Spirit Of Duluth Scores - PeeWee A

[boardmember]

Board Member.....

You have the wrong team and web site....

http://www.jrgamblers.com/page/show/412 ... wee-majors

Southern,

I posted the site I meant to post. the Greenbay Bobcats Association page. Since I used information about them, (I.E) the number of teams and players, I referenced the source of information in my post.

[jancze5]

No matter what anyone wants to believe, you cannot make a fair comparison between AAA winter teams and Minnesota teams at any level. I say this because for a fair and equal comparison the field needs to be leveled, and in this case, that field is AGE.

For example, at the Pee Wee age, a Minnesota team like Wayzata may be carrying 5 95 kids, 10 96's and 2 awesome 97's. The Green Bay team is carrying all 96's. For the field to level, Wayzata would have to bypass those 5 95's and play with 6 other younger players. What would that do to that team? Would the loss of older players hurt? Yes, it likely would or maybe it wouldn't.

My point being, there is no fair comparison because of the age discrepancy.
It's not an excuse, it's reality.

[muckandgrind]

No matter what anyone wants to believe, you cannot make a fair comparison between AAA winter teams and Minnesota teams at any level. I say this because for a fair and equal comparison the field needs to be leveled, and in this case, that field is AGE.

For example, at the Pee Wee age, a Minnesota team like Wayzata may be carrying 5 95 kids, 10 96's and 2 awesome 97's. The Green Bay team is carrying all 96's. For the field to level, Wayzata would have to bypass those 5 95's and play with 6 other younger players. What would that do to that team? Would the loss of older players hurt? Yes, it likely would or maybe it wouldn't.

My point being, there is no fair comparison because of the age discrepancy.
It's not an excuse, it's reality.

Agreed.

You can't compare Wayzata with AAA Tier-I, and you can't compare Wayzata with just about every other Minnesota Association team with the exception of Edina, DE, and the other top associations in the State. This is mainly due to the pure numbers advantage Wayzata and those other programs have over 90% of other associations.

If an "even playing field" is the desired goal (as the Wayzata parent apparently wants), than Wayzata should be running at least two evenly split A teams instead of one.

[5thgraders]

[quote="southernhockey1"][quote="5thgraders"]Can we at least get one thing right on this thread ?

Green Bay is not a top tier team they are well below the top teams.

Quit trying to sugar coat Green Bay they are not very good.[/quote]

5thGraders-

11th out of 103 Tier 1 AAA teams......

http://www.myhockeyrankings.com/view_20 ... ?a=p&v=114[/quote]

11th out of a 103 is the dream look at the schedule they have played.
They have 1 lucky 1 goal win vs Mission Lost to Victory honda Beat the
2008 biggest dissapontment TI WOW. CYA #22 NPI#24 Philly #37 then
off to play those 64th ranked Madison Capitols. They are a 25 to 40 Team. Thanks for the Myhockey website that tells the tale. They are so
high in the rankings because they get the MAHL top seed credits for Tier1. Milwaukee folded as well as the 96 Fire so sugar coat that. Southernhockey1 if it makes you feel better Green Bay is Amazing

[southernhockey1]

[quote="5thgraders"][quote="southernhockey1"][quote="5thgraders"]Can we at least get one thing right on this thread ?

Green Bay is not a top tier team they are well below the top teams.

Quit trying to sugar coat Green Bay they are not very good.[/quote]

5thGraders-

11th out of 103 Tier 1 AAA teams......

http://www.myhockeyrankings.com/view_20 ... ?a=p&v=114[/quote]

11th out of a 103 is the dream look at the schedule they have played.
They have 1 lucky 1 goal win vs Mission Lost to Victory honda Beat the
2008 biggest dissapontment TI WOW. CYA #22 NPI#24 Philly #37 then
off to play those 64th ranked Madison Capitols. They are a 25 to 40 Team. Thanks for the Myhockey website that tells the tale. They are so
high in the rankings because they get the MAHL top seed credits for Tier1. Milwaukee folded as well as the 96 Fire so sugar coat that. Southernhockey1 if it makes you feel better Green Bay is Amazing[/quote]

5thgraders,

Based on your previous posts over the past year, we can all only assume (hope) you are in 5th grade. Best of luck.

[5thgraders]

Is that the best you have sounds like it.
Answer the why Green Bay is so great

[Bruins]

Is that the best you have sounds like it.
Answer the why Green Bay is so great

5thgraders, what is your dislike for the Green Bay team, they must be ok if they can travel to Minnesota and beat some top teams. Think about it, only 96 birth year players, smaller talent pool to pick from, come to the world famous great State of Hockey and win. Sound like a good team to me.

[5thgraders]

Bruins I have no hard feelings or reason to dislike Green Bay.
It is just when people like yourself call them a TOP NOTCH team
when they are not a top notch tier 1 team the point need's to then
be clarified to all those who really don't understand all of this. They
have a nice team good for them. But they are far down the list when
it comes to what a smart hockey person would call top notch.

[dogeatdog1]

Why don't you two girls have your cat fight about who is a top 10 AAA team on another posting.. I thought that this was about the spirit of Duluth tourney?

[Bruins]

Why don't you two girls have your cat fight about who is a top 10 AAA team on another posting.. I thought that this was about the spirit of Duluth tourney?

Mrs. dogeatdog1, we are talking about two teams that played in the Spirit of Duluth. This forum is for debate just like this. Its fun and harmless. This thread has had over 1500 hits in the last 24hrs so I think a few people are enjoying it.

[DumpandChase1]

It is my understanding that the Milwaukee AAA team folded. That would lead me to believe that some of those kids are playing in Green Bay. That would give the Gamblers 2 big cities and all the towns in between to draw players from. They may only have 60 to 70 kids try out, but they are not all just GB kids, they are pulling from a much greater population base than our large associations. So even though Minnesota teams have a few 95's, that advantage is negated by the unlimited boundries the AAA teams have.
For the record, I like watching the top Minn teams play these AAA teams. The Colorado Thunderbirds are coming to the Edina Tourny again this year.

[notfromhere]

As I understand it, the Green Bay club picked up two or three kids from the folded Milwaukee AAA 96 team who wanted to continue playing AAA rather than go back to club hockey (some others went to Chicago for AAA), the rest come from the greater GB area I believe. And perhaps there's a bigger overall population base, but that doesn't mean there's a plethora of highly talented hockey players to pick from.

And, if its a "population base argument", then you have to give kudos to the Gb team for being at the very least competitive wth AAA clubs drawing from much larger population/hockey player bases than their own, like Chicago, Detroit, etc....

[5thgraders]

Bruins Thanks for putting a pile of ALPO on DOGEATDOG1 MMM tasty

[SuperStar]

Get a room!

[5thgraders]

I wanna be just like you superstar so I really would prefer a

NEST

[SuperStar]

LOL - Your good 5th grader...No tell me your true Identiy so I can "raz" you at the rinks...I am sure you know mine by now!

[nMN]

As I understand it, the Green Bay club picked up two or three kids from the folded Milwaukee AAA 96 team who wanted to continue playing AAA rather than go back to club hockey (some others went to Chicago for AAA), the rest come from the greater GB area I believe. And perhaps there's a bigger overall population base, but that doesn't mean there's a plethora of highly talented hockey players to pick from.

And, if its a "population base argument", then you have to give kudos to the Gb team for being at the very least competitive wth AAA clubs drawing from much larger population/hockey player bases than their own, like Chicago, Detroit, etc....

GB picked one guy from Milwaukee. Two went to TI and two went to Madison. Agree on the "population argument" - GB is barely over 100k population and I don't think I need to remind everybody what is the No.1 sport in Green Bay which draws most of the top athletic kids. 96 GB team just happens to have some good players that have parents that can actually afford to spend time and money on AAA hockey and some decent coaching. Their other teams aren't that good, just look at the Myhockey rankings.

[dogeatdog1]

Mrs. dogeatdog1, we are talking about two teams that played in the Spirit of Duluth. This forum is for debate just like this. Its fun and harmless. This thread has had over 1500 hits in the last 24hrs so I think a few people are enjoying it


If you are talking about the tourney how come the whole page is who picked up whom for the Green Bay team. If you are going to fight over whether or not they belong in the tourney that is one thing if you are going to cry cause they won that is another. Don't know about you but I don't mind playing against top teams. Oh that is right they are not a top team.

[WIHockeyDad]

My son plays on the 96 Jr Gambler team that won the tournament. This team is a talented team with good coaching. They have the highest ranking of all of the Jr. Gambler teams. This same group of kids (under a different team name) comes to MN to play in the MN AAA Meltdown and the Easton Cup. We came to the Spirit of Duluth Tournament because we respect the level of hockey MN produces. We do not have adequate numbers in Wisconsin to play high level club hockey like MN. You are very fortunate to have a large population with many talented hockey players. We are forced to drive great distances to play the same level of competition that MN players get by driving to the next town. We have very few outdoor rinks and minimal offseason opportunities. I grew up playing hockey in Burnsville and Edina as a youth and wish that we could have the same opportunities here in WI. It was a pleasure to play in Duluth. We play in many tournaments in the Chicago area, so it was a nice change to come over to the true "land of hockey," in Minnesota.

There is no doubt in my mind, if MN decided to allow winter AAA hockey that they would be able to produce top level teams that would dominate nationally. The only drawback, of course would be the loss to the wonderful club hockey environment you have now where kids get to play on teams with school friends and neighbors, and parents don't have to rent a hotel every other weekend for hockey.

[Hockey!LoveIt!]

My son plays on the 96 Jr Gambler team that won the tournament. This team is a talented team with good coaching. They have the highest ranking of all of the Jr. Gambler teams. This same group of kids (under a different team name) comes to MN to play in the MN AAA Meltdown and the Easton Cup. We came to the Spirit of Duluth Tournament because we respect the level of hockey MN produces. We do not have adequate numbers in Wisconsin to play high level club hockey like MN. You are very fortunate to have a large population with many talented hockey players. We are forced to drive great distances to play the same level of competition that MN players get by driving to the next town. We have very few outdoor rinks and minimal offseason opportunities. I grew up playing hockey in Burnsville and Edina as a youth and wish that we could have the same opportunities here in WI. It was a pleasure to play in Duluth. We play in many tournaments in the Chicago area, so it was a nice change to come over to the true "land of hockey," in Minnesota.

There is no doubt in my mind, if MN decided to allow winter AAA hockey that they would be able to produce top level teams that would dominate nationally. The only drawback, of course would be the loss to the wonderful club hockey environment you have now where kids get to play on teams with school friends and neighbors, and parents don't have to rent a hotel every other weekend for hockey.

Great post!!!!

[MoreCowBell]

My son plays on the 96 Jr Gambler team that won the tournament. This team is a talented team with good coaching. They have the highest ranking of all of the Jr. Gambler teams. This same group of kids (under a different team name) comes to MN to play in the MN AAA Meltdown and the Easton Cup. We came to the Spirit of Duluth Tournament because we respect the level of hockey MN produces. We do not have adequate numbers in Wisconsin to play high level club hockey like MN. You are very fortunate to have a large population with many talented hockey players. We are forced to drive great distances to play the same level of competition that MN players get by driving to the next town. We have very few outdoor rinks and minimal offseason opportunities. I grew up playing hockey in Burnsville and Edina as a youth and wish that we could have the same opportunities here in WI. It was a pleasure to play in Duluth. We play in many tournaments in the Chicago area, so it was a nice change to come over to the true "land of hockey," in Minnesota.

There is no doubt in my mind, if MN decided to allow winter AAA hockey that they would be able to produce top level teams that would dominate nationally. The only drawback, of course would be the loss to the wonderful club hockey environment you have now where kids get to play on teams with school friends and neighbors, and parents don't have to rent a hotel every other weekend for hockey.

This all sounds great, but you had basically a MN tier 1 team at the 96 level called the Wisconsin Fire that you have played in the past but because the actions of the Gambler org. being instrumental in punishing the whole Fire org. for an infraction caused at a different age level. You chose to punish the Fire at the 96 level during a national championship year (major Peewee) to benefit yourselves, you couldn't beat them on the ice so you had beat them in the board room. Because the Fire couldn't compete for a national championship the players disappeared and that age folded. Now with Fire out of the way you improved your chances to compete for the national title. Hope you enjoyed beating our club teams.

[WIHockeyDad]

I am not an expert on the matter regarding the loss of the 96 WI Fire team for this season, my son is playing for the 96 Jr. Gamblers for the first time this year. Last year my son played for Sheboygan's Club team and had 10 skaters (including the goalie) on this team. We were motivated to play for a stronger more organized program. We drive one hour each way to Green Bay for practice and home games.

The 96 WI Fire was an outstanding team and it has been a loss to our Gambler team to have them fold because they were a great opponent. I realize they were nearly entirely MN kids, but regardless of where they were from, they were an outstanding team. The majority of these kids play on the MN Machine in the summer and are the best team I have ever had the pleasure of losing to. Our WI summer team lost to the MN Machine in the Easton Cup Invite finals this year and in the MN Meltdown finals in 2007.

I spoke to several parents more knowledgeable on the subject of the loss of the 96 Fire and they told me there were problems with getting the WI Fire coach to commit. If there were issues outside of this, I am not aware of them, and it certainly had nothing to do with our 96 Jr. Gamblers, because we were very disappointed when we heard they dropped their team. We obviously want to have teams of equal or better caliber nearby to play. Right now, the only teams within a 5 hour drive for us to play that are a close match are Team Illinois, Chicago Mission, and Chicago Young Americans. We would love to have opportunities to play strong MN teams like Wayzata, Burnsville, Edina on a more regular basis during the winter so that we could get a chance to play new teams.

We don't pretend to be better than we are. We know we have a good group of kids, but there are teams like the St. Louis Jr. Blues and Belle Tire that are significantly better than us. Our only hope is to play evenly matched teams and have fun in the process.

Regarding AAA teams playing in Spirit of Duluth Tournament, did you notice the 94 Junior Gamblers score when they played Duluth East? 9 - 0 loss. That Duluth East Bantam team was one of the best I have ever seen.

[notfromhere]

you couldn't beat them on the ice so you had beat them in the board room.

The last time there was a Wisconsin State Tournament at the 96 AAA level (2 seasons ago), the 96 Fire lost both of its games to the 96 Jr. Gamblers (5-4, 4-3). Sure, the 96 Fire had near total success against the 96 Jr Gamblers in regular season play the last two years. But just like the state tournament scores of two years ago are irrelevant this season, so are past regular season games. The 96 Jr Gamblers have improved their results against every opponent this season compared to previous seasons. Had the 96 Fire played this season, the games would have been excellent, and welcome by the 96 Jr Gambler team

[southernhockey1]

[quote="WIHockeyDad"]I am not an expert on the matter regarding the loss of the 96 WI Fire team for this season, my son is playing for the 96 Jr. Gamblers for the first time this year. Last year my son played for Sheboygan's Club team and had 10 skaters (including the goalie) on this team. We were motivated to play for a stronger more organized program. We drive one hour each way to Green Bay for practice and home games.

The 96 WI Fire was an outstanding team and it has been a loss to our Gambler team to have them fold because they were a great opponent. I realize they were nearly entirely MN kids, but regardless of where they were from, they were an outstanding team. The majority of these kids play on the MN Machine in the summer and are the best team I have ever had the pleasure of losing to. Our WI summer team lost to the MN Machine in the Easton Cup Invite finals this year and in the MN Meltdown finals in 2007.

I spoke to several parents more knowledgeable on the subject of the loss of the 96 Fire and they told me there were problems with getting the WI Fire coach to commit. If there were issues outside of this, I am not aware of them, and it certainly had nothing to do with our 96 Jr. Gamblers, because we were very disappointed when we heard they dropped their team. We obviously want to have teams of equal or better caliber nearby to play. Right now, the only teams within a 5 hour drive for us to play that are a close match are Team Illinois, Chicago Mission, and Chicago Young Americans. We would love to have opportunities to play strong MN teams like Wayzata, Burnsville, Edina on a more regular basis during the winter so that we could get a chance to play new teams.

We don't pretend to be better than we are. We know we have a good group of kids, but there are teams like the St. Louis Jr. Blues and Belle Tire that are significantly better than us. Our only hope is to play evenly matched teams and have fun in the process.

Regarding AAA teams playing in Spirit of Duluth Tournament, did you notice the 94 Junior Gamblers score when they played Duluth East? 9 - 0 loss. That Duluth East Bantam team was one of the best I have ever seen.[/quote]

I agree. That Duluth East team was very good. They finished 3rd at the State Tournament in 2007 behind Wayzata (1st) and Apple Valley (2nd).

[GoGophersGuy]

There is no doubt in my mind, if MN decided to allow winter AAA hockey that they would be able to produce top level teams that would dominate nationally. The only drawback, of course would be the loss to the wonderful club hockey environment you have now where kids get to play on teams with school friends and neighbors, and parents don't have to rent a hotel every other weekend for hockey.


This is exactly why we need to save MINNESOTA YOUTH HOCKEY from going AAA. Minnesota youth and high school hockey is something special, we need to keep it this way...