High School Hockey

[Swanny2]

Still a little early but soon it will be crunch time for big "W's"...... Who do you think has what it takes to get to St. Paul in March and make a difference??

[ANYFISH2]

Swanny, i will try and study up on section assignments that post some thoughts in the near future.  I would love for us to have an active H.S. hockey thread.

 

To start, is there really anyone whom can compete with Hermantown in class A?

 

AA seems more wide open than recent years.  Stillwater is nice, but i have guestions for the long run.

[Swanny2]

At a quick glance I would say potentially Breck could compete with Hermantown. One thing Plante does is make certain he has a tough schedule with a lot of AA teams in the mix. In fact, I would believe Hermantown, within the right Section, could advance to the Tourney in AA and would not be surprised in the future if they opted up. . . . How many A title games have they played in over the last 6-8 years? All of them???

 

I would agree AA has a little more flux in that the top 10, on any given night, could roll over a higher ranked team. But that, in a nutshell, is why I love following it so much!

 

Looking forward to your thoughts Anyfish. .. . .

[ANYFISH2]

Swanny, i will tell you if you like parity and a fun section to watch, look at section 6a.

Now i am biased, being born and raised in Little Falls.  

St, cloud Cathedral seems to be the solid front runner this season, and i expect them to win the section.  However, 2-6 could go either way given the night.  The section tournament will be filled with good games.

 

Section 6 IMO:

Cathedral 

Sartell 

Alex

Little Falls 

Fergus Falls 

River Lakes (poor record, yet scary for those above)

Wadena

Breckenridge

Prairie Centre.

 

[ANYFISH2]

I think i will stay with class A, I dont watch enough AA schools to give a good assessment.

 

Section 1a- Rochester Lourds.

 

Section 2a- Delano

 

Section 3a- Litchfield/Dassel/Cokato

 

Section 4a- St. Paul Academy 

 

Section 5a- Chisago Lakes (only Because i dont trust Monticello)

 

Section 6a- St.Cloud Cathedral 

 

Section 7a- Hermantown

 

Section 8a- East Grand Forks

 

Top 4 at State in my opinion are:

1. Hermantown

2. Delano

3. SPA

4. St. Cloud Cathedral 

[Swanny2]

OK I'll take a shot at AA.......

 

1AA - Lakeville North

2AA - Eden Prairie

3AA - St. Thomas Academy

4AA - Hill-Murray

5AA - Centennial

6AA - Edina

7AA - Grand Rapids

8AA - Moorhead

 

And State Tourney Seeds:

1 - Eden Prairie

2 - Edina

3 - Lakeville North

4 - Hill-Murray

 

and btw Anyfish2, what about this kid from Delano? 80 points already? Is he for real?

[ANYFISH2]

You know, it is hard to say!

Clearly he is skilled and talented, as is the entire 1st line for Delano.

 

Meyer is a D-1 recruit for Maine.  And has done nothing to say he is not as good as advertised.  80 pts is probably inflated due to competition. 

 

Kinda like Hanowski here in LF.  He was good, a great high school player.  But didnt translate at higher levels like the "lower" scoreing Leddys or buggsteds.  Competition plays a big role in points for these A schools.

 

Again, a good player.

 

[ANYFISH2]

Anyone else out there have some thoughts on the states high school hockey?

 

Games to watch?

Or teams your interested in?

[Swanny2]

Well anyfish it looks like you and me???????? Less than two weeks until Section play.... Been on a steady diet of high school hockey since xmas. As far a player worth the price of admission I got to go with Casey Mittelstadt. Now I should preface by saying I have been watching him since peewees due to the fact I've known his father since twi-night double headers at the Met. . . .however, he is something to see. Unbelievable hands, speed and vision. And after a couple line adjustments Eden Prairie has played some pretty good hockey over the last 5 weeks. Defense has improved dramatically and goal tending has been decent. More than likely an Edina vs Eden Prairie AA final on the horizon.

 

FYI: not sure if you saw it after the Wild game Tuesday night but you may want to check out Dream State. Its a show put on by FSN profiling Eden Prairie and Stillwater and will run Tuesdays until after the Tourney. . . .

[ANYFISH2]

I will have to check it out.

 

Casey is certainly the top player in the state right know.  Although, from an outsider the little i have heard is he seems to have had a "down" year compared to last.  Which is fine of course, he has more talent in one hand than most players have in thier entire body.

 

This years tournament should be fun to watch for sure.

 

 

And by the way, to anyone else, feel free to give your opinions.  Even if it is just to cheer for your local team.  We can all be proud our local boys!!  

[SwivelDigger]

Pine City has as talented of a first line as any team in class A.  3 of them are in the top 10 in the state in either points, assists or goals......but the other lines are quite a step down. The last few games the other lines have stepped it up quite a bit, just hitting their stride for sections. The only problem I see is the season is done for them except for playoffs now, hoping they don't get rusty during the off time. Hopefully the small town team can come through

[titelines]

Ok, I'll weigh in...although admittedly I am not as educated this year as I usually am.  I am most familiar with 6AA and will always be behind my Skippers from Minnetonka, but I don't think they have the horses this year to make a legit State run.  EP is probably the favorite to come out of there.  

 

My niece plays for Elk River, so I'd like to see those boys make it for her school's and the program's sake.  

 

Sorry, but Hermantown...yawn.  They prove every year that they can play with the AA's, but choose to be a perennial A powerhouse.  Look for a couple blowout wins to open their State tournament again.

[scrubby1]

How about them Spuds?

 

[scrubby1]

12-0-2 in their last 14 games

 

[Swanny2]

The Spuds have been playing solid hockey of late..... and at the right time. Don't think they'll get seeded at the Tourney but definitely can see them dumping a seeded team in the quarters. . ..  .

 

And titelines. . ..... yep, long overdue for a jump to AA for the Hawks. . . .

[Swanny2]

The field is getting set. . . . already some major upsets with Elk River and Edina falling in Section play. Was at Mariucci last night watching the 2AA final........WOW that was some great hockey! Officiating? not so much but both teams played their butts off and a very high level! Looking forward to the best high school State Tournament in the country!

[scrubby1]

I would think the Spuds will get seeded and watch out cause the are rollin!

[Swanny2]

They are certainly playing well and at the right time. And with Elk River and Edina out of the mix the odds of them getting seeded rose dramatically. Assuming the favorites win the remaining Section Championships, I think the Spuds will land as the 4 or 5 seed, with non-seeds Duluth East/Grand Rapids, Wayzata and Lakeville North/South.

 

Should be interesting!!!

[Swanny2]

The Table is set! Can't wait!

[ANYFISH2]

Going to be a good tournament. A few suprise teams to cheer for as well.

[scrubby1]

Should be fun to watch, 8 solid teams playing good hockey at the right time.

 

Lets Go Spuds

[scrubby1]

Any predictions that anyone wants to share? Would be fun to here what others think will happen at the X this weekend.

[ANYFISH2]

Well, well, early returns say expect the unexpected!!!

MAML defeats #2 Delano, and Northfield Defeats #3 Mahtomedi.

 

To start class A.

[ANYFISH2]

Great first day of Tournament !

3 of the top 4 seeds fall in the quarters and the 1 needing overtime to move up.

 

Fun hockey to watch.

 

Hopefully AA  as entertaining.  Pulling for Moorehead or Grand Rapids myself.

[LoonASea]

Sorry!!!  but do the schools get to choose if they play in A or AA  or does the MSHSL make that decision ,,,, I am from Hermantown and I dont think the students have any say about what bracket they play in ,,, Hermantown beat a few AA teams this season so yes they can compete in AA but they dont have the choice

[loadmaster]

First it depends on student body size,  then the athletic director with along with coaches principal and the some input from the Hawks bantam etc  remember what ever classification the high school has are what your younger teams play at.  The A.D. will not say why he will not go up..  Maybe with new coaches coming up he wants to go the safe route.  Sure they beat AA teams but who.  If they go up, it is a two year commitment The hawks sure looked like any AA team could have beat them last night    

[LoonASea]

They lost to Wayzata (their only loss) but beat Grand Rapids, Minnetonka and White Bear to name a few ,,, You can blame adults/faculty for not upgrading to AA but the players still deserve praise for their achievements

Another dumb question ,,, if they do go to AA will that be for all sports or just hockey??? 

[ANYFISH2]

Just hockey.

 

Hermantown plays AA in youth hockey now.

 

 

Schools can opt up if they wish, examples, St.Thomas Academy, Roseau.

There is alot of discussion if Hermantown should opt up or not.  I think they could compete for sure. Thier program seems to get better every year. I am happy for them.

On the same token some schools can opt down as well?  Not sure how, but Monticello -Annandale -Maple Lake (MAML) is one example.

I just enjoy good hockey.

 

This tournament is providing just that!

[Swanny2]

LoonASea - It is my understanding that enrollment dictates if you MUST play AA but can opt up - see Roseau, St Thomas, etc - should you choose to......

 

Either way, been a great Tourney so far and heading back down to watch today! Awesome Hockey!!

[ANYFISH2]

Well, class A is down to Hermantown vs. MAML, for the class final.

 

Again, class A has provided 2 more absolutely fantastic games today!

 

MAML defeats Northfield with seconds remaining in regulation. 3-2.

 

Hermantown again had thier hands full with a hot goalie against them.  After falling behind 5-2 the hawks find away to dominate the 2rd period and tie the game up 5-5, sending the game to overtime.  Then getting the winning goal with 21 seconds remaining in OT.

 

EXCITING STUFF THIS YEAR!