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It’s the 3rd oldest cup in the country, sometimes referred to as the Stanley Cup of the North–the battle for the Gibson Cup is here.
First awarded in 1939, the cup is named after hockey Hall of Famer “Doc” Gibson. It eventually ended up on a shelf.
Calumet Wolverines Coach Bruce Coppo said, “It laid in rest for a long time. It was in the basement, which is the Downtowner right now, it was the Red Wings Lounge then, and Norm Koski and Paul Lehto went over and stole it out of the basement from the Downtowner and cleaned it all up and since 1968 it’s pretty much been in activity.”
Now the Gibson cup has become the coveted trophy at the heart of the rivalry between the Wolverines and the Portage Lake Pioneers.
At the end of each season, the teams face-off for a best-of-three series. And this time of year, records go out the window.
Portage Lake Pioneers Coach Pat McCarthy said, “In our league you don’t remember who won the league tournament or the league title the previous year, but everybody knows who has possession of the Gibson cup from year to year.”
It’s the Pioneers who are in possession of the cup right now and they are coming off a tremendous season.
The Wolverines have played hard but struggled in the win-loss column, but this weekend could make all the difference.
“Oh, if we can win this, we’d forget all about last winter”, said Coppo.
The Pioneers took game one of the series 7-6. Game 2 is tonight at the Colosseum. Puck drops at 7:30.
