Section 7A (2016-2017)

[greenwayraider]

I'd switch Hibbing to #2 and Greenway to #3 after this week's showing. Greenway could not hold two goal leads against Alex and Rosemount. Their power play is practically nonexistent. They had a five minute major man advantage and had one scoring threat. It will be interesting to see if Clafton reinstates the defeneman who has been held out for two games for some "attitude adjustment". Also will he reinstate the forward he held out of the Rosemount game for a similar reason. On the upside is the the emergence of sophomore Dante Lawson. The kid had three good games this week and made a penalty shot that left the goalie tied up in knots. Don't see Greenway staying within four or five goals of Hermantown. Could go into running depending on who will be allowed to play.

[rainier]

Yeah, either Hibbing or Greenway could be #2 right now. Hibbing did significantly better vs New Ulm and slightly better vs Virginia, but I don't think I'd hold the Rosemount tie against the Raiders.

Hibbing also blew a lead vs Alex. Hibbing was up 4-3 in the third and went on the pp, and it felt like they were about to put Alex away. Next thing you know there are four Hibbing players behind the Alex net trying to work the puck out from an Alex defender tying up the puck brilliantly, the puck squirts out front of the net, and its off to the races for two Alex speedsters who then finish off a nice 2 on 1 for the shorty. Huge momentum swing.

It's interesting you mention Lawson, because I was going to discuss how it looked like he has picked up the slack since Troumbly went down, but I was too lazy to write more. Kid has plenty of talent, so it's nice to see him settle in and start scoring more.

Hopefully the attitude/penalty problems get worked out for Greenway. If there is anything more aggravating than taking dumb penalties, I've yet to find it.

Hibbing needs to get more greasy goals. Too many guys just looking for the pretty play and not getting shots on net. Possessing the puck is great, but my great hockey mind tells me it's kind of hard to score if you don't shoot the puck. Tomberlin has talked about this several times in interviews.

[greenwayraider]

Greenway got some good news. The doctors decided that Troumbly will not need surgery. He could be back by Sectionals.

[rainier]

Greenway got some good news. The doctors decided that Troumbly will not need surgery. He could be back by Sectionals.

Good to hear. Hope he makes it back ASAP.

In a surprising development, I-Falls leads Virginia 3-0 in the 3rd. The Broncos seem to have found a groove since xmas and are looking to win their 5th in a row.

[rainier]

Greenway got some good news. The doctors decided that Troumbly will not need surgery. He could be back by Sectionals.

Good to hear. Hope he makes it back ASAP.

In a surprising development, I-Falls leads Virginia 3-0 in the 3rd. The Broncos seem to have found a groove since xmas and are looking to win their 5th in a row.

Falls beats Virginia 5-0 in Virginia. Very interesting result, given that Falls is on a huge stretch of consecutive 7A games. They play Greenway twice, North Shore twice, Denfeld, Eveleth, and Hibbing, which gives the Broncos plenty of chances to keep climbing the 7A ladder.

[greenwayraider]

Greenway has rescheduled Rochester Lourdes for January 21, Breck for February 3 and Superior for February 4 all of them are at Hodgins-Berardo Arena. They still have to reschedule the Falls and North Shore.

[rainier]

Greenway has rescheduled Rochester Lourdes for January 21, Breck for February 3 and Superior for February 4 all of them are at Hodgins-Berardo Arena. They still have to reschedule the Falls and North Shore.

I saw the Breck reschedule earlier, and it's great they are getting these games in. I like that Greenway upped their schedule this year, even if it means taking some regular season lumps. Conversely, I'm not impressed with Hibbing's schedule at all. The schedule was made before it was known Ullan and Perunovich were leaving, so there is no reason some better teams shouldn't have been added.

Disappointed the Falls-Raider game was canceled, as the Broncos are on a run and I was interested to see what they could do against a top ten A team. I watched the Falls' 5-0 win over Virginia; it was a pretty even game, but Falls sniped their chances while Virginia missed the net on theirs. The Blue Devils had plenty of chances against Falls and against Hibbing also, but they are missing the net and they also refuse to pass on odd man rushes, which is strange. That team needs Seitz and Murray back badly. There is also a player on that team that made just about every all-star team imaginable in youth levels, yet he has had very little impact as a varsity player. If he doesn't make some strides, I really think that hurts Virginia's chances of winning 7A next season. (Provided the Hawks opt up.)

[rainier]

After a weeks' hiatus, here are the latest 7A rankings.
Overall record and 7A record are given for each team.

1. Hermantown- 12-1-1 (2-0) The Hawks continue to win. They play two more AA teams this coming week.

2. Greenway- 10-3-1 (5-2) The Raiders got buried by Hermantown, beat a respectable Minneapolis squad 6-2, and had games vs I-Falls and North Shore postponed due to weather. The good news is that they are rescheduling these games, along with the previously postponed games against Breck and Lourdes.

It is also good news that top forward Troumbly avoided surgery on his injured foot, leaving the door open for a possible return for section playoffs, which would be a huge boost to the Raiders. This week their only game is vs Lourdes, but next week they will play Virginia, GR, and I-Falls.

The Raiders’ prospects of getting the #2 seed are looking strong. They have a difficult schedule remaining which includes GR, Breck, Duluth Marshall, and SPA. They could go 0-4 in those games but as long as they are at least competitive, I don’t think it would hurt their seeding. If they win just one of those games, then I feel they are a lock for #2, provided they beat all the lesser opponents they have remaining.

Side Note: At this point, I’m considering the 7A semifinal on the #2 and #3 side of the bracket to be the real 7A title game. Plante was fond of saying his teams were “The Public School Champs” when he would lose to big city teams at state, so I figured it’s fine if I do the same. I just need to come up with a proper title for a 7A context. Here are the ones I have so far:
• “The Play Single A at Both Youth and High School Champs”
• “The Not a Suburb of a 250,000 Person Metro Area Champs”
• “The Non Open Enrollment Champs”
Perhaps I’ll post a poll and let the masses decide on the winner.

3. Hibbing- 10-4 (4-1) The Bluejackets steamrolled Mayo and Albert Lea, 5-1 and 4-1, respectively, while outshooting them 102-19 combined. They then followed this southern road trip up with a convincing 7-3 win at Virginia. Beating up on mediocre competition isn’t impressive, but at least they continue to beat the teams they should beat.

Hibbing stays at #3 because they still lack that signature win. This week they play Superior, GR, and EGF. While beating Superior wouldn’t be a big win, and beating GR is highly unlikely, a win over EGF might be enough to get the Bluejackets up to #2. Of Hibbing’s 11 remaining games, two of them are almost sure losses (GR and Herm), eight are games they should absolutely win (Superior, Denfeld, Warroad, TRF, Proctor, I-Falls, Eveleth, Virginia), and the other game is vs EGF. Therefore, EGF is Hibbing’s last realistic chance at a signature win, and even then Greenway already beat EGF, so Hibbing may need a Greenway bad/unexpected loss to pass them.

4. Eveleth- 9-7 (4-3) The Golden Bears ran off three wins over Albert Lea 7-3, Mayo 4-3, and Becker 6-3 before falling to Princeton 2-1. Not a real impressive list of foes, but it is enough to move them up to #4.

Eveleth only plays one game this week, but it could be a doozy. The red hot I-Falls Broncos come to town in the 7A Game of the Week.

5. North Shore- 8-4-1 (2-0) The Storm lost big to Superior 7-0, beat Pine City 2-0, then took a solid St. Louis Park team to OT before losing 4-3.
Their chance to make a 7A statement vs Greenway was frozen out this week, but they play Virginia and I-Falls this week, so two wins could get them all the way up to #4, which would be the highest they’ve ever been ranked in 7A, as far as I know.

6. I-Falls- 6-8 (2-4) The Broncos beat Ely 6-3 and Virginia 5-0 to run their winning streak to five games. Sadly their game against Greenway was postponed, as that would have been a great test to see just how hot these border-dwelling pucksters could get.

Fortunately, they have a massive 7A opportunity this week, as they have games vs Eveleth, North Shore, and Denfeld. A sweep this week would propel them into the top five and be a great story for a team that started the year 0-7. I’m pulling for them.

7. Virginia- 5-10 (3-4) The Blue Devils’ rough patch continued, as they lost to Eagan 3-0, I-Falls 5-0, and Hibbing 7-3. Their season is descending into the abyss, as they have now lost 7 straight, by a combined score of 35-7!

It is true this team has been decimated by injuries, as Seitz has missed almost the entire season, Lamppa hasn’t played much, and now their 2nd best player Murray is out. Any team would be hurting without 3 of their 4 best offensive options, but Virginia has looked particularly anemic, especially on the power play. I still maintain that at full strength the Devils are the 4th best team in 7A with a realistic shot at beating Hibbing or Greenway, but until they get healthy this is just an opinion from a moron, nothing more.

What concerns me about the Blue Devils is that their vaunted sophomore class isn’t showing many signs of having next-level talent. Whether it was against a stronger team in Hibbing or a weaker team in I-Falls I didn’t see any flashes that made me think “Man this team will be good next year.” What I see is a deep collection of quality B to B+ players, but no A level budding stars like they have in Seitz. These kids will come back bigger, stronger, and more confident next season and the overall depth should make them at least top 3 in 7A, but my previous feeling they were runaway favorites in 7A is eroding rapidly. Perhaps seeing Seitz play again will restore my faith.

They play North Shore, Cathedral, and Sauk Rapids this week.

8. Denfeld- 2-14 (1-3) The Hunters picked up their first 7A win over Proctor 5-4, and had respectable losses vs East 4-1 and Hermantown 5-1.

Wins have been hard to come by for this rebuilding squad, and their brutal schedule doesn’t get any easier this week as they play Duluth Marshall, Cloquet, and surging I-Falls.

9. Proctor-8-8 (1-3) The Rails beat Moose Lake 8-2, Hayward 3-1, and lost in OT to Denfeld 5-4.

This week they take on Mora and Providence Academy.

10. Ely- 6-6 (0-3) The Wolves are winning some games and having a solid season, but no wins vs 7A teams yet.

The 7A Game of the Week: I-Falls at Eveleth. The Broncos are on a roll and the Golden Bears have been solid, but not great, as of late. When these teams met earlier in the season, Eveleth won the game 5-4, but I-Falls outshot them 50-27! (If the Hub can be believed.) Given this result and the Broncos’ momentum, I’ll take the purple jerseys to win 5-3.

[elliott70]

"Side Note: At this point, I’m considering the 7A semifinal on the #2 and #3 side of the bracket to be the real 7A title game. Plante was fond of saying his teams were “The Public School Champs” when he would lose to big city teams at state, so I figured it’s fine if I do the same. I just need to come up with a proper title for a 7A context. Here are the ones I have so far:
• “The Play Single A at Both Youth and High School Champs”
• “The Not a Suburb of a 250,000 Person Metro Area Champs”
• “The Non Open Enrollment Champs”
Perhaps I’ll post a poll and let the masses decide on the winner. Smile "

I like it!


"Pride of the North Champions!"

[rainier]

"Side Note: At this point, I’m considering the 7A semifinal on the #2 and #3 side of the bracket to be the real 7A title game. Plante was fond of saying his teams were “The Public School Champs” when he would lose to big city teams at state, so I figured it’s fine if I do the same. I just need to come up with a proper title for a 7A context. Here are the ones I have so far:
• “The Play Single A at Both Youth and High School Champs”
• “The Not a Suburb of a 250,000 Person Metro Area Champs”
• “The Non Open Enrollment Champs”
Perhaps I’ll post a poll and let the masses decide on the winner. Smile "

I like it!


"Pride of the North Champions!"

Your suggestion is the best one by far, but I'm extremely petty, so I have to go with one that belittles Herm so I can sleep at night.

[elliott70]

"Side Note: At this point, I’m considering the 7A semifinal on the #2 and #3 side of the bracket to be the real 7A title game. Plante was fond of saying his teams were “The Public School Champs” when he would lose to big city teams at state, so I figured it’s fine if I do the same. I just need to come up with a proper title for a 7A context. Here are the ones I have so far:
• “The Play Single A at Both Youth and High School Champs”
• “The Not a Suburb of a 250,000 Person Metro Area Champs”
• “The Non Open Enrollment Champs”
Perhaps I’ll post a poll and let the masses decide on the winner. Smile "

I like it!


"Pride of the North Champions!"

Pride of the North - Hermantown SUX Champions ????

Your suggestion is the best one by far, but I'm extremely petty, so I have to go with one that belittles Herm so I can sleep at night.

[kniven]

"Side Note: At this point, I’m considering the 7A semifinal on the #2 and #3 side of the bracket to be the real 7A title game. Plante was fond of saying his teams were “The Public School Champs” when he would lose to big city teams at state, so I figured it’s fine if I do the same. I just need to come up with a proper title for a 7A context. Here are the ones I have so far:
• “The Play Single A at Both Youth and High School Champs”
• “The Not a Suburb of a 250,000 Person Metro Area Champs”
• “The Non Open Enrollment Champs”
Perhaps I’ll post a poll and let the masses decide on the winner. Smile "

I like it!


"Pride of the North Champions!"

Agreed. "At this point, I’m considering the 7A semifinal on the #2 and #3 side of the bracket to be the real 7A title game" That is the game I am planning on watching. Seeing/watching Hermantown put their semi and finals opponents in running time by the end of 1st period is no fun. Maybe they will play with their food this year like a Kitty Cat plays with her wounded Mouse?

[greenwayraider]

Here are some other possibilities.

The Non-Trophy Chaser Championship
Be All That You Can Be Championship
The Spirit of Competition Championship
The Hometown Championship

With Hermantown it could be called:

The Chicken Championship
Deprive My Community of Greatness Championship
The Big Fish in the Little Pond Championship
The No Pride Championship

[Thunderstruck]

Personally I like having Hermantown in 7A. The team that finally beats the Hawks to go to the X will feel so elated. It reminds me of when we had the one class system, 7A was you had to generally beat Grand Rapids and when a team did it was bitter sweet. I personally hope the Hawks stay in 7A and look forward to see which 7A team will be the ones to knock them out. Kinda like the 1980 miricle on ice team so to speak.

[kniven]

Personally I like having Hermantown in 7A. The team that finally beats the Hawks to go to the X will feel so elated. It reminds me of when we had the one class system, 7A was you had to generally beat Grand Rapids and when a team did it was bitter sweet. I personally hope the Hawks stay in 7A and look forward to see which 7A team will be the ones to knock them out. Kinda like the 1980 miricle on ice team so to speak.

I'd like to see them in AA, but I'll live if they stay put. A great hockey program though. I wonder who takes over for Bruce next year?

[Jeffy95]

Personally I like having Hermantown in 7A. The team that finally beats the Hawks to go to the X will feel so elated. It reminds me of when we had the one class system, 7A was you had to generally beat Grand Rapids and when a team did it was bitter sweet. I personally hope the Hawks stay in 7A and look forward to see which 7A team will be the ones to knock them out. Kinda like the 1980 miricle on ice team so to speak.

I'd like to see them in AA, but I'll live if they stay put. A great hockey program though. I wonder who takes over for Bruce next year?

I would have to assume it's Derek's job if he wants it and can fit it in with his current job. It's interesting that he was the Bantam coordinator this year and does not have a kid in Bantams. Maybe some reason for that? I did hear recently that they have to post it internally for current School employees first but not sure how much truth there is to that. Scott Pionk is another one who would almost certainly be interested. I hope it's one of those two because neither one would keep the program in Class A.

[Whataboutely]

I can't resist not jumping in when the discussion is about Hermantown bashing. At least when you play most schools your playing the community where the school resides. The community hockey program, sports ethic and fan support are all local. Residing from Ely I can speak to certainty none of the kids are imported. When you play Ely your playing the Ely area ! Having the smallest enrolment in section 7A will always make this school the underdog.
Its difficult yet ok to compete against the bigger schools but hard to swallow when you add open enrollment to that. If by chance (slim) they get by the first round in sections they can say Hi to the couple of Ely kids who left to play for the Hawks

On a side note, Ely has a 8th grader who is something else. This kid took the Pee Wee B team to state 2 years ago. He currently as a defenseman leads the team in points. Guess where he wants to go

[Jeffy95]

I can't resist not jumping in when the discussion is about Hermantown bashing. At least when you play most schools your playing the community where the school resides. The community hockey program, sports ethic and fan support are all local. Residing from Ely I can speak to certainty none of the kids are imported. When you play Ely your playing the Ely area ! Having the smallest enrolment in section 7A will always make this school the underdog.
Its difficult yet ok to compete against the bigger schools but hard to swallow when you add open enrollment to that. If by chance (slim) they get by the first round in sections they can say Hi to the couple of Ely kids who left to play for the Hawks

On a side note, Ely has a 8th grader who is something else. This kid took the Pee Wee B team to state 2 years ago. He currently as a defenseman leads the team in points. Guess where he wants to go

Yeah, many programs feel your pain. It sucks and is really bad for 7A. There aren't any programs left in the Northland that haven't lost players to open-enrollment at Hermantown. That's why people are so up in arms about them sandbagging in Class A for so long. Coach Plante went from being one of the most beloved coaches in High School Hockey to one of the most reviled in a very short time. Hopefully they finally get out after this year and 7A can start to rebuild and 7AA becomes even better.

I hope Ely can hold it together. I heard they are going to have a numbers issue after this season. Lots of History in that program.

[Whataboutely]

Looks like Ely will be OK with the numbers next year thanks to a good class of 7th and 8th graders moving up.
This years team is the best they have had in awhile and it will take a few years for them to be competitive again. Looking to down at least 1 section 7 team before the year ends. Almost happened last week as they were up on I falls 3-2 last week until a 3rd period collapse

[Goldyismoldy]

Go Timberwolves!

And I hear trout fishing is off to a great start...

[rainier]

Well, Greenway has the #2 seed locked up. Hibbing with a bad 4-3 loss to Superior. They decided to take the 2nd period off and went into the third down 3-1. After cutting it to 3-2 with 7 minutes left, Lee takes a 5 minute major with a little over 5 minutes left. Hibbing gets a shorty to tie it 3-3 with about 3 minutes left, but Superior gets the winner not long after. Not good.

In other 7A news, Eveleth beats I-Falls 4-2 and Virginia beats North Shore 5-4.

[Mite-dad]

So when is it estimated that Seitz will be back?

[rainier]

So when is it estimated that Seitz will be back?

I have no idea. All my info on Virginias injuries I get from mesabi community TV game broadcasts, which are excellent, by the way.

Puck Ranger is the Virginia expert. Any info, Ranger?

[kniven]

No JV for Duluth Denfeld Hunters this year? What the heck! I just got to the rink early for Cloquet/Denfeld tonight and no JV team. I feel bad for Hunter nation. Hopefully numbers better next year. I guess I'm shocked. They have had some nice teams the last 10 years....

[Rocketwrister]

No JV for Duluth Denfeld Hunters this year? What the heck! I just got to the rink early for Cloquet/Denfeld tonight and no JV team. I feel bad for Hunter nation. Hopefully numbers better next year. I guess I'm shocked. They have had some nice teams the last 10 years....