The
1977-78 line:
Neal Broten, Aaron Broten, and Butsy Erickson.
One of the
greatest lines
in the
history of Minnesota high school hockey.
An Earlier Broten
Doug Ammerman, Roseau H.S.
Class of 1976 March 6,2006
[MNPuck]
Mike Broten made the 1971 All-Tournament team.
Was he Neal's brother? Mike was on the
1968-69 varsity, so he must have been pretty good. [Doug]
Mike would be a cousin of the brothers [Neal and Aaron]
Broten
[MNPuck]
Was Neal on the 1973-74 varsity? He'd be an
8th grader. [Doug]
Neal was a bantam in 73-74 and Aaron was a bantam in
75-76. Butsy [Erickson] and Neal were
seniors in 78.
"You could see them coming"
Doug Ammerman, Roseau H.S.
Class of 1976
March 1, 2006 [Doug]
Neal Broten should be credited with an assist on the
first goal [in the Consolation Championship game]
of the 1975 State Tourney. I scored the
goal, and Neal gave it to me from behind the net.
[MNPuck]
Was it evident that Neal might-be/was a "cut above". [Doug]
It was very evident that Neal and Aaron were something
special. Neal was noticed by the Portland,
Oregon press when we played there for the national
PeeWee Tourney. Roseau didn't have traveling
teams younger than PeeWee back then. Neal
was a star on that team even though he was young enough
to be a mite. I[t] was great fun to watch
him, and Aaron, and Butsy develop and play together.
They were all a cut above.
Herb Brooks on Neal Broten March 1975 Herb Brooks, to his son on their way to the 1975
State Tournament, "We're going to see the best player in
the state [Neal Broten], and he's only a Freshman."
Legend has it, . . . St. Paul Pioneer Press,
Mar 15, 1979 When a baby is born in Roseau, the first thing the
doctor does is remove the skates. Then,
after slapping the baby on the butt, the doctor checks
out the sex of the child. If it's a girl,
the skates are left off. But boy babies get
their skates back and immediately head down to the rink.
Jim Nelson on Aaron Broten St. Paul Pioneer Press, Mar
14, 1979 Nelson is a one-time Roseau goalie who played in
three state tournaments in the 1960's. He is
now the coach of Grand Rapids.
"What made Neal and Aaron so good? They
lived at the hockey rink . . . they played all the time.
When they weren't skating, they were playing road
hockey. I can't remember seeing them very
often without a stick or puck," said Nelson.
How good is Aaron Broten? Says
University of Minnesota coach Herb Brooks, "We feel
Aaron is the outstanding prospect in the state.
He's the number one player in our eyes."
Earlier this season, Aaron played on the
U.S. National Juniors in the world tournament in Sweden.
He was the only high school player on the team.
How did Aaron do? He led the American team
in scoring.
Quoting Neal Broten From the foreword to Ross
Bernstein's new book
'Frozen Memories - Celebrating a Century of Minnesota
Hockey':
"Growing up, my heroes weren't the NHL guys though, they
were the Roseau High School hockey players. I feel really lucky to have grown up in such a wonderful
hockey town, where the tradition runs so deep in the
community.
I mean hockey is what that town
is all about for basically eight months out of the year
- it's pretty amazing, and to be a part of that is
something special.
In small towns like that, you
start playing with the same group of guys from when you
first get on skates, all the way through pee wees and
finally through high school. So when it's over, it's
like saying goodbye to family.
I was lucky though.
We got to play in the state
tournament..."
Former UND Student Recalls Neal
Broten
SiouxSports.com Forums > UND
Sports > Hockey Apr 1 2003, 04:22 PM As I recall, Neal Broten was hotly recruited between both
North Dakota and Minnesota.
Full rides each place.
The guy was only about the best
hockey player to come out of Minnesota high school ranks
in the last 30 years. Neal chose
Minnesota. I was so
bummed, I transferred to the UM just to watch him play.
1977-78
1977-78
Regular
Season Stats
Name
GP
Shots Taken
Shots on Goal
G
A
Pts
Pts/Gm
Neal Broten
19
154
104
40
55
95
5.0
Aaron Broten
20
172
125
39
47
86
4.3
Butsy Erickson
20
186
120
33
35
68
3.4
1977-78
Season
Totals
[Roseau News, abt
March 2 1978]
Name
Games
Goals
Assists
Points
Pts/Gm
Neal Broten
25
43
77
120
4.8
Aaron Broten
26
48
54
102
3.9
State Tournament Stats
Neal Broten
1975
State Tournament
Opponent
G
A
Pts
Minneapolis Southwest
0
0
0
Hopkins Lindbergh
0
1
1
- - -
- -
- -
- -
1977
State Tournament
Opponent
G
A
Pts
Edina East
0
0
0
Mounds View
1
0
1
Hill-Murray
0
2
2
1978
State Tournament
Opponent
G
A
Pts
Rochester John Marshall
0
1
1
Edina East
1
0
1
Mounds View
0
4
4
State
Tournament Totals
2
7
9
Aaron Broten
1977
State Tournament
Opponent
G
A
Pts
Edina East
0
0
0
Mounds View
0
0
0
Hill-Murray
0
1
1
1978
State Tournament
Opponent
G
A
Pts
Rochester John Marshall
2
0
2
Edina East
0
2
2
Mounds View
2
1
3
1979
State Tournament
Opponent
G
A
Pts
Grand Rapids
2
2
4
Edina East
0
3
3
Irondale
4
1
5
State
Tournament Totals
10
10
20
State
Tournament Records
Neal Broten
Most Assists in One Period: 4
(1978)
First period against Mounds View:
1. R - Erickson (N. Broten, Vatnsdal), 2:48.
2. R - A. Broten (Erickson, N. Broten), 6:60.
3. R - A. Broten (N. Broten, Sandatrom), 9:23.
4. R - Erickon (N. Broten, A. Broten), 10:22.
Aaron Broten
1978 Leading Scorer:
4 G, 3 A, 7 Pts
1979 Leading Scorer:
6 G, 6 A, 12 Pts
Career
Stats
Neal Broten
Season
Team Record
G
A
Pts
Pts/Gm
1974-75
19-7-0
?
1975-76
?
?
1976-77
25-1-0
?
1977-78
25-1-0
43
77
120
4.8
Total
Aaron Broten
Season
Team Record
G
A
Pts
Pts/Gm
1976-77
25-1-0
abt 14
abt 22
abt 36
1977-78
25-1-0
48
54
102
3.9
1978-79
23-3-0
43
88
131
5.0
Total
105
164
269
Average-Points-Per-Game Leaders,
for One Season
Name
School
Season
Games
G
A
Pts
Ave Pts [G+A]
John Mayasich *
Eveleth
1950-51
18 of 19
4.4
ave.
1.8
ave.
* 6.2
Aaron Broten
Roseau
1978-79
26
43
88
131
5.04
Neal Broten
Roseau
1977-78
25
43
77
120
4.80
John Mayasich *
Eveleth
1949-50
13 of 21
46
16
62
4.77
Corey
Millen
Cloquet
1981-82
18
46
33
79
4.39
Scot Lecy
Rochester J.M.
1976-77
26
112
4.31
Neil Celley
*
Eveleth
1944-45
2.2
ave.
2.0
ave.
* 4.2
Ron
Castellano *
Eveleth
1950-51
2.0
ave.
2.1
ave.
* 4.1
John Pohl
Red Wing
1996-97
28
54
57
111
3.96
Aaron Broten
Roseau
1977-78
26
48
54
102
3.92
* Accounted-For Points [No records of stats for
some of the games.
Sometimes, just no records
of
assists.]
