1 week until the 2019 Team Handball Open Nationals! Looking into the Open Division

1 week until the 2019 USA Team Handball Open Nationals in Myrtle Beach! Today we'll take a look at the entire Open Division field to see what possible match ups Minnesota may face.

This year Group B will be matched up with Group C in the Quarterfinal Crossovers. That would mean MNTH could see the likes of Houston, Alberts Juniors or Philly. This group could be considered the toughest group in the Open field so it'll be a great challenge for Minnesota to face no matter what club it is. Minnesota played Houston in their final game of the 2018 Michale Lipov Memorial Cup in Chicago this season. Houston won 22-18 that day and it'd be a great grudge match for MNTH.

Be sure to watch out for Alberta Juniors. Even though they are a junior aged team, they are one of the best run club organizations in North America. 

The further crossovers rounds have so many possibilities we don't know who we might face against! When looking over the list of teams in the Open Division this year, we see some familiar faces. Miami may be a new cast of players but Minnesota had an epic battle with them back in the 2010 Open Nationals Final where Miami defeated Minnesota by 3 points to take home the gold. Georgia has faced Minnesota a few times back at the 2012 Nationals when Minnesota hosted at the University of Minnesota. Last year at the 2018 Nationals Minnesota faced against both Long Island Tigers and SF Calheat 2, taking 1 of 3 from the team (the one being the 9th place game against SF Calheat 2). There is always the chance Minnesota could face against a new team, such as Boston 2, NYCTH 3, or Philly. Time will tell which scenario comes true.

Who do you think will come out on top this year? 

Be sure to stay glued to MNTH's Facebook, Instagram, & Twitter for updates and match scores from MNTH's games! Games will take place Friday, May 24th through Sunday, May 26th.

GO MNTH!

10 days to USA Open Nationals in Myrtle Beach! Looking into Group B, Minnesota's group match ups

10 days to go until USA Open Nationals in Myrtle Beach! Let's dive into the group match ups for Minnesota!

Minnesota was placed into Group B of the Open Division for Nationals where they will see the likes of Carolina Blue (2nd place 2018 Open Division) and Saskatchewan Juniors (First time at USA Open Nationals). Minnesota will have their hands full in this group with both teams well organized and athletic. 

Carolina Blue is possibly one of the most experienced together as a team clubs not only in the group but maybe in the whole Open Division. The club consists of current and former University of North Carolina Handball players who have shown over the many years in the College Team Handball circuit that it's a top 3 College club program. Carolina Blue has played very compeitivie Handball at multiple Nationals playing in both the Elite Division as well as the Open Division. Almost winning it all last season before falling to LA Team Handball. None the less, Carolina will be the team to beat in this group!

Saskatchewan Juniors are new to the USA Team Handball Nationals circuit but they have been VERY busy in the Canadian Handball circuit. They have participated in multiple juniors tournaments as well as international tournaments so they will be coming in well prepared for competition. If one thing is for certain, they will be looking to make a mark on the USA Team Handball scene to show that the Canadian Handball Federation of club teams is superior to the likes of the USA. 

Be sure to stay glued to MNTH's Facebook, Instagram, & Twitter for updates and match scores! Games will take place Friday, May 24th through Sunday, May 26th.

GO MNTH!

Minnesota wins Northern Lights Series title 2nd year in a row! Properly sends off long time club member!

Minnesota Team Handball won their 2nd straight Northern Lights Series title after a forfeit from Concordia. While we were looking to play against our Minnesota neighbors one more time this season we wish them the best for the rest of the season.  

The team was well represented for the last home game of the 2018-19 season! Since we had a bit of a crowd waiting to watch some Handball, the team decided to split the squad into two teams and play a "friendly" scrimmage game. 

The game was nothing short of fun! It had plenty of fast break goals from Wing player Josh Hetterick, alley-oop goals to Back player Wilder Freed, and coming out of retirement was original team Goalie Lubbert Kruizenga with some timeless goalie saves. Team Green defeated Team Blue 31-24 in a great send off to our home court, even with the last second change. 

Minnesota also gave thanks and farewell to a long time teammate of ours, Mustafa Abdalnabi. Saturday was his last game with Minnesota after 5 years with the club. Mustafa was in Minnesota for 5 years studying at St Cloud St University. During that time he participated with the club for many great achievements and matches. Most memorable was the 2013 Chicago tournament where he was a key part to the Minnesota team that not only beat rival Chicago Inter for the first time but took the Bronze medal in that game (first medal for MNTH in that tournament).

 Thank you for being a part of the team, Mustafa. Safe travels back home!

The team will now focus on getting ready for the 2019 USATH Open Nationals in Myrtle Beach. Practice, training and fun!

GO MNTH!

Minnesota to host Concordia in Northern Lights Series Final, last home game of the season on April 13th.

Minnesota Team Handball plays host to Concordia in the Northern Lights Series Final. Minnesota took the first game of the series 29-25 and will look to retain the NLS title for a second year in a row.

Come watch Minnesota's last home game of the '18-'19 season! Date of the game is Saturday, April 13th. Game starts a little after 12:30pm at the MSC/YWCA Midtown facility and is FREE to all spectators. 

CHECK OUT THE EVENT PAGE FOR MORE DETAILS!!!

GO MNTH!

Minnesota takes 4th at the Midwest Cup to finish the 2019 Midwest Team Handball Season

This weekend, Minnesota Team Handball took 4th place in the final game day of the Midwest Team Handball League; the Midwest Cup.

This was the second year in a row Minnesota came in a higher placement than what they left with. While the team was disappointed, they finished the game day strong which left them very confident in how they can preform for the rest of the season.

Game 1 was against Illinois State, overall both teams were evenly matched with Minnesota having a huge edge on experience as a team. The game was back and forth beginning to end but once the buzzer sounded ISU came out on top, 20-17. Minnesota's lack of bench depth compared to ISU's may have been the difference maker but non the less, ISU had some great young players that came through in the last moments.

After the loss, Minnesota was bumped to the bottom group of the Midwest Cup. Game 2 saw us against Milwaukee, an original fellow member of the Midwest League that they knew very well. The game was back and forth just like game 1 for Minnesota. Milwaukee always comes to play hard, close games in the Midwest League. In the end, Minnesota came out on top 25-23. Sam Nelson and Ellis Morfaw (Left & Right Backs) were key contributors to the win with a combined 13 goals.

The final game of the weekend was against a team Minnesota knows very well, Concordia. The two representative teams from the land of 10K lakes closed the game day out with both teams brining light benches to the game day. All in all, both teams were tired after playing 2 games already in less than 12 hours. Minnesota took advantage of this with fast breaks by Josh Hetterick, who scored 9 goals in this game, to defeat Concordia 28-8. Defense and the great work in goal by goalie Josh Wielenga held Concordia to 1 goal at half time. This was a great confidence boost to an already trending team and goalie. This won't be the last time this season these two will meet. In 3 weeks, both will play the Northern Lights Series Final game in Minneapolis.

Two Midwest League seasons down and Minnesota is still looking to improve. Even though the team didn't finish with the result they wanted, they did learn more about what they can do moving forward and that, in its own, is valuable. 

January/February practice schedule set!

Minnesota Team Handball has scheduled their practices for January and February 2019!

We have practices set at two different locations: Jefferson Activity Center (4001 W 102 St, Bloomington, MN) and MSC/YWCA Midtown (2121 E Lake St, Minneapolis, MN).

Here are the practices we have set for January February:

Thursday January 24th 8pm-10pm @ Jefferson Activity Center (Bloomington)

Thursday January 31st 8pm-10pm @ Jefferson Activity Center (Bloomington)

Thursday February 7th 8pm-10pm @ Jefferson Activity Center (Bloomington)

Saturday February 9th 10:30am-12:30pm @ MSC/YWCA Midtown (Minneapolis)

Saturday February 23rd 10:30am-12:30pm @ MSC/YWCA Midtown (Minneapolis)

If you are interested in joining the team for a practice please contact mnteamhandball@gmail.com.

GO MNTH!

MNTH goes 1-4 at Michael Lipov Memorial Cup in Chicago.

Minnesota Team Handball heading to Chicago for the annual Michael Lipov memorial cup tournament in Chicago! The team brought a new look team from the one we had last time we played this tournament. With injuries to some key players we took to the court with the mindset to improve each game and we felt we did so! 

MNTH started out the tournament with a loss to both Chicago (26-14) and NYAC (30-16). While we still felt comfortable with the effort and improvement through each game, we knew our next game against Toronto was a must win.

We came out with a win against Toronto 19-15. Defense was the key to the victory and we found our form!

Next up was West Point Black in the crossovers. West Point is always an opponent you can't break on and MNTH had the right game plan going into it. While MNTH played hard and kept the game close the 2nd half was taken over by the Army boys. They went on to defeat MNTH by a score of 28-19. 

Due to an injury to a key player in the middle for MNTH the team went into our final game against Houston with a veteran wing player starting, and playing most the game, in the middle. Something the team was not looking to do but looking to see how we can do. Keeping the game close throughout the whole game and with the circumstances we faced we played very well to end the tournament. Unfortunately, it didn't end up in a win. Houston won 22-18. 

1-4 isn't the best way to end a tournament. None the less, we gained important measures for the rest of the season. We'll look to take a well needed break for the holidays and re group in January to finish strong for the rest of the season.

GO MNTH!!