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So can anybody shed some light on what's wrong with Hill-Murray this year? They lost to Hastings tonight, a 3 win team, never seen Hill this bad in many years of watching HS hockey!

Totally outplayed them tonight, but having problems scoring goals.

pioneers wrote:Totally outplayed them tonight, but having problems scoring goals.

Ok, problems scoring goals against top teams is one thing, but Hastings?? This is Hill-Murray we are talking about, they should never have problems scoring goals against a team like Hastings, where did the talent go??

HappyHockeyFan wrote:This is Hill-Murray we are talking about, they should never have problems scoring goals against a team like Hastings, where did the talent go??

I don't know, White Bear Lake maybe?

Well if it is any consolation, they have quite a bit of talent coming up in the next couple of years. Not sure what is off on varsity. Not a lack of hard work.

pioneers wrote:Well if it is any consolation, they have quite a bit of talent coming up in the next couple of years. Not sure what is off on varsity. Not a lack of hard work.

How do you know there is talent coming up in the next couple of years? Are there quality bantams pre-enrolled at Hill-Murray?

Traxler wrote: Are there quality bantams pre-enrolled at Hill-Murray?

Yes.

https://www.mshsl.org/mshsl/showroster. ... school=214

I wouldn't worry about Hills record, they will still be dangerous by section time.

O-townClown wrote:

Traxler wrote: Are there quality bantams pre-enrolled at Hill-Murray?

Yes.

https://www.mshsl.org/mshsl/showroster. ... school=214

Interesting to see so many 8th and 9th graders on the JV roster. Presumably HM encourages them to play JV rather than Bantams, even though they would be playing nearly twice the number of games. I guess HM would rather have them in their own system, and it’s hard to argue with the success.

They are playing JV. Pretty young yet, but the talent is there. Have had scouts coming to watch JV players.

pioneers wrote:They are playing JV. Pretty young yet, but the talent is there. Have had scouts coming to watch JV players.

If they are so good that scouts are watching them at JV, why are they not playing varsity????

In today's time, anyone wearing a black jacket and has a twitter account may be considered a "scout".

Any truth to the rumor that HM re-held tryouts after Hastings?

When was the last time Hill lost to a 3 win team this late in the season? How do you go from losing to Tonka 4-2 to losing to Hastings?

The lowest section seed I can recall was #3, maybe in 1991. Correct me if I'm wrong but even in the early 2000's we weren't lower than two, and certainly not lower than 3.

That said, 1) it's not a great WB squad, 2) Lex can get a lot out of any squad, & 3) WB often gets upset in early rounds. Not predicting anything, but anything can happen.

All i can say is, it's a good thing Hastings is only on the schedule once. And I never thought I'd say that.

East Side Pioneer Guy wrote:When was the last time Hill lost to a 3 win team this late in the season? How do you go from losing to Tonka 4-2 to losing to Hastings?

The lowest section seed I can recall was #3, maybe in 1991. Correct me if I'm wrong but even in the early 2000's we weren't lower than two, and certainly not lower than 3.

That said, 1) it's not a great WB squad, 2) Lex can get a lot out of any squad, & 3) WB often gets upset in early rounds. Not predicting anything, but anything can happen.

All i can say is, it's a good thing Hastings is only on the schedule once. And I never thought I'd say that.

Hill was a three seed in 1991, behind an excellent Park squad and WBL… and of course went on to win the whole enchilada They were also a three seed in 2001 which was the HM team since the early 1960s (12-14-1). But it’s always a dangerous proposition to bet against them in the section playoffs!

When I lived in North St. Paul I remember the Polars taking Hill out in Sections and I think Hill was a #4 seed and North St. Paul was a #5 seed. Couldn't tell what year as it was quite a while ago.

greenwayraider wrote:When I lived in North St. Paul I remember the Polars taking Hill out in Sections and I think Hill was a #4 seed and North St. Paul was a #5 seed. Couldn't tell what year as it was quite a while ago.

Good call. If memory serves, that was the only year Hill lost in the quarter finals, and did not win a single section game. If you go back to the single class era, that section had 17/18 teams and it took 4 wins to win the section.

I think that No St Paul team had a couple nice players that maybe were D1. Pretty sure they split the 2 conference games.

Yeah, the Polars did have two DI players that year and I think Brent Hedican (sp?) was one of them. I don't remember the other player's name but for some reason I think he went to St. Cloud State. Maybe someone with better recall can figure out who those two players were.

East Side Pioneer Guy wrote:

greenwayraider wrote:When I lived in North St. Paul I remember the Polars taking Hill out in Sections and I think Hill was a #4 seed and North St. Paul was a #5 seed. Couldn't tell what year as it was quite a while ago.

Good call. If memory serves, that was the only year Hill lost in the quarter finals, and did not win a single section game. If you go back to the single class era, that section had 17/18 teams and it took 4 wins to win the section.

I think that No St Paul team had a couple nice players that maybe were D1. Pretty sure they split the 2 conference games.

Hill-Murray lost to North St. Paul in the Section 3 semifinals (not quarterfinals) in both 1981 and 1982.

Hill-Murray had their earliest exit from Section 3AA in 2005 when North St. Paul beat the Pioneers in the quarterfinals.

East Side Pioneer Guy wrote:When was the last time Hill lost to a 3 win team this late in the season? How do you go from losing to Tonka 4-2 to losing to Hastings?

The lowest section seed I can recall was #3, maybe in 1991. Correct me if I'm wrong but even in the early 2000's we weren't lower than two, and certainly not lower than 3.

That said, 1) it's not a great WB squad, 2) Lex can get a lot out of any squad, & 3) WB often gets upset in early rounds. Not predicting anything, but anything can happen.

All i can say is, it's a good thing Hastings is only on the schedule once. And I never thought I'd say that.

What was Hill-Murray seeded in 3AA in 2001 when they finished with a record of 12-14-1?

greenwayraider wrote:Yeah, the Polars did have two DI players that year and I think Brent Hedican (sp?) was one of them. I don't remember the other player's name but for some reason I think he went to St. Cloud State. Maybe someone with better recall can figure out who those two players were.

Brett Hedican graduated in '87 from North St. Paul.

The early '80's Polar teams had Mike Anderson (Minnesota) and Todd Carlile (Michigan) as D1 players. Both were 1982 graduates.

wbmd wrote:

greenwayraider wrote:Yeah, the Polars did have two DI players that year and I think Brent Hedican (sp?) was one of them. I don't remember the other player's name but for some reason I think he went to St. Cloud State. Maybe someone with better recall can figure out who those two players were.

Brett Hedican graduated in '87 from North St. Paul.

The early '80's Polar teams had Mike Anderson (Minnesota) and Todd Carlile (Michigan) as D1 players. Both were 1982 graduates.

they did have some D1 players that graduated I think in two thousand four or five, CJ Wilmes comes to mind.

What was Hill-Murray seeded in 3AA in 2001 when they finished with a record of 12-14-1?

They were the 3 seed. http://www.hmpioneers.net/hockey/playoffs/2001/3aa.htm

All schools have down years. Hill-Murray has had very few. That 2001 team was the last time they had a losing record at 12-14-1. The regular season ended with a humiliating 8-0 loss to White Bear. Yet the next season they bounced back, beat WBL 4-1 in the Section Final and made it to the State Championship game, losing to Holy Angels.

This team, with several top opponents left, will finish under .500. This is a young team with 2 sophomore goalies and only 5 seniors. However it would not be a surprise if Ben Helgeson leaves early to the USHL. The JV is loaded with 14 8th and 9th graders and only 7 10th graders. They are usually playing other JVs with all 10th and 11th graders. Yet they clobbered WBL and BSM and beat Edina in the Schwan Cup. I think Bill Lechner has some good years left in him and will turn this around quickly.

wbmd wrote:

greenwayraider wrote:Yeah, the Polars did have two DI players that year and I think Brent Hedican (sp?) was one of them. I don't remember the other player's name but for some reason I think he went to St. Cloud State. Maybe someone with better recall can figure out who those two players were.

Brett Hedican graduated in '87 from North St. Paul.

The early '80's Polar teams had Mike Anderson (Minnesota) and Todd Carlile (Michigan) as D1 players. Both were 1982 graduates.

Hedican 88