West vs Albert Lea

[davey]

Davey,

I watched AL play vs I falls. They played their butts off and actually took it to them. Got caught on a line change in OT with a nice play and a late goal off of a tip in front with less than a minute to go in regulation.

They outhit em outskated em just didn;t win. I also got to watch Mankato West vs Owatonna. I think AL will challenge the West D quite a bit more than they were that night.

If Campbell and Gustafson and the boys are ready will be a big part of the story.

Is Andrew Bruggeman playing with Litchfield and Lievermann?

Sioux Fan, I think both teams D will see more pressure and forechecking than they either has faced this year. Not sure what the lines will be

[Iced God]

1-1 at the start of 2nd period. Sounds like A.L. is outshooting West, but hard to tell with the info I am getting.

[RSI]

FINAL

AL 3
West 2

Way to go boys!

[SEMinnHockeyNut]

I called the exact score thank you!

[Sioux Fan]

Anyone have all the details???

[southsidemafia]

AL outshot West not sure what they were. AL did a good job of containing wests top line. Both of wests goals were powerplay goals. AL was deeper playing three lines. It looked to me like AL was more disciplined and the better team tonight.

[fubar-errr-what]

shots- 37 to 30 in favor of AL

[golfreak]

Great game to be at! Great atmosphere and great hockey. I haven't seen City Arena that full since AL took on Century for the big 9 title a couple years back.

Thoughts:

AL- Did a nice job in the defensive zone clearing the puck. Forwards did what they needed to in getting the puck to the net. I thought that the defensemen were very impressive tonight. Not only did they move the puck well from the blue line, but they really hustled back and did a nice job defensively. 8 & 13 were a very pleasant surprise for me. Goaltending was also solid.

West- I think they were everything that they were billed out to be. Very offensive minded forwards with a very nice group of solid defensemen. I think AL broke up their somewhat "free wheelin" breakout with their third guy high. The goalie was impressive, made a lot of real tough saves. They didn't completely lose their heads, but still could play more disciplined.

Look for another good game Thursday when Mayo visits AL. The Big 9 is up for grabs again.

[powerplay009]

Anybody got the scoring from the game?

[slapnasty]

Loved this game great atmosphere i got kicked out early tho but loved that AL won! They came to play and deserved the win. This section is so close I cant wait for the playoffs to come.

[LZ94]

Scoring went, if I can remember:

West: Lieverman

A.L.: Stadheim

A.L.: Woodside

A.L.: Royce

West: Campbell

Correct me if I'm wrong.

Royce had a hand in all three of A.L.'s goals.

West just seemed like they were stuck in the mud, have to tip my cap to A.L. for that. Distad played well as did Bruggaman. Both left in a softy but both made huge saves.

[jackstraw]

Tip of the hat to golferguy for a solid run down of the game. AL's D corp played very well, as did the goaltender. I personally thought that West # 7 was their best forward, he is fun to watch and never layed on the ice. West had 2 D-men, #2 and #3 that were very good all night. After watching tape of the game, Bruggeman was actually very good, AL had quite a few quality chances that went for naught. West had what I considered maybe 3 good chances all night. #5 for AL should have a verbal commitment real soon!

[davey]

This game is what HS Hockey is all about. Two pretty evenly matched teams in a showdown. Great crowd on both sides. I tip my hat to both teams for a game well played. Both teams going hard at each other and referees that let the game be decided by the kids. The ref crew was the best I have seen all year. AL bottled up the top line of West pretty well. Al did as they always do, they skate there a--es off and force teams to make mistakes and then they capitalize. Can't wait for the rematch in a month. This was HS hockey at its best.

[slapnasty]

This game is what HS Hockey is all about. Two pretty evenly matched teams in a showdown. Great crowd on both sides. I tip my hat to both teams for a game well played. Both teams going hard at each other and referees that let the game be decided by the kids. The ref crew was the best I have seen all year. AL bottled up the top line of West pretty well. Al did as they always do, they skate there a--es off and force teams to make mistakes and then they capitalize. Can't wait for the rematch in a month. This was HS hockey at its best.

Well said davey!

[purplejesus]

Loved this game great atmosphere i got kicked out early tho but loved that AL won! They came to play and deserved the win. This section is so close I cant wait for the playoffs to come.

how was the minor

[tpshockey30]

Does this mean that Distad is number one starter in AL?

[golfreak]

Does this mean that Distad is number one starter in AL?

I don't believe so. If coach Nystrom does as he has in the past, they will continue their rotation with Distad and Waalkens

[merritt29]

sounds like AL worked hard like always and pulled off a very well deserved win. this is one game i wish i could of seen!

[slapnasty]

Distad is starting to come along great. His last 2 starts he has done exceptional and against 2 high quality teams in West and Denfeld.

[BIAFP]

The run is over, West is out of it

[jackstraw]

West loses a 1 goal game on the road to a team that beat Denfeld and took I-Falls to OT, and you say they are out of it? Pretty early in the season for that.

[stud-lee]

jackstraw, is #5 (stadheim?) getting some looks?

[jackstraw]

Not that I am aware of, it was just my attempt at humor as he took it to a WCHA verbal pretty well. Stad's has been very good this year and has been one of the best forwards on the rink in the few games I have caught.

[stud-lee]

Sorry i didn't catch the humor (i'm a little slow tonight). I would definately have to agree with you that he played very well last night.

[hockeypurist]

Great game to be at! Great atmosphere and great hockey. I haven't seen City Arena that full since AL took on Century for the big 9 title a couple years back.

Thoughts:

AL- Did a nice job in the defensive zone clearing the puck. Forwards did what they needed to in getting the puck to the net. I thought that the defensemen were very impressive tonight. Not only did they move the puck well from the blue line, but they really hustled back and did a nice job defensively. 8 & 13 were a very pleasant surprise for me. Goaltending was also solid.

West- I think they were everything that they were billed out to be. Very offensive minded forwards with a very nice group of solid defensemen. I think AL broke up their somewhat "free wheelin" breakout with their third guy high. The goalie was impressive, made a lot of real tough saves. They didn't completely lose their heads, but still could play more disciplined.

Look for another good game Thursday when Mayo visits AL. The Big 9 is up for grabs again.

Well said golffreak. This is what HS hockey is all about; 2 teams playing to the best of their abilities in a playoff like atmosphere. AL came to play and it was all business. Did anyone notice that AL was lined up on the blue line long before the anthem with helmets off, etc. while Mankato was mulling around their own end? AL looked disciplined and ready to play. And did they. They forechecked hard, took away passing lanes and capitalized on opportunities. Both teams stayed out of the box, but made the other pay when there was a penalty (2-1 West). West could not seem to get their high flying offense going. Their top line took 4 penalties, including an unsportsmanlike early on, and then a hook in the last 5 min. of the game. No pp goal however on either. AL is well coached and it showed. Kudos to both teams and to all fans at the rink for a very entertaining game. The rematch ought to be a beauty!!!!