Section 5AA Semi Finals

Maple Grove Crimson#1 · Thu Feb 23, 2012 10:48 pm

February 28th at the State fair Colosseum.

#5 Osseo Orioles (11-15)
vs.
#1 Maple Grove Crimson (22-2-2)

6pm face off

Maple Grove won both meetings this season. 9-0 and 6-0

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#6 Anoka Tornadoes (9-17)
vs.
#2 Blaine Bengals (17-9)

8:30pm

Blaine won both meetings this season. 2-1 and 4-1

seeya at the fair!

BodyShots · Post by **BodyShots** » Fri Feb 24, 2012 9:07 am

Yawn.... I guess we will be seeing MG and Blaine again next Friday.

Stars67 · Post by **Stars67** » Tue Feb 28, 2012 10:00 am

I smell upset in one of these games... I would like to think it is the Anoka vs. Blaine game but Osseo pulled an upset about 6-7 years back on a much stronger Crimson team... Are there any good personal rivalries anymore with Osseo and Maple Grove?

CalButtercup · Post by **CalButtercup** » Tue Feb 28, 2012 10:14 am

5-0 Maple Grove and 3-2 Blaine. I think MG will just be too much for Osseo. Should be a much closer game between Anoka and Blaine. I like Blaine's experience to carry them through to the finals, where they will be dismantled by Maple Grove.

LetsPlayHockey22 · Post by **LetsPlayHockey22** » Tue Feb 28, 2012 12:15 pm

CalButtercup wrote:5-0 Maple Grove and 3-2 Blaine. I think MG will just be too much for Osseo. Should be a much closer game between Anoka and Blaine. I like Blaine's experience to carry them through to the finals, where they will be dismantled by Maple Grove.

I think this is Maple Grove's year to prevail, but I wouldn't expect a blowout in the finals. The last time Blaine played MG it was a 4-2 game in which Blaine scored first. I expect it to be a tight one, and I would guess that Osseo will put up a decent fight for the first couple periods tonight. They've given Blaine a run for their money the last 3 seasons in the semi's and expect them to not be a doormat for MG this year.

TopChedder3 · Post by **TopChedder3** » Tue Feb 28, 2012 11:06 pm

5-1 Mg over Osseo
6-3 Blaine over Anoka.
The last game was very exciting! 4-3 with a minute left. Anoka should have won, couldn't capitalize on their chances. Melvin almost gave up a goal from behind the net which could have costed them the game. A lot of luck behind the Bengals tonight. Going to be a great championship game. Both mg and Blaine very skilled! So who prevails? Gross or brodzinski? Will mg not choke again or will Blaine make it 7 in a row?

HSHockeyFan08 · Post by **HSHockeyFan08** » Wed Feb 29, 2012 10:33 am

[quote="TopChedder3"]5-1 Mg over Osseo
6-3 Blaine over Anoka.
The last game was very exciting! 4-3 with a minute left. Anoka should have won, couldn't capitalize on their chances. Melvin almost gave up a goal from behind the net which could have costed them the game. A lot of luck behind the Bengals tonight. Going to be a great championship game. Both mg and Blaine very skilled! So who prevails? Gross or brodzinski? Will mg not choke again or will Blaine make it 7 in a row?[/quote]

I think the entire state would like to see Maple Grove win this one. I expect a very pro Maple Grove crowd at the fair grounds Friday.

headsup · Post by **headsup** » Wed Feb 29, 2012 12:42 pm

Not sure what the stronger vibe will be. I think the consensus is to have different representation of 5AA than Blaine - given the past 6-7 years of doing nothing at the Xcel.

3-9 at the Excel (in their current streak since 2005) with only 1 first round victory (in 2008) when they placed 3rd.

Yeah - other 5AA teams are 0-0 at the Ex, but just chirping about section championships gets embarrassing when you can't even compete at the next level (given the numbers and selection of players they've had coming through the program).

LetsPlayHockey22 · Post by **LetsPlayHockey22** » Wed Feb 29, 2012 12:50 pm

headsup wrote:Not sure what the stronger vibe will be. I think the consensus is to have different representation of 5AA than Blaine - given the past 6-7 years of doing nothing at the Xcel.

3-9 at the Excel (in their current streak since 2005) with only 1 first round victory (in 2008) when they placed 3rd.

Yeah - other 5AA teams are 0-0 at the Ex, but just chirping about section championships gets embarrassing when you can't even compete at the next level (given the numbers and selection of players they've had coming through the program).

Blaine took 3rd in 06 and 09, with a 6th place finish in 2008...and 0-2 finish in 07,10, and 11. I would say that this year and last year, Maple Grove would represent the section better, but the other years I'm not sure any other team in the section would have done any better.

HSHockeyFan08 · Post by **HSHockeyFan08** » Wed Feb 29, 2012 1:59 pm

Last year Maple Grove was a better team than Blaine. Malvin played a miraculous game.

Sparlimb · Post by **Sparlimb** » Wed Feb 29, 2012 2:06 pm

HSHockeyFan08 wrote:Last year Maple Grove was a better team than Blaine. Malvin played a miraculous game.

And yet Blaine earned and deserved the win last year. The question is for all the good to great teams MG has had, why are they winless all-time against Blaine in sections?

LetsPlayHockey22 · Post by **LetsPlayHockey22** » Wed Feb 29, 2012 3:19 pm

HSHockeyFan08 wrote:Last year Maple Grove was a better team than Blaine. Malvin played a miraculous game.

Like I said in my post, last year Maple Grove would have represented the section better at state given they probably would have been seeded. You can call last years section final lucky because Blaine had a fluke goal from the corner and 2 deflected goals, but eiither way MG didn't pull out the win. Not being bitter because I think Blaine overachieved last season making to the tournament, but they went unseaded even though they tied Edina and beat East in the regular season, but drew Edina in the quarterfinals. MG probably would have gotten the 4 seed instead of Eagan, and finishing 3rd or 4th. That being said, Maple Grove has almost the same team back this year, while Blaine does not have much depth to their very young lineup, and after watching Malvin play last night, I think a miracle would have to happen for Blaine to keep the streak alive. Depending on who makes it this year, MG could sneak a #2 seed, but my guess is they'll have the #3 seed into state.

Hscout000 · Post by **Hscout000** » Wed Feb 29, 2012 8:03 pm

After watching the games last night Blaine is going to have to pull a rabbit out of the hat to win the section. Defensively their is no depth only Brodzinski and Copa. Forwards struggle catching breakout passes and simply scoring.

Maple Grove is a stronger team top to bottom then Blaine. This is Maple Grove's game to lose.

However, the next two years will be Blaine's based on the youth of their top players.