Class A Rankings 12-8-2013

[puckbreath]

I live 300 miles South of there, but I do know section 7 and 8 hockey It is Friday Night Lights of Minnesota. Communities live and die in their high school team. Roseau-Warroad Hockey week is Vikings-Packers week on steroids. Even hockey rich teams up north play number games and they are not St. Thomas Academy or Breck where you have numbers or recruit to fill your roster. It may be once in 40 years when they can truly compete with the big boys.

BTW: I do canvas photography and I get to see lots of hockey. You watch them and you see a complete team without homer glasses. And no I don't know what a Green Wave is.

Also throw in the fact, that in small towns, these already limited numbers are also divided between other sports, with the some of the best athletes playing basketball, some hockey, some wrestling, etc., and there are AD policies in some places that actually prohibit a single sport from becoming the dominant one in a school.

[Deathblow]

This weekend will go a very long way in showing us what kind of team EGF is...I haven't seen Hermantown or Breck, but they seem to be able to reload, rather than rebuild, every year, so I really don't have a problem with the rankings.

Warroad seems to be a one line team, but wow...there's a lot of talent on that one line. They have a couple of very good defensemen, but their goalie is unproven.

TRF lost quite a bit from last year, but Berglund seems to get the most out of his kids. Having Holmes back in net gives the Prowlers an advantage over EGF and Warroad.

The biggest question I have with the Green Wave is leadership...if they needed a big goal/play, last year, Hajicek and Aubol were right there to step up. They've had a tendency to take some silly penalties, but they seem to have the depth to cover that up. I'd really like to see these guys have their backs to the wall and see how they respond, and who's willing to step up.

On a silly side note...if you look at the rosters of both the EGF girls and boys teams, a lot of the talent is in the Soph. and Junior classes...all pretty much products of the bad winter of 96-97...lot of snow days and people being snowed in that year...

[ted2you]

Don't let the small numbers fool you. In Warroad, Roseau, Hermantown, Thief River Falls and any number of small towns kids start as Hockey players and when they reach their level of imcompetence they migrate to other sports. Still the player pool is small, but like all schools academics as well as atheletes come in waves. Juniors and Open enrollment becomes the key variable even in small towns. Holy Family lost its top player to Juniors so he can be ready to play at UND next year. A top kid can play for Chanhassen or Eden Praire, not hard to figure out what happens to programs.

[TTpuckster]

This weekend will go a very long way in showing us what kind of team EGF is...I haven't seen Hermantown or Breck, but they seem to be able to reload, rather than rebuild, every year, so I really don't have a problem with the rankings.

Warroad seems to be a one line team, but wow...there's a lot of talent on that one line. They have a couple of very good defensemen, but their goalie is unproven.

TRF lost quite a bit from last year, but Berglund seems to get the most out of his kids. Having Holmes back in net gives the Prowlers an advantage over EGF and Warroad.

The biggest question I have with the Green Wave is leadership...if they needed a big goal/play, last year, Hajicek and Aubol were right there to step up. They've had a tendency to take some silly penalties, but they seem to have the depth to cover that up. I'd really like to see these guys have their backs to the wall and see how they respond, and who's willing to step up.

On a silly side note...if you look at the rosters of both the EGF girls and boys teams, a lot of the talent is in the Soph. and Junior classes...all pretty much products of the bad winter of 96-97...lot of snow days and people being snowed in that year...

Agreed on the EGF tests this coming week.
Although they seem to be very strong defensively, they are not showing much of a propensity for scoring.
Crookston is very good this year, but only 4 goals is a little disappointing IMO.

Anyway, I plan to be at the game on Friday at Fogarty. We'll see.

[elliott70]

Anyway, I plan to be at the game on Friday at Fogarty. We'll see.

Keep us posted.

[puckbreath]

Don't let the small numbers fool you. In Warroad, Roseau, Hermantown, Thief River Falls and any number of small towns kids start as Hockey players and when they reach their level of imcompetence they migrate to other sports. Still the player pool is small, but like all schools academics as well as atheletes come in waves. Juniors and Open enrollment becomes the key variable even in small towns. Holy Family lost its top player to Juniors so he can be ready to play at UND next year. A top kid can play for Chanhassen or Eden Praire, not hard to figure out what happens to programs.

Haven't seen that at all.

Very little migration between sports; kids pick a sport(s) when they're very young and either drop them all together, or stay with it/them through HS.

Hockey players stay hockey players, basketball players, etc., etc.

[TTpuckster]

Anyway, I plan to be at the game on Friday at Fogarty. We'll see.

Keep us posted.

Yep, they don't sell beer there on HS hockey nights so I should not be distracted.

[elliott70]

Anyway, I plan to be at the game on Friday at Fogarty. We'll see.

Keep us posted.

Yep, they don't sell beer there on HS hockey nights so I should not be distracted.

But there will be cheerleaders.
Oops, forgot your age.

[HShockeywatcher]

After the start to the season, LPH has moved Breck up to 1, Hermantown down to 2 and kept EGF at 3. Really no reason to discuss EGF much more as Friday/Saturday will really tell us where they should be. There hasn't been the same chatter of Hermantown as there has been in the past few years despite their preseason ranking. What are thoughts on them? They opened the season getting crushed by Wayzata with shots being pretty even and if they are really a top 3 team will probably be challenged twice before February, so it will be tough to gauge how good they are.

[TTpuckster]

Keep us posted.

Yep, they don't sell beer there on HS hockey nights so I should not be distracted.

But there will be cheerleaders.
Oops, forgot your age.

Still could be a distraction, but don't remember why......

[Hermmunster58]

1A Hermantown, 1B EGF & 1C Breck. I can't say Hermantown has been tested more than once so far. All 3 appear fairly equal at this early point in the season with EGF seemingly having the most talented team. It will be interesting to circle back on all 3 teams on January 1.

[HShockeywatcher]

Looking for thoughts on lots of teams...

SPA beat Maht then lost to Blake...
Totino beat Maht then lost to Delano...
Blake lost to a few good teams and just beat SPA...
Orono lost to H-town by 1 goal then lost to St Louis Park by 1...

Thoughts on Cathedral with their schedule? Wilmar? Alex?

Thanks!

[hockey9011]

Looking for thoughts on lots of teams...

SPA beat Maht then lost to Blake...
Totino beat Maht then lost to Delano...
Blake lost to a few good teams and just beat SPA...
Orono lost to H-town by 1 goal then lost to St Louis Park by 1...

Thoughts on Cathedral with their schedule? Wilmar? Alex?

Thanks!

I think Alexandria will be a lot tougher than most people thought they would be this year. I've been to see them twice and both games they looked like a section contender this year. I think Cathedral is slightly overrated right now going off the teams they have played so far. I think last nights game (3-2 over Sartell... Shots 33-28 CHS) really showed that they aren't that much above the rest of 6A and will need to prove themselves once they get to the more rigorous part of their season in early January when they match up with EGF, Warroad, hermantown , and breck consecutively

[bleedblue]

If CKlaers/SLP goalie continues to shut the door on opponents, they will be a tough game for anyone in A. Wins over Delano and Orono were huge wins for the program. He should be metro player of the week. No affiliation with program, just a fan of emerging hs hockey players making a statement. Note: If Delano and Orono are presumably #2 and #3 seeds in Section 2, where does that put SLP?

[HShockeywatcher]

If CKlaers/SLP goalie continues to shut the door on opponents, they will be a tough game for anyone in A. Wins over Delano and Orono were huge wins for the program. He should be metro player of the week. No affiliation with program, just a fan of emerging hs hockey players making a statement. Note: If Delano and Orono are presumably #2 and #3 seeds in Section 2, where does that put SLP?

I wouldn't presume that. With wins over Orono and Delano, it may be SLP's to lose. Blake and Chaska will also want to be a part of the conversation.
Really, there are 4 or 5 teams with a legitimate chance of losing to Breck in the section final

[Mite-dad]

Looking for thoughts on lots of teams...

SPA beat Maht then lost to Blake...
Totino beat Maht then lost to Delano...
Blake lost to a few good teams and just beat SPA...
Orono lost to H-town by 1 goal then lost to St Louis Park by 1...

Thoughts on Cathedral with their schedule? Wilmar? Alex?

Thanks!

I think Alexandria will be a lot tougher than most people thought they would be this year. I've been to see them twice and both games they looked like a section contender this year. I think Cathedral is slightly overrated right now going off the teams they have played so far. I think last nights game (3-2 over Sartell... Shots 33-28 CHS) really showed that they aren't that much above the rest of 6A and will need to prove themselves once they get to the more rigorous part of their season in early January when they match up with EGF, Warroad, hermantown , and breck consecutively

My kid played against both Cathedral and Alex this year and although he thought both teams were very good, he gave the nod to Alex. The matchup this weekend should be a good one.

[HShockeywatcher]

Duluth Marshall over Grand Rapids...Luverne stays undefeated...Blake over SPA...Delano over Totino...SLP over Orono...what a crazy week

[nosoupforyou]

Looking for thoughts on lots of teams...

SPA beat Maht then lost to Blake...
Totino beat Maht then lost to Delano...
Blake lost to a few good teams and just beat SPA...
Orono lost to H-town by 1 goal then lost to St Louis Park by 1...

Thoughts on Cathedral with their schedule? Wilmar? Alex?

Thanks!

Correction: Mahtomedi beat Totino 4-3