4A is it only a 1 team race

[HOCKEYDRIVER]

(1)Mahtomedi vs (4) South St.Paul 6pm @ Roseville 2/25
(2)SPA vs (3)St.Paul Johnson 8pm @ Roseville 2/25

Can any of those team win against Mahtomedi ?

What would it take for SSP to beat them on Wednesday ?

And is Mahtomedi ready to move up to "AA" with wins over STA & HM ?

[curtiscurve]

(1)Mahtomedi vs (4) South St.Paul 6pm @ Roseville 2/25
(2)SPA vs (3)St.Paul Johnson 8pm @ Roseville 2/25

Can any of those team win against Mahtomedi ?

What would it take for SSP to beat them on Wednesday ?

And is Mahtomedi ready to move up to "AA" with wins over STA & HM ?

Mahtomedi is a really good team. Since losing to St. Thomas, 8-1, they have gone 11-0-1 in the last 11 games. They have played 2 goal games with both SSP and SPA, so it will not be a cake walk for them, but I do see them taking care of business Wed and Friday.

Not sure they are ready for the jump to AA. They have had some nice seasons, but i would hold off the AA discussion until they have a few more dominating 20 win seasons.

[HOCKEYDRIVER]

Should someone beat them (Mahtomedi) should they get 2 to 4 at the X ?

[MNhocklover43]

SPA could beat them
SSP tends to play good defensively. They beat a talented Totino-Grace team that was far better than them but they kept them from scoring.
SSP goalie is good and they have two key players (21, 14) that can lead them to victory.
Earlier in the year these two teams played and I believe the final was 3-1 Maht.
with an empty netter

[HOCKEYDRIVER]

Does a team need to win a couple state titles before a move up ?
Like St.Thomas did.

[pekyman]

1. No
2. The whole Mahtomedi team getting hit by the flu would help.
3. At about 1,150 students, Mahtomedi is borderline Class A. With 4 BN and 5 PW teams, they have the largest youth program in Class A
and have larger youth program than any of the A to AA opt-up teams.
This team has been hid by STA, but with STA moving to AA, I predict you will see them in St. Paul every year, unless they decide to move up or grow too big for A.

[StPaulJohnsonGuy]

Does a team need to win a couple state titles before a move up ?
Like St.Thomas did.

Ask Breck. LOL!

[HOCKEYDRIVER]

Can St.Paul Johnson beat SPA ? They lost to them in OT.
Can they make any waves to state.

[StPaulJohnsonGuy]

Can St.Paul Johnson beat SPA ? They lost to them in OT.
Can they make any waves to state.

SPA is a deeper team, but if Moose runs the top line of Solheid-Howell-Lyons to death and Moberg is up to the occasion between the pipes, sure they can win. It'll take a big effort though. LOL!

[Froggy Richards]

1. No
2. The whole Mahtomedi team getting hit by the flu would help.
3. At about 1,150 students, Mahtomedi is borderline Class A. With 4 BN and 5 PW teams, they have the largest youth program in Class A
and have larger youth program than any of the A to AA opt-up teams.
This team has been hid by STA, but with STA moving to AA, I predict you will see them in St. Paul every year, unless they decide to move up or grow too big for A.

Hermantown has 10 Mite Teams this year which is down from their 12 last year. Mahtomedi has 9. So Hermantown's base of the pyramid is larger. If we believe Herb Brooks, that's what matters. Bantam C and PeeWee C teams are not kids that will ever sniff Varsity. Most of the B kids won't either. Hermantown also gets a lot of the top players from other Associations. Mahtomedi has no advantage over Hermantown. Quite the contrary. They are the underdogs.

[StPaulJohnsonGuy]

1. No
2. The whole Mahtomedi team getting hit by the flu would help.
3. At about 1,150 students, Mahtomedi is borderline Class A. With 4 BN and 5 PW teams, they have the largest youth program in Class A
and have larger youth program than any of the A to AA opt-up teams.
This team has been hid by STA, but with STA moving to AA, I predict you will see them in St. Paul every year, unless they decide to move up or grow too big for A.

Hermantown has 10 Mite Teams this year which is down from their 12 last year. Mahtomedi has 9. So Hermantown's base of the pyramid is larger. If we believe Herb Brooks, that's what matters. Bantam C and PeeWee C teams are not kids that will ever sniff Varsity. Most of the B kids won't either. Hermantown also gets a lot of the top players from other Associations. Mahtomedi has no advantage over Hermantown. Quite the contrary. They are the underdogs.

I'd politely disagree. If you look at Mahtomedi - the city as a whole, not necessarily just the high school - they have many advantages over most metro teams. Their population has grown dramatically over the last few years, and their median income is higher than most cities in the metro area - higher than Edina, Eden Prairie, Plymouth (Wayzata), Minnetonka, and most others that would be considered "rich". There's plenty of money for development in Mahtomedi that can rival most - if not all - private schools, and the continued progress of their program reflects that, but that's good. It shows there's a determination in that community.

So, I personally would have a tough time calling them an underdog, but I can understand where it's coming from after STA overstayed their welcome in Class A for so long! LOL!

[Froggy Richards]

1. No
2. The whole Mahtomedi team getting hit by the flu would help.
3. At about 1,150 students, Mahtomedi is borderline Class A. With 4 BN and 5 PW teams, they have the largest youth program in Class A
and have larger youth program than any of the A to AA opt-up teams.
This team has been hid by STA, but with STA moving to AA, I predict you will see them in St. Paul every year, unless they decide to move up or grow too big for A.

Hermantown has 10 Mite Teams this year which is down from their 12 last year. Mahtomedi has 9. So Hermantown's base of the pyramid is larger. If we believe Herb Brooks, that's what matters. Bantam C and PeeWee C teams are not kids that will ever sniff Varsity. Most of the B kids won't either. Hermantown also gets a lot of the top players from other Associations. Mahtomedi has no advantage over Hermantown. Quite the contrary. They are the underdogs.

I'd politely disagree. If you look at Mahtomedi - the city as a whole, not necessarily just the high school - they have many advantages over most metro teams. Their population has grown dramatically over the last few years, and their median income is higher than most cities in the metro area - higher than Edina, Eden Prairie, Plymouth (Wayzata), Minnetonka, and most others that would be considered "rich". There's plenty of money for development in Mahtomedi that can rival most - if not all - private schools, and the continued progress of their program reflects that, but that's good. It shows there's a determination in that community.

So, I personally would have a tough time calling them an underdog, but I can understand where it's coming from after STA overstayed their welcome in Class A for so long! LOL!

Thanks for the info, I didn't know much about Mahtomedi as it seems they've just come on the scene in the last couple of years. I was just commenting on the size of the youth programs and saying that Hermantown is equal there with the number of kids that start out playing hockey. Hermantown has been ranked #1 all year long, so that would make Mahtomedi the underdog. Do top players leave other programs for Mahtomedi like they do for Hermantown? To me, that's more of an advantage than anything else. If so, than I would say these two teams are on pretty equal footing.

[Tripod]

How many sheets of ice do Mahtomedi youth have access to? I.e. Is it a one sheet association or more?

[green4]

How many sheets of ice do Mahtomedi youth have access to? I.e. Is it a one sheet association or more?

If you go to the youth association's website and click 'arenas' they don't list a rink for the city of Mahtomedi, instead they list neighboring communities and their rink. Also, Mahtomedi's varsity played at Stillwater this year to my knowledge, which makes me wonder how crazy it could be if they don't even have a rink for the town.

[pekyman]

Hermantown has 10 Mite Teams this year which is down from their 12 last year. Mahtomedi has 9. So Hermantown's base of the pyramid is larger. If we believe Herb Brooks, that's what matters. Bantam C and PeeWee C teams are not kids that will ever sniff Varsity. Most of the B kids won't either. Hermantown also gets a lot of the top players from other Associations. Mahtomedi has no advantage over Hermantown. Quite the contrary. They are the underdogs.

I'd politely disagree. If you look at Mahtomedi - the city as a whole, not necessarily just the high school - they have many advantages over most metro teams. Their population has grown dramatically over the last few years, and their median income is higher than most cities in the metro area - higher than Edina, Eden Prairie, Plymouth (Wayzata), Minnetonka, and most others that would be considered "rich". There's plenty of money for development in Mahtomedi that can rival most - if not all - private schools, and the continued progress of their program reflects that, but that's good. It shows there's a determination in that community.

So, I personally would have a tough time calling them an underdog, but I can understand where it's coming from after STA overstayed their welcome in Class A for so long! LOL!

Thanks for the info, I didn't know much about Mahtomedi as it seems they've just come on the scene in the last couple of years. I was just commenting on the size of the youth programs and saying that Hermantown is equal there with the number of kids that start out playing hockey. Hermantown has been ranked #1 all year long, so that would make Mahtomedi the underdog. Do top players leave other programs for Mahtomedi like they do for Hermantown? To me, that's more of an advantage than anything else. If so, than I would say these two teams are on pretty equal footing.

Hermantown currently has 10 U8 teams as does Mahtomedi. By the time they reach Bantams that works out to 2 to 3 teams. This is what HT always has. In the next 2 years Hermantown will be feed by 3 BN and 3 PW whereas Mahtomedi will be fed by 4 BN and 6 PW. Looks like Mahtomedi had a bubble about 6 years ago to have 9 BN/PW teams currently. Not sure how Hermantown's U8's are gonna help them now besides cheering them on.
As far as Mahtomedi just coming on the scene, they had to get through STAA!

[green4]

How many sheets of ice do Mahtomedi youth have access to? I.e. Is it a one sheet association or more?

If you go to the youth association's website and click 'arenas' they don't list a rink for the city of Mahtomedi, instead they list neighboring communities and their rink. Also, Mahtomedi's varsity played at Stillwater this year to my knowledge, which makes me wonder how crazy it could be if they don't even have a rink for the town.

I didn't see any looking at rinkfinder either. There are rinks close by, but it is kind of bizarre that they don't have their own.

[Froggy Richards]

How many sheets of ice do Mahtomedi youth have access to? I.e. Is it a one sheet association or more?

If you go to the youth association's website and click 'arenas' they don't list a rink for the city of Mahtomedi, instead they list neighboring communities and their rink. Also, Mahtomedi's varsity played at Stillwater this year to my knowledge, which makes me wonder how crazy it could be if they don't even have a rink for the town.

You're correct, they don't have an arena of their own. If I remember correctly I think they played Varsity games in Richfield 7-8 years ago. Makes it a lot more impressive what they've done when they don't even have their own arena.

[Retired Ref]

How many sheets of ice do Mahtomedi youth have access to? I.e. Is it a one sheet association or more?

If you go to the youth association's website and click 'arenas' they don't list a rink for the city of Mahtomedi, instead they list neighboring communities and their rink. Also, Mahtomedi's varsity played at Stillwater this year to my knowledge, which makes me wonder how crazy it could be if they don't even have a rink for the town.

You're correct, they don't have an arena of their own. If I remember correctly I think they played Varsity games in Richfield 7-8 years ago. Makes it a lot more impressive what they've done when they don't even have their own arena.

Mahtomedi is a mid size school district located between two giants (White Bear and Stillwater). They are predominantly upper middle class community so getting kids out for hockey isn't difficult.
While the city of Mahtomedi does not have a rink, they have access to a variety of rinks pretty close by. The HS team is a co-tenant at the St. Croix Rink (2 sheets. The Lumberyard is used quite frequently by their mites and Lilly Lake arena is also less than a 10 minute drive.

Also with the opening of Vadnais Sports Center (2 sheets). White Bear now has 5 sheets of ice, and they have given up some of their hours at White Bear County rink, which Mahtomedi has gladly taken.

Good Luck to them.. Coach has always been a classy guy

[nosoupforyou]

A brief glimpse into Mahtomedi:

- youth association home rink is essentially White Bear County his purchase of hundreds of hours after Vadnais was built- still have extensive leverage of Lily Lake, St Croix, and others

- home varsity rink is St Croix where they have a locker room and two banners by the Zamboni entrance - everything else about the rink oozes Pony red and black

- the majority of the varsity roster are 'home grown':
- one senior is an open enrollee - started in Fifth grade
- one junior is an open enrollee- started in sixth grade
- one junior moved to Maht in ninth grade

- enrollment is flat, not growing - there is essentially no land for growth and they are at school capacity so they won't grow into AA

- this year's junior class is very deep so they have another strong year to expect next year - after that there will be a dip for a couple years so they will be challenged to stay on top of the Section

- SPA has a much better chance to beat them than SSP - the SPA game was pretty competitive where the SSP ge had an almost 2-1 shot disparity for Maht

- if Maht gets to State IMHO they should be a two seed

[HOCKEYDRIVER]

It should be 2 good games tonight at Roseville.
And Fridays game should be even better.

[Bonin2121]

You're correct, they don't have an arena of their own. If I remember correctly I think they played Varsity games in Richfield 7-8 years ago. Makes it a lot more impressive what they've done when they don't even have their own arena.

I don't remember this. This would make no sense whatsoever.

[Marty]

This team has been hid by STA, but with STA moving to AA, I predict you will see them in St. Paul every year, unless they decide to move up or grow too big for A.

Over time, many a good TG team has knocked out Mahtomedi as often (if not more often) as STA. The rest of section 4A would have a tough time getting very far in 3A.

Totino Grace and SPA can reload across boundaries. They can be a factor in years to come.


Why would Mahtomedi move to 4AA and face HM in sections. They beat the Pioneers this year. First time in how many years ??

[Bonin2121]

It's been discussed a million times, but think how much better HS hockey would be with privates getting one bid in each class.

[Just Checking]

It's been discussed a million times, but think how much better HS hockey would be with privates getting one bid in each class.

Why would it make HS hockey better?

[Bonin2121]

Why would it make HS hockey better?

I'd be many times more interested. The level of play at the X might go down a bit, so maybe better was the wrong word. I don't want to start the same old discussion.