Section 4AA 2009-2010 Outlook & Projections

hockeywild7 · Post by **hockeywild7** » Thu Nov 26, 2009 10:51 am

I think the 11 you mention Joe are the total between varsity and JV. And Hill did run 4 lines but as SE mentioned not continuously they were put in occassionally but did very well when they played. This is going to be a very tough section again this year. Probably tougher than last season from top to bottom.

iceage · Post by **iceage** » Thu Nov 26, 2009 11:12 am

SECoach wrote:Very good hockey game. Hill Murray did not roll 4 lines. 1st and 2nd were played very heavily with 3rd and 4th mixed in occasionally. Brandt line on the ice ALOT. Brandt can handle all the ice time they can give her but may hurt them late in the season relying on 1-2 lines. Stillwater and Roseville both tend to play 3 lines all season long.

Power plays, being short-handed, and the occasional double shift broke up the 4 line rotation which put given players on the ice more than others. At even strength they pretty much played four lines. Towards the end of the game they even mixed up lines 2 through 4. Throughout this season I believe that you will see HM play four lines with the first line double shifting and playing more when the situation dictates. This style of play could have backfired last night as the 3rd and 4th lines got caught on the ice against the first and second lines of Stillwater for lengthy periods of time. In the long run though I believe that this will save the first line as the season progresses particularly because of the conference that they are in.

joehockey · Post by **joehockey** » Thu Nov 26, 2009 11:35 am

SECoach wrote:Very good hockey game. Hill Murray did not roll 4 lines. 1st and 2nd were played very heavily with 3rd and 4th mixed in occasionally. Brandt line on the ice ALOT. Brandt can handle all the ice time they can give her but may hurt them late in the season relying on 1-2 lines. Stillwater and Roseville both tend to play 3 lines all season long.

Not sure we watched the same game.....the 3rd and 4th did play outside of PP and SH which is as most HS programs roll - send your top lines on PP and your top 4 forwards to PK - last night had penalties but not a lot compared to many games. Based on last night the overall 4 lines are the best HM has had in the past 3 years and should help over the season. Not sure the 3-4 will produce a lot of points but they are mostly younger and logging a lot of time, gaining experience and confidence. The Conference that HM plays in will allow these younger players to get significant development/playing time that could help.

SECoach · Post by **SECoach** » Thu Nov 26, 2009 11:38 am

Agreed that special teams will break up your rotation but last nights game had very few special team opportunities compared to most games. If you rely on your 1st and/or second line heavily, and then use them exclusively for power plays and to kill penalties you will find that they are gassed in the 3rd. Last night's game had more meaning than a typical non conference game so it's somewhat understandable that they did this. In the past though it seems like they have used a similar philosophy against weaker Classic Suburban teams. It could be that they want their key players to get as much experience on special teams as they can in hopes they will be more effective late in the season. We'll see. When you have a complete horse like Brandt, and Doyle is outstanding as well, it's tempting to overplay them. It also appeared that for the most part they played 4 D. I think now is a good time to try and become deeper. Again, it may have been exclusive to this game. Great motivating win for them.

SECoach · Post by **SECoach** » Thu Nov 26, 2009 11:42 am

joehockey wrote:
SECoach wrote:Very good hockey game. Hill Murray did not roll 4 lines. 1st and 2nd were played very heavily with 3rd and 4th mixed in occasionally. Brandt line on the ice ALOT. Brandt can handle all the ice time they can give her but may hurt them late in the season relying on 1-2 lines. Stillwater and Roseville both tend to play 3 lines all season long.
Not sure we watched the same game.....the 3rd and 4th did play outside of PP and SH which is as most HS programs roll - send your top lines on PP and your top 4 forwards to PK - last night had penalties but not a lot compared to many games. Based on last night the overall 4 lines are the best HM has had in the past 3 years and should help over the season. Not sure the 3-4 will produce a lot of points but they are mostly younger and logging a lot of time, gaining experience and confidence. The Conference that HM plays in will allow these younger players to get significant development/playing time that could help.

I'm pretty sure we watched the same game.....just two different looks. I know some 3rd and 4th line players and paid particular attention when they were on the ice. Parents usually see the game with a little different focus to it's understandable to see it a bit differently. Not right or wrong, just differently.

capitalist · Post by **capitalist** » Thu Nov 26, 2009 2:14 pm

The HM people I was with were watching the lines carefully and decscribed it as 1-2-3, 1-2-4, 1-2, 1-2-3, like that. And it was noticeable that some of the 3rd and 4th line shifts were 15-30 seconds. Conventional wisdom is that they'll settle on 3 lines eventually. But it's only their first game and they have lots of time to figure out what they're going to do. And that Brandt-Doyle line has to be as good as any out there.
Whenever teams attend a game together they always sit on the visiting side where there's more room and less hoo-hah. I'm not saying some of those girls weren't rooting against Stillwater, but I don't think there's any significance to all of them sitting on the HM side.

hesabaddmann · Post by **hesabaddmann** » Thu Nov 26, 2009 9:54 pm

Hey, SECoach .... You forget that it's actually 'none of your ------ business' .... Let us all see what we think we see in a game ... After all this isn't George Orwells' 1984 world we are living in, is it? ... As the season grinds to a halt for most teams in mid-February there will be plenty of time to dissect what happened in November ... Especially by the people you know... This may be a badd opinion, but someone has to have it ....

SECoach · Post by **SECoach** » Fri Nov 27, 2009 12:35 am

hesabaddmann wrote:Hey, SECoach .... You forget that it's actually 'none of your ------ business' .... Let us all see what we think we see in a game ... After all this isn't George Orwells' 1984 world we are living in, is it? ... As the season grinds to a halt for most teams in mid-February there will be plenty of time to dissect what happened in November ... Especially by the people you know... This may be a badd opinion, but someone has to have it ....

See what you want...

hesabaddmann · Post by **hesabaddmann** » Fri Nov 27, 2009 2:07 pm

SECoach wrote:
hesabaddmann wrote:Hey, SECoach .... You forget that it's actually 'none of your ------ business' .... Let us all see what we think we see in a game ... After all this isn't George Orwells' 1984 world we are living in, is it? ... As the season grinds to a halt for most teams in mid-February there will be plenty of time to dissect what happened in November ... Especially by the people you know... This may be a badd opinion, but someone has to have it ....
See what you want...

Can I believe what I wanna believe too? .... After all Tom Petty said we don't have to live like a refugee.... And to think people think we do not get along at all ...

gogogophers35 · Post by **gogogophers35** » Fri Nov 27, 2009 2:18 pm

hesabaddmann wrote:Hey, SECoach .... You forget that it's actually 'none of your ------ business' .... Let us all see what we think we see in a game ... After all this isn't George Orwells' 1984 world we are living in, is it? ... As the season grinds to a halt for most teams in mid-February there will be plenty of time to dissect what happened in November ... Especially by the people you know... This may be a badd opinion, but someone has to have it ....

What A RICHARD.....

joehockey · Post by **joehockey** » Sat Nov 28, 2009 7:48 am

So today is the big rivalry between WB and HM 3 PM at Aldrich any predictions?

WB is 3-1-0
HM is 1-0-0

HM has a few girls Brandts, Doyle, McGill who grew up playing in WB so always highly charged game.

hockeyheaven · Post by **hockeyheaven** » Sat Nov 28, 2009 11:23 am

I believe McGill played her youth hockey at Stillwater. Also some refer to the Brandt, Doyle line as WB South. Going off the scoring in the Stillwater game I hate to see where Hill would be with out them.

joehockey · Post by **joehockey** » Sat Nov 28, 2009 5:44 pm

HM 4 - WB 2

I was very impressed with WB today they are a tough physical team that can really fly. Thier goaltending looks stronger. Shots were even after 2 but I would guess WB outshot HM in the end. HM was led by the Marissa Brandt-Hannah Brandt- Melissa Doyle line I think they each had a goal. Maggie Pendleton got the other goal. HM again played their 3-4 lines but not as much as at Stillwater as there were more penalties. WB goals came from Hill (snipe) and Bruestle (rebound). McKeever again played well for HM. Scoring was 1-0, 2-0, 4-2 over the three periods.

Homer · Post by **Homer** » Sat Nov 28, 2009 8:14 pm

Nice job by Hill, I wonder how long they can survive w/ one line providing all the offense. (but what a line it is, they are fun to watch)
If I am not mistaken Mckeever is using a smaller glove and she seemed to have a few problems catching the puck. New rules in action, I recall watching HM v Stw in the playoffs last year thinking her glove was huge. She was still solid, that just stuck in my mind and thought I would post.
HM probably could have put a few more in if they could've stayed out of the box.
Overall, good game from two good teams.

Sparlimb · Post by **Sparlimb** » Sat Nov 28, 2009 11:01 pm

As an HM fan and a dad of an Irondale Knight, I was very interested to see the Hill game tonight. I'm lucky to see 2 Hill girls games a year. I was most interested in seeing Hannah Brandt after watching a good dose of Meghan Lorence and Gina McDonald yesterday and several times already this year. My buddy who goes to most of the HM games said it was a down night for Hill's top line. But while I like what the top line did tonight, I didn't think they quite matched up to Irondale's top two. Anyway, I'd be more than happy if they could meet in the state final. Was a fun game tonight and always happy to see HM take out WBL. The Edina game will be another test for HM.

Bensonmum · Post by **Bensonmum** » Sun Nov 29, 2009 9:20 pm

Congratulations to Moundsview for their first win of the season!!!!

hockeyheaven · Post by **hockeyheaven** » Mon Nov 30, 2009 11:25 am

Although we are all happy for Mounds View… technically they are in Section 5AA

livin' in the 651 · Post by **livin' in the 651** » Mon Nov 30, 2009 2:07 pm

hockeyheaven wrote:Although we are all happy for Mounds View… technically they are in Section 5AA

Plus beating a team 20-0 that would have trouble beating SEC JV teams is nothing to brag about.

hockeyheaven · Post by **hockeyheaven** » Mon Nov 30, 2009 2:40 pm

Not only is it not worthy of pride, but has the appearance of being a little ruthless. At least Irondale (a far superior team) had the decency to call off the dogs after 14 goals.

talkhockey · Post by **talkhockey** » Mon Nov 30, 2009 2:47 pm

I don’t see as many games as I use to, but try not to miss this one. Decent game but not great given the circumstance. I thought the game was very even with the Hill goalie being the slight difference. White Bear had the greater number of scoring chances but Hill made the most with theirs. It’s obvious that Hill is well coached. What they lack in depth they make up with controlled play and like last year, they came to play knowing the huge Section standing implication. WB the much deeper team seemed flat at times, playing mostly on their heals. This looks like a team that may lack leadership and team chemistry, not to mention discipline. No real flow to their game. They tend to get caught watching the puck too much instead of attacking (seem to have the horses to do so). They have a lot of work to do if they want to be a factor in February. It will be interesting to see if Hill’s one line and solid goaltending will be enough. Last year they also started out hot but couldn’t sustain the high level of play down the stretch. Playing a weak conference schedule may be a reason. Time will tell if this will be their year.

Sparlimb · Post by **Sparlimb** » Tue Dec 01, 2009 10:48 am

talkhockey wrote:I don’t see as many games as I use to, but try not to miss this one. Decent game but not great given the circumstance. I thought the game was very even with the Hill goalie being the slight difference. White Bear had the greater number of scoring chances but Hill made the most with theirs. It’s obvious that Hill is well coached. What they lack in depth they make up with controlled play and like last year, they came to play knowing the huge Section standing implication. WB the much deeper team seemed flat at times, playing mostly on their heals. This looks like a team that may lack leadership and team chemistry, not to mention discipline. No real flow to their game. They tend to get caught watching the puck too much instead of attacking (seem to have the horses to do so). They have a lot of work to do if they want to be a factor in February. It will be interesting to see if Hill’s one line and solid goaltending will be enough. Last year they also started out hot but couldn’t sustain the high level of play down the stretch. Playing a weak conference schedule may be a reason. Time will tell if this will be their year.

Obviously this section is brutal. But someone does have to win it and as the last two years have shown, can ride that momentum through state. We likely know the answer will be one of four teams, but how can you really pick a favorite? HM's early season wins last year didn't help in the end. Should be a fun section, but we have a whole season to enjoy. HM v Edina should be a good one tonight. Wish I could be there.

Homer · Post by **Homer** » Tue Dec 01, 2009 11:02 pm

Edina 5
H-M 3

Congrats to HM for finally getting a goal from someone not named Brandt or Doyle. Hills lack of depth was apparent during the 2 periods I saw. Even though they already beat WBL and Stillwater, I think they are in trouble come play off time.
I was surprised to see third string D (I believe) on ice for Edina's 4th goal, just seconds after HM tied it at 3. Huge mistake on coaching staff. Buie walked around D like they were traffic cones.
HM goalie appears to be struggling, I am pretty sure she is better than what I saw tonight. She is having trouble w/ the glove, dropping a few pucks she should catch. Shoot high on the glove and crash the net,some will drop at her feet.
Overall fun game to watch.

longshot · Post by **longshot** » Wed Dec 02, 2009 9:15 am

Agree, looking at HM schedule the rest of the year the competition isnt to comparable to what they will face during playoff time. From looking at the schedule they appear to have NSP and Warroad maybe hopkins other than that pretty flat schedule. As far as teams go Roseville looks to be playing as a team, WB needs to get rid of peneltys and they will a strong threat and Stillwater needs to get playing like a team as they did last year, they have players playing for the scouts. individual play. If some things dont change playoff time could be very interesting.

dochockey · Post by **dochockey** » Wed Dec 02, 2009 9:32 am

I was at Edina's game last night and thought Hills first line looked pretty good, but huge dropoff when you get to the second and third line. their goalie looked much sharper last year and it seems like the smaller glove is affecting her. I'm getting the feeling that Edina may be tough to beat come tournament time, they play 4 lines and there isn't much drop off between the top 3. I thought defense would be Hills strength this season but they seemed a little confused at times last night. Who knows maybe the flu has hit them or something. It's a long season and anything can happen.

joehockey · Post by **joehockey** » Wed Dec 02, 2009 9:35 am

longshot wrote:Agree, looking at HM schedule the rest of the year the competition isnt to comparable to what they will face during playoff time. From looking at the schedule they appear to have NSP and Warroad maybe hopkins other than that pretty flat schedule. As far as teams go Roseville looks to be playing as a team, WB needs to get rid of peneltys and they will a strong threat and Stillwater needs to get playing like a team as they did last year, they have players playing for the scouts. individual play. If some things dont change playoff time could be very interesting.

Agreed overalll.....HM still has some tough games ahead to wrap up 2009 but a pretty soft 6 weeks after the first of the year - though the Classic Suburban Conference is stronger than the past couple of years. As a young team the schedule may gain confidence. Last night HM made some errors - they showed they have work to do.

2009
11/25/2009 7:30 PM at Stillwater Area W 5-2 F 1-0
11/28/2009 3:00 PM vs. White Bear Lake W 4-2 F 2-0
12/01/2009 8:00 PM vs. Edina L 5-3 F 2-1
12/04/2009 7:30 PM at Warroad
12/05/2009 7:00 PM at Roseau
12/08/2009 7:30 PM at Richfield
12/11/2009 8:00 PM vs. North St. Paul
12/12/2009 3:00 PM vs. Duluth
12/16/2009 7:30 PM at Mahtomedi
12/18/2009 7:30 PM at Simley
12/19/2009 3:00 PM vs. Grand Rapids/Greenway
12/28/2009 TBA - Edina Tounament
Opening game vs. Maple Grove
Other teams in tournament: Grand Rapids/Greenway, Edina, Lakeville South, Duluth, Hopkins,

2010
01/05/2010 8:00 PM vs. Tartan
01/08/2010 7:30 PM vs. South St. Paul
01/12/2010 7:30 PM at Henry Sibley
01/15/2010 7:00 PM at Richfield
01/19/2010 7:30 PM at North St. Paul
01/22/2010 8:00 PM vs. Mahtomedi
01/26/2010 8:00 PM vs. Simley (Simley)
01/29/2010 7:30 PM at Tartan
01/30/2010 2:30 PM at Benilde-St. Margaret's
02/03/2010 7:30 PM at South St. Paul
02/05/2010 8:00 PM vs. Henry Sibley

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Section 4AA 2009-2010 Outlook & Projections

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