Section 1A

[Roy01]

GAMES FOR 2/12

Mankato West vs. Owatonna
New Prague vs. Red Wing
Northfield vs. Chanhassen
Albert Lea vs. Rochester JM
LSP vs. Marshall
Mankato East vs Fairmont
Faribault vs. Providence Academy
Austin vs. La Crescent

Picks are bolded.

[OU812]

Roy - agree with every pick. Hope West can keep it going in Owatonna tonight.

[OU812]

and....they can't.

Owatonna 2, West 1.

[Roy01]

RESULTS FOR 2/12

New Prague over Red Wing: 2-1 OT
Northfield over Chanhassen: 4-2
Rochester JM over Albert Lea: 3-1
LSP over Marshall: 5-2
Mankato East over Fairmont: 6-1
Faribault over Providence Academy: 6-5 OT
Austin over La Crescent: 3-2

Mankato West vs. Owatonna score provided by OU812 (see prior post)

[hockeyking]

Northfield over Chanhassen 5-2

Was anybody at the New Prague game? Mankato West game? Please give any input on outcome of games. Is Red Wing getting stronger? Was Mankato West over-achieving up until now?

Looking for input from game attendees.

[actionjack]

I broadcast the New Prague at Red Wing game Tuesday night on KCUE radio. It was a very evenly matched game. Bisek came up with a huge save in overtime for New Prague and then the Trojans popped in the game winner a couple of minutes later.

Section seeding Sunday should be fun. Lourdes certainly is the top seed again but after that it all comes down to how certain teams match up against one another.

[urban iceman]

I broadcast the New Prague at Red Wing game Tuesday night on KCUE radio. It was a very evenly matched game. Bisek came up with a huge save in overtime for New Prague and then the Trojans popped in the game winner a couple of minutes later.

Section seeding Sunday should be fun. Lourdes certainly is the top seed again but after that it all comes down to how certain teams match up against one another.

Very true! As I said in a earlier post, Red wing's record is decieving. They will be a formidval foe in the sections for whomever. The game could have went either way as both teams were playing a grinding type game with both goalies rising to the challenge several times. Red Wing and NP games are very tight the last few years. New Prague can take the outright Missota conf. title this Sat. vs Northfield. Hopefully key injured player returns!! Does the West loss at Owatonna do anything to the upcoming seedings?

[Gretzky9]

I broadcast the New Prague at Red Wing game Tuesday night on KCUE radio. It was a very evenly matched game. Bisek came up with a huge save in overtime for New Prague and then the Trojans popped in the game winner a couple of minutes later.

Section seeding Sunday should be fun. Lourdes certainly is the top seed again but after that it all comes down to how certain teams match up against one another.

Very true! As I said in a earlier post, Red wing's record is decieving. They will be a formidval foe in the sections for whomever. The game could have went either way as both teams were playing a grinding type game with both goalies rising to the challenge several times. Red Wing and NP games are very tight the last few years. New Prague can take the outright Missota conf. title this Sat. vs Northfield. Hopefully key injured player returns!! Does the West loss at Owatonna do anything to the upcoming seedings?

The fact that Red Wing has played a few close games within their 3 win season doesn't get them a free pass to the top end of the section seedings...even though they are way better than their record. You can't have it both ways. As for West...the loss does nothing to affect their seed but a loss to Faribault would change things a I think for both those clubs. Nice win for LS/SP to help them with their cause for 6. Northfield can perhaps make some noise with NP game. East can help themselves against Faribault.
And downnnnn the stretch they come!

For now:

1. Lourdes
2. West
3. NP
4. Northfield
5. AL
6. LS/SP
7. Red Wing
8. Faribault
9. East
10. Austin
11. La Crescent
12. Waseca

[Ready2GoYet]

I would put the teams today in the following order:
1. Lourdes
2. Mkto West
3. New Prague
4. Northfield
5. Albert Lea
6. Faribault
7. LeSueur/St. Peter
8. Red Wing
9. Mkto East
10. Austin
11. La Crescent
12. Waseca

I agree Red Wing is "better than their record" but the record still counts for something (just my philosophy, I am not much of a "moral victories" kind of person either). I also can't put Le Sueur in front of Faribault. Faribault won their one head-to-head match up 5-2, and for common opponents, Mkto-West beat Le Sueur 7-2 while only beat Faribault 5-4, and Faribault beat Dodge County and Le Sueur split with them. If Faribault beats Mankato East tomorrow, they should stay in 6th. If they lose, then its a lot closer. An East win might even push them above Red Wing. For numbers 2 and 3, if Mankato West would somehow lose to Faribault on Saturday, coupled with yesterday's loss to Owatonna, I could see New Prague moving ahead of them for 2.

[Gretzky9]

I would put the teams today in the following order:
1. Lourdes
2. Mkto West
3. New Prague
4. Northfield
5. Albert Lea
6. Faribault
7. LeSueur/St. Peter
8. Red Wing
9. Mkto East
10. Austin
11. La Crescent
12. Waseca

I agree Red Wing is "better than their record" but the record still counts for something (just my philosophy, I am not much of a "moral victories" kind of person either). I also can't put Le Sueur in front of Faribault. Faribault won their one head-to-head match up 5-2, and for common opponents, Mkto-West beat Le Sueur 7-2 while only beat Faribault 5-4, and Faribault beat Dodge County and Le Sueur split with them. If Faribault beats Mankato East tomorrow, they should stay in 6th. If they lose, then its a lot closer. An East win might even push them above Red Wing. For numbers 2 and 3, if Mankato West would somehow lose to Faribault on Saturday, coupled with yesterday's loss to Owatonna, I could see New Prague moving ahead of them for 2.

Regarding the LS/SP vs Faribault positions I could go either way and it will depend a little on the last couple games as you suggest...especially with East/Faribault, West/Faribault,and LS/SP remaining games. But, I came out on LS/Sp better section and overall record, they beat Austin handily while Faribault split, LS/SP loss to DC was by one but they beat them handily also while Faribault only won by 1. Right now even with head to head (early in year) the overall numbers look better for LS/SP. So, they get the 6. Especially with things close if they end up with a winning record and Faribault ends up with a losing record. If Faribault should get pounded by West or lose to East and LS/Sp wins out to me its a no brainer. If Faribault beats East and keeps it close with West while LS/SP splits Faribault probably gets the nod. Bottom line...the next couple games for both will play a factor.
As for West....agree, if they lose to Faribault they are in trouble with losing #2 but if Northfield beats NP I don't care what West does....their body of work is better than NP at that point.
Not sure even if East beats Faribault it puts them above Red Wing. East has some losses that hurt.

[hockeyking]

If Northfield beats NP and Mankato West loses to Faribault.
Rankings should be as follows.

1. Lourdes
2. Northfield
3. Mankato West
4. New Prague
5. Faribault
6. Albert Lea
7. L/SP
8. Red Wing
9. Mankato East
10. Austin
11. La Crescent
12. Waseca

If the above scenario occurs it will be an interesting seeding meeting for Section 1A. Need to play the games first, good luck to all teams playing for a playoff spot. This is what makes the games fun to watch.

[Roy01]

GAMES FOR 2/14

Rochester Lourdes vs. Prior Lake
Albert Lea vs. Winona
LSP vs. LDC
Red Wing vs. Chaska
Mankato East vs. Faribault
Austin vs. Rochester JM

Picks are bolded.

[Ready2GoYet]

Even if Faribault would upset West this Saturday, I would not put them above Albert Lea, as Albert Lea beat them both times this season. I wouldn't pick Faribault to win over West, however, as I read they lost 3 varsity players to injury in the game at Mayo last Saturday, and I don't think they'll have enough defense to stay with West's offense.
I think if Northfield does beat New Prague, it makes it closer, but I couldn't put them 2 spots above, if ahead at all.
With regards to putting LeSueur ahead of Faribault (per Gretzky9) due to section record, I don't give a lot of weight for wins over Waseca and La Crescent by LeSueur compared to losses by Faribault to Albert Lea and West (section wins and losses, but no where near common opponents).
Right now, by the four rankings I know of (KRACH, PageStat, MSHSR, and QRF), the order looks as follows (with the specific rank from each listing given after the team):
1. Lourdes (1/1/1/2)
2. West (2/3/2/1)
3. New Prague (3/2/3/4)
4. Northfield (4/4/4/3)
5. Albert Lea (5/6/6/5)
T6. Red Wing (7/5/5/9)
T6. Faribault (6/7/7/6)
8. Le Sueur (8/8/8/8)
9. Austin (9/9/9/7)
10. East (10/10/10/10)
11. La Crescent (11/11/11/12)
12. Waseca (12/12/12/11)
Its interesting seeing all the different approaches and rationale behind where everyone would put these teams, knowing we're all right and all wrong, and unless any of you are coaches, that none of our opinions matter come Sunday.
Good luck to all the teams in playoffs regardless of seeding. The old cliche, you only need to beat the team you're playing.

[Gretzky9]

Even if Faribault would upset West this Saturday, I would not put them above Albert Lea, as Albert Lea beat them both times this season. I wouldn't pick Faribault to win over West, however, as I read they lost 3 varsity players to injury in the game at Mayo last Saturday, and I don't think they'll have enough defense to stay with West's offense.
I think if Northfield does beat New Prague, it makes it closer, but I couldn't put them 2 spots above, if ahead at all.
With regards to putting LeSueur ahead of Faribault (per Gretzky9) due to section record, I don't give a lot of weight for wins over Waseca and La Crescent by LeSueur compared to losses by Faribault to Albert Lea and West (section wins and losses, but no where near common opponents).
Right now, by the four rankings I know of (KRACH, PageStat, MSHSR, and QRF), the order looks as follows (with the specific rank from each listing given after the team):
1. Lourdes (1/1/1/2)
2. West (2/3/2/1)
3. New Prague (3/2/3/4)
4. Northfield (4/4/4/3)
5. Albert Lea (5/6/6/5)
T6. Red Wing (7/5/5/9)
T6. Faribault (6/7/7/6)
8. Le Sueur (8/8/8/8)
9. Austin (9/9/9/7)
10. East (10/10/10/10)
11. La Crescent (11/11/11/12)
12. Waseca (12/12/12/11)
Its interesting seeing all the different approaches and rationale behind where everyone would put these teams, knowing we're all right and all wrong, and unless any of you are coaches, that none of our opinions matter come Sunday.
Good luck to all the teams in playoffs regardless of seeding. The old cliche, you only need to beat the team you're playing.

Agree with "none of our opinions matter" but that's why these boards exist. I would say I don't put any more credibility in to the above ranking systems because frankly, outside the top 10 or 15 in each class the criteria they use is suspect....and there are many to cite. Some put too much weight on strength of schedule, not enough or too much on head-to-head, etc. Frankly, any one of us could start a website for high school hockey rankings and make it look "official" and use whatever we want for criteria to come up our rankings.

At the end of the day unless something unusual happens should come down to 2...maybe 3 teams to win it. All the other stuff is just for us....but it is fun to go around and around with each other. Better than work.

[Gretzky9]

Even if Faribault would upset West this Saturday, I would not put them above Albert Lea, as Albert Lea beat them both times this season. I wouldn't pick Faribault to win over West, however, as I read they lost 3 varsity players to injury in the game at Mayo last Saturday, and I don't think they'll have enough defense to stay with West's offense.
I think if Northfield does beat New Prague, it makes it closer, but I couldn't put them 2 spots above, if ahead at all.
With regards to putting LeSueur ahead of Faribault (per Gretzky9) due to section record, I don't give a lot of weight for wins over Waseca and La Crescent by LeSueur compared to losses by Faribault to Albert Lea and West (section wins and losses, but no where near common opponents).
Right now, by the four rankings I know of (KRACH, PageStat, MSHSR, and QRF), the order looks as follows (with the specific rank from each listing given after the team):
1. Lourdes (1/1/1/2)
2. West (2/3/2/1)
3. New Prague (3/2/3/4)
4. Northfield (4/4/4/3)
5. Albert Lea (5/6/6/5)
T6. Red Wing (7/5/5/9)
T6. Faribault (6/7/7/6)
8. Le Sueur (8/8/8/8)
9. Austin (9/9/9/7)
10. East (10/10/10/10)
11. La Crescent (11/11/11/12)
12. Waseca (12/12/12/11)
Its interesting seeing all the different approaches and rationale behind where everyone would put these teams, knowing we're all right and all wrong, and unless any of you are coaches, that none of our opinions matter come Sunday.
Good luck to all the teams in playoffs regardless of seeding. The old cliche, you only need to beat the team you're playing.

Agree with "none of our opinions matter" but that's why these boards exist. I would say I don't put any more credibility in to the above ranking systems because frankly, outside the top 10 or 15 in each class the criteria they use is suspect....and there are many to cite. Some put too much weight on strength of schedule, not enough or too much on head-to-head, etc. Frankly, any one of us could start a website for high school hockey rankings and make it look "official" and use whatever we want for criteria to come up our rankings.

At the end of the day unless something unusual happens should come down to 2...maybe 3 teams to win it. All the other stuff is just for us....but it is fun to go around and around with each other. Better than work.

Forgot one other point in all this:

So let's put a team that might lose 20 games at 6 because of these great ranking systems....but look at their 3 wins. Against teams 5-18-1, 11-12-1, and 7-16-1. That shows real strength for RW and common sense for the rest of us

[Roy01]

Even if Faribault would upset West this Saturday, I would not put them above Albert Lea, as Albert Lea beat them both times this season. I wouldn't pick Faribault to win over West, however, as I read they lost 3 varsity players to injury in the game at Mayo last Saturday, and I don't think they'll have enough defense to stay with West's offense.
I think if Northfield does beat New Prague, it makes it closer, but I couldn't put them 2 spots above, if ahead at all.
With regards to putting LeSueur ahead of Faribault (per Gretzky9) due to section record, I don't give a lot of weight for wins over Waseca and La Crescent by LeSueur compared to losses by Faribault to Albert Lea and West (section wins and losses, but no where near common opponents).
Right now, by the four rankings I know of (KRACH, PageStat, MSHSR, and QRF), the order looks as follows (with the specific rank from each listing given after the team):
1. Lourdes (1/1/1/2)
2. West (2/3/2/1)
3. New Prague (3/2/3/4)
4. Northfield (4/4/4/3)
5. Albert Lea (5/6/6/5)
T6. Red Wing (7/5/5/9)
T6. Faribault (6/7/7/6)
8. Le Sueur (8/8/8/8)
9. Austin (9/9/9/7)
10. East (10/10/10/10)
11. La Crescent (11/11/11/12)
12. Waseca (12/12/12/11)
Its interesting seeing all the different approaches and rationale behind where everyone would put these teams, knowing we're all right and all wrong, and unless any of you are coaches, that none of our opinions matter come Sunday.
Good luck to all the teams in playoffs regardless of seeding. The old cliche, you only need to beat the team you're playing.

Agree with "none of our opinions matter" but that's why these boards exist. I would say I don't put any more credibility in to the above ranking systems because frankly, outside the top 10 or 15 in each class the criteria they use is suspect....and there are many to cite. Some put too much weight on strength of schedule, not enough or too much on head-to-head, etc. Frankly, any one of us could start a website for high school hockey rankings and make it look "official" and use whatever we want for criteria to come up our rankings.

At the end of the day unless something unusual happens should come down to 2...maybe 3 teams to win it. All the other stuff is just for us....but it is fun to go around and around with each other. Better than work.

Forgot one other point in all this:

So let's put a team that might lose 20 games at 6 because of these great ranking systems....but look at their 3 wins. Against teams 5-18-1, 11-12-1, and 7-16-1. That shows real strength for RW and common sense for the rest of us

Couldn't agree more Gretzky. Three wins in the span of 25 games against teams below .500 doesn't say much. As for the two New Prague games, Red Wing and New Prague have traditionally always played close games. That is nothing out of the ordinary. The glaring issue with Red Wing is that there are numerous games they should had won, but failed when placed in a position to win. I don't believe that is deserving of a 5, 6, or even 7 seed.

[Ready2GoYet]

Just to clarify, I am not in agreement with putting Red Wing at 6 like those various rankings do, I was just summarizing them for comparison. I totally agree it does show how focusing on different criteria can swing a ranking. At best I would put Red Wing at 8, and I could easily support even a 9 or a 10. Then, if they are better than their record, they can go ahead and win some games in the playoffs and show it.

[OU812]

Nice 1A posting guys. This Scarlet fan has to give Red Wing a little push here, though considering schedule strength and the fact that Red Wing has knocked West out of sections each of the last two years it is hard to measure where they fit in to the seedings. I had the Wingers at #7, but even that might be too low if you consider the teams they have played, which include: #20 AA Tartan, top ten A teams Hermantown and Lourdes, #20 A New Prague (twice), and Holy Angels (also twice).

I think if Fairbault, St. Peter, or even East had played those teams this season, they would be likely to lose every game above. If Red Wing had played the teams East played, for example, they would have had two games against Fairmont, and played Worthington and Waseca - no way the Wingers lose any of those. Just saying the overall season record has to take schedule strength into account somehow.

Having said that, Red Wing also has some of the poorest showings this season as well. Hard to tell which teams show up night in and night out, right? Just like West, who pasted Mayo Thursday 7-3 only to turn around and lose to Owatonna, any of these section 1A teams could suprise it's fans in a good or bad way.

Hope it is a blast for everybody to watch the rest of the season...

[Roy01]

Nice 1A posting guys. This Scarlet fan has to give Red Wing a little push here, though considering schedule strength and the fact that Red Wing has knocked West out of sections each of the last two years. I had the Wingers at #7, but even that might be too low if you consider the teams they have played, which include: #20 AA Tartan, top ten A teams Hermantown and Lourdes, #20 A New Prague (twice), and Holy Angels (also twice).

I think if Fairbault, St. Peter, or even East had played those teams this season, they would be likely to lose every game above. If Red Wing had played the teams East played, for example, they would have had two games against Fairmont, and played Worthington and Waseca - no way the Wingers lose any of those. Just saying the overall season record has to take schedule strength into account somehow.

Having said that, Red Wing also has some of the poorest showings this season as well. Hard to tell which teams show up night in and night out, right? Just like West, who pasted Mayo Thursday 7-3 only to turn around and lose to Owatonna, any of these section 1A teams could suprise it's fans in a good or bad way.

Hope it is a blast for everybody to watch the rest of the season...

Well West was not as strong last year, and two years back while Drew Weber and Ville Rantanen were on the roster they out-shot the Wingers in that contest 36-23 as well and, arguably, should had won.

I'm going to give Faribault a little edge come seeding because the main common opponent between the Wingers and the Falcons is Mayo which was a 4-1 loss for the Falcons, and I was at the Wingers game when they played and they were, frankly, dominated... Obviously a transitive property isn't' the best way of being practical, but I have not seen the Falcons play this year. LSP will be competitive so long as Amsden plays well. East and Faribault can solve their positioning tonight, and I still give East a little leeway over Red Wing just due to wins.

Fact of the matter is they seed by how much and how well you win against teams and common opponents. Not how well you play in a losing effort. In my opinion, three wins (barring a fourth tonight against Chaska) for the Wingers will keep them at #8 at the highest, and as Ready said, there's still a strong case for #9 or #10.

[Roy01]

RESULTS FOR 2/14

Rochester Lourdes over Prior Lake: 3-1 (Big game by Funk with the Hat-Trick)
Albert Lea ties Winona: 3-3
LDC over LSP: 2-1
Red Wing over Chaska: 7-4
Faribault over Mankato East: 3-0
Rochester JM over Austin: 9-2

[HockeyRoch]

If I eat my words come section playoff time then that is my fault but after watching Lourdes tonight I don't think anyone in Section 1A has a chance. They just beat Prior Lake which is a good AA team and even though the shots were lopsided it was more of a who had better opportunities. The goalie for Lourdes has been out the entire season until recently and he's the real deal as in division 1 caliber. It takes 3-4 rebounds to sneak anything by him. He stops any screen shot, stops grinding shots, stops tips, etc. Lourdes can beat a lot of teams with him in net. I think he will post a couple of shut outs during the section playoffs.

I have only been to a couple of Lourdes games this year because the ones that I saw during the early parts of the season didn't impress me.

WOW! Now I think Lourdes is a team to take seriously in the state tournament. They finally have a goaltender that can back them up and keep them in any game. They finally had their goalie that's been out the entire season from a back injury come in and he stopped 28 of 29 shots from Prior Lake. Lourdes only had 13 shots but the ones they had were good.

Prior Lake deserved to win the game but Lourdes now has a hot goalie that can take them deep into state. This kid is a sophomore and he's the real deal. He's calm and plays the puck well but more importantly he controls all of his rebounds.

Lourdes has enough offense to take advantage of the opportunities and now they have a goalie that can stop the other team and let the trust build in the players.

Rochester Lourdes is on their way to another section 1A title and hopefully a good placing in the state tournament. Obviously, nobody will beat St. Thomas Academy.

[SEpuck]

Welcome dad of "awesome, division 1 caliber goalie"

[sterfry9]

The goalie for Lourdes has been out the entire season until recently and he's the real deal as in division 1 caliber. It takes 3-4 rebounds to sneak anything by him. He stops any screen shot, stops grinding shots, stops tips, etc. Lourdes can beat a lot of teams with him in net. I think he will post a couple of shut outs during the section playoffs.

im sure anyone from rochester can answer this is this kid kangas quality? if not your giving this kid too much credit in my opinion...

[HockeyRoch]

Welcome dad of "awesome, division 1 caliber goalie"

I don't have any kids. Also, like I said, I've been to a couple of Rochester Lourdes games earlier this season and their goaltending was horrific with Ellingson. This new kid is the real deal.

If anyone would have seen the game last night vs. Prior Lake they would understand what I'm talking about.

[Huskiesfan16]

Keep it in your pants will you? I'd have to agree with you somewhat, the kid seems very solid from the scores I've seen, but D1 quality? I think it's a little too early for that. Zachary Driscoll from eastview is D1 quality, and does this kid compare ? Probably not. But, where I agree with you is if he stays this hot, they won't lose until they come up against Breck or STA who will pound them with shots. If he can stay hot, maybe LHS can pull off the upset. They have the scoring. I think you can relax with the "horrific" comment though because I would agree that the other kid didn't play much better than alright, but they're high schoolers, LHS won and lost games all year...