Grocery_Stick wrote:Alright another season is right around the corner, and we are looking at some BIG changes in the section this year.
1. Luvurne - Returning a huge amount of raw talent. key word is RAW, high power offense, solid defense, and I believe this is the tender's third year starting? Luvurne should be looking a great season.
2. New Ulm - Having a down year. Tough to replace an all-star like Brody Peterson. Kid put up big stats but never failed to show an even bigger ego. Bringing back Wyatt Peterson, and Blake Neumann is big for this team. They are looking at a down year, but can never be counted out.
3. Hutchinson - Hutch is another team that can never be counted out. Bringing back some good talent up front but still not too convinced by the defense or goalie. Hutch should be very competitive with the top teams in the section.
4. LDC - Litch is coming of a huge disappointment of a season. It would be hard for them to do worse than what they did last year. Bringing some talent back home from up north should be huge in helping them out, but like hutch not the best goalies. This team should be looking much better than they did last year in a down section.
5. Marshall - The Tigers lost huge talent from last year. Lost some strong forwards, and if I'm correct (not 100% positive) they also lost all of their d-men. With a different coach and lacking the wall of defense they have shown in the past in front of the net, Tigers will have a down year with a tender that is barely past shaky in the net.
6. Windom - Windom looked very good last season and can hopefully build on it for a strong season this year. Personally, I feel that Windom and Redwood are neck and neck but neither will be strong contenders with the top five. Returning an okay goalie and Janssen up front, windom could have a great year. Should be interesting to see what Janssen can do without teams focusing on the other two all-stars.
7. Redwood Valley - Horrible season last year. only won a couple of games and just plain couldn't keep up with the competition. Redwood should be able to improve this season, bringing back Kretsch up front and Ortega and Sandgren on D, they are looking to attempt to make a name for themselves. This team has a huge question mark in the net. A Huge factor for this team will be Jacob Prouty, started hot last season as a freshman and cooled down as the year went on. This team lost a log of the little fire power they had, but with a new coach walking in they have a chance to be a surprise. Besides, they probably pulled foreign kids like almost every other year.
8. Worthington - Played better than most seasons last year, for all its worth. Lost their big goal scorer and a very solid tender, should be the same worthington we've all come to love.
9. Fairmont - Lost 10 guys from last season, looking to be another down year for them, especially compared to last season when won a solid five games
Should be a great season overall, but the section seems like it will have another down year talent-wise. Hoping to see some strong games played and maybe even a few upsets in the playoffs!
i agree completely with a lot of what you said, but the one thing i would have to disagree on is Marshall.. they will not be very good. first off The new "coach" they have is hardly a coach. The guy never played high school hockey, but played in a bar league. his experience is coaching bantams for 2 years at B level in Marshall. no accomplishment there. this guy lacks a lot of coaching skills. however marshall's assistant coach Mike Weiss i believe will be very good. He played College hockey and knows a lot about hockey. hopefully he can offset the "Head Coach" and his lack of experience. Marshall returns 1 D-man and he is a solid D-man,but that is it for them. the other 4 or 5 will be very shaky. The forwards are good. they return Mikel, Zerr, Horvath, Clark, McVey. Not many big names that people will know but i expect Horvath to have an outstanding year as he will be the best forward. and i think everyone underestimates the goalie. Granted Marshall had a really good d-core last year, but you have to have a good goalie too and campion did do a solid job last year. the other goalie however is a different story, barely played last year and was shaky when he played. this year could be different though because the D will be weak and it will make both goalies look bad. if they win any big games it will be by a slim margin. probably 1 goal and because the goalies will have played out of their minds. simple as that.
Plain and simple Marshall will at most get a 5 or 6 seed. at most. i wouldn't be surprised if they lost to Windom this year. will definitely not win the conference.