Dismal 2019 for Range Hockey

[northwoods oldtimer]

Wow is this the worst season ever for Iron Range hockey?

Hibbing 0-15
Greenway 6 -12
Rapids 4-14
Virginia 7-9-1

BRUTAL!!

Iron Range hockey is DONE!

Maybe Legislature can spin up another 3rd level for state level trophy chasing. He will claim it a smashing success.
%#@* ME!!!

[elliott70]

There is always another season and you still have Eveleth.

[GopherHockey]

Wow is this the worst season ever for Iron Range hockey?

Hibbing 0-15
Greenway 6 -12
Rapids 4-14
Virginia 7-9-1

BRUTAL!!

Iron Range hockey is DONE!

Maybe Rukavina can spin up another 3rd level for state level trophy chasing. He will claim it a smashing success.
%#@* ME!!!

Hermantown would probably join

[rainier2]

Wow is this the worst season ever for Iron Range hockey?

Hibbing 0-15
Greenway 6 -12
Rapids 4-14
Virginia 7-9-1

BRUTAL!!

Iron Range hockey is DONE!

Maybe Rukavina can spin up another 3rd level for state level trophy chasing. He will claim it a smashing success.
%#@* ME!!!

Could be tough for Rukavina to create a 3rd level, considering he just died 9 days ago.

My take:

Hibbing-certainly disappointing, but they were looking at a few down years, and then most of the talent they did have all left. Add in some injuries and suspensions this season, and there you get 0-15. This will be the bottom for the program, as they will trend up starting next year.

Greenway-A significantly harder schedule this season has certainly contributed to their poor record, but there is no doubt that they have been disappointing thus far. Getting upperclassmen transfers can seem like a good idea, but it isn't surprising that team chemistry can be disrupted by adding the type of players who decided to walk away from their long-time teammates just because they couldn't stomach being on a bad team. Still hoping they can pull it together by playoffs to make 7A at least a little interesting.

GR-Hard to rip on a team only two years removed from a AA title. They have some solid young players and a good bantam squad about to supply more talent.

Virginia-The most perplexing team to me. I just plain thought they would be better than they are. I thought they had enough A-/B+ level players to be in the #8-12 range in Class A, but their lack of a true A stud seems to limit them.

A bad year for Range hockey, indeed.

[Thunderstruck]

Eveleth/Gilbert/Mesabi East is doing pretty well but definitely plays an easier schedule.

[Hessian]

Greenway disappointing story so far! Very talented but playing with little execution against good teams. Chemistry in locker room and between coaches seems off.

[Northernlakes]

Kids who transfer as juniors or for the senior year never add to a program, there is a reason they left there team.......... malcontents. Always complaining and it starts with the parents!

Moving in at pee wee and bantams maybe be easier for chemistry, but still always a parent decision for little johnny to go pro. Doesn't teach them anything, when things get tough, we can move. When the grass is too long to mow, we can hire someone. On and On......

Sorry for the rant. Feel better now.

[northwoods oldtimer]

Wow is this the worst season ever for Iron Range hockey?

Hibbing 0-15
Greenway 6 -12
Rapids 4-14
Virginia 7-9-1

BRUTAL!!

Iron Range hockey is DONE!

Maybe Rukavina can spin up another 3rd level for state level trophy chasing. He will claim it a smashing success.
%#@* ME!!!

Could be tough for Rukavina to create a 3rd level, considering he just died 9 days ago.

My take:

Hibbing-certainly disappointing, but they were looking at a few down years, and then most of the talent they did have all left. Add in some injuries and suspensions this season, and there you get 0-15. This will be the bottom for the program, as they will trend up starting next year.

Greenway-A significantly harder schedule this season has certainly contributed to their poor record, but there is no doubt that they have been disappointing thus far. Getting upperclassmen transfers can seem like a good idea, but it isn't surprising that team chemistry can be disrupted by adding the type of players who decided to walk away from their long-time teammates just because they couldn't stomach being on a bad team. Still hoping they can pull it together by playoffs to make 7A at least a little interesting.

GR-Hard to rip on a team only two years removed from a AA title. They have some solid young players and a good bantam squad about to supply more talent.

Virginia-The most perplexing team to me. I just plain thought they would be better than they are. I thought they had enough A-/B+ level players to be in the #8-12 range in Class A, but their lack of a true A stud seems to limit them.

A bad year for Range hockey, indeed.

redacted

[PuckRanger]

Virginia-The most perplexing team to me. I just plain thought they would be better than they are. I thought they had enough A-/B+ level players to be in the #8-12 range in Class A, but their lack of a true A stud seems to limit them.

I can unravel some of the perplexity for you...
Virginia's problem is mainly a combination of a loaded schedule and the fact that they have not played a single game this year with a full roster.

Zach Kilen, Cade Moreland, Caleb Bialke, Tony Chesser, Blake Zadnikar, Jack Zupetz, Bailey Bonicatto, Cam Kriebich, and Nate Zadnikar have all missed at least one game, and most of them have missed well more than that. Dealing with missing 9 players on class A team is a problem.

Injuries, suspensions, and a couple major penalties have forced them to lean on sophomores to lead them through a juggernaut schedule. Considering that 10 of their games have been against ranked class A teams and 3 others have been against AA teams, its actually surprising they have managed to do as well as they have. Looking ahead at the schedule, there is plenty more of that to come.

Right now, the starting line has two sophomores as the wings. Somehow, they have managed to compete just fine except for 3 games, and a bounce here or there could easily have their record as high as 14-3 (They have lost or tied 7 games that were one goal games not counting empty netters). IF, and that's a big if, they ever get fully healthy, they could become a dangerous team again, especially with the contributions the sophomores have provided. Right now, there is just too much inexperience and it costs them late in games along with the lack of depth because they have been short a full line and a top D in almost every game. You can also throw in a new coach trying to teach new systems as another contributing factor since these guys can't all ever get on the ice together at once in practice.

The group of seniors on this team won 2 games at the state tournament both as Bantams and Peewees, but they cannot seem to keep many of them on the ice. Fortunately, they have a loaded sophomore class that is stepping up and allowing them to stay in games, but is not enough for them to consistently score enough goals.

On a more positive note, they have won 5 of their last 6 games. But I doubt that trend will continue with games against two more top ten teams in Cathedral and Sartell this weekend since it looks like they will be missing 4 of their top 6 forwards... Again.

[rainier2]

Virginia-The most perplexing team to me. I just plain thought they would be better than they are. I thought they had enough A-/B+ level players to be in the #8-12 range in Class A, but their lack of a true A stud seems to limit them.

I can unravel some of the perplexity for you...
Virginia's problem is mainly a combination of a loaded schedule and the fact that they have not played a single game this year with a full roster.

Zach Kilen, Cade Moreland, Caleb Bialke, Tony Chesser, Blake Zadnikar, Jack Zupetz, Bailey Bonicatto, Cam Kriebich, and Nate Zadnikar have all missed at least one game, and most of them have missed well more than that. Dealing with missing 9 players on class A team is a problem.

Injuries, suspensions, and a couple major penalties have forced them to lean on sophomores to lead them through a juggernaut schedule. Considering that 10 of their games have been against ranked class A teams and 3 others have been against AA teams, its actually surprising they have managed to do as well as they have. Looking ahead at the schedule, there is plenty more of that to come.

Right now, the starting line has two sophomores as the wings. Somehow, they have managed to compete just fine except for 3 games, and a bounce here or there could easily have their record as high as 14-3 (They have lost or tied 7 games that were one goal games not counting empty netters). IF, and that's a big if, they ever get fully healthy, they could become a dangerous team again, especially with the contributions the sophomores have provided. Right now, there is just too much inexperience and it costs them late in games along with the lack of depth because they have been short a full line and a top D in almost every game. You can also throw in a new coach trying to teach new systems as another contributing factor since these guys can't all ever get on the ice together at once in practice.

The group of seniors on this team won 2 games at the state tournament both as Bantams and Peewees, but they cannot seem to keep many of them on the ice. Fortunately, they have a loaded sophomore class that is stepping up and allowing them to stay in games, but is not enough for them to consistently score enough goals.

On a more positive note, they have won 5 of their last 6 games. But I doubt that trend will continue with games against two more top ten teams in Cathedral and Sartell this weekend since it looks like they will be missing 4 of their top 6 forwards... Again.

Thanks for the info. Hopefully they can grab the #3 seed and we'll get to see a good semi battle vs Greenway.

[greenwayraider]

It’s very possible for Greenway and Virginia to meet in the QF. At this point I sees the seeds as:

1. Hermantown
2. Denfeld
3. Greenway
4. Eveleth-Gilbert
5. Virginia
6. International Falls
7. North Shore
8. Proctor
9. Hibbing
10. Ely

Lots of Sections games left so anything can happen. The two Eveleth/Denfeld games are the most important if Denfeld will hold the #2 seed.

[ironranger2]

Novel thought....maybe Virginia just isn't as good as we thought they would be.

According to MN Hockey Hub, four of the players puckranger lists have been in all 17 games and two others have been in 16 games. Injuries happen. Except for Hermantown, no team in this section is very deep. Every team has kids playing hurt right now.

It's the suspensions and major penalties that put this team in this position. Through 17 games, Virginia has 189 PIM vs. opponents 125. For comparison, Denfeld is at 129 vs opponents 133, Greenway is at 120 vs. 190 opponents, and Eveleth is at 146 vs. 194 opponents. I work with a lot of parents that have kids on the Virginia and Eveleth teams. Penalties were a big issue for both teams last year, but only Eveleth has seemed to get it somewhat under control and I think you see the results in their record.

Also, I am always amazed at thought process that just because a team did well in Peewees or Bantams that it will transfer to high school. Throw in girlfriends, jobs, drinking, smoking, drugs, overbearing parents, having your own vehicle, etc. in to the mix and you can see why some teams don't meet those expectations. Especially in smaller schools where one or two kids not playing to their potential can make a huge difference.

I think if Greenway gets everyone back healthy, they will have a very small chance of knocking off Hermantown. If Virginia or Eveleth are at full strength, Hermantown still puts a game with them in running time....we already saw what a motivated Hermantown did to Denfeld.

[greenwayraider]

Troumbly is very doubtful for the remainder of the season. He makes all kinds of things happen when he’s out on the ice. They will struggle without him. Lantz and Miller both
have injuries but will play. I wish I could be more optimistic about my Raiders.
If they can beat Bemidji tomorrow there will be some hope for them. They just can’t seem to gel

[TheHockeyDJ]

The original post here begs the question, what were you expecting this season? This isn't the west metro where teams just reload. I thought Greenway would be much better than their record shows and they still have time to get better. Rapids is much improved over last year which was by far their worst team in school history. Couple of things for GR, they are very young, they've been ill virtually the entire first half of the season, and the schedule rotation has them in the Twin Cities every other weekend. That is a tall task for a young team especially when they are ill. I think most people have the expectations for Rapids this season that they be in the 4/5 game of the quarterfinals and hopefully win at least that game and play their best game of the year in the semi-finals and give someone a scare at Amsoil. Looking ahead to next year, you'll have this current group with a year of experience and some very good incoming talent from bantams with a very good senior goalie. Combine that with the schedule rotating back to all the metro teams coming to the IRA Civic Center next year and I expect that in 2019-2020 GR will be competing for a top 2 seed next season. Next season will be a good one for Rapids season ticket holders on Friday nights/Saturday afternoons.

[ShakestheClown]

According to MN Hockey Hub, four of the players puckranger lists have been in all 17 games and two others have been in 16 games. Injuries happen. Except for Hermantown, no team in this section is very deep. Every team has kids playing hurt right now.

I wouldn't trust the Hub's game play count. I know from experience that players who are not even suited up, but rostered, are credited with playing in games.

[Jeffy95]

The original post here begs the question, what were you expecting this season? This isn't the west metro where teams just reload. I thought Greenway would be much better than their record shows and they still have time to get better. Rapids is much improved over last year which was by far their worst team in school history. Couple of things for GR, they are very young, they've been ill virtually the entire first half of the season, and the schedule rotation has them in the Twin Cities every other weekend. That is a tall task for a young team especially when they are ill. I think most people have the expectations for Rapids this season that they be in the 4/5 game of the quarterfinals and hopefully win at least that game and play their best game of the year in the semi-finals and give someone a scare at Amsoil. Looking ahead to next year, you'll have this current group with a year of experience and some very good incoming talent from bantams with a very good senior goalie. Combine that with the schedule rotating back to all the metro teams coming to the IRA Civic Center next year and I expect that in 2019-2020 GR will be competing for a top 2 seed next season. Next season will be a good one for Rapids season ticket holders on Friday nights/Saturday afternoons.

If they keep scheduling Hermantown for two games you can probably forget the #2 seed. QRF is not friendly to playing A teams, especially when you lose. Rapids has an advantage over Cloquet and Marshall because they don't have to schedule them for conference play. Might want to think about taking advantage of that...

[ironranger2]

According to MN Hockey Hub, four of the players puckranger lists have been in all 17 games and two others have been in 16 games. Injuries happen. Except for Hermantown, no team in this section is very deep. Every team has kids playing hurt right now.

I wouldn't trust the Hub's game play count. I know from experience that players who are not even suited up, but rostered, are credited with playing in games.

I was not aware of that. I guess my main point is that every team is dealing with injuries right now, it happens. Virginia's biggest issue is self-inflicted with the lack of discipline (on and off the ice). Even a Virginia homer like Puckranger can't sugarcoat that. Virginia is definitely better than there record indicates. Fix the discipline issues, they are right there in the mix for the 3 seed, with an outside chance at 2. If not, they are stuck at 5.

[ironranger2]

The original post here begs the question, what were you expecting this season? This isn't the west metro where teams just reload. I thought Greenway would be much better than their record shows and they still have time to get better. Rapids is much improved over last year which was by far their worst team in school history. Couple of things for GR, they are very young, they've been ill virtually the entire first half of the season, and the schedule rotation has them in the Twin Cities every other weekend. That is a tall task for a young team especially when they are ill. I think most people have the expectations for Rapids this season that they be in the 4/5 game of the quarterfinals and hopefully win at least that game and play their best game of the year in the semi-finals and give someone a scare at Amsoil. Looking ahead to next year, you'll have this current group with a year of experience and some very good incoming talent from bantams with a very good senior goalie. Combine that with the schedule rotating back to all the metro teams coming to the IRA Civic Center next year and I expect that in 2019-2020 GR will be competing for a top 2 seed next season. Next season will be a good one for Rapids season ticket holders on Friday nights/Saturday afternoons.

What are the chances Peart is there next year? Former Blue Devil coach (and Grand Rapids native) Reed Larson was color guy for the Grand Rapids/Cloquet game on My9 and he said Peart is regarded in scouting circles as one of the top 03 players in the country. Will he stick around if the NTDP comes calling?

[rainier2]

The original post here begs the question, what were you expecting this season? This isn't the west metro where teams just reload. I thought Greenway would be much better than their record shows and they still have time to get better. Rapids is much improved over last year which was by far their worst team in school history. Couple of things for GR, they are very young, they've been ill virtually the entire first half of the season, and the schedule rotation has them in the Twin Cities every other weekend. That is a tall task for a young team especially when they are ill. I think most people have the expectations for Rapids this season that they be in the 4/5 game of the quarterfinals and hopefully win at least that game and play their best game of the year in the semi-finals and give someone a scare at Amsoil. Looking ahead to next year, you'll have this current group with a year of experience and some very good incoming talent from bantams with a very good senior goalie. Combine that with the schedule rotating back to all the metro teams coming to the IRA Civic Center next year and I expect that in 2019-2020 GR will be competing for a top 2 seed next season. Next season will be a good one for Rapids season ticket holders on Friday nights/Saturday afternoons.

If they keep scheduling Hermantown for two games you can probably forget the #2 seed. QRF is not friendly to playing A teams, especially when you lose. Rapids has an advantage over Cloquet and Marshall because they don't have to schedule them for conference play. Might want to think about taking advantage of that...

Is this the first year GR has scheduled Hermantown twice? Holy QRF suicide, Batman! There has to be a couple more metro AA teams they can convince to head up for a northwoods adventure. It'd be nice for GR to make Hermantown earn the right to play them, like East does.

Also for GR, let's not forget that two years ago they had Hain, McLaughlin, and Stejskal all leave for juniors, so while that team wouldn't have gotten past East to go to state, they would have been much, much better.

I applaud Greenway and Virginia for boosting their schedules this season. I also applaud Hibbing for not downgrading their schedule before this season, although with the way it has gone I wish they would have.

[northwoods oldtimer]

The original post here begs the question, what were you expecting this season? This isn't the west metro where teams just reload. I thought Greenway would be much better than their record shows and they still have time to get better. Rapids is much improved over last year which was by far their worst team in school history. Couple of things for GR, they are very young, they've been ill virtually the entire first half of the season, and the schedule rotation has them in the Twin Cities every other weekend. That is a tall task for a young team especially when they are ill. I think most people have the expectations for Rapids this season that they be in the 4/5 game of the quarterfinals and hopefully win at least that game and play their best game of the year in the semi-finals and give someone a scare at Amsoil. Looking ahead to next year, you'll have this current group with a year of experience and some very good incoming talent from bantams with a very good senior goalie. Combine that with the schedule rotating back to all the metro teams coming to the IRA Civic Center next year and I expect that in 2019-2020 GR will be competing for a top 2 seed next season. Next season will be a good one for Rapids season ticket holders on Friday nights/Saturday afternoons.

What are the chances Peart is there next year? Former Blue Devil coach (and Grand Rapids native) Reed Larson was color guy for the Grand Rapids/Cloquet game on My9 and he said Peart is regarded in scouting circles as one of the top 03 players in the country. Will he stick around if the NTDP comes calling?

Hopefully the kid goes to National Development.

[northwoods oldtimer]

The original post here begs the question, what were you expecting this season? This isn't the west metro where teams just reload. I thought Greenway would be much better than their record shows and they still have time to get better. Rapids is much improved over last year which was by far their worst team in school history. Couple of things for GR, they are very young, they've been ill virtually the entire first half of the season, and the schedule rotation has them in the Twin Cities every other weekend. That is a tall task for a young team especially when they are ill. I think most people have the expectations for Rapids this season that they be in the 4/5 game of the quarterfinals and hopefully win at least that game and play their best game of the year in the semi-finals and give someone a scare at Amsoil. Looking ahead to next year, you'll have this current group with a year of experience and some very good incoming talent from bantams with a very good senior goalie. Combine that with the schedule rotating back to all the metro teams coming to the IRA Civic Center next year and I expect that in 2019-2020 GR will be competing for a top 2 seed next season. Next season will be a good one for Rapids season ticket holders on Friday nights/Saturday afternoons.

Greenway to be top 5 single A
Virginia to be top 10 single A
Hibbing to be the scrappy tough Hibbing teams of old
Didn't expect much from Rapids in 2019 but still you have to mention them because they have been good for quite a long run and playing in front of packed barns since 2004-2005 until 2016-2017 that's a damn good run for a small town.

[TheHockeyDJ]

The original post here begs the question, what were you expecting this season? This isn't the west metro where teams just reload. I thought Greenway would be much better than their record shows and they still have time to get better. Rapids is much improved over last year which was by far their worst team in school history. Couple of things for GR, they are very young, they've been ill virtually the entire first half of the season, and the schedule rotation has them in the Twin Cities every other weekend. That is a tall task for a young team especially when they are ill. I think most people have the expectations for Rapids this season that they be in the 4/5 game of the quarterfinals and hopefully win at least that game and play their best game of the year in the semi-finals and give someone a scare at Amsoil. Looking ahead to next year, you'll have this current group with a year of experience and some very good incoming talent from bantams with a very good senior goalie. Combine that with the schedule rotating back to all the metro teams coming to the IRA Civic Center next year and I expect that in 2019-2020 GR will be competing for a top 2 seed next season. Next season will be a good one for Rapids season ticket holders on Friday nights/Saturday afternoons.

If they keep scheduling Hermantown for two games you can probably forget the #2 seed. QRF is not friendly to playing A teams, especially when you lose. Rapids has an advantage over Cloquet and Marshall because they don't have to schedule them for conference play. Might want to think about taking advantage of that...

Is this the first year GR has scheduled Hermantown twice? Holy QRF suicide, Batman! There has to be a couple more metro AA teams they can convince to head up for a northwoods adventure. It'd be nice for GR to make Hermantown earn the right to play them, like East does.

Also for GR, let's not forget that two years ago they had Hain, McLaughlin, and Stejskal all leave for juniors, so while that team wouldn't have gotten past East to go to state, they would have been much, much better.

I applaud Greenway and Virginia for boosting their schedules this season. I also applaud Hibbing for not downgrading their schedule before this season, although with the way it has gone I wish they would have.

The only reason any player has left for juniors from GR in the last 20 years was because they won state as juniors. I have no issue with any player leaving when they already won state. Outside of that Rapids players don’t leave. Tony Scott put it best when he attended the 2016 home game vs East and saw the atmosphere and said “no wonder these kids don’t leave for the USHL”.

[kniven]

If they keep scheduling Hermantown for two games you can probably forget the #2 seed. QRF is not friendly to playing A teams, especially when you lose. Rapids has an advantage over Cloquet and Marshall because they don't have to schedule them for conference play. Might want to think about taking advantage of that...

Is this the first year GR has scheduled Hermantown twice? Holy QRF suicide, Batman! There has to be a couple more metro AA teams they can convince to head up for a northwoods adventure. It'd be nice for GR to make Hermantown earn the right to play them, like East does.

Also for GR, let's not forget that two years ago they had Hain, McLaughlin, and Stejskal all leave for juniors, so while that team wouldn't have gotten past East to go to state, they would have been much, much better.

I applaud Greenway and Virginia for boosting their schedules this season. I also applaud Hibbing for not downgrading their schedule before this season, although with the way it has gone I wish they would have.

The only reason any player has left for juniors from GR in the last 20 years was because they won state as juniors. I have no issue with any player leaving when they already won state. Outside of that Rapids players don’t leave. Tony Scott put it best when he attended the 2016 home game vs East and saw the atmosphere and said “no wonder these kids don’t leave for the USHL”.

Yep

[grindiangrad-80]

The original post here begs the question, what were you expecting this season? This isn't the west metro where teams just reload. I thought Greenway would be much better than their record shows and they still have time to get better. Rapids is much improved over last year which was by far their worst team in school history. Couple of things for GR, they are very young, they've been ill virtually the entire first half of the season, and the schedule rotation has them in the Twin Cities every other weekend. That is a tall task for a young team especially when they are ill. I think most people have the expectations for Rapids this season that they be in the 4/5 game of the quarterfinals and hopefully win at least that game and play their best game of the year in the semi-finals and give someone a scare at Amsoil. Looking ahead to next year, you'll have this current group with a year of experience and some very good incoming talent from bantams with a very good senior goalie. Combine that with the schedule rotating back to all the metro teams coming to the IRA Civic Center next year and I expect that in 2019-2020 GR will be competing for a top 2 seed next season. Next season will be a good one for Rapids season ticket holders on Friday nights/Saturday afternoons.

If they keep scheduling Hermantown for two games you can probably forget the #2 seed. QRF is not friendly to playing A teams, especially when you lose. Rapids has an advantage over Cloquet and Marshall because they don't have to schedule them for conference play. Might want to think about taking advantage of that...

I'm not in the know by any means but I would think Rapids feels it is best for Rapids to schedule 2 games a year within an hour and a half drive against a team as good as Hermantown. I'm guessing that they feel that playing against that caliber of a team twice is more important than how they are seeded at the end of the year. I doubt that whether or not they think Hermantown should play A or AA is a factor in their scheduling decision.

Again, I could be way off base, but that is just my hunch. I am not trying to be argumentative. Just my 2 cents.

[Jeffy95]

The original post here begs the question, what were you expecting this season? This isn't the west metro where teams just reload. I thought Greenway would be much better than their record shows and they still have time to get better. Rapids is much improved over last year which was by far their worst team in school history. Couple of things for GR, they are very young, they've been ill virtually the entire first half of the season, and the schedule rotation has them in the Twin Cities every other weekend. That is a tall task for a young team especially when they are ill. I think most people have the expectations for Rapids this season that they be in the 4/5 game of the quarterfinals and hopefully win at least that game and play their best game of the year in the semi-finals and give someone a scare at Amsoil. Looking ahead to next year, you'll have this current group with a year of experience and some very good incoming talent from bantams with a very good senior goalie. Combine that with the schedule rotating back to all the metro teams coming to the IRA Civic Center next year and I expect that in 2019-2020 GR will be competing for a top 2 seed next season. Next season will be a good one for Rapids season ticket holders on Friday nights/Saturday afternoons.

If they keep scheduling Hermantown for two games you can probably forget the #2 seed. QRF is not friendly to playing A teams, especially when you lose. Rapids has an advantage over Cloquet and Marshall because they don't have to schedule them for conference play. Might want to think about taking advantage of that...

I'm not in the know by any means but I would think Rapids feels it is best for Rapids to schedule 2 games a year within an hour and a half drive against a team as good as Hermantown. I'm guessing that they feel that playing against that caliber of a team twice is more important than how they are seeded at the end of the year. I doubt that whether or not they think Hermantown should play A or AA is a factor in their scheduling decision.

Again, I could be way off base, but that is just my hunch. I am not trying to be argumentative. Just my 2 cents.

I'm sure you're correct. My response was to DJ about competing for a #2 seed. That makes it unlikely when using QRF. They only play East, Brainerd and Bemidji once per year. All same or closer in distance.