droughts

[Nostalgic Nerd]

I primarily kept it to teams who've been relatively competitive recently, excluding the old powers like Johnson, Eveleth, and Int'l Falls.

Blaine (2000)
Duluth East (1998)
Grand Rapids (1980)
Jefferson (1994)

[BodyShots]

I've got this one hands down....

WBL (Never)

[Nostalgic Nerd]

I've got this one hands down....

WBL (Never)

That's a good one since they have that quarterfinal drought thing going. Last final was in '82. I think only.

[pioneers]

I've got this one hands down....

WBL (Never)

That's a good one since they have that quarterfinal drought thing going. Last final was in '82. I think only.

'82 was actually Mariner

[bemused]

I primarily kept it to teams who've been relatively competitive recently, excluding the old powers like Johnson, Eveleth, and Int'l Falls.

Blaine (2000)
Duluth East (1998)
Grand Rapids (1980)
Jefferson (1994)

For all the buzz, hype, great players and excellent youth programs they had..the winner is..wait for it..Mike Randolph and Duluth East!!

[karl(east)]

I primarily kept it to teams who've been relatively competitive recently, excluding the old powers like Johnson, Eveleth, and Int'l Falls.

Blaine (2000)
Duluth East (1998)
Grand Rapids (1980)
Jefferson (1994)

For all the buzz, hype, great players and excellent youth programs they had..the winner is..wait for it..Mike Randolph and Duluth East!!

Hmm. Let's examine this, shall we?

In Randolph's past 18 years, East has been the top seed in the section 12 times. They have gone to State...12 times. That includes three upsets while the #1 (02, 06, 08) and three trips to State as the 2-seed (03, 05, 10).

In Randolph's 13 trips State, I'd break down their performances like this:
Modest over-achievement: 1991, 1995, perhaps 1998, 2005, 2011
Met expectations: 1994, perhaps 1998, 2003, 2010
Flops: 1997, 2009, 2012
Up for debate: 1996, 2000 (The 96 team was incredibly talented, but so was the Apple Valley team they lost to, and it's hard to criticize the performance of either team in that game. The 00 team was ranked ahead of Blaine going into the final, but as someone who recently watched some of that tourney for the first time, I am at a loss to explain how on earth Blaine lost 5 games that year. They were incredibly hot at State, and they had 3 seniors who went on to see ice time in the NHL. East, meanwhile, was very young, and was only favored because a bunch of good teams lost in sections that year.)

There have clearly been a few disappointments, last year's being the most glaring, and we could certainly get down into the details of game management or coaching philosophy or decisions that led players to leave, etc. I certainly have not agreed with everything he's done. But when taking the long view, the evidence doesn't really back up the claim that Randolph's teams perpetually choke,unless one has very unrealistic expectations for his program.

[tonkafan77]

Minnetonka (Never)
Wayzata (Never)

[bemused]

I primarily kept it to teams who've been relatively competitive recently, excluding the old powers like Johnson, Eveleth, and Int'l Falls.

Blaine (2000)
Duluth East (1998)
Grand Rapids (1980)
Jefferson (1994)

For all the buzz, hype, great players and excellent youth programs they had..the winner is..wait for it..Mike Randolph and Duluth East!!

Hmm. Let's examine this, shall we?

In Randolph's past 18 years, East has been the top seed in the section 12 times. They have gone to State...12 times. That includes three upsets while the #1 (02, 06, 08) and three trips to State as the 2-seed (03, 05, 10).

In Randolph's 13 trips State, I'd break down their performances like this:
Modest over-achievement: 1991, 1995, perhaps 1998, 2005, 2011
Met expectations: 1994, perhaps 1998, 2003, 2010
Flops: 1997, 2009, 2012
Up for debate: 1996, 2000 (The 96 team was incredibly talented, but so was the Apple Valley team they lost to, and it's hard to criticize the performance of either team in that game. The 00 team was ranked ahead of Blaine going into the final, but as someone who recently watched some of that tourney for the first time, I am at a loss to explain how on earth Blaine lost 5 games that year. They were incredibly hot at State, and they had 3 seniors who went on to see ice time in the NHL. East, meanwhile, was very young, and was only favored because a bunch of good teams lost in sections that year.)

There have clearly been a few disappointments, last year's being the most glaring, and we could certainly get down into the details of game management or coaching philosophy or decisions that led players to leave, etc. I certainly have not agreed with everything he's done. But when taking the long view, the evidence doesn't really back up the claim that Randolph's teams perpetually choke,unless one has very unrealistic expectations for his program.

We will have to disagree on this one. For twenty years he had
a consistently top 5 youth program and one of the easiest roads to state. I'm done (but I knew you would respond).

[karl(east)]

We will have to disagree on this one. For twenty years he had
a consistently top 5 youth program and one of the easiest roads to state. I'm done (but I knew you would respond).

Knew I'd respond? Interesting, since this is the first time I've commented on Randolph in about 3 years on here, aside from some veiled grumbling after last season and some vague praise after the year before. I normally avoid these topics like the plague. I only commented on this one because it was a sufficiently vague, over-generalized charge.

The youth program is good, at times great, but has nowhere near the depth of the Metro powers, and has seen some players go to Marshall, or had players zoned for Central who wound up playing at Marshall (ie. the Connollys). Certainly they are the most consistently good program in 7AA, but others have had their surges of talent, and have clearly had years where they are as good as or better than East. They deserve some credit for that.

[east hockey]

For all the buzz, hype, great players and excellent youth programs they had..the winner is..wait for it..Mike Randolph and Duluth East!!

Hmm. Let's examine this, shall we?

In Randolph's past 18 years, East has been the top seed in the section 12 times. They have gone to State...12 times. That includes three upsets while the #1 (02, 06, 08) and three trips to State as the 2-seed (03, 05, 10).

In Randolph's 13 trips State, I'd break down their performances like this:
Modest over-achievement: 1991, 1995, perhaps 1998, 2005, 2011
Met expectations: 1994, perhaps 1998, 2003, 2010
Flops: 1997, 2009, 2012
Up for debate: 1996, 2000 (The 96 team was incredibly talented, but so was the Apple Valley team they lost to, and it's hard to criticize the performance of either team in that game. The 00 team was ranked ahead of Blaine going into the final, but as someone who recently watched some of that tourney for the first time, I am at a loss to explain how on earth Blaine lost 5 games that year. They were incredibly hot at State, and they had 3 seniors who went on to see ice time in the NHL. East, meanwhile, was very young, and was only favored because a bunch of good teams lost in sections that year.)

There have clearly been a few disappointments, last year's being the most glaring, and we could certainly get down into the details of game management or coaching philosophy or decisions that led players to leave, etc. I certainly have not agreed with everything he's done. But when taking the long view, the evidence doesn't really back up the claim that Randolph's teams perpetually choke,unless one has very unrealistic expectations for his program.

We will have to disagree on this one. For twenty years he had
a consistently top 5 youth program and one of the easiest roads to state. I'm done (but I knew you would respond).

You don't know much about how Duluth's youth programs work and the schools they feed, do you? That's okay; the facts shouldn't get in the way of another one of your anti-Mike rants. Attaboy.

Lee

[bemused]

Hmm. Let's examine this, shall we?

In Randolph's past 18 years, East has been the top seed in the section 12 times. They have gone to State...12 times. That includes three upsets while the #1 (02, 06, 08) and three trips to State as the 2-seed (03, 05, 10).

In Randolph's 13 trips State, I'd break down their performances like this:
Modest over-achievement: 1991, 1995, perhaps 1998, 2005, 2011
Met expectations: 1994, perhaps 1998, 2003, 2010
Flops: 1997, 2009, 2012
Up for debate: 1996, 2000 (The 96 team was incredibly talented, but so was the Apple Valley team they lost to, and it's hard to criticize the performance of either team in that game. The 00 team was ranked ahead of Blaine going into the final, but as someone who recently watched some of that tourney for the first time, I am at a loss to explain how on earth Blaine lost 5 games that year. They were incredibly hot at State, and they had 3 seniors who went on to see ice time in the NHL. East, meanwhile, was very young, and was only favored because a bunch of good teams lost in sections that year.)

There have clearly been a few disappointments, last year's being the most glaring, and we could certainly get down into the details of game management or coaching philosophy or decisions that led players to leave, etc. I certainly have not agreed with everything he's done. But when taking the long view, the evidence doesn't really back up the claim that Randolph's teams perpetually choke,unless one has very unrealistic expectations for his program.

We will have to disagree on this one. For twenty years he had
a consistently top 5 youth program and one of the easiest roads to state. I'm done (but I knew you would respond).

You don't know much about how Duluth's youth programs work and the schools they feed, do you? That's okay; the facts shouldn't get in the way of another one of your anti-Mike rants. Attaboy.

Lee

Only 4 of my kids went through it.
How many of yours?

[PuckU126]

^^This is worthy of the velvet hammer.

[bemused]

^^This is worthy of the velvet hammer.

Really? After 7 pages of trashing private schools I can't say
I think DE has not maximized their potential? OK I won't talk about Duluth anymore... Even though I raisedmy family there. Happy?