A Rivalry for the Ages

The Commissioner had plans to head south to Beloit tonight for the Stoughton vs. Waukesha sectional final, but that was before he realized Madison Edgewood and Middleton were squaring off in their own sectional final right here in Madtown.

This is a game the Commissioner simply cannot pass up, as this rivalry goes all the way back to the early 80's when he proudly sported a mullet and several layers of Oxy-10 for the Cruskaters of Edgewood. To prove it, he has dug up some rare footage of a clash between these two hockey powerhouses from those early years, many seasons before either team could actually call themselves a powerhouse.

Allow me set the stage:

It is 1982. Middleton has just started a high school hockey program that has ripped asunder long-running friendships between Middleton-based kids who have grown up playing on the same youth hockey teams. (Prior to Middleton having a program, any Middleton kid wishing to play high school hockey had to either move to another school district or enroll in a private school like Edgewood.)

There are a lot of Middleton kids on the Edgewood roster: the hotheaded Erik Moe (7), goaltender Dom Cerniglia (34), Kevin Goode (9), and assist-hoarding Chintz Jensen (12). The team also includes pool participants Peter Rudy (22) and Dan "Pappy" Birrenkott (15).

You might recognize some of the names on the Middleton side, too: Jeff Caplan (17) comes to mind as well as the wildly inaccurate cheap shot artist, Stuart Keith (7).

Two things to note:

Dan Birrenkott would never forgive for not calling out the crunching check he makes at center ice just before Stu Keith's second missed shot in this highlights package.

The Middleton Cardinal who bears the brunt of my 162 pounds of fury is none other than Madison-based entrepreneur and pool veteran Jeff Caplan.

Enjoy.