Grand Rapids/Greenway Lightning Thread
Moderators: Mitch Hawker, east hockey, karl(east)
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momentum
I'm so happy to see things have turned around for the lightning this season, there was too much good talent on the team for the score to not show it. Who do you think will make all conference? And good luck Lightning in post season play!!
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Thunder and Lightning may be on collision course in 7AA
Rick Weegman Duluth News Tribune
Published Thursday, February 08, 2007
This year’s Section 7AA girls hockey tournament could produce its own version of Thunder and Lightning.
That’s as in Cloquet-Esko-Carlton goaltender Paige Thunder and the section’s top seed, the Grand Rapids-Greenway Lightning.
Those are two of the storylines as the Minnesota high school playoffs begin today with the quarterfinal round.
Grand Rapids-Greenway (18-7) hosts St. Francis-North Branch, while No. 2 CEC (15-6-4) faces Chisago Lakes Area at home. Both games are at 7 p.m.
The Lightning defeated the Lumberjacks 5-1 Jan. 18, part of a nine-game winning streak heading into the playoffs. The easy win over CEC — the only time all season that Thunder allowed that many goals — came during the Lightning’s impressive 6-0 road trip.
“For us to go in there and do that as a team, it was definitely one of the high points of the season,’’ junior center Emily Erickson said. “We might have caught them on an off-night, but it got us out of that mental block.”
Erickson has had a lot to do with the Lightning’s success. She leads Northeastern Minnesota in scoring with 41 goals and 23 assists for 64 points.
“She’s a great player, but we’ve also got other things with our team like depth in our lines and experience on defense,’’ Lightning coach Pat Rendle said. “The teams that have done well [in the playoffs] have had those types of players.”
Erickson scored four goals against Thunder in the school’s first win over the Lumberjacks.
“We are hoping for nothing less than a trip to the state tournament,’’ Erickson said. “We’re looking to put the Lightning on the map.”
The section has been dominated in recent seasons by Cloquet-Esko-Carlton, which has reached the state tournament four of the past five years and twice in a row. But the Lightning signaled a shift in the balance of power when they forced the Lumberjacks to double overtime in the 2006 7AA final before losing 3-2.
“All we’ve tried to do is copy what Hibbing and Cloquet did as far as schedules,” Rendle said. “We’ve put together a schedule that allows us to be competitive. The only way to become a serious contender is replicate what the good teams have done.”
This marks the third season that Grand Rapids-Greenway has scheduled aggressively. The Lightning played 10 games against teams from the Twin Cities metro area, posting a 6-4 record. They also swept Hibbing-Chisholm for the first time in school history.
The Lumberjacks seemed ready to repeat until they hit a rough mid-January stretch, going 1-4 during an eight-day span, including the loss to the Lightning. They scored only five goals in those five games, but Thunder’s play in net has been key. The lone hiccup came against the Lightning.
“It was a big game for us,’’ CEC coach Dick Bartholdi said. “They scored quite a bit on us — more than we’re used to. So we made some changes after that.”
The Lumberjacks responded by entering the playoffs on a 3-0-1 run.
* The Duluth Northern Stars (15-8-2) open the playoffs against Cambridge-Isanti-Mora at the DECC tonight, while Proctor-Hermantown-Marshall (12-11-2) visits Forest Lake.
Rick Weegman Duluth News Tribune
Published Thursday, February 08, 2007
This year’s Section 7AA girls hockey tournament could produce its own version of Thunder and Lightning.
That’s as in Cloquet-Esko-Carlton goaltender Paige Thunder and the section’s top seed, the Grand Rapids-Greenway Lightning.
Those are two of the storylines as the Minnesota high school playoffs begin today with the quarterfinal round.
Grand Rapids-Greenway (18-7) hosts St. Francis-North Branch, while No. 2 CEC (15-6-4) faces Chisago Lakes Area at home. Both games are at 7 p.m.
The Lightning defeated the Lumberjacks 5-1 Jan. 18, part of a nine-game winning streak heading into the playoffs. The easy win over CEC — the only time all season that Thunder allowed that many goals — came during the Lightning’s impressive 6-0 road trip.
“For us to go in there and do that as a team, it was definitely one of the high points of the season,’’ junior center Emily Erickson said. “We might have caught them on an off-night, but it got us out of that mental block.”
Erickson has had a lot to do with the Lightning’s success. She leads Northeastern Minnesota in scoring with 41 goals and 23 assists for 64 points.
“She’s a great player, but we’ve also got other things with our team like depth in our lines and experience on defense,’’ Lightning coach Pat Rendle said. “The teams that have done well [in the playoffs] have had those types of players.”
Erickson scored four goals against Thunder in the school’s first win over the Lumberjacks.
“We are hoping for nothing less than a trip to the state tournament,’’ Erickson said. “We’re looking to put the Lightning on the map.”
The section has been dominated in recent seasons by Cloquet-Esko-Carlton, which has reached the state tournament four of the past five years and twice in a row. But the Lightning signaled a shift in the balance of power when they forced the Lumberjacks to double overtime in the 2006 7AA final before losing 3-2.
“All we’ve tried to do is copy what Hibbing and Cloquet did as far as schedules,” Rendle said. “We’ve put together a schedule that allows us to be competitive. The only way to become a serious contender is replicate what the good teams have done.”
This marks the third season that Grand Rapids-Greenway has scheduled aggressively. The Lightning played 10 games against teams from the Twin Cities metro area, posting a 6-4 record. They also swept Hibbing-Chisholm for the first time in school history.
The Lumberjacks seemed ready to repeat until they hit a rough mid-January stretch, going 1-4 during an eight-day span, including the loss to the Lightning. They scored only five goals in those five games, but Thunder’s play in net has been key. The lone hiccup came against the Lightning.
“It was a big game for us,’’ CEC coach Dick Bartholdi said. “They scored quite a bit on us — more than we’re used to. So we made some changes after that.”
The Lumberjacks responded by entering the playoffs on a 3-0-1 run.
* The Duluth Northern Stars (15-8-2) open the playoffs against Cambridge-Isanti-Mora at the DECC tonight, while Proctor-Hermantown-Marshall (12-11-2) visits Forest Lake.
Lightning win 3-1 ENG. Poorly officiated, but props to STF. They played great.
Erickson (Gallop)
Erickson (?, ?)
Bialon (EN)
Havel played great, I believe stopping 24/25. The STF tender played great as well, I believe stoping 45/48. Lightning will face Cambridge, who beat Duluth tonight on Saturday.
Lightning 5
Cambridge 1
Erickson (Gallop)
Erickson (?, ?)
Bialon (EN)
Havel played great, I believe stopping 24/25. The STF tender played great as well, I believe stoping 45/48. Lightning will face Cambridge, who beat Duluth tonight on Saturday.
Lightning 5
Cambridge 1
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Finally congrats GRGboblee wrote:Lightning win 3-1 ENG. Poorly officiated, but props to STF. They played great.
Erickson (Gallop)
Erickson (?, ?)
Bialon (EN)
Havel played great, I believe stopping 24/25. The STF tender played great as well, I believe stoping 45/48. Lightning will face Cambridge, who beat Duluth tonight on Saturday.
Lightning 5
Cambridge 1
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In the words of the great Garth Brooks, the Thunder rolls, and the Lightning strikes. It's going to come down to how much rolling Thunder can do. I'd love to see the Lightning girls at state, I think they deserve it. Either way, I think we're in for a hell of a game on Thursday!
Goooooooo Lightning! (But good luck to the Jacks too )
Goooooooo Lightning! (But good luck to the Jacks too )
POST #5000
Well folks, here is it. Post #5000. The post that helps propel the Lightning to state.
Prediction:
Lightning 4 (EN)
Cloquet 2
Erickson gets two, a third liner gets one, but the third goal, the game winner is Molly Arola.
The girls and Mr. Pat Rendle get what they deserve. A state tournament birth. Go Lightning!
Prediction:
Lightning 4 (EN)
Cloquet 2
Erickson gets two, a third liner gets one, but the third goal, the game winner is Molly Arola.
The girls and Mr. Pat Rendle get what they deserve. A state tournament birth. Go Lightning!
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- Posts: 3013
- Joined: Mon Feb 14, 2005 8:31 pm
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- Posts: 3013
- Joined: Mon Feb 14, 2005 8:31 pm
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- Posts: 173
- Joined: Thu Feb 19, 2004 4:16 pm
- Location: Iron Range