Burnsville at Hill-Murray, Thurs. 11/29/12

[karl(east)]

An early season non-conference battle between two likely top ten teams, though both have their share of holes to fill off of their teams from last year. Thoughts?

[Wallyworld]

Hill Update.. Sounds like first line will be Lavalle, Brown, & Tyler Funk (3 reg. season goals last year) rather than Mitch Slattery as the third player on line. Slattery has been playing some D and also some forward with 3rd line in scrimmages.. Slattery was a top 15 scorer in the Elite League even though he had played D at SSM for a couple years (he made U15's as a D) so he would have been a great compliment to Lavalle and Willie Brown... Lechner usually gives his returning guys a shot to win these kinds of positions but if Funk isn't cutting it and Slattery isn't stuck on D then look for him to join the line..Also, Brown was playing Center early on but he was winger last two years and Lavalle is now centering the line with Brown back on wing, which is a good thing in my opinion.. I wish Lechner would do what Edina did last weekend and try a few different first line combo's early on..Second line is actually going to be a bright spot with most not expecting much from these youngsters early on. So far, they've shown that they can work well together and have done well in finishing off opportunities.. D is still looking shaky even though all the ranking profiles talk about the 4 returning D but really only Becker and Slattery are considered solid. After that it's fairly thin so G Dugas will be called upon once again to keep Hill in games...

As far as Burnsville, Sheehy looked pretty good in Elite League and has good speed and can put puck in the net but in my view he isn't really that great of a playmaker and with the offense being thinned out from last year he doesn't have all that much to distribute to anyways.. D Teemu K. (sp?) will be the X-factor here as he can almost be like a center as far as bringing the puck up and/or making plays once in the zone. He scares me more than Sheehy in that respect. Though if those two have it working i.e. Teemu setting up Sheehy, then it could be trouble for Hill.. I say Hill has edge at Forward and Goalie with B'vile having a big edge on D.. These two teams split last year with Hill winning the second game in OT at the Schwaans cup. I could see a similar 4-3 score here.. Hill probably outshooting B'ville like 32-27. I could see Lavalle, Mills, and Greeter getting the goals for Hill with Sheehy getting a couple for B'ville....

Another X factor is penalties. I really hate these new rules as I've seen games that were close and enjoyable to watch, blown wide open by a 5 minute major where a team puts in 2-3 goals and momentum shifts in a major way.. I really think this could damage HS hockey.. Look at Maple Grove and Blaine in the section finals. Brodzinsky gets a major very early in game and MG puts in 4 goals and then adds 2 short handed goals because Blaine was just deflated and playing on their heals.. Same with the Edina- Holy Family game last weekend. It was a close game (3-2) until major penalty on HF led to a couple of Edina goals and then they broke it open with that momentum. So basically, after an entertaining period and a half, I would have gotten up and left had there not been another game afterwards.. Terrible rule change.. I wish they would penalize the kid heavily but make it so that the team is back to full strength if a goal is scored, like normal 2 minute P's.....

[Nuts&Bolts]

I don't see B'villes defense being any better than Hill - pretty young/inexperienced and Teemu as the D leader is more of a fourth forward instead of a defenseman. Both teams have scoring power and decent goaltending but I'll say 6-3 Hill with an open netter. Wild card is penalties which I see working against Hill that will get hit with at least one major (the call is for Slatterly). Good luck to both teams - this will be a game to attend.

[karl(east)]

Hill wins 2-1. Shots were definitely in the Pioneers' favor; my feed was choppy at times, but they certainly looked the deeper team. Slattery and Brown scored for Hill, and Sheehy got the Burnsville goal on a major penalty. Not a lot of style points for the Pioneers tonight, but both teams played good defense.

The big news out of this one, however, was an injury to Tyler Sheehy. It happened away from the play, so the cameras didn't catch it, and it was a good 15 minutes before he was carted off on a stretcher. If Burnsville were to lose him, that would be a huge blow. I wish him the best.

[pioneers]

Hill wins 2-1. Shots were definitely in the Pioneers' favor; my feed was choppy at times, but they certainly looked the deeper team. Slattery and Brown scored for Hill, and Sheehy got the Burnsville goal on a major penalty. Not a lot of style points for the Pioneers tonight, but both teams played good defense.

The big news out of this one, however, was an injury to Tyler Sheehy. It happened away from the play, so the cameras didn't catch it, and it was a good 15 minutes before he was carted off on a stretcher. If Burnsville were to lose him, that would be a huge blow. I wish him the best.

Actually, Jacob Olson scored the second goal for H-M. They were looking at his lower back and he was moving his arms and legs before they put him on the stretcher. He gave a big thumbs up as they wheeled him out.

[starmvp]

I sure hope Tyler is ok!

[karl(east)]

Hill wins 2-1. Shots were definitely in the Pioneers' favor; my feed was choppy at times, but they certainly looked the deeper team. Slattery and Brown scored for Hill, and Sheehy got the Burnsville goal on a major penalty. Not a lot of style points for the Pioneers tonight, but both teams played good defense.

The big news out of this one, however, was an injury to Tyler Sheehy. It happened away from the play, so the cameras didn't catch it, and it was a good 15 minutes before he was carted off on a stretcher. If Burnsville were to lose him, that would be a huge blow. I wish him the best.

Actually, Jacob Olson scored the second goal for H-M. They were looking at his lower back and he was moving his arms and legs before they put him on the stretcher. He gave a big thumbs up as they wheeled him out.

Argh, yes, meant Olson. He looked pretty good in his first varsity game.

Good to hear some encouraging news on Sheehy. Anyone see what happened?

[hockeyhockeyhockey]

it was behind the play and on the other side of the rink and at the red line ..the puck was dumped into the Burnsville corner ... I think him and a couple others had to quickly wheel back from trying to break out to go back get the puck set up and try again so late in the game...during that wheeling back transition wheeling around something happened to him, dont know if it was contact, twisting, banging into someone, being hit, dont know.. and he went down with little movement. it was very scary. I think perhaps his mother came on the ice during the wait for the ambulance and stretcher. kept the helmet on as they secured him. There was very limited movement, heard afterwards that he did talk and told trainers he felt/heard a pop in his back, when he said that Im sure they took the most precautions possible. I did not see a thumbs up but his arms were moving a bit..I think he really stayed calm and still as he listed to his trainers and EMTs and got the professional care....this is not inside medical info at all just going by the limited amount I saw and then heard at the game. Just sick and sad to witness anything like that. Praying and hoping for his speedy and full recovery and continued health for all these great youngsters.

[UntouchableFlow]

Pleasantly surprised with the result of tonight's game. Hill usually starts slow out of the gates every season, but it's encouraging to see that they could pick up a big win early in the season. Slattery is going to be a big time guy for the Pioneers this year. I know that a lot have already mentioned that, but he's going to help to fill the void that Jake Guentzel left. I'd be very impressed to see this squad at 8-1 before the Schwan's Cup starts, and I think one loss going into that would be a very, very good start for them. Eagan, BSM, and St. Thomas will be their stiffest competition, and should get some early tests from a few of those other teams. Excited for this season, and the new Hill-Murray jerseys look great.

[Nuts&Bolts]

So I was off on the score prediction but what was the scoop on the major penalty when B'ville got there goal? Good call or iffy? Godspeed to Sheehy - not seeing him on the ice would be a loss for the B'ville team and MN hockey fans.

[hockeyhockeyhockey]

good call..foolish push check in the back with 6 seconds in the period with burnsville having no shot at doing anything..have to call it, not viscous but checking from behind against the boards...

[karl(east)]

good call..foolish push check in the back with 6 seconds in the period with burnsville having no shot at doing anything..have to call it, not viscous but checking from behind against the boards...

Yeah, I thought the game misconduct seemed a bit harsh, but it was a definite check from behind.

[hockeyhockeyhockey]

i think it was a 10 min misconduct..is that with all major checking form behinds???

[scorekeeper]

The big news out of this one, however, was an injury to Tyler Sheehy.

Very unfortunate. One of the most exciting high school players in the State. Get well quick Tyler.

[Granttenn]

39-17 Shots on goal pretty much sums up the game. The 5 minute major against Hill's Becker on a fairly weak call was about B'villes only offense.. As for Hill, SSM transfer Jr. Mitch Slattery made Burnsville D look foolish on several occasions and is a huge addition to the team. Brown looked good with a couple of crowd humming plays including one where he faked a shot to pull the goalie completely out of net, going in behind him, but he had no trailers which was pretty much story for fist line. Lavalle and Funk were kind of MIA.. Second line looked quick and scrappy - very efficient.. Sheehy looked good as usual for the Blaze but as usual he's either using his speed to create a play for himself or he's putting in a loose puck but as far as playmaking, not so much - same as in the Elite League..

As for Sheehy's injury, I was behind net on the right side so I had a perfect view of it. With just under a minute to go, Brown was shadowing Sheehy, because obviously they are going to find him so when they did brown came in from the side kind of parallel and took him out with a clean but board rattling hit.. That's what happens when 190lbs meets 165lbs on the boards. Lavalle came in just about that time and the three kind of got tangled after the hit - but I think it was the hip to hip impact against the boards that caused the lower back pop that he mentioned.. No ill intent at all. These two were teammates just over a month ago in the Elite League.

Moving forward, I don't see much for the Blaze to build on other than solid goaltending.. Hill on the other hand looks better than last year at this point and should have a better team than last year by tourney time as well.. Just a question of how soon Slattery moves up to play on the first line with Lavalle and Brown..He's definitely an adequate replacement for Guentzel bolting early.. I'd put those three up there with BSM, Cloquet, and Edina's top 3..

Hill vs. Eagan on Saturday.. Start of a 3 game stretch against teams from last years tourney.. Hill should be favored in all but the BSM game.. Dugas would have to stand on his head for Hill to pull that one out but anything can happen..

[pioneers]

i think it was a 10 min misconduct..is that with all major checking form behinds???

He got a game misconduct. Check was from behind, but game misconduct seemed a bit too much.

[almostashappy]

i think it was a 10 min misconduct..is that with all major checking form behinds???

He got a game misconduct. Check was from behind, but game misconduct seemed a bit too much.

Hub notes penalty happened at end of period...was play still going on when hit took place, or was it after the horn? I'd be a little less sympathetic if it was extra-curricular.

Also...game misconduct is the "miss the next game too" type of ejection, right? Not that the "three stars" replacement didn't step up big last night, mind you...

[pioneers]

It was a delayed call and the period ran out before H-M touched the puck. It was actually at the end of the second period.