New Praque, Mankato West, Lourdes

[grandmeadowhockeyfan]

Would someone who has seen all three of these teams play post what they think the style, pros and cons, and a description of the section winner.

[blueblood]

Lourdes - no depth. As the Rocherster Youth System has lost some of its luster, so has Lourdes. 100 to 1 shot to win section 1A.

New Prague - senior led team, gritty play, physcial, decent goaltending.

Mankato - 2 Elite league players, can score goals. Big team.

Toss up btwn NP and MW to win 1A. Any team matched up against the 1A winner at state should be a good game. Decent chance to pick up the #4 seed at state.

[grandmeadowhockeyfan]

Really you give them 100 to 1 chance of winning section. The goaltender for Lourdes is very good and the defense will keep games close against teams in this section. I would give them a 10 to 1 chance to win the section. As I have said before a hot goaltender and good defense can really frustrate teams. Then Lourdes could pop a quick one and they have a chip a chair and a chance. If the opponent scores three or more Lourdes chances go to 200 to 1 at least, but if they keep it a one goal game who knows. Just my thought

[blueblood]

Yes really, 1 in 100. You asked for opinions and I gave mine.

They are nothing like they have been over the last 4 years. They are a below average team. The facts:

They avg 1.4 goals/gm
They are giving up 4.5 goals/gm
Their PP is 13%
Their PK is 64%

Anything else....

[goldy313]

Lourdes has too much trouble scoring, in 12 games they have 3 or more goals just twice and have given up 4 or more 7 times. They could beat anyone but also lose to just about anyone. It will be extremely hard for them to win 3 games in the section this year. You won't win many games scoring 1 or 2 goals. They'll probably be in the muck with Red Wing, Faribault, Albert Lea, LaCrescent and maybe LeSeuer for the 3-7 seeds which means 3 tough games in sections.

That said they do have a good goalie, most nights, and have always been a tough to team to beat when Lourdes has the lead but this team will be hard pressed to win 1A without getting some more scoring.

[grandmeadowhockeyfan]

I agree that they are much worse than they have been the last four years. That is a very true statement. They do have a lot of trouble scoring and need to keep the games within one goal to have a chance. Also if they give up three or more i guarentee they lose. But the factor to consider is who they have played. They have played much tougher competition so their numbers are terrible. Look at the games against comparable teams in their section. New Praque, Verona, St Paul Academy. When they play teams like breck, BSM, they do get blown out. I do not see them winning the section either.

[Ready2GoYet]

From what I have seen thus far, West and NP are clear of the field, and either could be the first seed. I would still give the nod to West as my favorite in 1A due to their ability to put the puck in the net. Regarding Lourdes, I believe they will get a 3 or 4 seed in the end, in part due to their history along with their schedule (similar to the higher seed than many expected last year for a Red Wing team with few wins). If Albert Lea, Northfield, or Faribault can have a strong second half it could push them above Lourdes. I don't see anyone else making the top six in this section. The 3 vs 4 seed became slightly more important this year as the 4th seed now has to play an opening round Tuesday game due to the addition of Winona, making 13 teams in this section. Three games in 5 days gets tough for a team that make the semifinals on Saturday.

[grandmeadowhockeyfan]

How is MW ranked so high when the cannot put away a team that is a little better than average in Mayo. They win by one goal. Can someone explain that. Is a one goal win over a team like mayo enough to be ranked as high as they are. I also saw them. Play Albert Lea and they won 4-0 when they had a quick three goals in the second. The rest of the game they looked good but not fantastic.

[goldy313]

Did you see the game?

Officiating in Rochester is atrocious. Last week a ref didn't know head contact was a 5 minute penalty, now punches aren't penalized? If you can mug a team and get away with it the game should be close.

Mayo's goalie did play well and kept the game close.

[OU812]

How is MW ranked so high when the cannot put away a team that is a little better than average in Mayo. They win by one goal. Can someone explain that. Is a one goal win over a team like mayo enough to be ranked as high as they are. I also saw them. Play Albert Lea and they won 4-0 when they had a quick three goals in the second. The rest of the game they looked good but not fantastic.

I agree West hardly played it's best, but after all, Mayo G Gibson saved 33 of the first 34 shots he faced (final shots were 35-17 West), and Mayo was undefeated in Big Nine play before tonight. The Scarlets have a lot of work to do, but at 12-2 and ranked anywhere from #5-#11, they are probably pegged about right in the polls.

Lourdes needed OT to beat New Ulm tonight across the hallway at Graham, btw.