Class A Top 20 1-20-19

[Stang5280]

Apparently Elliott is busy and/or nursing a hangover following the HDM festivities this weekend in Bemidji, so I’ll get the party started instead for a change.

A few upsets, a few teams having tough weeks, and a few marquee matchups (one of which lived up to the billing) all combined to shake up the rankings a bit this week. There are two huge sectional games on tap between highly ranked teams, which should help clarify things a bit more come next Sunday, and could even oust one or more of our long entrenched top four.

1. Hermantown (12-3-1) (LW 1)
W 4-0 vs Greenway, W 5-3 vs St. Cloud
The Hawks were brutally effective against Greenway, and although the score was relatively close, the result was never really in doubt. They struggled uncharacteristically with St. Cloud, being down 2-1 and tied 3-3 before eventually pulling away. Hermantown next faces two of the weaker teams in 7A in Hibbing and Proctor, and there figures to be plenty of running time in those games.

2. St. Cloud Cathedral (16-1-0) (LW 2)
W 6-0 @ Delano, W 5-0 @ Virginia
The Crusaders dismissed Delano with ease, racking up 26 shots in the first period alone. Virginia met an eerily similar fate Friday, and it seems the defense has tightened up considerably after allowing six goals to Orono last weekend. Cathedral has a section contest coming against Little Falls before heading up I-94 to Moorhead on Saturday.

3. Mahtomedi (13-2-1) (LW 3)
W 2-1 (OT) vs Hudson, W 14-2 vs North St. Paul
The Zephyrs needed extra time to get past one of Wisconsin’s best, but there’s no shame in that. Mahtomedi then just pasted a struggling North St. Paul team. The top seed in 4A is likely on the line Tuesday night against Totino-Grace, followed by a visit from Simley.

4. East Grand Forks (13-4-0) (LW 4)
L 2-3 (OT) @ Roseau
By all accounts the Wave outplayed a very good Roseau team, but couldn’t quite close the deal. They still only have one loss to a Class A team, a 7-2 defeat against Cathedral back on 12/1, and several quality wins. This week sees a return to 8A competition, with a potentially huge sectional game at TRF, followed by a trip to Baudette.

5. Thief River Falls (11-4-2) [LW 8]
W 7-2 vs Kittson Central, W 2-1 (OT) @ Warroad
The Prowlers cruised past Kittson, then pulled off a huge win at Warroad to sweep the season series with the Warriors. Barring a tailspin, TRF has locked up the #2 seed in 8A, and has a shot at the top perch. Speaking of which, EGF comes to the mini-Ralph Tuesday for the first of their two meetings, followed by a visit from Denfeld.

6. Alexandria (12-4-0) (LW 5)
W 9-2 @ Sauk Rapids
The Cardinals sautéed Sauk Rapids in their only action, as the Mankato West trip was postponed due to weather. However, they slipped a bit in the rankings thanks to TRF’s performance along with reevaluating Alex’s resume, which has a distinct lack of quality wins. The schedule becomes a bit more interesting with River Lakes and Bemidji coming to Runestone.

7. Totino-Grace (12-5-0) (LW 6)
W 3-2 vs Armstrong/Cooper, L 1-4 @ Champlin Park.
Not the best week for the Eagles, who needed a late comeback and stellar goaltending to escape a frisky Robbinsdale squad, then were Boyntened by CP. As noted above, TG travels to Mahtomedi Tuesday in what will certainly be one of the most anticipated Class A games of the year, before things cool down a bit against Osseo.

8. Sartell-St. Stephen (12-4-0) (LW 10)
W 5-1 vs River Lakes, W 2-1 @ Virginia
The Sabres rolled River Lakes, then slipped past Virginia in a sloppy affair that saw them whistled for five penalties in the third period. They nonetheless move up slightly due to the struggles of teams previously ahead of them. Sartell is staring at a three-game week, starting with a rough rematch with Brainerd, then facing off against Minneapolis and Sauk Rapids.

9. Orono (10-6-0) (LW 7)
L 3-4 (OT) vs Mound Westonka, W 9-3 vs Waconia
The Spartans coughed up a golden opportunity to all but seal up the top seed in 2A by dropping a home game to rival MWT. Orono was sloppy with the puck too often and needed a furious comeback to even force overtime. After starting slowly versus Waconia, the Spartans poured on six straight goals for a lopsided final margin. Two road contests await them next week, with a potentially tricky sectional game at Delano, followed by what will likely be an ugly one against Holy Family.

10. Warroad (9-8-0) (LW 9)
L 1-2 (OT) vs TRF, L 1-2 (OT) vs GF Red River
The Warriors drop to 0-3 versus the top two teams in 8A after a crushing defeat to TRF, and almost certainly become the third seed in the process. They then met the exact same fate in losing to Red River Saturday. Warroad next has two easy home games against Park Rapids and Hibbing, followed by a more challenging visit from Denfeld.

11. Monticello (12-5-1) (LW 12)
L 2-3 vs STMA, W 5-0 @ St. Francis, W 9-0 vs Cambridge
The Moose put up a serious fight against STMA, with the Knights needing a late goal to secure the victory. They then proceeded to post back-to-back shutouts in easy victories over St. Francis and Cambridge. Monticello hosts Miss 8 rival Rogers before trekking up to Little Falls Thursday.

12. Greenway (6-13-0) (LW 11)
L 0-4 @ Hermantown, L 0-3 @ Bemidji
Greenway failed to find the back of the net all week. The Hermantown game was depressing to watch, as the Raiders simply didn’t have the depth to match up and could barely sustain offensive possession. The Bemidji game at HDM was at least more competitive, but they ran into a hot goalie. The light at the end of the tunnel finally appears as Greenway hosts International Falls and Virginia.

13. Mound Westonka (13-5-0) (LW NR)
W 4-3 (OT) @ Orono, L 0-7 vs Holy Family
I have been a skeptic for much of the season, in part due to some bad losses, and also not being particularly impressed having watched them play several times. However, they now have a signature win and have defeated nearly everyone they should, which is more than most teams on this list can say. So welcome to the rankings, White Hawks. Mound next faces road trips to Gentry and Luverne.

14. Marshall (16-2-0) (LW 14)
W 4-1 @ Windom, W 14-3 vs Fairmont
The Tigers rolled through two weaker Big South foes without breaking much of a sweat. Marshall now heads to Redwood Valley before hosting LDC in a contest that could determine the top seed in 3A.

15. Minnesota River(13-3-0) (LW 15)
W 9-0 vs Fairmont
See Marshall above, though their game against Windom was postponed. The Bulldogs look to avenge a loss to New Ulm Tuesday night before facing Redwood Valley and Austin later in the week.

Out: North Branch (LW 13)

Next Five Up (what the heck, let’s rank ‘em):

16. Rochester Lourdes (13-6-0)
W 7-0 @ Waseca, W 5-1 vs Kennedy

17. North Branch (12-4-2)
T 1-1 vs Pine City, L 0-2 vs Buffalo

18. Northfield (13-4-0)
W 4-2 vs SPA, W 5-1 vs Winona, W 5-2 @ SP Johnson

19. Duluth Denfeld (9-6-1)
L 5-8 vs Cloquet, W 3-2 vs I-Falls

20. Delano (8-8-1)
L 0-6 vs Cathedral, W 5-1 @ New Prague

A few notes:
- Princeton gets the axe despite winning both of their games this week. They don’t really have any good wins, just a gaudy record.
- Aside from Princeton, the next two out are probably Mankato East and Albert Lea, showing what a mess 1A is.
- Marshall and Minnesota River feel like placeholders at this point, but no one else has really asserted themselves to take those spots, and they keep piling up wins.
- Greenway should be favored in their six remaining games, an abrupt change from the schedule to date.

[elliott70]

1 Hermantown 7A 12-3-1
2 St Cloud Cathedral 6A 16-1-0
3 East Grand Forks 8A 13-4-0
4 Mahtomedi 4A 13-2-1
5 Totino 4A 12-5-0

6 Thief River Falls 7A 11-4-2
7 Alexandria 6A 12-4-0
8 Sartell 6A 12-4-0
9 Warroad 8A 9-8-0
10 Greenway 7A 6-13-0

11 Orono 2A 10-6-0
12 Monticello 5A 12-5-1
13 Duluth Denfeld 7A 9-6-1
14 Mound 13-5-0
15 Lourdes 13-6-0

16 North Branch 5A 12-4-21
17 Minnesota River 1A 13-3-0
18 Delano 8-8-1
19 Northfield 13-4-0
20 Marshall 3A 16-2-0

Others (in no particular order):
Eveleth 7A
Breck 2A
SW Christian 2A
Virginia 7A
Litchfield 3A
New Ulm 3A
Little Falls 6A
St. Paul Academy 4A
Albert Lea 1A

[elliott70]

No, not hung over, although I did drink a couple of beers and did not pass on the schnapps when it passed by.
Worked this morning after not putting in much time on Thursday Friday and no time on Saturday.
Then I needed a little nap time this afternoon.
Good job Stang - Karl has nothing on you.

[elliott70]

Also, I was/am still trying to get my bones to thaw out.
30 below, come on nature.

[Stang5280]

No, not hung over, although I did drink a couple of beers and did not pass on the schnapps when it passed by.
Worked this morning after not putting in much time on Thursday Friday and no time on Saturday.
Then I needed a little nap time this afternoon.
Good job Stang - Karl has nothing on you.

Thanks, my friend. That is indeed some high praise. I did basically write for a living for several years, so I like to think that I can make these weekly summaries a bit useful and entertaining (plus I try to watch plenty of Class A hockey).

I’m glad to hear you survived Hockey Day without turning into a human icicle. Those must have been some seriously cold beers! A little nip of the harder stuff is almost a must in those conditions. While I am sure the hockey and festivities were fun, I was pretty content listening to the audio feeds.

[Stang5280]

PageStat Top 25 Class A Teams
Thru games of 1/19/19
Overall ranking in parentheses

1 (5) HERMANTOWN 7A
2 (11) ST CLOUD CATHEDRAL 6A
3 (20) EAST GRAND FORKS 8A
4 (26) MAHTOMEDI 4A
5 (33) TOTINO-GRACE 4A
6 (37) ALEXANDRIA 6A
7 (43) SARTELL 6A
8 (44) ORONO 2A
9 (45) GREENWAY 7A
10 (49) WARROAD 8A
11 (50) THIEF RIVER FALLS 8A
12 (56) MONTICELLO 5A
13 (60) DELANO 2A
14 (62) MARSHALL 3A
15 (63) DULUTH DENFELD 7A
16 (65) MOUND WESTONKA 2A
17 (66) NORTHFIELD 4A
18 (68) PRINCETON 5A
19 (69) BRECK 2A
20 (73) VIRGINIA 7A
21 (74) EVELETH GILBERT 7A
22 (75) LITCHFIELD 3A
23 (76) NORTH BRANCH 5A
24 (79) MANKATO EAST 1A
25 (81) ST PAUL ACADEMY 4A

I cobbled this together while watching the football game. The exact same teams appear again in the top 25, with just some minor shuffling of order. Breck is the largest climber of the week, jumping from 25 to 19 after defeating Minnehaha 5-0 and SPA 4-3 (I’ll take it, though SPA looked better). I’m still a bit baffled by the Delano love, and TRF down at #11, but I assume those are strength of schedule quirks.

[elliott70]

QRF top 25
1 Hermantown (11-3-1) 99.1
2 Totino-Grace (12-4) 92.8
3 St. Cloud Cathedral (16-1) 91.6
4 Mahtomedi (13-2-1) 82.6
5 East Grand Forks (13-4) 81.6
6 Sartell-St. Stephen (11-4) 72.1
7 Thief River Falls (11-4-2) 69.4
8 Marshall (16-2) 68.7
9 Monticello (11-5-1) 67.5
10 Alexandria (12-4) 67.2
11 Mound Westonka/Watertown-Mayer (13-5) 67.1
12 Orono (10-6) 66.5
13 North Branch (12-3-2) 65.5
14 Rochester Lourdes/Dover-Eyota (12-6) 64.7
15 Princeton (13-4) 64.3
16 Northfield (12-4) 63.3
17 Mankato East/Loyola (9-6-1) 59.6
18 Minnesota River (13-3) 57.8
19 Eveleth-Gilbert Area (12-5) 55.0
20 Albert Lea (10-6) 54.0
21 Warroad (9-7) 53.5
22 Litchfield/Dassel-Cokato (9-6-1) 53.2
23 Breck (8-9) 52.3
T-24 Chisago Lakes Area (11-8) 50.7
T-24 Duluth Denfeld (8-6-1)

[elliott70]

MyHockey (not elliott70) Rankings based on alst 10 games
1 Hermantown HS (MN) 8-1-1
2 St Cloud Cathedral HS (MN) 9-1-0
3 East Grand Forks HS (MN) 7-3-0
4 Totino Grace HS (MN) 8-2-0
5 Mahtomedi HS (MN) 8-1-1
6 Alexandria HS (MN) 7-3-0
7 Greenway HS (MN) 3-7-0
8 Sartell HS (MN) 7-3-0
9 Orono HS (MN) 7-3-0
10 Warroad HS (MN) 6-4-0
11 Thief River Falls HS (MN) 7-2-1
12 Monticello HS (MN) 7-3-0
13 Delano HS (MN) 6-4-0
14 St Paul Academy (MN)
15 Litchfield/Dassel-Cokato HS (MN)
16 Northfield HS (MN) 8-2-0
17 Mound Westonka HS (MN)
18 Virginia HS (MN) 5-5-0
19 Duluth Denfeld HS (MN)
20 Princeton HS (MN) 8-2-0

[elliott70]

Sections will come next week as some significant games coming this week.

[elliott70]

FTP listing by goal differential
1 St. Cloud Cathedral 16 1 0 5.82 1.41 4.41 6A
2 Mahtomedi 13 2 1 5.25 1.44 3.81 4A
3 Marshall 16 2 0 5.50 1.89 3.61 3A
4 Minnesota River 13 3 0 5.62 2.06 3.56 1A
5 Alexandria 12 4 0 5.12 2.06 3.06 6A
6 Hermantown 11 3 1 4.53 1.87 2.66 7A
7 East Grand Forks 13 4 0 4.29 1.94 2.35 8A
8 New Ulm 10 6 1 4.12 1.88 2.24 3A
9 Kittson Central 11 3 0 4.36 2.36 2.00 8A
10 Totino-Grace 12 4 0 4.31 2.38 1.93 4A
11 Sartell-St. Stephen 11 4 0 3.93 2.07 1.86 6A
12 Princeton 13 4 0 5.59 3.76 1.83 5A
13 Mora/Milaca 12 4 0 4.62 2.81 1.81 5A
14 Little Falls 9 6 0 4.07 2.27 1.80 6A
15 Southwest Christian/Richfield 11 5 0 4.06 2.38 1.68 2A
16 Thief River Falls 11 4 2 3.24 1.59 1.65 8A
17 Detroit Lakes 11 4 1 4.00 2.38 1.62 8A
18 Monticello 11 5 1 4.41 2.88 1.53 5A
19 Eveleth-Gilbert 12 5 0 4.12 2.65 1.47 7A
20 Gentry Academy 9 6 0 4.93 3.47 1.46 4A
21 Albert Lea 10 6 0 3.88 2.44 1.44 1A
22 Northfield 12 4 0 4.19 2.81 1.38 4A
23 North Branch 12 3 2 3.35 2.00 1.35 5A
24 Mound Westonka 13 5 0 3.56 2.56 1.00 2A
25 Rochester Lourdes 12 6 0 4.06 3.06 1.00 1A

[elliott70]

The strongest sections (based on page stat rating of top 4 teams)
1. 6A 1.19
2. 7A 1.17
3. 4A 1.15
4. 8A 1.14
5. 2A 1.08
6. 5A 1.03
7. 1A 1.01
8. 3A 1.0

[zooomx]

So Alex vs TRFalls-

Alexandria's wins over Wayzata and Brainerd seem more impressive to me than TRFalls wins over Delano and Warroad.

Alexandria's losses? Cathedral, EGForks, Greenway and Sartell. TRFalls has losses to Farmington and Tartan.

I think Alex beats Thief 3 out of 4 times if they played.

[Stang5280]

So Alex vs TRFalls-

Alexandria's wins over Wayzata and Brainerd seem more impressive to me than TRFalls wins over Delano and Warroad.

Alexandria's losses? Cathedral, EGForks, Greenway and Sartell. TRFalls has losses to Farmington and Tartan.

I think Alex beats Thief 3 out of 4 times if they played.

While I understand your gist and respect your input, it also seems like you’re cherrypicking data points a bit without context.

Yes, Alexandria has two wins over good to very good AA teams, but also has dropped all four games they have played against ranked Class A opponents. Additionally, the loss to EGF was a blowout (7-1), and the win over Wayzata was probably a bit fluky, being heavily outshot (it still counts, obviously).

TRF has two wins over Warroad, and tied a very good Roseau team in which they outshot the Rams. They also beat a solid Bemidji team and thumped a decent Eveleth squad. Yes, there are a few losses to weaker AA opposition, but the Prowlers have an OT loss to Cathedral, just like Alex, and they don’t have any lopsided defeats.

In the end we are talking about a difference of one ranking spot, and it is a razor-thin margin in my mind. I just wanted to walk you through my thought process in moving TRF up. We will find out soon enough how good the Prowlers are against EGF tomorrow night.

[zooomx]

Yeah, no worries... just giving you my thoughts on it as well. I assume you don't want to post your rankings and get zero feedback. My comments are not just directed at you, but some other rankers who have Alex 4-6 spots below Thief. I agree, they have not beaten any Class A teams above them in the rankings, nor in the same area and that hurts them a bit. But they have zero losses against teams they have no business losing to. The rematch against Sartell will tell us a lot. Thanks for your weekly rankings... it makes it more fun to follow Class A.

[Stang5280]

Yeah, no worries... just giving you my thoughts on it as well. I assume you don't want to post your rankings and get zero feedback. My comments are not just directed at you, but some other rankers who have Alex 4-6 spots below Thief. I agree, they have not beaten any Class A teams above them in the rankings, nor in the same area and that hurts them a bit. But they have zero losses against teams they have no business losing to. The rematch against Sartell will tell us a lot. Thanks for your weekly rankings... it makes it more fun to follow Class A.

Hopefully I didn’t come off as overly defensive. I really do appreciate the feedback and compliments regarding the rankings. Alexandria has been a hard team to rank with the lack of Class A wins, but I do trust in their talent. We’ve seen them go blow for blow with Carhedral, and 6A is shaping up to be a great sectional playoff.

[elliott70]

Big section games this week
Tuesday
Totino at Mahtomedi 4A
Mankato West vs Rochester Lourdes 1A
East Grand Forks and Thief River Falls 8A
Little Falls and St Cloud Cathedral 6A
Pine City Area at Mora/Milaca 5A
Orono at Delano 2A
North Shore at Eveleth-Gilbert Area 7A
International Falls at Greenway/Nash-Kee 7A
River Lakes at Alexandria 6A

Wednesday
Simley at Mahtomedi 4A


Thursday
Intl Falls at North Shore 7A
St Paul Johnson at Sibley 4A
Hermantown at Proctor 7A
Breck vs Providence 2A
Fergus Falls at River Lakes 6A
Hutchinson at New Ulm 3A
Virginia at Greenway 7A

Friday
Litchfield at Luverne 3A


Saturday
Litchfield at Marshall 3A
Kittson at Detroit Lakes 8A
Red Wing at St Paul Johnson 4A
Eveleth at Virginia 7A
Waconia at Delano 2A

[BSUBeaver]

Big section games this week
Tuesday
Totino at Mahtomedi 4A
Mankato West vs Rochester Lourdes 1A
East Grand Forks and Thief River Falls 8A
Little Falls and St Cloud Cathedral 6A
Pine City Area at Mora/Milaca 5A
Orono at Delano 2A
North Shore at Eveleth-Gilbert Area 7A
International Falls at Greenway/Nash-Kee 7A

Wednesday
Simley at Mahtomedi 4A


Thursday
Intl Falls at North Shore 7A
St Paul Johnson at Sibley 4A
Hermantown at Proctor 7A
Breck vs Providence 2A
Fergus Falls at River Lakes 6A
Hutchinson at New Ulm 3A
Virginia at Greenway 7A

Friday
Litchfield at Luverne 3A
Willmar at Fergus Falls 6A

Saturday
Litchfield at Marshall 3A
Kittson at Detroit Lakes 8A
Red Wing at St Paul Johnson 4A
Eveleth at Virginia 7A
Waconia at Delano 2A

Willmar isn't in 6A, And I would put tonight's River Lakes at Alexandria as an important game in 6A. Although, on paper, Alex should win, River Lakes has played them tough over the last couple of years.

[elliott70]

I knew I would miss some and not be 100% accurate, thanks.

[BSUBeaver]

I knew I would miss some and not be 100% accurate, thanks.

No problem, thanks for what you do compile. And with the amount of games going on this week, it is easy to see how they could get missed. I should have put a behind it.....

[elliott70]

Big section games this week
Tuesday
Totino at Mahtomedi 4A
Totino 5 to 1 - should give T the 1 seed

Mankato West vs Rochester Lourdes 1A postponed

East Grand Forks and Thief River Falls 8A
EGF in OT 4-3 EGF will be 1 and TRF 2

Little Falls and St Cloud Cathedral 6A
SCC 3-1 even with the loss it locks up #4 for LF

Pine City Area at Mora/Milaca 5A
PC 4 Mora 3 - this confuses the issue but gives PC a good chance at the 4 seed

Orono at Delano 2A
Orono 7-3 Keeps Orono in the running for a shot at #1; gives SW Christian a shot at #4

North Shore at Eveleth-Gilbert Area 7A
tie 2-2 possible move Eveleth down to 4 and North Shore has a lot to do to move up it is a start

International Falls at Greenway/Nash-Kee 7A
GW 6-4 Greenway probably moves to 3 and a chance to get the 2, good game by IF keeps the in the running for a #5

River Lakes at Alexandria 6A
As expected Alex wins 5-3, but too close to give Alex any momentum to move up to 2 but still in the running. RL entrenched in the 7 spot.

[elliott70]

Some class A games left this week that could shake up the rankings.

Totino score a surprise. Although reports are Maht played well but were beat by the Totino goalie.
I keep checking and it seems that whenever I look the goalie is part of the team.

[Mite-dad]

I was at the LF vs SCC game and SCC is just a whole different level. And that was with SCC missing at least two key names from the lineup. LF goalie kept them in the game and LF had a chance to tie it up at 2 in the third with a 5 on 3 but never even got a shot. Then SCC got the third goal with 3-something left. I agree LF is the clear 4 seed right now, but has some work to do to keep it. They could also throw a wrench into things with a win against Sartell and/or Alexandria. I would say River Lakes is at least a 6 seed if not higher and will be a scary team to play in sections. Prairie Center is decent but not sure they are better than Fergus Falls or RL.

[elliott70]

Thanks mite-dad

[Stang5280]

Some class A games left this week that could shake up the rankings.

Totino score a surprise. Although reports are Maht played well but were beat by the Totino goalie.
I keep checking and it seem that whenever I look the goalie is apart of the team.

The two notable scores from last night that were a bit deceiving were the TG and Orono wins. Mahtomedi was definitely the better team through two periods, but either missed scoring chances or were stoned by Howe. The Eagles looked like a different team in the third and came out flying (pardon the pun) to put the game away. TG also stayed out of the box, which really hurt them in the second period. TG has some snipers, and they buried nearly every good look they had.

Orono and Delano were tied 3-3 after two before the Spartans poured in four goals in the third. That seems to be a theme for Orono lately, as they let Waconia hang around for two periods before making a run, and also needed a third period comeback to force overtime against Mound. It’s been working for the most part, but I’m sure their coaches would appreciate some faster starts. It also could be a reflection of their depth, though.

[oldtimer64]

Some class A games left this week that could shake up the rankings.

Totino score a surprise. Although reports are Maht played well but were beat by the Totino goalie.
I keep checking and it seem that whenever I look the goalie is apart of the team.

The two notable scores from last night that were a bit deceiving were the TG and Orono wins. Mahtomedi was definitely the better team through two periods, but either missed scoring chances or were stoned by Howe. The Eagles looked like a different team in the third and came out flying (pardon the pun) to put the game away. TG also stayed out of the box, which really hurt them in the second period. TG has some snipers, and they buried nearly every good look they had.

Orono and Delano were tied 3-3 after two before the Spartans poured in four goals in the third. That seems to be a theme for Orono lately, as they let Waconia hang around for two periods before making a run, and also needed a third period comeback to force overtime against Mound. It’s been working for the most part, but I’m sure their coaches would appreciate some faster starts. It also could be a reflection of their depth, though.

I thought the TG/Mahtomedi game was even in the 1st, shots were even. In the 2nd, Mahtomedi controlled it with the help of TG taking penalties (5 on 3 followed by a 5 on 4 right after). 3rd period was all TG. The big difference was TG goalie. He was very solid. The possible section rematch should be good.