Congrats to St Michael-Albertville!

O-townClown · Post by **O-townClown** » Thu Mar 01, 2018 11:52 pm

HappyHockeyFan wrote:So who can shed some light on this mystery team STMA? Any special players to watch or just good team chemisty? They are one of the few top twenty I didn't see this season.

Cory Laylin's kid has been to National Camp twice.

DubCHAGuy · Post by **DubCHAGuy** » Fri Mar 02, 2018 12:05 am

Just 5 years ago STMA lost 15-0 in the section 7AA quarterfinals to Duluth East. It's amazing how quickly this program has become so competitive. I can't think of any other program that burst onto the scene in such a short period of time. Centennial in the early 2000's maybe?

Congrats to the Knights.

HappyHockeyFan · Post by **HappyHockeyFan** » Fri Mar 02, 2018 1:04 am

DubCHAGuy wrote:Just 5 years ago STMA lost 15-0 in the section 7AA quarterfinals to Duluth East. It's amazing how quickly this program has become so competitive. I can't think of any other program that burst onto the scene in such a short period of time. Centennial in the early 2000's maybe?

Congrats to the Knights.

St Thomas Academy came on strong and quick in the early 2000's, one year Simley was beating them by 6-7 goals and the next they were in the tournament and dominating. At least it seemed that way.

GoldenBear · Post by **GoldenBear** » Fri Mar 02, 2018 8:41 am

O-townClown wrote:I've lived away for a long time. They weren't a power back in my day. Do you think the hockey program picked up after they hosted the Olympics?

That was funny OTown! I think many didn't get it. Thanks for making me laugh this morning. I think Bonnie Blair, Bjorn Daehlie, and Tonya Harding laid the foundation for this small community to think big things! GB

MWS coach · Post by **MWS coach** » Fri Mar 02, 2018 9:17 am

HappyHockeyFan wrote:
DubCHAGuy wrote:Just 5 years ago STMA lost 15-0 in the section 7AA quarterfinals to Duluth East. It's amazing how quickly this program has become so competitive. I can't think of any other program that burst onto the scene in such a short period of time. Centennial in the early 2000's maybe?

Congrats to the Knights.
St Thomas Academy came on strong and quick in the early 2000's, one year Simley was beating them by 6-7 goals and the next they were in the tournament and dominating. At least it seemed that way.

that is a private school happy, of course they can turn a corner a lot quicker by recruiting players.... a lot harder to develop your own program with kids from your community.

O-townClown · Post by **O-townClown** » Fri Mar 02, 2018 11:33 am

GoldenBear wrote:That was funny OTown! I think many didn't get it. Thanks for making me laugh this morning. I think Bonnie Blair, Bjorn Daehlie, and Tonya Harding laid the foundation for this small community to think big things! GB

https://speedyhedgehog.com/stage-11-tou ... -2018.html

This is the rink. Wow.

Cobber · Post by **Cobber** » Fri Mar 02, 2018 12:15 pm

To shed some light on STMA I see they have 12 seniors on there roster. Not to say a couple special sophomores or juniors cannot contribute they surely can but tourney time is also known as senior time.

Stang5280 · Post by **Stang5280** » Fri Mar 02, 2018 12:37 pm

O-townClown wrote:
HappyHockeyFan wrote:So who can shed some light on this mystery team STMA? Any special players to watch or just good team chemisty? They are one of the few top twenty I didn't see this season.
Cory Laylin's kid has been to National Camp twice.

For the most part, STMA is just a senior heavy, experienced group with a good amount of depth. They can roll three lines up front and have two good D pairings, to go with solid goaltending. However, their two leading scorers, Laylin and Flamming, are both sophomores and the most talented players on the roster. Laylin is a small, quick playmaker, while Flamming is more of the physical finisher. Those are the two main players to watch for.

CommunityBased · Post by **CommunityBased** » Fri Mar 02, 2018 12:51 pm

On the STMA coming-on conversation. I heard at a different sporting event from an STMA parent that his child's 1st grade class has 1000 kids. I do NOT no the accuracy of that statement but if true or close to true I think we will be seeing a lot of good STMA teams in many sports. It appears Andover is in a similar growth cycle.

Stang5280 · Post by **Stang5280** » Fri Mar 02, 2018 12:54 pm

DubCHAGuy wrote:Just 5 years ago STMA lost 15-0 in the section 7AA quarterfinals to Duluth East. It's amazing how quickly this program has become so competitive. I can't think of any other program that burst onto the scene in such a short period of time. Centennial in the early 2000's maybe?

Congrats to the Knights.

Eden Prairie and Elk River both had a similar rapid rise to prominence around 1990. I graduated from high school around that time frame, and particularly recall going up to ER for a peewee game, wondering why we were playing some hick team way up there. I had my answer shortly after the opening puck drop, as they were very good and very physical.

Section 8 guy · Post by **Section 8 guy** » Tue Mar 06, 2018 2:40 am

Sorry I'm a little late but just stumbled into this thread.

First off, huge congrats to STMA on their section title win last week and best of luck at the Tourney! Go rep Section 8 well!!!

But in regards to all the 218 is gone forever talk.......Wow, talk about an overreaction to one game.

Let's take a look ahead year by year.......

Class of 2019 - Moorhead as Bantams took Tonka to Double OT in state Bantam Championship game. Cloquet, who took Tonka to 3 OTs in the semis, finishes 3rd at State.

2020 - Cloquet and Moorhead were both top 7 or 8 Bantam teams with Moorhead rated 4th and winning two games at state tourney.

Current Bantams - Three of the top 8 teams in the state are from the North in Hermantown, Cloquet and Rapids. Down year for Section 8 teams.

Bantam 1st years - a bit of an off year with no top 10 teams as PWs last year but Moorhead, Roseau, Hermantown and Rapids all rated 11-15 as PWs last year.

Current PeeWees - Hermantown rated #4 at AA level and Moorhead rated #6

Current Squirts - #1 rated Moorhead just played in the championship game of the Squirt International in both the A and B Divisions. Hermantown rated # 2 in the A division.

The 218 will be just fine for the foreseeable future.

And before we get too far ahead of ourselves in permanently moving the Section 8 title to the metro...... The highest rated metro Bantam AA team right now is STMA at #31.

DubCHAGuy · Post by **DubCHAGuy** » Tue Mar 06, 2018 6:07 am

Section 8 guy wrote:Sorry I'm a little late but just stumbled into this thread.

First off, huge congrats to STMA on their section title win last week and best of luck at the Tourney! Go rep Section 8 well!!!

But in regards to all the 218 is gone forever talk.......Wow, talk about an overreaction to one game.

Let's take a look ahead year by year.......

Class of 2019 - Moorhead as Bantams took Tonka to Double OT in state Bantam Championship game. Cloquet, who took Tonka to 3 OTs in the semis, finishes 3rd at State.

2020 - Cloquet and Moorhead were both top 7 or 8 Bantam teams with Moorhead rated 4th and winning two games at state tourney.

Current Bantams - Three of the top 8 teams in the state are from the North in Hermantown, Cloquet and Rapids. Down year for Section 8 teams.

Bantam 1st years - a bit of an off year with no top 10 teams as PWs last year but Moorhead, Roseau, Hermantown and Rapids all rated 11-15 as PWs last year.

Current PeeWees - Hermantown rated #4 at AA level and Moorhead rated #6

Current Squirts - #1 rated Moorhead just played in the championship game of the Squirt International in both the A and B Divisions. Hermantown rated # 2 in the A division.

The 218 will be just fine for the foreseeable future.

And before we get too far ahead of ourselves in permanently moving the Section 8 title to the metro...... The highest rated metro Bantam AA team right now is STMA at #31.

I agree with this. Not to mention Brainerd returns most of their roster that had cracked the top 10 at the end of this year. Duluth Marshall has established itself in the top 10-20 of AA since moving up, and in any other section they'd be a contender year in and year out. Also EGF could be a strong AA team if they ever chose to opt up for the next few years with the #2 ranked Bantam A team.

218 has plenty of elite players and programs. The problem is on the AA side section 7AA is absolutely loaded, to include 2 top tier programs from the northern suburbs in ER and Andover. Eventually those 2 are going to win 7AA and in a year like this when STMA takes 8AA it gets everyone in a panic. 218 hockey is doing just fine.

backcheck9 · Post by **backcheck9** » Tue Mar 06, 2018 8:36 am

CommunityBased wrote:On the STMA coming-on conversation. I heard at a different sporting event from an STMA parent that his child's 1st grade class has 1000 kids. I do NOT no the accuracy of that statement but if true or close to true I think we will be seeing a lot of good STMA teams in many sports. It appears Andover is in a similar growth cycle.

I can't confirm that this first grade STMA class actually has 1,000 kids in it but I do know they have a school entirely dedicated to kindergarten students and they are adding more classrooms to it as we speak. Average HS class size has steadily increased the past several years. I'd say currently it sits around 515 give or take. The HS was built approx 8 years ago and they're adding about a dozen more classrooms to that as well to accommodate the growth. This goes along with a new football stadium and baseball field on campus as well as a new hockey arena next to the old one. All of this should be ready to go by next school year. On paper it's looking like STMA HS hockey will cool off a bit after this season but it's always tough to say for sure and it does make a difference when you draw from 3 grades instead of 2 as this years team has shown us.
Best of luck Knights!

paulsonj72 · Post by **paulsonj72** » Tue Mar 06, 2018 4:44 pm

backcheck9 wrote:
CommunityBased wrote:On the STMA coming-on conversation. I heard at a different sporting event from an STMA parent that his child's 1st grade class has 1000 kids. I do NOT no the accuracy of that statement but if true or close to true I think we will be seeing a lot of good STMA teams in many sports. It appears Andover is in a similar growth cycle.
I can't confirm that this first grade STMA class actually has 1,000 kids in it but I do know they have a school entirely dedicated to kindergarten students and they are adding more classrooms to it as we speak. Average HS class size has steadily increased the past several years. I'd say currently it sits around 515 give or take. The HS was built approx 8 years ago and they're adding about a dozen more classrooms to that as well to accommodate the growth. This goes along with a new football stadium and baseball field on campus as well as a new hockey arena next to the old one. All of this should be ready to go by next school year. On paper it's looking like STMA HS hockey will cool off a bit after this season but it's always tough to say for sure and it does make a difference when you draw from 3 grades instead of 2 as this years team has shown us.
Best of luck Knights!

That whole I-94 corridor between the Twin Cities and St Cloud is still among the fastest growing parts of the state. You could also add Highway 52 between the Twin Cities and Rochester. So from Rochester to St Cloud is till growing at a good clip.

alcloseshaver · Post by **alcloseshaver** » Tue Mar 06, 2018 5:15 pm

After next school year STMA will have a choice to make between joining the Lake schools or the NWSC. Rogers will most likely be joining the NWSC to be more in line with Elk River and word is they would accept STMA as member also. Would be a nice fit for STMA in all sports.

Stang5280 · Post by **Stang5280** » Tue Mar 06, 2018 8:37 pm

alcloseshaver wrote:After next school year STMA will have a choice to make between joining the Lake schools or the NWSC. Rogers will most likely be joining the NWSC to be more in line with Elk River and word is they would accept STMA as member also. Would be a nice fit for STMA in all sports.

No offense, but I don’t believe your info on potential conference destinations for STMA is entirely accurate. The Lake doesn’t make sense from a practical perspective, as STMA has little in common with the current members and would be on a geographic island. I’m sure Edina and EP would love driving up to STMA for weeknight games.

The NWSC is a much more logical destination, but the conference is already a sprawling mess with too many teams. Some realignment would almost certainly have to occur before invitations would be extended to STMA and Rogers.

Finally, Buffalo is being left out of both of these scenarios. I can guarantee that neither school is going to join a conference without the other coming along. The two schools are separated by less than 10 miles, are essentially the same size, and have been bitter rivals in most sports for years. STMA and Buffalo are basically a package deal.

alcloseshaver · Post by **alcloseshaver** » Tue Mar 06, 2018 9:37 pm

Stang5280 wrote:
alcloseshaver wrote:After next school year STMA will have a choice to make between joining the Lake schools or the NWSC. Rogers will most likely be joining the NWSC to be more in line with Elk River and word is they would accept STMA as member also. Would be a nice fit for STMA in all sports.
No offense, but I don’t believe your info on potential conference destinations for STMA is entirely accurate. The Lake doesn’t make sense from a practical perspective, as STMA has little in common with the current members and would be on a geographic island. I’m sure Edina and EP would love driving up to STMA for weeknight games.

The NWSC is a much more logical destination, but the conference is already a sprawling mess with too many teams. Some realignment would almost certainly have to occur before invitations would be extended to STMA and Rogers.

Finally, Buffalo is being left out of both of these scenarios. I can guarantee that neither school is going to join a conference without the other coming along. The two schools are separated by less than 10 miles, are essentially the same size, and have been bitter rivals in most sports for years. STMA and Buffalo are basically a package deal.

NWSC will not take Buffalo. If they are a package deal the Lake with only 5 teams would gladly take more schools. NWSC already has two 7 team divisions and could easily add 2 schools. STMA has already moved on from Buffalo in football and would create new rivalries in a new league. Wouldn't leave much room for non-conference games in 8AA hockey though.

backcheck9 · Post by **backcheck9** » Wed Mar 07, 2018 8:02 am

If STMA has an opportunity to get out of the M8 conference and get into the NWSC they should jump at it. Don't hitch your wagon to Buffalo! You can always schedule them as a non-conference game every year to keep the rivalry. STMA has outgrown the M8 conference and they should play against schools more aligned with them based on size. Besides, more than half of the M8 schools are 40 mins or more away from STMA, Buffalo, and Monti.
I would like to see STMA in a conference with ER, Rogers, MG, Osseo, Anoka, and Champlin Park. Just my opinion. I'm sure it won't happen because it makes too much sense.

alcloseshaver · Post by **alcloseshaver** » Wed Mar 07, 2018 8:53 am

It's in the works.

JerseyDave · Post by **JerseyDave** » Wed Mar 07, 2018 10:26 am

STMA is pumped to go to state:
http://www.mnhockeyhub.com/news_article/show/894545

backcheck9 · Post by **backcheck9** » Wed Mar 07, 2018 10:56 am

I saw the article in the paper right after I posted that. It would be nice to see it happen.

JerseyDave · Post by **JerseyDave** » Wed Mar 07, 2018 11:09 am

backcheck9 wrote: On paper it's looking like STMA HS hockey will cool off a bit after this season but it's always tough to say for sure and it does make a difference when you draw from 3 grades instead of 2 as this years team has shown us.

Why do you think STMA will cool off after this season? Seems like they've got some great momentum with their first state appearance, talented sophs, and a new arena on the way, not to mention that it's a growing community.

armhockey · Post by **armhockey** » Wed Mar 07, 2018 12:26 pm

[quote="backcheck9"]If STMA has an opportunity to get out of the M8 conference and get into the NWSC they should jump at it. Don't hitch your wagon to Buffalo! You can always schedule them as a non-conference game every year to keep the rivalry. STMA has outgrown the M8 conference and they should play against schools more aligned with them based on size. Besides, more than half of the M8 schools are 40 mins or more away from STMA, Buffalo, and Monti.
I would like to see STMA in a conference with ER, Rogers, MG, Osseo, Anoka, and Champlin Park. Just my opinion. I'm sure it won't happen because it makes too much sense.[/quote]

What I have heard is that Centenial, Irondale and Spring Lake Park are trying to leave the Northwest suburban for the Suburban East due to travel times to the west. Opens up 3 spots for the M8 teams Buffalo, Rogers, STMA. I have also heard Grace may be asked to leave.

northwoods oldtimer · Wed Mar 07, 2018 12:48 pm

Congrats to STMA. Always nice to see a new program getting to that first state hockey tournament trip. AA can get a bit stale at times so nice to see some new blood.

Stang5280 · Post by **Stang5280** » Wed Mar 07, 2018 5:19 pm

armhockey wrote:What I have heard is that Centenial, Irondale and Spring Lake Park are trying to leave the Northwest suburban for the Suburban East due to travel times to the west. Opens up 3 spots for the M8 teams Buffalo, Rogers, STMA. I have also heard Grace may be asked to leave.

That makes sense from a practical perspective. Having Centennial in the NW Suburban always seemed odd.