State Tourney Thoughts

petey1321 · Post by **petey1321** » Mon Mar 15, 2004 5:00 pm

I've been out of town for the past week (though I understand that I made an appearance or two in that chat room, somehow), so I haven't been able to enjoy myself thoroughly by pointing out how terribly wrong certain people around "these parts" were in their predictions. First off, what happened to Section 8? I thought they had the cream of the crop. But, an OT win over 2-and-out Elk River and a dumping of another Northern team who walked through their section tourney later, and the Spuds were in a perfect position to do, well, what they do. From what I understand, the championship game was a great one, so all credit to both teams involved. As for the A tourney, well, you can fill in the blanks. 0 for 2 for Section 8 and another metro AA title...must have been sad times up north. Secondly, 3 straight shutouts?? That's just incredible. I'm not going to give away the mantle of the best team ever (can't lose to Edina and take that crown), but they certainly could make a claim to being the best team in 10 years. Congratulations to the Cougars on an outstanding season. Third, the curse is lifted! 1AA wins its first game in 4 years, and it was done by the 4th place team in a certain conference. Now if they could just win a first round game next year...they just have to get lined up against 2AA at some point. Lastly, it's too bad that the team I just named the best team in the last 10 years didn't play Breck this year, but the onus is certainly not on them. Breck might have been even better than the Cougars (though, as I mentioned above, I doubt it), but we'll never know because certain teams still insist on playing in Class A when they quite frankly have no business doing so. A private school from the metro that attracts bona fide NHL prospects doesn't want to make that jump? Why not? Hill-Murray and Holy Angels did it, and they've done it well. The suggestion that a school that gets Blake Wheeler to come play from them faces the same limitations as, say, Fergus Falls, is laughable. It sure would be nice to see who would have won a Breck vs. Centennial game, but to take the title of best team in the state, you better be playing Holy Angels, Wayzata, and Moorhead and not Albert Lea, SSP, and Orono to prove it.

oldschool · Post by **oldschool** » Mon Mar 15, 2004 6:07 pm

Well, one thing you didn't mention is the fact that the MSHSL's incompetents in picking sections assignments was very well exposed in the cases of Wadena and Albert Lea...........both had unbelievable state tournement losses...........The fact that they took every power that 1a ever had out of the section (to strengthen 3a?)(still scratching my head on that one) and the way they whittled down 4a to the point of being forced into sending a below average program on a good year to state only get crushed is despicable............I have no excuses for 2a but I enjoyed watching the pride of the IR come out in Hibbing..........(3rd place over SSP)

jr · Post by jr » Mon Mar 15, 2004 8:40 pm

Don Lucia said on Sunday he was truly impressed by Centennial. To beat teams ranked 2-4 for the second time each and shutting them out on successive nights was nothing short of amazing.

Videoscout · Post by **Videoscout** » Mon Mar 15, 2004 8:50 pm

Although I was truly amazed by Stutz' performance ... I was even more impressed with the team defense (especially the actual defensemen) that Centennial provided. Very impressive. <img src=http://www.ezboard.com/intl/aenglish/im ... s/pimp.gif ALT=":hat"> - "The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children's teeth are set on edge." -- Old Testement, Ezekiel, XVIII, 2

jr · Post by jr » Mon Mar 15, 2004 8:56 pm

I agree Videoscout! Stutz was solid but the team D was spectacular all year. To only give up 33 goals in 31 games is astonishing. Great discipline and coaching! The Cougars #18 is such a wonderful backchecker. Imagine a team full of him and #12 for the Spuds. Talk about frustrating the other team!

purehockee72 · Post by **purehockee72** » Mon Mar 15, 2004 9:06 pm

Yes, the Cougars are an amazing hockey team. They have a defense that is absolutely stifling. When it looked like the Spuds had something cooking for a split second and then in the blink of and eye it was nullified through great team defensive play. I was thoroughly impressed. Stutz made a few good saves but it is alot easier to tend the net when you got a "D" that you can rely on. I tip my hat to Mr. Stalock in the net. I would not have the stomach to coach him in games such as the Breck vs. SSP one, but I thourougly enjoyed watching him play in that game.

scheids316 · Post by **scheids316** » Mon Mar 15, 2004 9:43 pm

I'm not trying to discount his accomplishments at all, but I don't think of Stutz as that outstanding of a goaltender. Granted, the only 3 games I saw him play were the State games, but he sure had a ton of defensive help. In the Moorhead game, how many of the Spuds' shots were truly "quality scoring chances"? 3, maybe 4? Yes, three consecutive shutouts, at State no less, are nothing to sneeze at. Its impressive no matter how you look at it. But, I've never seen a team play defense live that Centennial team did. Could you imagine if they had a kid like Stalock in the net?

slapshooter · Post by **slapshooter** » Mon Mar 15, 2004 11:14 pm

What were sweety petey's predictions again? <img src=http://www.ezboard.com/intl/aenglish/im ... /laugh.gif ALT=":lol"> L<img src=http://www.ezboard.com/intl/aenglish/im ... s/nerd.gif ALT="8o"> <img src=http://www.ezboard.com/intl/aenglish/im ... /alien.gif ALT="0]"> E, SL<img src=http://www.ezboard.com/intl/aenglish/im ... s/nerd.gif ALT="8o"> PSH<img src=http://www.ezboard.com/intl/aenglish/im ... s/nerd.gif ALT="8o"> <img src=http://www.ezboard.com/intl/aenglish/im ... s/nerd.gif ALT="8o"> TER. (...a legend in his <img src=http://www.ezboard.com/intl/aenglish/im ... s/nerd.gif ALT="8o"> wn time...)

petey1321 · Post by **petey1321** » Mon Mar 15, 2004 11:39 pm

As I recall, I said that Centennial and Moorhead were the best two teams, but that Moorhead had the much easier road to the title game itself (which it did, thanks to a completely overmatched section and not having to face 5AA and 6AA in a row), which made Moorhead the favorite despite not being the best team. This, mind you, was all said before sections even started, though I have no intention of going back through pages and pages of posts to prove it. With that said, I'm not in the prediction game, in general, and I assure you that you will not find me making any list of section winners or tourney winners. Then again, I'm also not in the business of spending months telling people that the two best teams reside in one certain corner of the state over and over and over again. I'll leave that to the experts.

HockeyGuru31 · Post by **HockeyGuru31** » Mon Mar 15, 2004 11:50 pm

Of all the stange opinions Petey's shown on this board... how about him saying that Cenntenial is the best team in past 10 years... I would think Petey would have said past 9 years?

HockeyGuru31 · Post by **HockeyGuru31** » Mon Mar 15, 2004 11:51 pm

Best team in the last ten years? I'd expect you to say the best team in 9 years... and to be honest i'm surprised no one has called him on it yet?

petey1321 · Post by **petey1321** » Tue Mar 16, 2004 1:25 am

Add them up, "Guru": 95, 96, 97, 98, 99, 00, 01, 02, 03, 04. That makes 10 years. Better luck next time.

DoRight101 · Post by **DoRight101** » Tue Mar 16, 2004 9:08 am

Looks like you're a newbie, but you will learn: You never question Petey!

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