Eveleth-Gilbert vs North Shore

[elliott70]

Eveleth 9-5-1
beat
North Shore 6-8-1
by a score of 6-2 a week or so ago.

Not such an important game, but Eveleth is having a decent year, trying to revive a once strong program.

North Shore, like the southern part of the state, would like to gain some respect. At times they lose better players to the Duluth schools. They played Virginia to a one goal game a week or so ago. I am sure going to the once great Iron Range and winning a game would boost their program.

Not much interest across the state but for the Eveleth area team and the Two Harbors to Grand Marais team there is some meaning.

Good luck to both teams.

[greenway1969]

The result will be interesting. It will be an indication of how much Greenway has improved. The beat North Shore on Saturday in a pretty even game. Also the Virginia/Greenway game will be further evidence of whether Greenway has improved as much as I think they have. Virginia totally dominated Greenway in their first meeting.

[elliott70]

IRC and Section 7 not the same intensity as in the 'old days', but still fun.

[greenway1969]

North Shore 3, Eveleth 2
Virginia 6, Greenway 4

Looks like Greenway's improvement is real. Their rematch with North Shore should be interesting.

Elliott, what year did you graduate 70?

[PuckRanger]

North Shore 3, Eveleth 2
Virginia 6, Greenway 4

Looks like Greenway's improvement is real. Their rematch with North Shore should be interesting.

Elliott, what year did you graduate 70?

I was at the Greenway/Virginia game tonight. I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but Greenway didn't look that improved to me. Four blatant Virginia turnovers (3 in the slot and one behind the net with no D coverage in front) led directly to all of Greenway's goals. This game probably should have been 6-0. They had little zone time or puck possession and allowed 51 shots on goal, not to mention the 3 pipes Virginia hit. Shots on goal in the second period alone were 17-1. The first period wasn't much better, but Greenway came out of it with a 2-0 lead and forced Virginia to put Lucas Murray into the game (he did not start in goal).

Kudos to Greenway for taking advantage of those turnovers, but you can't count on getting gifts like that and in that quantity. (The turnovers weren't exactly caused by a ferocious forecheck.) It just doesn't happen that often. They had no real scoring chances other than those and their powerplay was non-existant. They are no where near the skill level of Virginia, Eveleth, or Hibbing.

[mitchrapp]

Shots were 51-17 Virginia - don't think greenway is "back"

[greenway1969]

Didn't say Greenway is back, I said they have improved. I have watched them the entire year and they are better then they were at the beginning of the year. Virginia is definitely a much better team than Greenway, but I would put Greenway at Eveleth's level now, Greenway beat North Shore on Saturday, Eveleth just lost to them. Eveleth has beaten Greenway twice earlier in the year, but Greenway is not the same team. If Greenway and Eveleth played now it would be a one goal game either way.

[Coldzone]

I to attended the Virginia game. Living in falls I was interested in this game and was going thru town. Thought I would stop. First off shots were greatly miscounted. Greenway created 3 strong scoring chances in the first and converted on 2. Virginia created 2 in the first and converted on 0. A bunch of meaningless perimeter shots by Virginia in the first. After one I would say greenway came to play and really had the better opportunities. 2nd period Virginia did a better job of controlling play. Created at least 8 good scoring chances and converted on 4. Greenway had 1 good chance in the period. Virginia took advantage of some marginal penaltys on the raiders. In fact I would say Virginia was blessed to get the pp they did. They were the better team in the 2nd. 3rd was a period that saw both teams get opportunities. Greenway trailing 4-2 scored on a nice forcheck drawing to 4-3. Virginia worked hard and pulled ahead 5-3 with a few minutes to play. Greenway pulled there goalie and scored with 48seconds remaining to create a 5-4 game. In the last 48 sec the raiders made a rush and got a marginal shot on net. Face off with :30 left. Virginia iced the puck after a quick chance by the raiders. 2nd face off won by the raiders and the shot from the point was blocked by a great play by a Virginia wing to get into the puck lane forcing the other raider d to try and gather the puck at center ice but was beat by another non selfish play by a vir forward passing the puck wide a scoring a empty net goal. Don't kid yourself. Greenway is improved and shots on goal is a misleading stat. Perimeter shots truely mean nothing. I saw a great 0-0 game between green and I falls last week. Virginia has 12 sr on the roster and greenway has 2. I would guess that the raider fan base will be happy to see how there group of soph and fresh develop. Virginia played well and was the beneficiary of a few marginal power play opportunities. My guess is Virginia is more mature at this time but the tide is turning. Virginia is the oldest team on the range and the gap is closing everyday. If you look at the youth of range hockey I would put future teams in this order. Rapids is deepest, Hibbing and greenway would be in a dead tie at 2. Virginia, falls, Eveleth will be battling it out for 4-5-6. In fact this will be my prediction for irc hockey the next few years beyond this season. To say greenway is not improved is a farce. They have It was 5-4 with :48 seconds left and Virginia had a pp advantage. Hmmmm. Broncos will surprise everyone next year. It only takes 12 players to compete in northern mn. We will have 12 quality players next season

[greenway1969]

Improvements I've seen Greenway has made over the course of the season: (1) Goaltending - Lot of soft goals before, now teams have to earn their goals. (2) Defense - The defensemen now understand when to pinch and when to move back (3) Forwards - Forecheck is better. Forwards are hustling and playing the body better. Passing, both making the pass and receiving the pass are much improved. It was not that long ago when Greenway hockey almost ended. The effort that the community has made to bring it back to a respectable level should be commended. Greenway may not be able to compete with Hermantown and Marshall, but the numbers in their youth program indicate that they will be fielding a more competitive team in the future.

[elliott70]

Living in falls

Interesting how people just say 'the falls'; and MN people know what they mean.

[ironranger2]

I agree with Coldzone that over the next few years the power in the IRC will shift back over to the west range (GR, HIB, Greenway). I don't think Virginia will be that far behind them though. Virginia has a large group of 1st year Bantams/2nd year Peewees that are very, very good. Unfortunately for Eveleth, I think the team they have now is the best they will have talent wise for a couple of years.

[elliott70]

North Shore 3, Eveleth 2
Virginia 6, Greenway 4

Looks like Greenway's improvement is real. Their rematch with North Shore should be interesting.

Elliott, what year did you graduate 70?

Nice guess.

[rainier]

Broncos will surprise everyone next year. It only takes 12 players to compete in northern mn. We will have 12 quality players next season

Good to hear that Falls should be improved next season, always fun having them in the mix.

I think Greenway is somewhat improved, and as their youngsters mature over the next couple years (along with another decent bantam crop coming in next year), they will be relevant in 7A and should compete with Falls, Hibbing, Virginia, Denfeld, and even perhaps Marshall depending on how strong their next few recruiting classes are. (Sorry, couldn't resist.)

As for the rest of the IRC: Rapids will continue to rule the roost, Hibbing will be very strong in 2 years (bantam AA team is ranked #5 right now), and Virginia will be excellent in 3-4 years. Eveleth may have to wait a while longer as they seem to be weak for a stretch but after that their numbers are growing.

Hopefully we will see a few of these A IRC teams make it to state over the next few years, as watching Hermantown or Marshall go every year isn't much fun.

[MrBoDangles]

This is out a bit, but Eveleth has some squirts and younger peewees that will turn them in to contenders in the future.

[ironranger2]

Eveleth should be pretty good when those kids get older, but you never know. When you look at where the current group of peewees (Hibbing, Greenway, Eveleth, IFalls, and Virginia) was two years ago, Virginia was still the strongest team, but they seemed to have widened the gap. They have a very strong group of 2nd years.

I just hope someone is good enough to knock off Marshall and Hermantown in the next few years.

[agate88]

North Shore, like the southern part of the state, would like to gain some respect.

Please clarify this statement. Do you mean south of the Twin Cities?

[MrBoDangles]

Eveleth should be pretty good when those kids get older, but you never know. When you look at where the current group of peewees (Hibbing, Greenway, Eveleth, IFalls, and Virginia) was two years ago, Virginia was still the strongest team, but they seemed to have widened the gap. They have a very strong group of 2nd years.

I just hope someone is good enough to knock off Marshall and Hermantown in the next few years.

Looks like some folks in Eveleth/Gilbert have dedicated themselves to building a strong program there again. Great to see!