Rochester Mayo at Albert Lea
7:30 p.m., Thursday, Jan. 14

Thursday night’s Big 9 Conference matchup at Albert Lea Arena between the host Tigers (5-7-0) and Rochester Mayo (9-7-0) features two coaching legends facing each other for the last time.

Rochester Mayo’s Lorne Grosso and Albert Lea’s Roy Nystrom have nearly 1,400 combined victories, but Grosso is retiring at the end of the season.

The two are close friends and were linemates with the Gophers in the early 1960s.

Grosso, who helped start Mayo’s hockey program in 1966, is the state’s winningest coach with 702 victories while Nystrom is second with 688.

Under Grosso, Mayo reached the state tournament seven times, with the first in 1982 and six more over a nine-year span from 1992 to 2000. Moreover, in 49 seasons under his leadership, the Spartans finished with a losing record just eight times.

Nystrom grew up in Eveleth and starred for the Gophers from 1961-65. After seven years coaching and teaching in North Dakota, Nystrom accepted a similar position at Albert Lea, and the rest is history. The Tigers reached the Class 1A state tournament in 2004, 2005 and 2007.

The teams met in conference play on Dec. 10, with Mayo earning a 6-2 home victory.