Totino-Grace (6-1-1) @ Duluth Marshall (7-5) 1-5-12 3pm
Moderators: Mitch Hawker, east hockey, karl(east)
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HShockeywatcher
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Totino-Grace (6-1-1) @ Duluth Marshall (7-5) 1-5-12 3pm
Two top ranked Class A teams who have each proven equally very little with their wins, but one of them will walked out of MARS with a quality win on their schedule. Who will it be?
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Hockey North
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McKinzie and Miller both missed that game? Fair enough. You're right though, illness can make a difference, such as in last night's game, when Hibbing's starting goaltender was out with the stomach flu. And given his .915 save%, that would have likely made that game a one goal affair.Hockey North wrote:Marshall had their top 2 forwards out and one of their key D. Injuries and Illness can make a difference.rainier wrote:Wow! Totino wins 6-1 and outshoots Marshall 60-25. What a pounding!
I see your Hibbing team got pounded by Cloquet 7-3.
You're right about injuries too, because when Marshall edged Hibbing in OT, Hibbing was missing their #2 and #3 forwards and their #2 defenseman. So go ahead and apply the logic from the Totino result to the Hib-Marshall game and see what you come up with, Professor.
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Hockey North
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Okay there MR Know it All. It was Klassen and Miller and Sepp out for the Totino game. Miller didnt play in the Hibbing game either. That surely made a difference to make it a 1 goal game vs Hibbing. You seem to talk before you know the facts. Anything to put other teams and players down to make your team look better.
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rockcrusher
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The bottom line is Marshall isn't that high powered this year. No big time finishers. 4 of their 6 defensemen played either bantams or a very weak class A schedule last year. I really think 7A will be a crap shoot come late February. Denfeld is on a hot streak, Marshall is taking their lumps against some good teams, Hibbing is coming on strong, and if North Shore's goalie is hot they could shock a higher seeded team (denfeld vs east comes to mind) Falls and Virginia could also compete with just about anyone on a good night. There is a lot of strep throat and flu bugs going on all over, and I would assume every team has at least one or two kids affected by this this time of year. I just hope every team gets healthy come playoff time, should be interesting up north!!
Agreed. I think Marshall, Hibbing, and Denfeld all have an even chance at winning the section, and it wouldn't shock me to see I-Falls or Virginia upset any one of them come playoff time. Falls' top line can play with anyone in the section and Murray from Virginia is an excellent goalie.rockcrusher wrote:The bottom line is Marshall isn't that high powered this year. No big time finishers. 4 of their 6 defensemen played either bantams or a very weak class A schedule last year. I really think 7A will be a crap shoot come late February. Denfeld is on a hot streak, Marshall is taking their lumps against some good teams, Hibbing is coming on strong, and if North Shore's goalie is hot they could shock a higher seeded team (denfeld vs east comes to mind) Falls and Virginia could also compete with just about anyone on a good night. There is a lot of strep throat and flu bugs going on all over, and I would assume every team has at least one or two kids affected by this this time of year. I just hope every team gets healthy come playoff time, should be interesting up north!!
The loss of Judd Peterson is hitting Marshall harder than most people may have predicted; he was their offense last year. And Bushey was an elite defenseman. The Toppers have talent, but they are young and there is no Peterson-like player on the team.
The loss of Mike Pechovnik is hurting Hibbing more than expected. He was a rock on the blueline and logged huge minutes the last few years. The Jackets have struggled defensively and some young guys are learning on the fly. They need to improve back there.
Denfeld already appeared to be more potent offensively this season, but now that Thompson is shutting down top teams they can beat anyone, especially 7A teams. It's hard not to feel good about these kids bringing their school back to hockey relevance. We all know Howie is ecstatic!
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Hockey North
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The bottom line is that Marshall has played a very tough schedule. According to the KRACH ratings, the 9th toughest. Benilde, St Thomas, Breck, Grand Rapids, Totino, Hermantown and the #1 WI team are not weak teams and make their losses. They were in every one of those games except Totino. They did not play a weak Class A schedule last year either as you say. Their young D came off Easts Bantam A team. They are young at D, no doubt, but as the season goes on they are getting better. They have 3 solid lines when healthy. This type of schedule will not look good in the win and loss column but will make it worth it when Tourney time comes.rockcrusher wrote:The bottom line is Marshall isn't that high powered this year. No big time finishers. 4 of their 6 defensemen played either bantams or a very weak class A schedule last year. I really think 7A will be a crap shoot come late February. Denfeld is on a hot streak, Marshall is taking their lumps against some good teams, Hibbing is coming on strong, and if North Shore's goalie is hot they could shock a higher seeded team (denfeld vs east comes to mind) Falls and Virginia could also compete with just about anyone on a good night. There is a lot of strep throat and flu bugs going on all over, and I would assume every team has at least one or two kids affected by this this time of year. I just hope every team gets healthy come playoff time, should be interesting up north!!
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rockcrusher
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