Eden Prairie vs. Hill-Murray

[hockeyfan893]

EP wins 2-1.

Final shots were close: 33-27 for EP.

EP shows why they are the states best team, and Hill-Murray shows why they are right up there with the best of them as well, despite the start of the season.

Game could have gone either way, I was impressed by both, but in the end the rankings hold true.

[BodyShots]

Bodyshots passed up an opportunity to go watch the Bears kick some Ponie booty, to attend this preview of the State Tournament Finals.

I was very impressed by the depth of these two teams. Both seemed to play three lines throughout the game. Hill started a little slow and conservative and EP controlled most of the first period. As Hill loosened up, I thought they had the better play in the second. Third was pretty even and it just depended on who would capitalize on their opportunities. Only one power play for each team and HM generated some good scoring opportunities during theirs, only to watch Rau come out of the box and race off on a breakaway. Timmy made a nice save on a very good move by Rau.

A couple of comments from the game:

1. It seemed like an Elite game. A lot of talent on both teams and no school support. HM had about 20 students and the only time you heard them was when somebody put a camera in front of their face during the second intermission. The only students for EP was their JV team.

2. I found it interesting that the music playing during HM's return to the ice in the third period was "Running with the Devils". They can't read a book with the word "suck" in it, but can get away with playing this classic rock music.

3. Mrs. Kerker, if you're on here....you have one hell of a whistle! I still can't get the ringing out of my ear.

[Jack Sparrow]

Great game - BOTH teams looked VERY impressive.
Hill has amazing depth - even a powerhouse like EP does not have that kind of depth on their 3rd and 4th lines.
I love that Brewski kid - he is carring a couple of underclassman on his back and making a bigger impact than the 1st two lines. I am guessing that with lex this is part of his master plan. You know.. Jedi mind tricks and all that stuff.
Although they are a great team now, Hill will only get stronger as the season progresses and these younger guys continue to mature.
Enjoy it now EP - if there is another meeting of these teams this year it will take a much greater effort.....

Nothing wrong with a little classic Van Halen!! "running with the devil"
I suppose "Hot For Teacher" would have been over the top!

[FREDFLINTSTONE]

Great game - BOTH teams looked VERY impressive.
Hill has amazing depth - even a powerhouse like EP does not have that kind of depth on their 3rd and 4th lines.
I love that Brewski kid - he is carring a couple of underclassman on his back and making a bigger impact than the 1st two lines. I am guessing that with lex this is part of his master plan. You know.. Jedi mind tricks and all that stuff.
Although they are a great team now, Hill will only get stronger as the season progresses and these younger guys continue to mature.
Enjoy it now EP - if there is another meeting of these teams this year it will take a much greater effort.....

Nothing wrong with a little classic Van Halen!! "running with the devil"
I suppose "Hot For Teacher" would have been over the top!

The good news is that EP beat Hill at their rink and EP didn't play their best game. They looked out of sink. Maybe it was the 20 minute walk to the rink after their bus got stuck in a snowbank.

[Scout716]

Fun game to watch by 2 quality teams. Thanks

[supertacks]

Thumbs up to both PA guy and music mix guy! Both are top notch and made for a great atmosphere (even with no student support).

[supertacks]

Thumbs up to both PA guy and music mix guy! Both are top notch and made for a great atmosphere (even with no student support).

Also shout out to the two gentlemen that sang the National Anthem! It was perfect!

[High Flyer]

Great game - BOTH teams looked VERY impressive.
Hill has amazing depth - even a powerhouse like EP does not have that kind of depth on their 3rd and 4th lines.
I love that Brewski kid - he is carring a couple of underclassman on his back and making a bigger impact than the 1st two lines. I am guessing that with lex this is part of his master plan. You know.. Jedi mind tricks and all that stuff.
Although they are a great team now, Hill will only get stronger as the season progresses and these younger guys continue to mature.
Enjoy it now EP - if there is another meeting of these teams this year it will take a much greater effort.....

Nothing wrong with a little classic Van Halen!! "running with the devil"
I suppose "Hot For Teacher" would have been over the top!

He has a way of getting his top players to peak when it counts and he gets all of his players to buy into the system and understand thier roles & role relationships. I don't think we have seen HM best hockey yet...

I'm looking at "match ups". It seems like certain team style/systems seem to match up better vs. one team over another. It will be interesting to see what half of the brackets these teams end up on if they all get to state.

[BodyShots]

Great game - BOTH teams looked VERY impressive.
Hill has amazing depth - even a powerhouse like EP does not have that kind of depth on their 3rd and 4th lines.
I love that Brewski kid - he is carring a couple of underclassman on his back and making a bigger impact than the 1st two lines. I am guessing that with lex this is part of his master plan. You know.. Jedi mind tricks and all that stuff.
Although they are a great team now, Hill will only get stronger as the season progresses and these younger guys continue to mature.
Enjoy it now EP - if there is another meeting of these teams this year it will take a much greater effort.....

Nothing wrong with a little classic Van Halen!! "running with the devil"
I suppose "Hot For Teacher" would have been over the top!

The good news is that EP beat Hill at their rink and EP didn't play their best game. They looked out of sink. Maybe it was the 20 minute walk to the rink after their bus got stuck in a snowbank.

Obviously the competition had something to do with EP's play. Talking to the EP parents before the game, they all thought this would be a high scoring game with EP getting 6 or more. I told them they were nuts if they thought they would get 6 goals against HM. I said they would be lucky if they scored 3, and one of those might be an empty netter. When Rau got the puck at the end with an empty net, I looked behind me and said to them. Here you go!

[gerryodrowski]

Great game - BOTH teams looked VERY impressive.
Hill has amazing depth - even a powerhouse like EP does not have that kind of depth on their 3rd and 4th lines.
I love that Brewski kid - he is carring a couple of underclassman on his back and making a bigger impact than the 1st two lines. I am guessing that with lex this is part of his master plan. You know.. Jedi mind tricks and all that stuff.
Although they are a great team now, Hill will only get stronger as the season progresses and these younger guys continue to mature.
Enjoy it now EP - if there is another meeting of these teams this year it will take a much greater effort.....

Nothing wrong with a little classic Van Halen!! "running with the devil"
I suppose "Hot For Teacher" would have been over the top!

The good news is that EP beat Hill at their rink and EP didn't play their best game. They looked out of sink. Maybe it was the 20 minute walk to the rink after their bus got stuck in a snowbank.

Obviously the competition had something to do with EP's play. Talking to the EP parents before the game, they all thought this would be a high scoring game with EP getting 6 or more. I told them they were nuts if they thought they would get 6 goals against HM. I said they would be lucky if they scored 3, and one of those might be an empty netter. When Rau got the puck at the end with an empty net, I looked behind me and said to them. Here you go!

I doubt VERY much that an EP parent told you that they would put up 6 against Hill Murray. If so, I sincerely hope that they were joking.

[FREDFLINTSTONE]

Great game - BOTH teams looked VERY impressive.
Hill has amazing depth - even a powerhouse like EP does not have that kind of depth on their 3rd and 4th lines.
I love that Brewski kid - he is carring a couple of underclassman on his back and making a bigger impact than the 1st two lines. I am guessing that with lex this is part of his master plan. You know.. Jedi mind tricks and all that stuff.
Although they are a great team now, Hill will only get stronger as the season progresses and these younger guys continue to mature.
Enjoy it now EP - if there is another meeting of these teams this year it will take a much greater effort.....

Nothing wrong with a little classic Van Halen!! "running with the devil"
I suppose "Hot For Teacher" would have been over the top!

The good news is that EP beat Hill at their rink and EP didn't play their best game. They looked out of sink. Maybe it was the 20 minute walk to the rink after their bus got stuck in a snowbank.

Obviously the competition had something to do with EP's play. Talking to the EP parents before the game, they all thought this would be a high scoring game with EP getting 6 or more. I told them they were nuts if they thought they would get 6 goals against HM. I said they would be lucky if they scored 3, and one of those might be an empty netter. When Rau got the puck at the end with an empty net, I looked behind me and said to them. Here you go!

Have another Brewski.

[East Side Pioneer Guy]

I must be too old because I think the music is too loud.

EP has some very talented forwards who made some pretty nifty moves with the puck. Definitely a very good squad.

HM took a while to get on track in the first period. The passing wasn't as crisp as it usually is even once they did get rolling. First two periods were very even and the score could have gone either way. I was disappointed in the third. Hill had several scoring chances, but EP's were much better chances. Hill also looked a half a step slow in the third; usually the time when they gain a half a step on the opposition. But I'll take a good one goal loss to the #1 team in the first week of January.

The crowd was disappointing. Granted, it was an 8:00 start and a good drive from EP on a weeknight. But even at that I expected a better turnout for #1 vs. #4.

There were few penalties, it was a well played game and it's always fun to see two quality teams who show to play hockey. Usually two teams that good don't have so many icings. I'm thinking ther must have been about 18.

[stpaul]

I agree with ESPG's assessment of the game. I did not leave Aldrich disappointed. HM is just a fraction behind the best team in the state right now. Rau, Gerdes & Rath are big time players and better than HM's seniors Bahe, Becker & Bruski but HM's 2nd & 3rd lines are better than EP's. Both goalies were great. Shaughnessy made some big time saves. I thought the atmosphere at Aldrich was good for a weeknight in January. There were probably 1,200 people there. HM does a great job with the PA guy and the music. Paul, who is 80 years old but still has great pipes, and his son do a nice national anthem. Paul is a great guy who has sent a large family of kids and grandkids to HM. He has volunteered at the school for many years. I don't think he misses a single game. I will again defend the HM students. It's a school of only 850 in 6 grades. 90% of the kids play other sports, are in theatre, band, choir, etc. Finals and final projects and papers are due this week. Academics are serious business at HM. I wouldn't be surprised if Erin Herman and Dick Ghizoni ordered the basketball players to go home after practice on the night before big games against Tartan. There was still a student section of 40 or so. 60 if you count the JV players. HM always has a large following of parents, alums & "old guys". By the way HM boys beat previously undefeated Tartan by 1 on a tip in at the buzzer last night. I was there too. It was a heart stopper.

[Pioneerprideguy]

Score of the HM/EP JV game?

[sllek]

HM won the JV game 7-3. It was 2-0 EP with a minute left in teh second period. Hill got a goal to make it 2-1 after two periods and then blew it open in the third. Great showing by the Pioneer JV, which is down a bit this year.

[AlterEagle]

The crowd was disappointing. Granted, it was an 8:00 start and a good drive from EP on a weeknight. But even at that I expected a better turnout for #1 vs. #4.

why would we drive out to the east side when we can watch it on MYFOXHOCKEY!... love that site...

[Hockeydad1893]

Score of the HM/EP JV game?

It was a very good game for the first 2 periods, with EP looking like the better team until the 3rd period where their defense and goaltending fell apart, resulting in a 6 goal period for hill.

[HockeyMN1]

You can't expect EP students to drive out to Aldrich on a Thursday 8:00 start. They are always well represented around the southwest metro though.

[FREDFLINTSTONE]

I agree with ESPG's assessment of the game. I did not leave Aldrich disappointed. HM is just a fraction behind the best team in the state right now. Rau, Gerdes & Rath are big time players and better than HM's seniors Bahe, Becker & Bruski but HM's 2nd & 3rd lines are better than EP's. Both goalies were great. Shaughnessy made some big time saves. I thought the atmosphere at Aldrich was good for a weeknight in January. There were probably 1,200 people there. HM does a great job with the PA guy and the music. Paul, who is 80 years old but still has great pipes, and his son do a nice national anthem. Paul is a great guy who has sent a large family of kids and grandkids to HM. He has volunteered at the school for many years. I don't think he misses a single game. I will again defend the HM students. It's a school of only 850 in 6 grades. 90% of the kids play other sports, are in theatre, band, choir, etc. Finals and final projects and papers are due this week. Academics are serious business at HM. I wouldn't be surprised if Erin Herman and Dick Ghizoni ordered the basketball players to go home after practice on the night before big games against Tartan. There was still a student section of 40 or so. 60 if you count the JV players. HM always has a large following of parents, alums & "old guys". By the way HM boys beat previously undefeated Tartan by 1 on a tip in at the buzzer last night. I was there too. It was a heart stopper.

You said Hills 2nd and 3rd lines were better than EP's, but the second EP goal was scored by a combination of the 2nd and 3rd lines.

[54fighting]

Hill should be deeper than EP, but they aren't. EP's first line was much better than Hill's but you could not say that about Hill's 2nd and 3rd lines. If they were better than EP's it was not by much. The difference is the D. EP's D were much better than Hill's.
Hill Murray has 11 kids on the roster that at some point have made it to NY in the USA advanced program plus another that was an alternate. No other program comes close. Still they are just a good team, not a great team. They should be better than they are. We will see if they get there.

[HockeyMN1]

Hill should be deeper than EP, but they aren't. EP's first line was much better than Hill's but you could not say that about Hill's 2nd and 3rd lines. If they were better than EP's it was not by much. The difference is the D. EP's D were much better than Hill's.
Hill Murray has 11 kids on the roster that at some point have made it to NY in the USA advanced program plus another that was an alternate. No other program comes close. Still they are just a good team, not a great team. They should be better than they are. We will see if they get there.

It's like the gophers. They have 20 draftees but finish fourth or fifth in the WCHA every year.

[Pioneerprideguy]

Hill should be deeper than EP, but they aren't. EP's first line was much better than Hill's but you could not say that about Hill's 2nd and 3rd lines. If they were better than EP's it was not by much. The difference is the D. EP's D were much better than Hill's.
Hill Murray has 11 kids on the roster that at some point have made it to NY in the USA advanced program plus another that was an alternate. No other program comes close. Still they are just a good team, not a great team. They should be better than they are. We will see if they get there.

It's like saying a kid played on a AAA team during the off-season. These kids may not be the best kids, but their parents were willing to pay the money for the kid to participate. These "11" kids are not the best kids for their age group, but good enough to participate and their parents opted to pay for the experience. Hill's roster is not full of a bunch of superstar hockey players that are gonna be hounded by D1 scouts. Their strength is that their "bottom" is still strong and not a liability. There are no great teams any more, but several very good teams, and HM is one of them.

[54fighting]

USA hockey's program is not the same a AAA hockey. The players chosen are all top level kids. Are they all top 10 kids? No, but they are in the 10% or so. Money does not play much of a part. Anyway, if a program has that much talent they should be able to do better than just compete with other upper tier teams. They should beat them once in a while. I am not a Hill basher and the season is still young. It will be interesting to see if they can take the next step.

[BodyShots]

USA hockey's program is not the same a AAA hockey. The players chosen are all top level kids. Are they all top 10 kids? No, but they are in the 10% or so. Money does not play much of a part. Anyway, if a program has that much talent they should be able to do better than just compete with other upper tier teams. They should beat them once in a while. I am not a Hill basher and the season is still young. It will be interesting to see if they can take the next step.

Help, I've fallen and can't get up....

[FREDFLINTSTONE]

Fellas,

Don't put too much stock in one "very close" game. It could have went either way. Hill is a very good hockey team that someone will have to deal with in the state tournament.