Eden Prairie at St. Thomas

eazy98 · Post by **eazy98** » Wed Jan 20, 2016 1:08 am

Fun game last night between these two teams.

Game Recap
Game ended in a 2-2 tie in a penalty filled game. If a guy fell down there was pretty much a penalty. EP was 1 for 6 on the PP and STA was 1 for 4. Michael Graham did not play for EP. Not sure why.

The first period went about as well as possible for STA. They left with a 1-0 lead and a 10-8 advantage in shots. EP had some outstanding chances but found a way not to score (more on that later). McFadden got the STA goal. They were putting a bunch of pressure on and there was the standard scrum in front of the net where STA is shooting constantly. One rebound bounced out to McFadden who hammered it into the net.

The second period was mostly owned by EP. Mittelstadt scored a sick goal. STA was starting to break the puck out of the zone. Mittelstadt caught the dman at around the face off circle, lifted his stick, and stole the puck. In the same skating motion he circled to the high slot and the goalie came out to challenge him. He shifted his weight to his back leg looking like he was going to shoot then deked and skated to the left side of the slot. The goalie was now totally out of position and he fired it into a wide open net. It's the kind of goal you are hoping to see when you're watching this kid.

The 2nd EP goal was on the powerplay. It was 4 on 3 for a while and Leivermann circled the offensive zone himself. He ended up behind the net basically waiting for the 4 on 3 to turn into a 5 on 3. Blackowiak came out of the box, skated into the zone with speed, Leivermann made a great pass right onto his stick. Blackowiak fired into the upper corner from the high slot for a 2-1 EP lead.

EP also controlled the 3rd period on the ice and in shots but not on the scoreboard. STA scored a good PPG. They again created a bunch of pressure and the puck ended up behind the net. Foley grabbed it and stuffed it in the side of the net as he skated to the front of the net.

EP had plenty of chances late in the 3rd and OT but Kelly stood strong. 35 saves on 37 shots for Kelly. STA has to feel good about getting to state in their section with him in net.

Other Notes
Mittelstadt could have easily had 3 assists in the first period. He fed Sullivan on a 2 on 2 with a perfect pass after stickhandling around his defender. It was a layup goal and Sullivan pushed it wide. On the PP, Mittelstadt passed from the high circle right to Lawrence at the doorstep. Lawrence may have dented the pipe with his shot. Mittelstadt also fed Steen (I think) on a 2 on 1 with a great pass. Steen didn't shoot and tried to drop it back to Mittelstadt but it was too late. 2 easy goals for sure and 1 potential.

It was military appreciation night which was cool to see. Players for each team skated to center ice while their relatives (parents or grandparents) were honored for their military service. The colors were also at center ice. After the national anthem, EP remained on the blue line while the colors exited from the ice. STA left the blue line and was huddled around their net doing their pregame hype session while the colors were exiting. I didn't expect that.

northwoods oldtimer · Post by **northwoods oldtimer** » Wed Jan 20, 2016 2:15 am

Interesting outcome and nice game report. Cliches like "everyone goes home happy" and "like kissing your sister" don't quite describe the tie. Based on your game report it looks like EP missed on golden opportunities. "That is why they play the game".

Games like this will make for very entertaining section and state games, fun year.

howardst · Post by **howardst** » Wed Jan 20, 2016 2:56 am

Nice honest report. Love it!!! HS hockey probably has more story lines and ups and downs as any sport out there. A hot tender, just not clicking, momentum, all play a part. Hockey allows for upsets and the best team does not always win.

Sats81 · Post by **Sats81** » Wed Jan 20, 2016 3:04 am

Lots of parity this year in the top 5-8 teams. Gonna be interesting to see who is standing when the dust settles in March.

@hockeytweet · Post by **@hockeytweet** » Wed Jan 20, 2016 4:20 am

Lots of parity this year in the top 5-8 teams. Gonna be interesting to see who is standing when the dust settles in March.

I think parity in the top 1-8. Just 1 play maker will make the difference. A great player. Look at EP, without Mittelstadt, drop them 8 places. Garin at HF, Tufte at Blaine, Poehling in LN, etc.
Teams like BSM, Tonka, even Wayzata don't have that "Super Star", just a lot if really, really good players.

One key injury, yikes. Speaking of which, why didn't Graham play?

By the way, that game description was A +. If only most were like that.

SFA1992 · Post by **SFA1992** » Wed Jan 20, 2016 4:31 am

EZ, thanks for the report.

Sats are you saying STA is a top 5-8 team? From what I've seen/heard/read it seems like there's talent emerging, but a top 8 ranking may be a bit too generous. STA's final 5 games are:

@ Cretin
@ Tartan
@ Mahtomedi
v. Hill
@ Lakeville North

Great scheduling going into sections.

Sats81 · Post by **Sats81** » Wed Jan 20, 2016 5:30 am

SFA1992 wrote:EZ, thanks for the report.

Sats are you saying STA is a top 5-8 team? From what I've seen/heard/read it seems like there's talent emerging, but a top 8 ranking may be a bit too generous. STA's final 5 games are:

@ Cretin
@ Tartan
@ Mahtomedi
v. Hill
@ Lakeville North

Great scheduling going into sections.

I definitely think they are top 10...somewhere in the 7-10 range depending on a few factors.....

BlueLineSpecial · Post by **BlueLineSpecial** » Wed Jan 20, 2016 5:34 am

Sats81 wrote:
SFA1992 wrote:EZ, thanks for the report.

Sats are you saying STA is a top 5-8 team? From what I've seen/heard/read it seems like there's talent emerging, but a top 8 ranking may be a bit too generous. STA's final 5 games are:

@ Cretin
@ Tartan
@ Mahtomedi
v. Hill
@ Lakeville North

Great scheduling going into sections.
I definitely think they are top 10...somewhere in the 7-10 range depending on a few factors.....

Goalie is legit. He can keep that team in a lot of games. They have a great shot to come out of their section and can make some noise in St. Paul if they get there. Scoring a concern?

SFA1992 · Post by **SFA1992** » Wed Jan 20, 2016 6:59 am

BlueLineSpecial wrote:
Sats81 wrote:
SFA1992 wrote:EZ, thanks for the report.

Sats are you saying STA is a top 5-8 team? From what I've seen/heard/read it seems like there's talent emerging, but a top 8 ranking may be a bit too generous. STA's final 5 games are:

@ Cretin
@ Tartan
@ Mahtomedi
v. Hill
@ Lakeville North

Great scheduling going into sections.
I definitely think they are top 10...somewhere in the 7-10 range depending on a few factors.....
Goalie is legit. He can keep that team in a lot of games. They have a great shot to come out of their section and can make some noise in St. Paul if they get there. Scoring a concern?

By season's end you'll be right re: 7-10. It's a young team. Against teams that are "legit" to make it to St. Paul, they've scored:

2 (Minnetonka), 3 (Holy Family), 5 (Wayzata), 1 (Edina), 4 (Centennial), 2 (Wayzata), 3 (Benilde), 0 (Hill-Murray), 2 (Eden Prairie)

W3
L4
T2

GF 22
GA 24

Billy Jerry has been great and some of the young guys are stepping up. The HM and LVN games will be telling. Hopefully they can get some momentum going with a win over Cretin (hiss) and then some revenge against Mahtomedi.