Hill-Murray (8-1) vs Minnetonka (7-1-1) 12-26-12 12pm

Older Topics, Not the current discussion

Moderators: Mitch Hawker, east hockey, karl(east)

Who wins?

Poll ended at Thu Dec 27, 2012 12:36 am

Pioneers
14
61%
Skippers
9
39%
 
Total votes: 23

HShockeywatcher
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Hill-Murray (8-1) vs Minnetonka (7-1-1) 12-26-12 12pm

Post by HShockeywatcher » Sun Dec 23, 2012 12:36 am

The only blemish on the Pioneers schedule that includes 4 shut out victories is a one goal loss to a team on the other side of the bracket.
Going into this week the Skippers were undefeated and this week they added a loss and a tie to their record.
The momentum now seems to favor the defensive minded Hill team as Tonka has scored 3 goals in their last 2 games after averaging 6 ppg in their first 7 games.

These two teams have won 3 of the last 5 Gold Divisions
(Tonka won the 06-07 Bronze Division)
Minnetonka has won 3 of the 4 meetings between these two in the tournament.

These two have a large Schwan Cup history:
11-12: 7-3 Tonka win
10-11: 5-3 Hill win, Hill wins Schwan Cup
09-10: No meeting, Tonka wins Schwan Cup
08-09: 3-1 Tonka win
07-08: 4-1 Tonka win, Tonka wins Schwan Cup

Who wins this match up of great teams?

joris016
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Post by joris016 » Sun Dec 23, 2012 7:22 am

Pioneers 3-2

blueblood
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Tonka v. Pioneers

Post by blueblood » Sun Dec 23, 2012 8:00 am

Best game of gold division

Tonka moves on in a shoot out with a 4-3 victory

puckster15
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Post by puckster15 » Sun Dec 23, 2012 8:25 am

Low scoring game due to Tonka's strong defense and HM's Dougas. Could go either way and the winner will come away with a one goal win, maybe two with an empty netter.

If I had to pick I would say HM due to more blananced offensive power.

HShockeywatcher
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Post by HShockeywatcher » Sun Dec 23, 2012 11:43 am

After seeing both teams play, I expect 3 or fewer combined goals in a Tonka win. My prediction:

2-1 Tonka

Tonka gpg: 4.7
Tonka gaa: 1.95

Hill gpg: 4.0
Hill gaa: 0.88

Common Opponents:
St Thomas
Hill 2-1 L
Tonka 3-1 W

Eagan
Hill 3-2 W
Tonka 5-3 W

scorekeeper
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Post by scorekeeper » Sun Dec 23, 2012 1:38 pm

Having watched our Eagan team come up short against both, I will go with Hill Murray here.

The key is containing Coatta, as he can beat you single-handedly and he will be the best player on the ice by a fair margin, but Hill is the better team, IMO, having the next 2 or 3 most dangerous weapons.

Hill Murray 3-2

BlueLineSpecial
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Post by BlueLineSpecial » Mon Dec 24, 2012 12:04 pm

My heart says HM wins, but my brain says Tonka. Can I vote tie? Actually I can, right? Don't they do shootout after 1 overtime period to see who advances in the bracket even though it counts as a tie in the season record for each team??

If thats the case, I'm saying tie (with HM advancing in the shootout!) :lol:

East Side Pioneer Guy
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Post by East Side Pioneer Guy » Mon Dec 24, 2012 1:07 pm

OT ties leading to a shoot out, while understandable and necessary, are really BS and should lead to an asterisk if the winner goes on to win the championship of a tournament.

If the final is not settled after one OT, I say resurface and play another 10 or 17 minutes.

slacsap
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Post by slacsap » Mon Dec 24, 2012 1:26 pm

I agree with East Side about the absurdity of shootouts, but I can't see playing to a winner in a tournament format. Remember a few years back when Hill and Tonka went four overtimes in the state tournament? It was incredibly dramatic, but imagine what it would do to the schedule with three other games to follow at Ridder on Wednesday.

BlueLineSpecial
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Post by BlueLineSpecial » Mon Dec 24, 2012 1:29 pm

slacsap wrote:I agree with East Side about the absurdity of shootouts, but I can't see playing to a winner in a tournament format. Remember a few years back when Hill and Tonka went four overtimes in the state tournament? It was incredibly dramatic, but imagine what it would do to the schedule with three other games to follow at Ridder on Wednesday.
I remember that 4 OT game well. A lot of people say HM cost Minnetonka the title by wearing them out!

East Side Pioneer Guy
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Post by East Side Pioneer Guy » Mon Dec 24, 2012 1:41 pm

slacsap wrote:I agree with East Side about the absurdity of shootouts, but I can't see playing to a winner in a tournament format. Remember a few years back when Hill and Tonka went four overtimes in the state tournament? It was incredibly dramatic, but imagine what it would do to the with three other games to follow at Ridder on Wednesday.
In my original post, I called the one-OT-then-shoot-out format necessary. But having a second OT for the final seems reasonable. It's just an invitational tournament, after all. Even ten more minutes may be enough to settle the matter. Since it's the last game it doesn't effect other games. And typically neither team has another game for a few days. It's certainly more legitimate than a shoot out.

Nuts&Bolts
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Post by Nuts&Bolts » Mon Dec 24, 2012 2:38 pm

Why not play on after one OT in a holiday tournament if still tied? What does the MSHSL have against multiple OTs in December when they permit in March with the challenge of TV scheduling? BTW - I'll take Tonka 3-2 with a bit more depth and discipline.

East Side Pioneer Guy
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Post by East Side Pioneer Guy » Tue Dec 25, 2012 10:13 am

Tournament organizers may not want to have multiple OTs. It can really screw up the rest of the schedule. At the state tournament, if an one of the first three games of the day goes more than 3 OTs, it gets finished the next morning. That hassle isn't worth it for a holiday tournament. The ice may well be rented out to other users.

I'd just as soon flip a coin as have a shoot out.[/i]

starmvp
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Post by starmvp » Tue Dec 25, 2012 4:36 pm

Tonka 3-2 OT

Vapor
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Post by Vapor » Tue Dec 25, 2012 4:48 pm

Tonka 5-3 with a empty netter. Should be a good one.

D3Referee
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Post by D3Referee » Tue Dec 25, 2012 8:56 pm

Hill Murray by 3 or 4. Tonka will get exposed in this one

Wallyworld
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Tonka

Post by Wallyworld » Tue Dec 25, 2012 11:16 pm

Hill should be tough with respect to D/G but are just not hitting on all cylinders yet on O. They changed lines up again just after putting Slattery on 1st line with Brown and lavalle, resulting in a 4-2 win over Benilde and Hockey Hub reporters had Lechner agreeing that his 1st line outplayed one of best first lines in recent memory, scoring 3 of 4 goals..so change line - that makes sense.. Slattery is a great player but can blow up at any given time... Brown is coming back from 1 game suspension but Lechner put him on lower line after that (likely to get his attention) so not sure who is where now...

IMO, Hill's O really misses Guentzel's puck distribution and Blake Heinrich's ability to move O forward from his D spot.. Team is transitioning more than usual at this point.. Granted, Lechners teams do that all year long but until they get consistent production out of set lines, I have to go with Tonka. After seeing them earlier this year and based on talent to talent comparison I see a 4-2 Tonka Win.. 28-20 shots on G for the Skippers.

Reg7
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Re: Tonka

Post by Reg7 » Tue Dec 25, 2012 11:39 pm

Wallyworld wrote:
IMO, Hill's O really misses Guentzel's puck distribution and Blake Heinrich's ability to move O forward from his D spot.. Team is transitioning more than usual at this point.. Granted, Lechners teams do that all year long but until they get consistent production out of set lines, I have to go with Tonka. After seeing them earlier this year and based on talent to talent comparison I see a 4-2 Tonka Win.. 28-20 shots on G for the Skippers.
Hill has scored 6 goals last two games and seem to be playing well...I see a tight game and like Pioneers to win by one...3-2

Wallyworld
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Re: Tonka

Post by Wallyworld » Wed Dec 26, 2012 1:00 am

Reg7 wrote:
Wallyworld wrote:
IMO, Hill's O really misses Guentzel's puck distribution and Blake Heinrich's ability to move O forward from his D spot.. Team is transitioning more than usual at this point.. Granted, Lechners teams do that all year long but until they get consistent production out of set lines, I have to go with Tonka. After seeing them earlier this year and based on talent to talent comparison I see a 4-2 Tonka Win.. 28-20 shots on G for the Skippers.
Hill has scored 6 goals last two games and seem to be playing well...I see a tight game and like Pioneers to win by one...3-2
The last two games were against NSP and WBL so not a good benchmark.. In fact Hill is scoring a full goal per game less than they were last year going into this Tourney.... Also, if you do the math, Hill is the lowest scoring team in the top 10 and STA showed that it's not really that difficult to limit the impact of Hill's O punch. So, any team that can play decent D and put up some goals is a definite threat to them i.e. Tonka.

Hill Goalie Dugas is a stud (.88 GAA & .957 Save % - against one of most diificult schedules per minnhock.com) but if they just had an average/good tender, they would not be a top 15 team...

Tenoverpar
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f

Post by Tenoverpar » Wed Dec 26, 2012 7:45 am

If Tonka can't score on or beat the Ponies from the Stillwater Area, what makes anyone think they can take the East Metro Area All Stars out?

HILL 3
TONKA 0verrated

Gems
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Re: Tonka

Post by Gems » Wed Dec 26, 2012 8:49 am

Wallyworld wrote:
Reg7 wrote:
Wallyworld wrote:
IMO, Hill's O really misses Guentzel's puck distribution and Blake Heinrich's ability to move O forward from his D spot.. Team is transitioning more than usual at this point.. Granted, Lechners teams do that all year long but until they get consistent production out of set lines, I have to go with Tonka. After seeing them earlier this year and based on talent to talent comparison I see a 4-2 Tonka Win.. 28-20 shots on G for the Skippers.
Hill has scored 6 goals last two games and seem to be playing well...I see a tight game and like Pioneers to win by one...3-2
The last two games were against NSP and WBL so not a good benchmark.. In fact Hill is scoring a full goal per game less than they were last year going into this Tourney.... Also, if you do the math, Hill is the lowest scoring team in the top 10 and STA showed that it's not really that difficult to limit the impact of Hill's O punch. So, any team that can play decent D and put up some goals is a definite threat to them i.e. Tonka.

Hill Goalie Dugas is a stud (.88 GAA & .957 Save % - against one of most diificult schedules per minnhock.com) but if they just had an average/good tender, they would not be a top 15 team...
Hill has a tough schedule and I would not expect them to score 6 goals vs top twenty teams since we seem to have a lot of parity in the high school league this year...and remember last year is LAST year and not this year...Hill-Murray and Minnetonka both have teams that can compete with anyone and yes (they are still kids and learning) can take a night off and get beat by teams like Stillwater but thats what makes this game so much fun to watch...enjoy the tourney.

Sats81
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Post by Sats81 » Wed Dec 26, 2012 10:41 am

Hill 4-3

BlueLineSpecial
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Post by BlueLineSpecial » Wed Dec 26, 2012 1:12 pm

HM 1
Tonka 0

After 2 periods

Shots on goal favor Tonka by a handful

BlueLineSpecial
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Post by BlueLineSpecial » Wed Dec 26, 2012 1:49 pm

HM 2
Tonka 1

Final

G Dugas played well for HM. Still not feeling great about the HM offense but they did what they needed to. Offense needs to start coming along

Gov78
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Post by Gov78 » Wed Dec 26, 2012 1:49 pm

HM - 2
Tonka - 1

FINAL

Shots in favor of Tonka 37-24 but for the most part I felt it was an even game with Tonka getting a few more chances but also having more lapses in D end and HM capitalized.

Have to give nod to HM as they won.

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