Section 3A

[Gino87]

Okay, so what happens when one of the big three plays Luverne or Windom and lose.. then do you think they will add them to the schedule? Why are you ranking Litch above Luverne still? Litch has lost ten straight.. Luverne has lost three all year, but i know that Litch plays a tougher schedule but my goodness these games aren't even good games that Litch is playing.

[TheSiouxSuck]

Okay, so what happens when one of the big three plays Luverne or Windom and lose.. then do you think they will add them to the schedule? Why are you ranking Litch above Luverne still? Litch has lost ten straight.. Luverne has lost three all year, but i know that Litch plays a tougher schedule but my goodness these games aren't even good games that Litch is playing.

Highly unlikely. It's been mentioned that most of these teams dont even have enough kids to field a JV team. That means 2 things; their depth is garbage and its a wasteful trip for the opposing school as a whole for their varsity to travel while their jv sits at home and twiddle's their thumbs? Schedule another team for the JV to play? So instead of traveling to competitive school and scheduling one block of icetime and taking one bus, they now need to schedule two games at two different locations so both JV and varsity can get a game?

It just doesnt make any logical sense.

[Grocery_Stick]

obviously everyone from the big 3 are against playing the bottom half of the section because it leaves room for an upset. Why wouldnt they be completely against a chance of being upset and losing their top seed?

[Cujo]

Some people just dont get it. Hutch, Litch, and NU arent afraid of upsets. These teams arent willing to sacrafice a game against a good team and closer to home, to drive about an hour to two hours away for a game against the bottom half of the section. Like said previously busing isint cheap and most of those teams dont have JV teams and most schools are short on cash.
And it doesnt make sense.. Look at whose gone to state in the last four years (NU x2, Hutch, Litch) and they make it there because of the games they play to prepare them for section playoffs. All three of those teams havent got upset in playoffs either. The last "upset" if you can call it that was when Luverne beat Redwood, and then Luverne got blown out of the water by New Ulm. I just think that the bottom five teams need to upset someone in playoffs to earn some respect. Dont talk on here about getting respect, just go out and show why you DESERVE it!!

I do feel sorry for Marshall, Bettman. Id be nice to see Marshall get out of that conference and go into the independent pool where you can basically make your own schedule. You'd have to drive a little further but you could schedule a lot better games. I think thats what it will take for Marshall to make an appearence to the tourny

[Section 3A HockeyScout]

Some people just dont get it. Hutch, Litch, and NU arent afraid of upsets. These teams arent willing to sacrafice a game against a good team and closer to home, to drive about an hour to two hours away for a game against the bottom half of the section. Like said previously busing isint cheap and most of those teams dont have JV teams and most schools are short on cash.
And it doesnt make sense.. Look at whose gone to state in the last four years (NU x2, Hutch, Litch) and they make it there because of the games they play to prepare them for section playoffs. All three of those teams havent got upset in playoffs either. The last "upset" if you can call it that was when Luverne beat Redwood, and then Luverne got blown out of the water by New Ulm. I just think that the bottom five teams need to upset someone in playoffs to earn some respect. Dont talk on here about getting respect, just go out and show why you DESERVE it!!

I do feel sorry for Marshall, Bettman. Id be nice to see Marshall get out of that conference and go into the independent pool where you can basically make your own schedule. You'd have to drive a little further but you could schedule a lot better games. I think thats what it will take for Marshall to make an appearence to the tourny

Good Post Cujo.

However, even Bettman will tell you that in a few years here Marshall will be happy to be in the SWC as there talent level really drops off. I mean How many more campion's are left to keep saving this program

Like you said if you want them to play you have to beat them when it counts in the Playoffs. Marshall did that years ago in the old Section 1A that is why they get those games.

The JV comment makes sense also of the bottom 5 programs it looks like only Luverne has JV. Heard Redwood Valley is short on numbers and had to drop their JV this year.

But lets get back to hockey now is when teams need to start playing their best Playoffs will be here before you know it.

The Darkhouse right now is Windom... They are getting better and better Coach of the Year Ammerman is working wonders in Windom!

[Gino87]

correct me in a little over a month if I'm wrong, but I'd bet that none of the "Big 3" go to the X this year...

[theoldref]

As someone who has watched most of these teams for years I can honestly say that New Ulm, Hutch and Litch have no reason to play any of the lower teams in this section other than Marshall. The only thing these teams have going for them is that it would make seeding easier. JV is a huge part of scheduling and none of the teams other than Marshall normally have a JV team. I know as someone who has been around this section for a long time that coaches in some of these southwest conference towns have had battles with there associations over the question of JV. Steve Clark tried to have a JV team in Windom for years and the association refused, and then had a Bantam "B" team on top of that. Ammerman isn't doing bad this year, but he's certainly not working wonders, that team hasn't won a game this year that they shouldn't have and they lost and tied games that they should have won (fairmont, worthington). They get a chance to redeem themselves against worthington tonight. Last year windom was down because of a large class of seniors that graduated the year before, but they graduated nobody last year and the rest of the section did. Windom should be better this year than they were last year, simple as that. Luverne has a JV team and is consistently playing "A" hockey throughout its association, they will continue to improve. Marshall has a drop in talent, but will continue to be the team to beat in the southwest conference. Worthington struggles every year because of a lack of a JV team and the lower levels consistently playing 'B' hockey. This section is by far the worst it has been since it was formed and on any given night the top 6 teams would be able to give eachother a good game. Until the southwest conference teams commit there associations to more competitive hockey at the lower levels and start to get JV teams then they don't necessarily deserve to play the top 3 even though this year is a down year for them.

[Chalk_Talk]

Here is why Luverne should be on Hutch, Litch, and NU schedules next year and there after if Luverne wants to.

Bantam "A" Rankings
#70 New Ulm
#80 Luverne
#93 Hutch
#95 Litch
Marshall No bantam A?

Peewee "A" Rankings
#58 Luverne
#94 Hutch
#97 New Ulm
#104 Litch

http://mnhockeyrankings.com/

Yes, Luverne is a drive from Hutch and Litch, they do field a JV team, they are in the same section, and it would be a close game. Maybe Luverne needs to bite the bullet the first year and make a weekend trip to play Hutch and Litch on a Fri and Sat. NU on the other hand there is no reason they shouldn't be playing. In a couple of years Luverne might not want to be puting some of these teams on their schedule?

Just my two cents, some of the other "BOTTOM" teams are a different story.

[theoldref]

Here is why Luverne should be on Hutch, Litch, and NU schedules next year and there after if Luverne wants to.

Bantam "A" Rankings
#70 New Ulm
#80 Luverne
#93 Hutch
#95 Litch
Marshall No bantam A?

Peewee "A" Rankings
#58 Luverne
#94 Hutch
#97 New Ulm
#104 Litch

http://mnhockeyrankings.com/

Yes, Luverne is a drive from Hutch and Litch, they do field a JV team, they are in the same section, and it would be a close game. Maybe Luverne needs to bite the bullet the first year and make a weekend trip to play Hutch and Litch on a Fri and Sat. NU on the other hand there is no reason they shouldn't be playing. In a couple of years Luverne might not want to be puting some of these teams on their schedule?

Just my two cents, some of the other "BOTTOM" teams are a different story.

I totally agree with having these teams putting Luverne on the schedule if they continue to field a JV team!! I don't mean bottom in a derogatory way i'm sorry if it came off that way. New Ulm had windom on there schedule for a couple years when they had a JV team and they alternated where the game was played each year and that worked quite well, until windom got rid of its JV team and committed its entire association to 'B' hockey. Luverne has a good argument and if they stay committed to JV and "A" hockey then they deserve to be on Hutch, Litch, and New Ulm's schedule.

[Section 3A HockeyScout]

Here is why Luverne should be on Hutch, Litch, and NU schedules next year and there after if Luverne wants to.

Bantam "A" Rankings
#70 New Ulm
#80 Luverne
#93 Hutch
#95 Litch
Marshall No bantam A?

Peewee "A" Rankings
#58 Luverne
#94 Hutch
#97 New Ulm
#104 Litch

http://mnhockeyrankings.com/

Yes, Luverne is a drive from Hutch and Litch, they do field a JV team, they are in the same section, and it would be a close game. Maybe Luverne needs to bite the bullet the first year and make a weekend trip to play Hutch and Litch on a Fri and Sat. NU on the other hand there is no reason they shouldn't be playing. In a couple of years Luverne might not want to be puting some of these teams on their schedule?

Just my two cents, some of the other "BOTTOM" teams are a different story.

Marshall is #100 in "A" Pee Wees... That was what I was hinting at about the Marshall youth program is coming on some very "lean" year's in terms of talent.

Ohh my this is a ticking time bomb... Bender will be on here soon enough don't give Luverne any credit..... He is going to flip out!

I have watched the Youth Luverne has a couple dynamite players coming up... However, THIS year they are the 5th or 6th best team in the Section. However, Playing "A" hockey will pay off in the long run.

Lets be honest this Section comes down to 3 teams its New Ulm's to lose and I think Hutch and Marshall have a chance if they play their A game.... Everybody else really doesn't have a shot this year.

[theoldref]

I don't see the problem in giving Luverne credit. There program has made big strides in recent years and it will pay off in the future just as 3A HockeyScout said. To refute that fact is obviously complete ignorance. If Luverne continues to play A hockey and continues to have a JV team they will continue to improve at the high school level and in the lower levels. I agree that this section does come down to the usual top 3 and Marshall, but I would not be surprised if an upset occurs in the playoffs this year because of the overall weakness of the top 3.

[TheSiouxSuck]

Whats going to hinder Luverne in the long run is their location. They can chose to field an "A" team all they want. The problem is that no one else even remotely close to them aside from Sioux Falls does. Unless they're going to start upping the travel bill for youth hockey a ton, those youth teams that chose to play arent going to improve because frankly, their isnt anyone within a reasonable driving distance worth playing.

[theoldref]

Whats going to hinder Luverne in the long run is their location. They can chose to field an "A" team all they want. The problem is that no one else even remotely close to them aside from Sioux Falls does. Unless they're going to start upping the travel bill for youth hockey a ton, those youth teams that chose to play arent going to improve because frankly, their isnt anyone within a reasonable driving distance worth playing.

That's not necessarily true because all of Luverne's 'A' hockey teams play in District 9 against teams like New Ulm, Austin, Owatonna, Albert Lea etc. instead of playing 'B' hockey in district 4 against Marshall, Windom, Worthington etc. And currently Luverne's Pewee 'A' team is leading the west division in district 9 so apparently they are paying for that travel bill and are going farther distances to play competitive hockey at the lower levels, and that is exactly what it takes. Southwest Minnesota is only going to get worse at if they continue to play 'B' hockey against eachother and isolate themselves from the rest. District 4 which includes windom, worthington, marshall, redwood, and fairmont is currently a 'b' hockey only district, that isn't helping any of these associations.

[Section 3A HockeyScout]

Anybody that knows anything about southwest MN hockey knows that Luverne is in district 9 for "A" Pee Wees & Bantams. They play Albert Lea, Owatonna, Mankato, Northfield, Red Wing, Rochester, New Ulm etc... Redwood and Marshall play "A" hockey for Pee Wee ONLY in District 5 against Hutch, Willmar, Litch, St Cloud, STMA, Buffalo etc. These programs are making the travel and you will see it pay off for them in the future.

This will help those teams in the long run. You will continue to see the other programs in Southwest MN fall behind.

That being said lets get back to high school puck

Scores from Section 3A (1/24/12)
Marshall 3 Redwood Valley 2 OT
Windom 8 Worthington 6
St Cloud Cathedral 7 Litch 2
Waconia 4 Hutch 2

[Gino87]

I took the drive to Worthington last night to see Windom play them. Windom came out slow... their goalie looked awful... backup possibly?? it was tied 2-2 after one. Bunch of penalties in the 2nd windom took advantage and the final score after 2 was 7-2.. windom scored 5 seconds into the 3rd.. up 8-2. and they just played safe it looked or they almost gave up.. and their goalie didnt come to play a wrap around goal and a shot from the bottom of the circle.. if that is the starter they are doomed.. but very nice job of worthington staying with them in the third.... what happened with marshall?? come on bettman be honest this time. no excuses.. if #7 really controls a game he shouldve scored 4 goals and it wouldn't of been in OT.. Redwood is awful

[timcorbin21]

Theres no easy solution for whats going on in SW MN. There doesnt seem to be enough players to field both bantam a, and jv teams. Personally I think the kids are better playing 2 years of bantam and 3 years of jv varsity. I think New Ulm proved that over the last 2 years. Additionally its hard for coaches in the SW to attract the better athletes away from basketball. redwood, worthington, marhsall all do just fine in bb.
Gino87 may be right about Redwood but is Marshall much better. Redwoods goalie had a good night but marshall was more lucky than good. again.

[dangle snipe n' celly]

Theres no easy solution for whats going on in SW MN. There doesnt seem to be enough players to field both bantam a, and jv teams. Personally I think the kids are better playing 2 years of bantam and 3 years of jv varsity. I think New Ulm proved that over the last 2 years. Additionally its hard for coaches in the SW to attract the better athletes away from basketball. redwood, worthington, marhsall all do just fine in bb.
Gino87 may be right about Redwood but is Marshall much better. Redwoods goalie had a good night but marshall was more lucky than good. again.

Shots 57-19 is not lucky. Marshall dominated the whole game, just didn't score. How would you describe that game as lucky?

[timcorbin21]

your right, marshall taking 57 shots to redwoods 19 isnt lucky its poor shooting. marhsall has taken more shots than anyone in their conference except for luverne and has a lower sog% than everyone except for worthington. If a team as young and as small as Redwood can take you to overtime and you still manage to win your lucky. if the score was 14 to 0 you dominated

[dangle snipe n' celly]

your right, marshall taking 57 shots to redwoods 19 isnt lucky its poor shooting. marhsall has taken more shots than anyone in their conference except for luverne and has a lower sog% than everyone except for worthington. If a team as young and as small as Redwood can take you to overtime and you still manage to win your lucky. if the score was 14 to 0 you dominated

so how come when marshall beat new ulm 2 years ago twice in one year. everyone said that new ulm "dominated" the game and marshall got lucky? yeah they probably did but if new ulm "dominated" the game why did marshall win? just saying.

[theoldref]

It doesn't matter if Marshall dominated the game or if the game was played pretty evenly, Marshall won the game. Marshall got 2 more points in conference play and another win and Redwood didn't it's simple as that. Marshall did probably dominate the game in many respects though, it's hard to out shoot a team by over 30 shots and not have dominated. Redwood's goalie isn't that bad. It was probably a combination of him playing really well and Marshall missing the mark a lot, but they hit it enough to game and in the end that's all that matters.

[ImRonBurgundy69]

ive tried to keep quiet lately but im going to have to say, all these posts regarding marshall are true. yes theyve won games, but OT with redwood and into the 3rd tied with windom? yes windom seems to be on the rise but the "tigers" have been looking like some scared kitties lately. as for the rest. Luverne is my favorite to visit the X this year, strong team and goaltender. id like to see hutch, litch, and new ulm go down for a few games against windom, fairmont, and worthington just to see how it pans out. the "big boys" seem scared

[Grocery_Stick]

redwood has stuck with two of the better teams two games in a row, i know they have lost 14 straight but it seems like they are trying to come into sections with some steam behind them.

[Observer33]

Regardless of who the best team is in 3A, I would like to suggest that players let their play speak for itself. Too many athletes on here talking up their school. I don't see Edina, Eden Prairie, Wayzata, WBL, Roseau, Moorhead, etc......on here posting about who is better than the other.

If some of you spent as much time working on your game as you did talking about it online you would be much better players.

[Chalk_Talk]

Regardless of who the best team is in 3A, I would like to suggest that players let their play speak for itself. Too many athletes on here talking up their school. I don't see Edina, Eden Prairie, Wayzata, WBL, Roseau, Moorhead, etc......on here posting about who is better than the other.

If some of you spent as much time working on your game as you did talking about it online you would be much better players.

Welcome to the board observer33.

I just did a brief scan up on this page, and from what I can tell there is maybe one player on here talking about his team (on this page), I could be wrong. The reason you don't see Edina, EP, Way, WBL, Rose, Moorhead talking about who is better is because they are NOT in the same section or geograpical region of the state, so they don't really care. Look in march when these teams are in the tourny, I bet you see it then. I agree with you, if you talk the talk you better beable to walk the walk.

[Section 3A HockeyScout]

Scores From Section 3A
St Peter 7 Redwood Valley 2
Waseca 4 Fairmont 1

Conflicting reports on the Luverne vs Worthington Score:
Follow the puck Luverne 6 Worthington 1
Hockey Hub Luverne 5 Worthington 1

Either way looks like Luverne continues to struggle maybe there kids and fans should quit talking about how great they and their youth program is on this board and worry about fixing their game.

Thought they learned last year I guess not.... Other note Windom handled St Peter on Saturday... St Peter dominated Redwood tonight... Redwood gave both Luverne and Marshall a run for their money.... I think Windom might be the 4 seed as we move forward...

just some thoughts