AA Rankings for 1/19/14

[danglingnsnipen15]

Is this a pattern for them? My sample size is very small, but in the game I saw them play I was not impressed at all, they were chippy all game and a player got ejected.
Now, the game I saw was their last loss so my guess is they have gotten better since, but I'd be curious if this behavior is commonplace on the team.

They seem to be a team which thrives on a physical style of play, which lead to a great deal of post-whistle confrontations early on in the season. It hasn't been an issue as of late though.

There's a difference between being physical and getting the crowd to cheer for you when a player you hit after the whistle is on the ice not moving.
Hopefully you're right and it's changed.

I apologize, I wasn't very clear before. I didn't necessarily mean hitting a player after the whistle. Their physical play often lead to pushing/shoving after the whistle which escalated at times.

[Tenoverpar]

I like Karls statement regarding the top seeds as of today (in his ranking)...if the tourney started today and these rankings were actual..we'd be looking at an X lineup that could look like this:

1. L North sponsored by Goldy
8. Roseau

5. Elk River
4. Wayzata

3. Tebows East Side All Stars
6. Blaine

7. Daddys' Money (STA)
2. Grandpa's Money (Edina)

That would present an outstanding tournament..going to be a deep one this year. Whoever wins it will definately earn it. To win your Section final and run through this bracket is going to an epic 3 game run to the finals

[danglingnsnipen15]

I like Karls statement regarding the top seeds as of today (in his ranking)...if the tourney started today and these rankings were actual..we'd be looking at an X lineup that could look like this:

1. L North sponsored by Goldy
8. Roseau

5. Elk River
4. Wayzata

3. Tebows East Side All Stars
6. Blaine

7. Daddys' Money (STA)
2. Grandpa's Money (Edina)

That would present an outstanding tournament..going to be a deep one this year. Whoever wins it will definately earn it. To win your Section final and run through this bracket is going to an epic 3 game run to the finals

Having multiple private schools represented (STA and HM) would make for an interesting tourney as well.

[upnorthfan]

Tonight will be an indicator if Moorhead belongs above Roseau. Roseau has not been consistent at times, but to this point have dominated 8AA, including an earlier 3 to zip win over the Spuds, yet you continue to show the love to Moorhead. If the Spuds win tonight, then I am wrong, but if the Rams win, I will consider your rankings nothing more than fairy tales from here on out, if you continue to put Moorhead ahead of Roseau! I actually do enjoy your weekly analysis and hopefully I won't be eating crow in the morning.

[karl(east)]

Farmington goes to Owatonna Tuesday, Owatonna had a number of kids playing on their state championship football team that finshed their season after 13 games on November 30th and after a rough start the Huskies have been better as of late. Owatonna beat Mayo last week and a win against the Tigers would probably move Owatonna up to #2 or #3. a Farmington win probably locks them in at #2.

Owatonna's win over Mayo did grab my attention and maybe deserved a mention, but I didn't lump them in with the others quite yet since it's their only win of any magnitude to date. (It's worth noting that the computers still have Mayo comfortable ahead of Owatonna.) That'll certainly change if they can beat Farmington or Mayo a second time and avoid any negative results. This section basically boils down to the Farmington-Owatonna, Mayo-South, and the second Mayo-Owatonna game for the 2-5 seeds, assuming these teams also avoid upset losses to, say Century--whom Owatonna did lose to the first time around.

Tonight will be an indicator if Moorhead belongs above Roseau. Roseau has not been consistent at times, but to this point have dominated 8AA, including an earlier 3 to zip win over the Spuds, yet you continue to show the love to Moorhead. If the Spuds win tonight, then I am wrong, but if the Rams win, I will consider your rankings nothing more than fairy tales from here on out, if you continue to put Moorhead ahead of Roseau! I actually do enjoy your weekly analysis and hopefully I won't be eating crow in the morning.

Roseau has certainly controlled 8AA to date; the problem is that I don't give any real priority to section games for overall ranking, and outside of 8AA, they haven't done much, with a 4-goal loss to Blaine, losses to the 3 good 8A teams and nothing that really qualifies as a quality win. (What's their best win outside of a fairly weak section? SPA? Alexandria?)

Moorhead, meanwhile, has two decent wins (Breck, Minnetonka), six losses to AA top 20 teams (5 by 1 or 2 goals), a narrow loss to Warroad, and the Roseau loss.

If Roseau wins tonight, they and the Spuds will be very close in the rankings (somewhere in the upper 20s), and Roseau should bump ahead of Moorhead due to the head-to-head wins. Roseau could give itself a much bigger boost by doing something positive against Holy Family later in the week, though. Given the weakness of 8AA this year, just winning section games isn't going to get anyone very far in a statewide ranking.

I think Roseau given its top-end senior talent has more potential than Moorhead, but the consistency just hasn't been there so far. Last week wasn't particularly encouraging, either, as they gave up 8 goals to an EGF team known more for its defense than its offense and won by a much smaller margin against Brainerd than the first game (though granted, this one was on the road).

Good comments this week...keep em coming.

[upnorthfan]

I am not going to eat crow after a 1 to 1 tie in Roseau. After beating the Spuds in Moorhead and with this tie, I don't think you can rank the Spuds ahead of the Rams. Granted the goalie is part of the team, and maybe tonight was a normal performance by the Spud net minder, but the Rams had 3 to 1 quality chances, but couldn't solve the goalie. It was a fantastic game. If the Spud goalie is capable of throwing more games like that on the ice, the Spuds will be tough to beat, but not many tenders are going to make the stops he did tonight, consistently on Yon and Strand. This tie should give the Rams the #1 seed, barring a stumble with Bemidji later on, but a win against a quality opponent, like Holy Family would nice this weekend.

[east hockey]

Karl, I think the problem in pointing to Roseau's losses to 8A teams is this: 8A is better than 8AA this season.

Roseau has fared far better against a somewhat significantly weaker schedule. Throw in the win and tie against the Spuds this season and Roseau should be seeded first.

Lee

[Nuts&Bolts]

I've said it before and am probably Nuts but it would be cool if a single A team could elect to move to AA by February 1. Only one team per section and it would go to any team highest ranked in there single A section. Drops them into the AA section pool if they so choose. Section 8A with 8AA would be a perfect example of a true small school going up against the big guys.

[nipeshow18]

Farmington goes to Owatonna Tuesday, Owatonna had a number of kids playing on their state championship football team that finshed their season after 13 games on November 30th and after a rough start the Huskies have been better as of late. Owatonna beat Mayo last week and a win against the Tigers would probably move Owatonna up to #2 or #3. a Farmington win probably locks them in at #2.

Owatonna's win over Mayo did grab my attention and maybe deserved a mention, but I didn't lump them in with the others quite yet since it's their only win of any magnitude to date. (It's worth noting that the computers still have Mayo comfortable ahead of Owatonna.) That'll certainly change if they can beat Farmington or Mayo a second time and avoid any negative results. This section basically boils down to the Farmington-Owatonna, Mayo-South, and the second Mayo-Owatonna game for the 2-5 seeds, assuming these teams also avoid upset losses to, say Century--whom Owatonna did lose to the first time around.

Tonight will be an indicator if Moorhead belongs above Roseau. Roseau has not been consistent at times, but to this point have dominated 8AA, including an earlier 3 to zip win over the Spuds, yet you continue to show the love to Moorhead. If the Spuds win tonight, then I am wrong, but if the Rams win, I will consider your rankings nothing more than fairy tales from here on out, if you continue to put Moorhead ahead of Roseau! I actually do enjoy your weekly analysis and hopefully I won't be eating crow in the morning.

Roseau has certainly controlled 8AA to date; the problem is that I don't give any real priority to section games for overall ranking, and outside of 8AA, they haven't done much, with a 4-goal loss to Blaine, losses to the 3 good 8A teams and nothing that really qualifies as a quality win. (What's their best win outside of a fairly weak section? SPA? Alexandria?)

Moorhead, meanwhile, has two decent wins (Breck, Minnetonka), six losses to AA top 20 teams (5 by 1 or 2 goals), a narrow loss to Warroad, and the Roseau loss.

If Roseau wins tonight, they and the Spuds will be very close in the rankings (somewhere in the upper 20s), and Roseau should bump ahead of Moorhead due to the head-to-head wins. Roseau could give itself a much bigger boost by doing something positive against Holy Family later in the week, though. Given the weakness of 8AA this year, just winning section games isn't going to get anyone very far in a statewide ranking.

I think Roseau given its top-end senior talent has more potential than Moorhead, but the consistency just hasn't been there so far. Last week wasn't particularly encouraging, either, as they gave up 8 goals to an EGF team known more for its defense than its offense and won by a much smaller margin against Brainerd than the first game (though granted, this one was on the road).

Good comments this week...keep em coming.

Owatonna lost at home to Farmington tonight 9-0

[karl(east)]

Originally posted this on the Moorhead-Roseau thread, when I'd meant to post it here:


Yes, Roseau should definitely be the top seed after this tie. In the overall rankings they'll probably be very close to each other, perhaps with a slight edge to Roseau, though each team has a tough game later in the week that could boost their record.

Meanwhile, for our 1AA discussion, Farmington whipped Owatonna, 9-0. That should lock them in to the 2-seed there.

[goldy313]

Farmington moves to the South Suburban a year too late for much comparison to this North team but the Tigers are pretty darn good, 9-0 was closer than it probably should have been. Farmington has a really bad loss to Rosemount but beat Apple Valley 4-1, North beat Valley 6-4. This win probably makes 1AA more competitive at the top than an Owatonna win would have.

[danglingnsnipen15]

Farmington moves to the South Suburban a year too late for much comparison to this North team but the Tigers are pretty darn good, 9-0 was closer than it probably should have been. Farmington has a really bad loss to Rosemount but beat Apple Valley 4-1, North beat Valley 6-4. This win probably makes 1AA more competitive at the top than an Owatonna win would have.

I've never seen them play, but I have heard some good things about Farmington this year. In all honesty though, it would be disappointing to have 1AA represented at the tourney by anyone other than LN. It is, however, good to see the Farmington program on the rise.

[upnorthfan]

As of right now, Roseau is the #1 seed in 8AA, but would probably be the 4th seed in in 8A. It will be an interesting stretch run as Roseau will play the 3 A teams, that at this point would be ahead of them, in the next couple of weeks.

[nipeshow18]

Farmington moves to the South Suburban a year too late for much comparison to this North team but the Tigers are pretty darn good, 9-0 was closer than it probably should have been. Farmington has a really bad loss to Rosemount but beat Apple Valley 4-1, North beat Valley 6-4. This win probably makes 1AA more competitive at the top than an Owatonna win would have.

Do they have the depth to keep up with North? A line to shut down the Poehlings?

[danglingnsnipen15]

Farmington moves to the South Suburban a year too late for much comparison to this North team but the Tigers are pretty darn good, 9-0 was closer than it probably should have been. Farmington has a really bad loss to Rosemount but beat Apple Valley 4-1, North beat Valley 6-4. This win probably makes 1AA more competitive at the top than an Owatonna win would have.

Do they have the depth to keep up with North? A line to shut down the Poehlings?

Doubtful

[nipeshow18]

Farmington moves to the South Suburban a year too late for much comparison to this North team but the Tigers are pretty darn good, 9-0 was closer than it probably should have been. Farmington has a really bad loss to Rosemount but beat Apple Valley 4-1, North beat Valley 6-4. This win probably makes 1AA more competitive at the top than an Owatonna win would have.

Do they have the depth to keep up with North? A line to shut down the Poehlings?

Doubtful

Having not seen them play, that was my thought as well. They have a great record, but it has to do with a weak schedule, and that Rosemount loss is bad.

[almostashappy]

Having not seen them play, that was my thought as well. They have a great record, but it has to do with a weak schedule, and that Rosemount loss is bad.

Rosemount really isn't all that bad this year....tied Jefferson, 1 goal losses to EP and Prior Lake, lost to Eastview in OT. And they didn't need OT to beat Apple Valley.

That said, I've seen Farmington play this year. While their gaudy record will certainly earn them a higher seed than Lakeville South, I'd put the two teams on par, and would bet on the Cougers to win a section match-up. Can't see the Tigers stopping either Lauderdale or Swaney.

[HappyHockeyFan]

I say Eagan plays the spoiler role that Eastview did last year and goes to State like they should have last year.

[tonyleepers]

In my opinion, Farmington should be favored over South and based on season be a major underdog to North. That being said, these are all individual games and any team can beat the other on a given night. Farmington is far deeper than South and will easily match South's top line. If both teams play their best, Farmington's depth will get them a win versus the South team. Of course, goaltending will be extremely important.
Farmington is not scared of North, the group of Farmington Sophomore/Junior boys are used to beating North in playoff scenarios. Beat them in districts playoffs both years these crops were playing at the same level. Yes there are a few differences to those teams and it is some years past. But, the main players are the same and I will even add I may take the senior Farmington boys over the North seniors. Been fun to watch North step up their game this year, they may have taken a few steps over Farmington this year, and again I will give them the edge based on this seasons play. I still think if these 2 teams are in the final, which I think they will be, a lot of people will be surprised!

[danglingnsnipen15]

In my opinion, Farmington should be favored over South and based on season be a major underdog to North. That being said, these are all individual games and any team can beat the other on a given night. Farmington is far deeper than South and will easily match South's top line. If both teams play their best, Farmington's depth will get them a win versus the South team. Of course, goaltending will be extremely important.
Farmington is not scared of North, the group of Farmington Sophomore/Junior boys are used to beating North in playoff scenarios. Beat them in districts playoffs both years these crops were playing at the same level. Yes there are a few differences to those teams and it is some years past. But, the main players are the same and I will even add I may take the senior Farmington boys over the North seniors. Been fun to watch North step up their game this year, they may have taken a few steps over Farmington this year, and again I will give them the edge based on this seasons play. I still think if these 2 teams are in the final, which I think they will be, a lot of people will be surprised!

I agree with you that any team can beat the other on any given night, but let's be realistic. LN has beat some of the top teams in the state, where as Farmington's most credible win is against Apple Valley.... Don't get me wrong, it's great to see Farmington's program on the rise, but I think most people would agree that it would take nothing short of a miracle for them to beat LN.