in the Northland.

Imagine the atmosphere surrounding an East-Hermantown game. Two established programs, two proud communities, and players who have spent years competing against one another in youth hockey. It is the kind of local event that could draw tremendous interest and give fans something genuinely exciting to anticipate.

Instead, the matchup remains absent from the regular-season schedule.

Why?

Duluth East does not need to abandon its Metro Class AA opponents to make room for its neighbors. There is no reason a challenging statewide schedule and meaningful regional rivalries cannot coexist. A game against Hermantown would offer a legitimate test, while a return to the Cloquet rivalry would restore a familiar fixture to the Northland hockey calendar.

These are opportunities, not threats to the program.

Under longtime coach Mike Randolph, Duluth East became one of the defining programs in Minnesota high school hockey. During the 1990s and 2000s, the Greyhounds earned repeated trips to the state tournament and established themselves as a perennial contender in Class AA.

East commanded respect because of what happened on the ice. The program built its reputation through competition, player development, and the expectation that the Greyhounds belonged among the state's best.

That history matters. But a proud legacy should inspire a program to keep pushing forward, not become something it tries to protect by avoiding compelling local matchups.

Duluth East is no longer the dominant force it once was. Rebuilding that stature requires more than looking back at the Randolph era or relying on the Greyhounds' historic reputation. It requires developing players, testing the roster against strong opponents, and giving the community reasons to believe in the program's future.

Hermantown offers exactly the sort of challenge that could help define a season. Cloquet offers the opportunity to restore a rivalry that has meant something to generations of hockey fans.

Nobody is suggesting that playing either opponent guarantees a victory. That is precisely why these games matter. Strong programs welcome challenges because competition exposes weaknesses, tests preparation, and gives players opportunities to improve.

If Duluth East wants to return to the upper echelon of Minnesota high school hockey, it should welcome opportunities to compete against the best programs in its own backyard.

A reputation built through competition cannot be sustained by avoiding it.

The disconnect becomes even harder to understand when considering how Northern Minnesota hockey develops its players.

Young athletes grow up competing against players from neighboring communities through youth associations, district league play, and regional tournaments. Duluth, Cloquet, and Hermantown are connected by years of shared competition. These rivalries begin long before a player puts on a high school jersey.

The Duluth Area Hockey Association and neighboring programs help develop the talent that eventually reaches the high school level. Players become familiar with one another's strengths, styles, and personalities. Families travel to the same rinks, watch the same tournaments, and follow the same local hockey stories.

Those connections should be an asset when players reach high school.

Instead, when established rivalries disappear because of classification, an important part of that development experience is lost. Players miss opportunities to compete against familiar opponents on a bigger stage. Families lose games that carry special meaning. Communities lose occasions to come together around the sport that has connected them for years.

High school hockey should be the culmination of those grassroots rivalries, not the point where they are abandoned.

There is something special about seeing players who grew up competing against one another meet again under the lights, representing their respective schools. Those games create memories that last long after the final score is forgotten.

The Northland should be finding ways to preserve those connections, not allowing class designations to diminish them.

Minnesota high school hockey thrives because communities care deeply about their teams. Fans fill arenas, follow scores, support local players, and pass their passion for the game from one generation to the next.

Regional rivalries are a major part of that culture. They create anticipation, generate conversation, and give games a significance that extends beyond the standings.

A Duluth East-Hermantown matchup could become one of the premier regular-season events in Northern Minnesota. Restoring East-Cloquet would bring back a rivalry with a long history and a natural audience.

Both games would offer something that cannot be manufactured through marketing or promotional campaigns: genuine local interest.

These are neighboring communities with established hockey traditions. The players know one another. The fans understand the stakes. The history is already there.

All that is missing is the willingness to put the games on the schedule.

Duluth East has every right to pursue challenging opponents from the Twin Cities and elsewhere. But regional rivalries should not be treated as expendable in the process. A strong schedule can include both statewide competition and games that matter deeply to the people who support the program.

The Greyhounds have a responsibility to consider not only what serves the team in the short term, but also what sustains the broader hockey community that has supported them for decades.

Duluth East has a proud history, a recognizable name, and a place in the story of Minnesota high school hockey. That legacy should be a reason to embrace meaningful competition, not an excuse to overlook it.

The solution is straightforward. Put Cloquet back on the schedule. Pursue a regular-season matchup with Hermantown. Build a schedule that challenges the Greyhounds while preserving the rivalries that make Northern Minnesota hockey special.

These games would benefit the players, give fans something to anticipate, and reconnect the high school program with the communities that have helped shape the region's hockey identity.

Most importantly, they would send the right message to young players. The rivalries they develop throughout their youth hockey careers still matter when they reach high school. Their communities deserve the chance to see those rivalries continue.

Duluth East once set the standard for Northern Minnesota hockey. Reclaiming that standing will require more than remembering the past. It will require decisions that demonstrate confidence in the program and respect for the region's traditions.

The Greyhounds should not be afraid of what a game against Hermantown might reveal. They should welcome the opportunity. The same applies to Cloquet, a longtime rival whose place on the schedule should never have been reduced to a question of classification.

Northern Minnesota hockey is stronger when its programs compete against one another, when local fans have games worth circling on the calendar, and when historic rivalries remain part of the sport's future.