#1 Duluth East vs Lakeville South 3/8 @ 6PM

[Sats81]

Sats 81........ummm Lakeville SOUTH played last night.........and stand by my statement concerning the North/South game. Schoemacher played a great game last night for South!

Oh, they did? So LN lost the section final bc of their goalie hah? Had nothing to do with their slow, undisciplined defenseman and unmotivated play by their forwards hah? Yeah, good call, blame it all on the goalie man!

You didn't have a "dog in that fight" did ya nahc?

[RickyTicky]

Definitely agree hockey1504.. DE looked very frustrated entering the offensive zone and when the would dump and chase LS had a very good and quick break out before DE's hard fore-check could reek havoc. The only good offensive oppurtunities seem to come when they would float someone in the middle of the rink between the D's for a semi break away but the LS D's did make some good recoveries. I was very surprised and impressed with the South boys last night, I thought they may be nervous and tenative playing at state for the first time for all of them and thought they may run around and lose focus but they put together the best overall game I have seen them play this year and really did look like the better team last night. Line 1 played great as usual but I give line 2 and 3 big props for stepping up and playing great.. I think they showed they are much more than just a one man show

[xy]

Undermentioned note about this game:

Joe Freemark is very good. For all that had never been able to see him play I hope you understand now why some of us on this forum rave about him. He was the best player on the ice last night. His ability to be a one man breakout reminds me of the days of Jordan Leopold and Keith Ballard for the gophers. If he were just 3 inches taller he wouldn't be able to keep the colleges away.

Lets not get too carried away here. While Freemark played a great game last night, comparing him to 2 former All-Americans and longtime NHL d-men is a little much.

To be fair here, I think he was comparing Freemark's impact in high school games to what those guys did in college games (he acknowledged that Freemark due to size isn't considered a Division I prospect, which I think shows he isn't comparing him to those two in terms of future potential). And if you frame it that way I don't think he's overstating the case at all; Freemark may have been just as important to South as Kloos last night and in the 1AA final. Just watch how much time he's on the ice, how often it's against the other team's top line, and how often he's the one who gets the puck and gets it out of the zone when it looks like the other team is going to apply pressure.

[Sats81]

Undermentioned note about this game:

Joe Freemark is very good. For all that had never been able to see him play I hope you understand now why some of us on this forum rave about him. He was the best player on the ice last night. His ability to be a one man breakout reminds me of the days of Jordan Leopold and Keith Ballard for the gophers. If he were just 3 inches taller he wouldn't be able to keep the colleges away.

Lets not get too carried away here. While Freemark played a great game last night, comparing him to 2 former All-Americans and longtime NHL d-men is a little much.

To be fair here, I think he was comparing Freemark's impact in high school games to what those guys did in college games (he acknowledged that Freemark due to size isn't considered a Division I prospect, which I think shows he isn't comparing him to those two in terms of future potential). And if you frame it that way I don't think he's overstating the case at all; Freemark may have been just as important to South as Kloos last night and in the 1AA final. Just watch how much time he's on the ice, how often it's against the other team's top line, and how often he's the one who gets the puck and gets it out of the zone when it looks like the other team is going to apply pressure.

Got ya. I think Freemark will be a very solid d-3 d-man. A few more inches would help his case. The Brevig kid was better for LS last yr IMO, and I believe he is somewhere in the USHL.

[xy]

I've heard, third- or fourth-hand, that he's a really good student who wants to go to a bigger school (Madison or the U) and get on with his life, rather than play junior, which seems to be a prerequisite to play even in the MIAC these days. So I'm not sure how much more hockey he'll play.

[Nostalgic Nerd]

Ow this loss really hurts. Especially knowing the team we had. And especially, knowing that east is going to be awful these next few years.

I don't think East will ever get over this loss (unless they win another championship).

[east hockey]

Ow this loss really hurts. Especially knowing the team we had. And especially, knowing that east is going to be awful these next few years.

I don't think East will ever get over this loss (unless they win another championship).

"Ever" is a long time. I think it will affect them next year. Two questions will be a) does Mike come back as head coach? and b) who leaves early? They'll be pretty strong if everyone comes back, but could still be an underdog to repeat as section champs. My early section pick is Andover.

This was the best chance they'll have for some time unless some new talent moves in. Not much coming up through the youth ranks.

Lee

[keepyourheadup]

Sats I respect your opinion on Freemark but while Brevig had the high end offensive skill set he didn't defend nearly as well as Joe even last year. Brevig is in Sioux falls now and from what I've heard has really improved in this area. He was allowed to basically be a rover in high school and while it looked good on the score sheet it didn't help him learn his position.

Freemark has been nothing short of phenomenal the past month and it was nice to hear Lou talk him up during the game, The kid deserves a lot more credit for South's success than he gets.

[Defensive Zone]

Allstatebender, Superstar, 21Swagger, Orty, pucku126 and Sats81: Thats why they play the game. Duluth East has a very good team but TONIGHT, Lakeville South WAS the better team! Schumacher played a great game in net, the defense on the whole played VERY well and Kloos, Harvey, Lauderdale, Witalaa, Doeden, Freemark, Heller, and the rest of the team raised their level of play. South has been a strong team all year long.......to date, Section 1AA has lost 1 state tourney game in the last 2 years. Not sure any other section can make that statement but am sure this fact will certainly be checked ad nauseum...! This was one of the most entertaining games so far this year. Duluth East, again has a very good team. East is deep, well coached, and the kids have a ton of heart. Am just glad this game wasn't decided by a flukey type goal, ie bouncing off a skate, goalie falls down, etc.. The Hounds will still be heard from in this tourney and I would NOT want to play this team tomorrow......and of course the Hounds will be back in the hunt next year....!!!!

I disagree. I think East just fizzles out tomorrow. Karl and Lee made the great point that this team just has not been firing on all cylinders since the playoffs began. They have not shown the fire they displayed earlier this year, and certainly not what we saw at State last year.

Can you say Arrogant. Let’s give credit where credit is due! Nice job South.

[hockeyhockeyhockey]

2-1 Lakeville in a bit of a shocker

was there even a doubt in this one??

[Maple Grove Crimson#1]

wow...What a choke job by the seeded teams. This tourney went from being one of the best in years to a snoozer. IMHO..... Let's go BSM or Edina.

bitter Maple Grove fan right here folks

This can Happen in a 1 game format. If you dont bring your a game and the other team does its nighty night and thats what happend to Grove and East. congrats to Lakeville South and Hill for playing very good Hockey, they both deserved to win.

[mnmouth]

Allstatebender, Superstar, 21Swagger, Orty, pucku126 and Sats81: Thats why they play the game. Duluth East has a very good team but TONIGHT, Lakeville South WAS the better team! Schumacher played a great game in net, the defense on the whole played VERY well and Kloos, Harvey, Lauderdale, Witalaa, Doeden, Freemark, Heller, and the rest of the team raised their level of play. South has been a strong team all year long.......to date, Section 1AA has lost 1 state tourney game in the last 2 years. Not sure any other section can make that statement but am sure this fact will certainly be checked ad nauseum...! This was one of the most entertaining games so far this year. Duluth East, again has a very good team. East is deep, well coached, and the kids have a ton of heart. Am just glad this game wasn't decided by a flukey type goal, ie bouncing off a skate, goalie falls down, etc.. The Hounds will still be heard from in this tourney and I would NOT want to play this team tomorrow......and of course the Hounds will be back in the hunt next year....!!!!

I disagree. I think East just fizzles out tomorrow. Karl and Lee made the great point that this team just has not been firing on all cylinders since the playoffs began. They have not shown the fire they displayed earlier this year, and certainly not what we saw at State last year.

Can you say Arrogant. Let’s give credit where credit is due! Nice job South.

I gave credit where credit is due in multiple areas on this thread. Pay attention, dude. Arrogance has nothing to do with the truth - the East team we saw last year at state did not show up, and it very well could have been because South did show up.

[goldy313]

I still think the stigma of playing a team from section 1 hurt East.

Fwiw, since 2007 the section Blaine/Maple Grove has represented has the worst win loss percentage of any AA section including 1AA, posting only 3 wins in that time span while 1AA now has 5.

[xy]

"I still think the stigma of playing a team from section 1 hurt East."

If, as I hope, that was sarcasm, it's actually pretty funny.

If not, I guess stigma = Freemark, Kloos, Harvey, Lauderdale, Wiitala, Schumacher, Heller, and Doeden. It might or might not happen again if they played ten more times, but East got flat outplayed last night; not because of some stigma, but because South's players played a better and smarter game. If they weren't ready to play the opening game of the state tournament mentally because they took a team lightly (and I have no idea if that is true, by the way), that reflects on a team just as much as physical and mental mistakes during a game would.

[shoottowin]

Sats 81........ummm Lakeville SOUTH played last night.........and stand by my statement concerning the North/South game. Schoemacher played a great game last night for South!

Oh, they did? So LN lost the section final bc of their goalie hah? Had nothing to do with their slow, undisciplined defenseman and unmotivated play by their forwards hah? Yeah, good call, blame it all on the goalie man!

You didn't have a "dog in that fight" did ya nahc?

We are all in agreement that South had a great game - the entire team, and deserve to be where they are. However, nahc - what game were you at when North vs. South for the 1AA championship, and why do you keep harping on this? Let it go. The goalie didn't have his best game, but the offense and especially defense played just as bad, if not worse. Making a goalie the scapegoat for a loss shows how little you know about sportsmanship and team bonding. Go back and read a post by Hockydog62 on the LN vs LS 1AA thread - pretty much sums it up.

This is turning out to be one of the best tournaments I've seen - congrats to all the kids involved for some great entertainment this weekend!

[goldy313]

"I still think the stigma of playing a team from section 1 hurt East."

If, as I hope, that was sarcasm, it's actually pretty funny.

If not, I guess stigma = Freemark, Kloos, Harvey, Lauderdale, Wiitala, Schumacher, Heller, and Doeden. It might or might not happen again if they played ten more times, but East got flat outplayed last night; not because of some stigma, but because South's players played a better and smarter game. If they weren't ready to play the opening game of the state tournament mentally because they took a team lightly (and I have no idea if that is true, by the way), that reflects on a team just as much as physical and mental mistakes during a game would.

I wish it was sarcasm but when kid scores early in the game then does a clearly preplanned celebration combination of Tebowing and the Cam Newton Superman deal and the coach does nothing about it, it's pretty easy to say they took South lightly.

That's without even mentioning how Randolph gave South almost no credit.

[keepyourheadup]

I just don't buy it, the take them lightly thing. These teams had been on the rink together at the beginning of the year and if you witnessed that scrimmage you would have seen something eerily similar to last nights game. East was all over south the first 10 minutes that day but about half way through south started to take over. I couldn't believe it then and I'm still trying to process what happened last night. I am sure, however, that East new that this team could skate with them. Just like the scrimmage east seemed to be frustrated with souths speed, how many times did south track down an east guy on breakaways? Sometimes two teams match up better than you think they should and I think thats the case here.

[luvuvgame]

Ow this loss really hurts. Especially knowing the team we had. And especially, knowing that east is going to be awful these next few years.

I don't think East will ever get over this loss (unless they win another championship).

"Ever" is a long time. I think it will affect them next year. Two questions will be a) does Mike come back as head coach? and b) who leaves early? They'll be pretty strong if everyone comes back, but could still be an underdog to repeat as section champs. My early section pick is Andover.

This was the best chance they'll have for some time unless some new talent moves in. Not much coming up through the youth ranks.

Lee

A. Mike comes back. Jake won't be playing EVERYDAY and what else is he going to do all winter?? He will have a good team and he still has to teach so there is no doubt in my mind he'll be back at the helm...and he should be.

B. No one will leave after this year. I'm sure some will talk about it, some will even threaten it but when the dust settles everyone will be back in place. I think the Hounds will be a fun team to watch next year!

After that I think there are going to be some leaner years compared to what this last four years but there are some good players in the youth program. A lot of players Mike could have a lot of success with coaching his style.

[EHSHack]

Got back from the Tourney last night. My thoughts.

Wow. Just wow. I really thought with the supposedly strong leaders on this team East would not pull an all familiar choke session. Say what you want about how they won the Consolation Game, but they were flat out embarrassing. You would think at some point someone would have to say "Ok guys we should probably start back checking. Also lets play some defense" but it never happened. They looked slow, lazy, and that Tebow celly was just stupid. Maybe if you score to go up by 3 you can do that but now its just Hanowski esque, i.e. kinda funny except for the part where you lost.

I do not understand how you do not come out pumped up and excited for this game. The dream team. The team Randolph has had picked out for 10 years. Send Rand out on top. Avenge last years loss. Do it for Rachel. But yet they played like it was some throw away game up in Rochester.

They had no hustle AT ALL. I dont know how many times Kloos and company basically walked into the East zone like they had a VIP pass card. I have never seen an East team (Trevor Olson in particular) get knocked off of the puck so much. Every time they would get a scoring chance they would get knocked off the puck or have it poke checked away. They would consistently bring the puck up the side boards only to get pinched by a defenseman, dump it it, and lose the race to the puck leading to a quick breakout by LS. Credit to LS they absolutely clogged up the middle and allowed East nothing. At what point does someone throw a chair or cooler and flip out and get the guys going?! Three periods of awful uninspired hockey by East FOR THE MOST PART. Credit to LS for shutting down the #1 PP in the State. That was huge.

This was not the East team I watched all year. If LS doesn't get snake-bit by pipes and the ilk that game is easily 8-1.

Seemed like the grinder line was out alot against LS top line. Maybe thats just me.

3 out of 4 years East has disappointed at State. First in 2009 with Cooper allowing 4 goals on 9 shots with East's best D core since the 90's. Then in 2010 with Schendel falling while clearing the puck leading to a HM goal and a blown 2-0 lead of a game they were dominating. This year you cannot even say they choked. Choking is losing a close game. This one was never even close.

I dont know what happened but towards the end of the year East never really looked as dominant as they had.

My angst aside, I am pretty proud of this senior class.

Dom Toninato- I will always remember his backhanded snipe over the HM goalie in 2010 State Quarterfinals. Dom is a solid player and I am excited to see him excel with the Bulldogs.

Jake Randolph- I had maintained all along that he was an incredible stick handler, even while people bashed him for being the coaches kid. He has to be one of the biggest play makers I have seen at East. Not a bad shot either Wish him the best of luck at a UNO program that I could see becoming a NCAA Tournament regular over the next few years.

Trevor Olson- Might be the best pure goal scorer out of the big 3. Hard shot, accurate wrister, and rarely saw a kid hit him and not fall down. I think he might be a good pickup for the Bulldogs if he proves he can stay healthy. I was sitting behind a Quinnipac scout who had him marked pretty highly as well.

Nate Repensky- I still remember hearing about him coming up through the ranks and how big of a stud he was going to be. Turns out the rumors didn't lie. Repensky was a fantastic defenseman with a hard shot and its too bad he was hurt this year. Would have been interesting seeing Repensky and Welinski together last year... He has no offers as of yet but I think in due time they will come.