What is happening with Duluth East?

[allstatebenders]

After the loss to Breck, the greyhounds are now 4-3. Very dissapointing losses to Wayzata, Centennial, and now Class A Breck. What is going wrong with this team?

[east hockey]

After the loss to Breck, the greyhounds are now 4-3. Very dissapointing losses to Wayzata, Centennial, and now Class A Breck. What is going wrong with this team?

Haven't you seen them play this year, Dan?

Lee

[allstatebenders]

After the loss to Breck, the greyhounds are now 4-3. Very dissapointing losses to Wayzata, Centennial, and now Class A Breck. What is going wrong with this team?

Haven't you seen them play this year, Dan?

Lee

First year in college, no time to get to the games from Minneapolis! Its just disappointing to see Easts dominance come to an end, hopefully they can step it up these coming weeks.

[TheHockeyDJ]

Their lack of scoring is surprising no matter what year it is. This isn't the type of East team I'm used to seeing where they would put fear into their opponents. Right now they just look like another team with some good players but very beatable especially by any team with decent goaltending. If things continue this way i could easily see the Hounds drop to a 3 seed in 7AA. Right now it appears Rapids and Elk River are both playing at a higher level, and Cloquet might be on the rise. This section is gonna be very fun to watch down the stretch and the 4/5, 3/6 games are gonna be very competitive.

[east hockey]

No finishers. Nobody who can put the team on his back and score that goal when they need it. Some nice play makers but that's it.

Losing Valesano didn't help but he wouldn't have been the difference.

Lee

[karl(east)]

From another thread:

If only shots on goal decided who won games...

At this point, the formula for beating East has become easy to follow. Stay out of the box, grab an early goal if you can, and otherwise just pack it in and watch as the Hounds pass it around a lot as they struggle to generate quality chances, and misfire on the few that they do get. Watch as your goalie's confidence increases, then spring a few breakaways when the East defensemen pinch in too far. That's how Breck got both of theirs tonight.

It's very, very frustrating hockey to watch, and the Hounds will deserve to get whacked in the various polls for their inability to finish. But at the same time, if they could just figure out how to get a &*#@$ goal early on in the game, you get the feeling the results could be very different.

Also, slow starts to games. In 2 of the three losses and even the Andover and Anoka wins, they dug themselves into a hole in the first few minutes. It's very hard to win that way, especially when you're a team built around puck possession and wearing the other team down. The other team gets an immediate jolt of energy, while the Hounds start to press. Sometimes they get it going, but sometimes they don't. It's hard to play from behind night in and night out, no matter how talented a team may be.

It is still early, and I can think of several past East teams that struggled to score goals for the first month or two, then turned it on towards the end of the season. But that excuse will start to wear thin before long.

[Backcheck1]

It is not a surprise. the great Randinie has only coached 5 kids for the last three years. This is the group he has ignored. They have no interest in winning for Rand and he has ticked them off over his over indulgence in last years first line.

[allstatebenders]

Hogan Davidson got a ruptured spleen today.

[northwoods oldtimer]

We are witnessing the end of the Duluth East dynasty. Power shift in 7AA will now move south for a long, long time. Time has come for all northern teams to challenge for the matinee title in St. Paul.

[MrBoDangles]

Hogan Davidson got a ruptured spleen today.

Wishing him a quick recovery.

[starmvp]

Hogan Davidson got a ruptured spleen today.

Wishing him a quick recovery.

Also wishing him a speedy recovery. As for the Hounds, I just don't understand what is going on with them.

[The Enlightened One]

Hogan Davidson got a ruptured spleen today.

Wishing him a quick recovery.

Also wishing him a speedy recovery. As for the Hounds, I just don't understand what is going on with them.

The youth programs that are feeding their high school are fading away. The number of kids who are in the programs is declining and more and more of the kids who used to go to east are now leaving for Duluth Marshall. The top end of Duluth East's Bantam A team who were/are a very good group of kids are playing at Marshall now. With the exception of the program over at Hermantown all of the northern programs are losing numbers and those few good players in those small town programs (thinking about Silver Bay and Proctor here) are moving on to greener (blacker and golder) pastures. The North will never fade away entirely but will not rule the hockey world like in the days of old again either.

[TheHockeyDJ]

Grand Rapids is in the top 20 in Bantams and Pee Wees, so I think they are doing just fine right now. I still would like to see some of the southern teams moved out of 7AA. Andover and Elk River should be playing in the same section as Centennial and Blaine, Duluth Marshall, Denfeld, and Hermantown should all be in 7AA.

[alcloseshaver]

If more northern teams opted up to AA it would allow more southern teams on the edge of the metro to stay coser to home for sections. Elk River has been in different sections over the years. The MSHSL has to balance it out with so few big schools in the outstate. I'm sure Andover and ER would prefer to stay in the South if given a choice.

[The Enlightened One]

deleted

[PuckRanger]

Have to believe that given what is happening with some of the other small school programs that Proctor won't have a hard time holding on and will have to merge with somebody just to keep going, Hermantown is a good candidate for them which should put them over the AA line. Cloquet is already merged with Esko and Carlton so that is a pretty convenient template if you will for the mergers to take place....

....It will come from mergers pushing teams over the numbers. How soon is anybody's guess.

Cloquet/Esko/Carlton is well below the enrollment threshold for the A/AA cutoff (which is currently 1275). They opt up to AA by choice, not by enrollment. A Hermantown/Proctor merger (which I doubt will happen) would result in their combined enrollment still being well under 1275 and they could still play in A. The schools up north are just too small for even mergers to force teams into AA. Eveleth for instance is taking in players from Eveleth, Gilbert, Aurora, Hoyt Lakes, Biwabik, and Cherry and is still no where near AA.

[karl(east)]

Denfeld should be based on numbers but they are on the same track as East is which is not a good one.

East is on a "bad track?" The Bantams aren't phenomenal, but they're holding steady in the top 20 with a group that was ranked somewhat lower as PeeWees; the PeeWees are in the top ten. I've heard generally decent things about the lower levels too, and there are some kids with some rather familiar East hockey last names coming up.

The next few years will certainly look more like the mid-00s than the late 90s or the past few years, and the high school will always find its fate somewhat tied to whether kids go to East or Marshall. But I don't see any reason for long-term gloom and doom, at least not on the east side.

[Hscout000]

Interested to see how they stack up with Edina today. May struggle again without Davidson hope for the best and a speedy recovery because he has been solid for east all year.

[HawkeyPower]

3-0 East in the 2nd period. Looke like they are dong fine.

[allstatebenders]

Well East wins 4-1, great all around game for the hounds, killed off 8 penalties, including a major penalty where Edina didnt put on shot on net.

[rockcrusher]

The youth programs that are feeding their high school are fading away. The number of kids who are in the programs is declining and more and more of the kids who used to go to east are now leaving for Duluth Marshall. The top end of Duluth East's Bantam A team who were/are a very good group of kids are playing at Marshall now. With the exception of the program over at Hermantown all of the northern programs are losing numbers and those few good players in those small town programs (thinking about Silver Bay and Proctor here) are moving on to greener (blacker and golder) pastures. The North will never fade away entirely but will not rule the hockey world like in the days of old again either.



Those DE bantams you talk about have been going to school at Marshall since 5th grade. So don't make it sound like they are recent transfers to Marshall. For everyone's information, H-Town has 2 players on their team that transferred in during their final bantam year, Marshall has 3 players on the roster that did NOT play youth hockey in Duluth. How many on the hounds played all their youth hockey in Duluth? But everybody picks on Marshall. Denfeld has a few southern transfers this year too, but one is having a hard time staying eligible. One Hound blue liner moved to the east end before the school district reworked the school boundaries under the infamous 'red plan', otherwise he would have been a Denfeld hunter his final few seasons.

Got off track there, sorry.

[observer]

Duluth has a single youth association yet divide teams into school affiliations for some reason. They should use the single association to consolidate and benefit recruiting and fundraising instead of competing for kids and money. The number of PeeWee teams can be an interesting measure of associations size and strength (they have 7 teams) but they're all mixed up.

http://district11.pucksystems2.com/page ... 11-leagues

There is no connection between youth hockey associations and high schools and Duluth forcing the issue is not benefitting Duluth player development or recruiting. Finish youth hockey and then attend high school. Zero connection. The single Duluth youth association is making a mistake. All the teams should be called Duluth. More fun and more success instead of competing with themselves.

[allstatebenders]

East beats Minnetonka 4-1. Looks like they have gotten it together now. I feel terrible for anyone attempting to write new rankings this week

[karl(east)]

East beats Minnetonka 4-1. Looks like they have gotten it together now. I feel terrible for anyone attempting to write new rankings this week

I appreciate your sympathy.

Great couple of days for Hounds hockey...we'll see if they can build off of it.

[kniven]

The youth programs that are feeding their high school are fading away. The number of kids who are in the programs is declining and more and more of the kids who used to go to east are now leaving for Duluth Marshall. The top end of Duluth East's Bantam A team who were/are a very good group of kids are playing at Marshall now. With the exception of the program over at Hermantown all of the northern programs are losing numbers and those few good players in those small town programs (thinking about Silver Bay and Proctor here) are moving on to greener (blacker and golder) pastures. The North will never fade away entirely but will not rule the hockey world like in the days of old again either.



Those DE bantams you talk about have been going to school at Marshall since 5th grade. So don't make it sound like they are recent transfers to Marshall. For everyone's information, H-Town has 2 players on their team that transferred in during their final bantam year, Marshall has 3 players on the roster that did NOT play youth hockey in Duluth. How many on the hounds played all their youth hockey in Duluth? But everybody picks on Marshall. Denfeld has a few southern transfers this year too, but one is having a hard time staying eligible. One Hound blue liner moved to the east end before the school district reworked the school boundaries under the infamous 'red plan', otherwise he would have been a Denfeld hunter his final few seasons.

Got off track there, sorry.

OOPS....