Undefeated Teams

[HShockeywatcher]

There are 7 undefeated teams left, 4 in AA and 3 in A. All across the board in PageStat, from #1 down to #113 with schedules of varying difficulty.

Edina 6-0
Minnetonka 7-0
Hermantown 4-0
Blaine 4-0-1
East Grand Forks 4-0-1
Tartan 7-0
Windom 5-0

[karl(east)]

I voted for EGF.

I don't really expect it to be a AA team--in fact, I'd be surprised to see any of them last the entire month. Tartan plays Hill this week, and the other three are all in the Schwan Cup Gold together; barring a tie, that takes down at least two of them. And as talented as Edina is, their next six games are probably going to be against top-15 teams. They're good, but I don't know that they're that good.

The Class A teams all have decent prospects. I don't know much about Windom, but if they can survive Luverne tomorrow, they might be able to go a long way. Hermantown's odds at a second straight undefeated regular season are probably pretty low; they're in a holiday tournament with Eagan, and have a bunch of decent teams in early January (Duluth Marshall, Grand Rapids, St. Cloud Cathedral). I don't know about EGF's North Dakota opponents, but they don't really face any serious threats from Minnesota teams until mid-January, when they play Roseau and Moorhead. And this year, I'd say they have a fighting chance against both of those teams. If anyone has a shot at running the table, it's probably the Green Wave.

[starmvp]

Based on both Edina's and Minnetonka's schedules, I don't see them making it all the way through the holiday portion of the season. I am going to go out on a limb and say that Hermantown will be the last team alive. I would say Tartan, but I do not see them beating Hill Murray.

[thorhockey]

I would say Tartan, but I do not see them beating Hill Murray.

The same was said in 2007, 2008, and 2009 when Tartan only lost 2 of the 6 games against its rival neighbor. We shall see.

[starmvp]

I would say Tartan, but I do not see them beating Hill Murray.

The same was said in 2007, 2008, and 2009 when Tartan only lost 2 of the 6 games against its rival neighbor. We shall see.

Don't get me wrong, I love upsets... Indeed we shall see...

[HShockeywatcher]

I voted for EGF.

I don't really expect it to be a AA team--in fact, I'd be surprised to see any of them last the entire month. Tartan plays Hill this week, and the other three are all in the Schwan Cup Gold together; barring a tie, that takes down at least two of them. And as talented as Edina is, their next six games are probably going to be against top-15 teams. They're good, but I don't know that they're that good.

The Class A teams all have decent prospects. I don't know much about Windom, but if they can survive Luverne tomorrow, they might be able to go a long way. Hermantown's odds at a second straight undefeated regular season are probably pretty low; they're in a holiday tournament with Eagan, and have a bunch of decent teams in early January (Duluth Marshall, Grand Rapids, St. Cloud Cathedral). I don't know about EGF's North Dakota opponents, but they don't really face any serious threats from Minnesota teams until mid-January, when they play Roseau and Moorhead. And this year, I'd say they have a fighting chance against both of those teams. If anyone has a shot at running the table, it's probably the Green Wave.

Agreed karl. Didn't want to add my analysis in the intro to the page, but with what I've seen just from the scores of Roseau/Moorhead games thus far, I would say that at this point, the Green Wave have the #1 at state in their hands and it's theirs to lose.

Windom is another interesting story. They recently beat Marshall in OT, who also beat Luverne. The Eagles are in section 3A; if they beat Luverne they would be the leaders in their section and the only game on their schedule that seems to even people losable is against Sartell-St Stephen (and rematches with Marshall/Luverne).
It's awesome to see other small town success stories.

[karl(east)]

I voted for EGF.

I don't really expect it to be a AA team--in fact, I'd be surprised to see any of them last the entire month. Tartan plays Hill this week, and the other three are all in the Schwan Cup Gold together; barring a tie, that takes down at least two of them. And as talented as Edina is, their next six games are probably going to be against top-15 teams. They're good, but I don't know that they're that good.

The Class A teams all have decent prospects. I don't know much about Windom, but if they can survive Luverne tomorrow, they might be able to go a long way. Hermantown's odds at a second straight undefeated regular season are probably pretty low; they're in a holiday tournament with Eagan, and have a bunch of decent teams in early January (Duluth Marshall, Grand Rapids, St. Cloud Cathedral). I don't know about EGF's North Dakota opponents, but they don't really face any serious threats from Minnesota teams until mid-January, when they play Roseau and Moorhead. And this year, I'd say they have a fighting chance against both of those teams. If anyone has a shot at running the table, it's probably the Green Wave.

Agreed karl. Didn't want to add my analysis in the intro to the page, but with what I've seen just from the scores of Roseau/Moorhead games thus far, I would say that at this point, the Green Wave have the #1 at state in their hands and it's theirs to lose.

Windom is another interesting story. They recently beat Marshall in OT, who also beat Luverne. The Eagles are in section 3A; if they beat Luverne they would be the leaders in their section and the only game on their schedule that seems to even people losable is against Sartell-St Stephen (and rematches with Marshall/Luverne).
It's awesome to see other small town success stories.

And then there were six...Luverne beats Windom 6-0.

Also, this is probably a discussion for a different topic, but do you really think the Green Wave would be guaranteed the top seed if they go undefeated and St. Thomas only loses 1-4 games? After last season, I could see STA getting the top seed anyway.

[HShockeywatcher]

And then there were six...Luverne beats Windom 6-0.

Also, this is probably a discussion for a different topic, but do you really think the Green Wave would be guaranteed the top seed if they go undefeated and St. Thomas only loses 1-4 games? After last season, I could see STA getting the top seed anyway.

Looks like Windom likely won't be competing for the section title this year. Good luck to the program this year.

In a word, yes.
Hermantown last year, Little Falls in 2009 and Roseau in 2008 are prime examples; winning matters. I fail to see an undefeated team not being the top seed in either class.

[TTpuckster]

And then there were six...Luverne beats Windom 6-0.

Also, this is probably a discussion for a different topic, but do you really think the Green Wave would be guaranteed the top seed if they go undefeated and St. Thomas only loses 1-4 games? After last season, I could see STA getting the top seed anyway.

Looks like Windom likely won't be competing for the section title this year. Good luck to the program this year.

In a word, yes.
Hermantown last year, Little Falls in 2009 and Roseau in 2008 are prime examples; winning matters. I fail to see an undefeated team not being the top seed in either class.

As much as I would love to see EGF as the #1 seed if they went Undefeated, which is unlikely, I agree with Karl.
STA's schedule is much tougher and that should factor in.

My 2 cents.

[pekyman]

And then there were six...Luverne beats Windom 6-0.

Also, this is probably a discussion for a different topic, but do you really think the Green Wave would be guaranteed the top seed if they go undefeated and St. Thomas only loses 1-4 games? After last season, I could see STA getting the top seed anyway.

Looks like Windom likely won't be competing for the section title this year. Good luck to the program this year.

In a word, yes.
Hermantown last year, Little Falls in 2009 and Roseau in 2008 are prime examples; winning matters. I fail to see an undefeated team not being the top seed in either class.

As much as I would love to see EGF as the #1 seed if they went Undefeated, which is unlikely, I agree with Karl.
STA's schedule is much tougher and that should factor in.

My 2 cents.

Imo, #1 seed is a lock unless the whole Sta team gets the flu for the next 2 months.
An undefeated season would not guarantee EGF the #2 seed unless Herm lost to someone other than Eagan or GR.

It will be interesting to see how this plays out.

My 2 cents…

[HShockeywatcher]

And then there were six...Luverne beats Windom 6-0.

Also, this is probably a discussion for a different topic, but do you really think the Green Wave would be guaranteed the top seed if they go undefeated and St. Thomas only loses 1-4 games? After last season, I could see STA getting the top seed anyway.

Looks like Windom likely won't be competing for the section title this year. Good luck to the program this year.

In a word, yes.
Hermantown last year, Little Falls in 2009 and Roseau in 2008 are prime examples; winning matters. I fail to see an undefeated team not being the top seed in either class.

As much as I would love to see EGF as the #1 seed if they went Undefeated, which is unlikely, I agree with Karl.
STA's schedule is much tougher and that should factor in.

My 2 cents.

So, what is different this year than last year?
Last year St Thomas was the defending champs, didn't lose to a Class A team all year, only had 4 losses and all were to top AA teams, and played a much tougher schedule than anyone in the class, yet they were seeded lower than an undefeated team.

Neither Little Falls nor Roseau were the unanimous best team in the state the years they got the top seed and both plays a relatively weaker schedule.

I could be wrong, but there isn't really precedent for it.
EGF and Hermantown both making it would make for a very interesting seeding.


Side question: Does anyone know how home/away works at state?
The current bracket has the home team being on the top of the bracket. Does that mean in the event both the top seeds make the final, the #2 seed would be the home team?

[TTpuckster]

Looks like Windom likely won't be competing for the section title this year. Good luck to the program this year.

In a word, yes.
Hermantown last year, Little Falls in 2009 and Roseau in 2008 are prime examples; winning matters. I fail to see an undefeated team not being the top seed in either class.

As much as I would love to see EGF as the #1 seed if they went Undefeated, which is unlikely, I agree with Karl.
STA's schedule is much tougher and that should factor in.

My 2 cents.

So, what is different this year than last year?
Last year St Thomas was the defending champs, didn't lose to a Class A team all year, only had 4 losses and all were to top AA teams, and played a much tougher schedule than anyone in the class, yet they were seeded lower than an undefeated team.

Neither Little Falls nor Roseau were the unanimous best team in the state the years they got the top seed and both plays a relatively weaker schedule.

I could be wrong, but there isn't really precedent for it.
EGF and Hermantown both making it would make for a very interesting seeding.


Side question: Does anyone know how home/away works at state?
The current bracket has the home team being on the top of the bracket. Does that mean in the event both the top seeds make the final, the #2 seed would be the home team?

The difference between this year and last year is the lesson learned in Class A last year. The Roseau example is entirely different.

[karl(east)]

So, what is different this year than last year?
Last year St Thomas was the defending champs, didn't lose to a Class A team all year, only had 4 losses and all were to top AA teams, and played a much tougher schedule than anyone in the class, yet they were seeded lower than an undefeated team.

Neither Little Falls nor Roseau were the unanimous best team in the state the years they got the top seed and both plays a relatively weaker schedule.

I could be wrong, but there isn't really precedent for it.
EGF and Hermantown both making it would make for a very interesting seeding.


Side question: Does anyone know how home/away works at state?
The current bracket has the home team being on the top of the bracket. Does that mean in the event both the top seeds make the final, the #2 seed would be the home team?

I would agree with TT in saying that, now that there's a trend of these undefeated teams with weak schedules losing, the coaches might be more inclined to favor a team that played a stronger schedule and lost a handful of games. It's worth noting that all three of the undefeated teams you mentioned lost at State, and really, none of them even came close to winning. Only one made the final, and they got blown out.

To answer your side question, the higher seed is always the "home" team at State. If neither team is seeded, then the team on the top of the bracket becomes the home team.

[HockeyGuy952]

Tonka and Tartan both lose tonight

[karl(east)]

Stillwater 1
Minnetonka 0

Hill-Murray 6
Tartan 0

Denfeld 5
Hermantown 4

Half of the remaining six go down in one night.

Leaving us with:

Edina
Blaine
EGF

[tonkafan77]

Blaine and Edina both in the Schwans Cup. Only one AA team has the chance to be undefeated at the end of 2012. That is assuming Edina gets through this weekend 3-0 which shouldn't be a problem if they keep playing like they are tonight.

[Sparlimb]

Blaine and Edina both in the Schwans Cup. Only one AA team has the chance to be undefeated at the end of 2012. That is assuming Edina gets through this weekend 3-0 which shouldn't be a problem if they keep playing like they are tonight.

Wrong. Two undefeated teams could still play for the AA championship.

[Zamman]

Blaine and Edina both in the Schwans Cup. Only one AA team has the chance to be undefeated at the end of 2012. That is assuming Edina gets through this weekend 3-0 which shouldn't be a problem if they keep playing like they are tonight.

Wrong. Two undefeated teams could still play for the AA championship.

And they could end in a tie, at least how the record will show.

[karl(east)]

The answer to the poll question is East Grand Forks: with Blaine and Edina going down, the Green Wave alone are unbeaten.

The '93 Jefferson Jaguars get to pop their champagne, as no AA team could make it out of December unblemished; at this rate, I'd be surprised if we have any one-loss teams, too. This is the earliest that the last unbeaten AA team has gone out since at least 2006-2007; maybe longer. (2010-2011 Wayzata lost on the 2nd day of the St. Louis Park Tourney on 12/29; every other year had a team go into January, at least.)

Edit: since at least 2004-2005. Hill went undefeated until mid-January in 05-06, and made it to the second day of the Schwan Cup (12/27) in 06-07; there may have been others that year, too.

Double Edit: This was the earliest we'd lost our last undefeated team in AA since Lee's game-by-game score records began in 98-99. Looking at the 97-98 rankings from 1/20 he has up, Anoka is a candidate for that year, and East definitely went later in 96-97, perhaps 95-96 as well.

[pioneers]

[quote="karl(east)"]The answer to the poll question is East Grand Forks: with Blaine and Edina going down, the Green Wave alone are unbeaten.

The '93 Jefferson Jaguars get to pop their champagne

Actually, there are quite a few undefeted state champions. The most recent were H-M in 83 and Edina in 74.

[karl(east)]

The answer to the poll question is East Grand Forks: with Blaine and Edina going down, the Green Wave alone are unbeaten.

The '93 Jefferson Jaguars get to pop their champagne

Actually, there are quite a few undefeted state champions. The most recent were H-M in 83 and Edina in 74.

I'm aware of that. I believe the tradition (at least in football, with the 72 Dolphins) is that the most recent undefeated team is the one that has the party when the last undefeated team goes down in a season.