7AA for 2017-2018

[Traxler]

Elk River loosing to Armstrong Cooper late in the 3rd....

ER won 6-1 and secured the 3 seed.

[duluth dave]

neither elk or andover belong in 7aa geographics alone should explain that. But the MSHS has other ideas

[kniven]

Elk River loosing to Armstrong Cooper late in the 3rd....

Elks win 6-1. My backup source must be on drugs.

[grindiangrad-80]

Elk River loosing to Armstrong Cooper late in the 3rd....

Elks win 6-1. My backup source must be on drugs.

LOL.

[sanryam]

Elk River loosing to Armstrong Cooper late in the 3rd....

Elks win 6-1. My backup source must be on drugs.

More likely your source enjoys messing with you.

[Bayside Tigers]

...if Htown moved up I feel like they would still F Elk and move Andover. They should just move elk to 5 or 8.

Back to 5 or back to 8. Is Elk River the ugly outcast nobody wants around. They get rejected every section they join. Remember 2000 through around 2006 they were in 5AA (which was 4AA back then), and were fairly dominant, going to state 4 of those years. A couple that they didn't, the section winner (Blaine and Anoka) won state titles. 4AA had enough. I think they've only lasted so long (this tenure) in 7AA because they refuse to win. Longing for a home, they are passive and friendly, and tell Duluth East "If you don't kick us out, we will let you win. But to show you we could beat you, we are going to keep the lead until the last minute of the game. Deal?" I wonder where they would be now had they been dominant in the section tournament over the last 10-12 years. Maybe 1AA.

[sanryam]

...if Htown moved up I feel like they would still F Elk and move Andover. They should just move elk to 5 or 8.

Back to 5 or back to 8. Is Elk River the ugly outcast nobody wants around. They get rejected every section they join. Remember 2000 through around 2006 they were in 5AA (which was 4AA back then), and were fairly dominant, going to state 4 of those years. A couple that they didn't, the section winner (Blaine and Anoka) won state titles. 4AA had enough. I think they've only lasted so long (this tenure) in 7AA because they refuse to win. Longing for a home, they are passive and friendly, and tell Duluth East "If you don't kick us out, we will let you win. But to show you we could beat you, we are going to keep the lead until the last minute of the game. Deal?" I wonder where they would be now had they been dominant in the section tournament over the last 10-12 years. Maybe 1AA.

The Elks belong in 5AA where most of their conference already is. Not 7 and not 8.

[Usthockey13]

Final seeds

1 Duluth East (150.7) 5-1-1 20-2-3 5.4 1.9 Won 2
2 Andover (126.0) 6-3-0 20-5-0 5.1 1.9 Won 4
3 Elk River/ (114.7) 2-2-0 18-7-0 4.8 2.5 Won 4
4 C-E-C (111. 3-3-1 17-7-1 4.6 2.5 Lost 1
5 Duluth Marshall (115.4) 3-3-0 16-7-2 4.1 2.0 Won 3
6 Forest Lake (99.1) 3-3-0 14-10-1 2.4 2.5 Won 3
7 St. Francis (70.0) 2-2-0 14-11-0 4.2 3.1 Won 1
8 Grand Rapids (70.1) 2-5-0 6-18-1 1.6 4.4 Lost 1
9 Cambridge(31.5) 0-4-0 4-21-0 2.6 6.9 Lost 7

[hockey59]

Final seeds

1 Duluth East (150.7) 5-1-1 20-2-3 5.4 1.9 Won 2
2 Andover (126.0) 6-3-0 20-5-0 5.1 1.9 Won 4
3 Elk River/ (114.7) 2-2-0 18-7-0 4.8 2.5 Won 4
4 C-E-C (111. 3-3-1 17-7-1 4.6 2.5 Lost 1
5 Duluth Marshall (115.4) 3-3-0 16-7-2 4.1 2.0 Won 3
6 Forest Lake (99.1) 3-3-0 14-10-1 2.4 2.5 Won 3
7 St. Francis (70.0) 2-2-0 14-11-0 4.2 3.1 Won 1
8 Grand Rapids (70.1) 2-5-0 6-18-1 1.6 4.4 Lost 1
9 Cambridge(31.5) 0-4-0 4-21-0 2.6 6.9 Lost 7

I’ll be at Cloquet Tuesday & for once DE doesn’t get a walk over game to Amsoil

[Goose21]

Final seeds

1 Duluth East (150.7) 5-1-1 20-2-3 5.4 1.9 Won 2
2 Andover (126.0) 6-3-0 20-5-0 5.1 1.9 Won 4
3 Elk River/ (114.7) 2-2-0 18-7-0 4.8 2.5 Won 4
4 C-E-C (111. 3-3-1 17-7-1 4.6 2.5 Lost 1
5 Duluth Marshall (115.4) 3-3-0 16-7-2 4.1 2.0 Won 3
6 Forest Lake (99.1) 3-3-0 14-10-1 2.4 2.5 Won 3
7 St. Francis (70.0) 2-2-0 14-11-0 4.2 3.1 Won 1
8 Grand Rapids (70.1) 2-5-0 6-18-1 1.6 4.4 Lost 1
9 Cambridge(31.5) 0-4-0 4-21-0 2.6 6.9 Lost 7

The East, Rapids, CEC, DM side seems like the toughest route to state.

[greenwayraider]

Final seeds

1 Duluth East (150.7) 5-1-1 20-2-3 5.4 1.9 Won 2
2 Andover (126.0) 6-3-0 20-5-0 5.1 1.9 Won 4
3 Elk River/ (114.7) 2-2-0 18-7-0 4.8 2.5 Won 4
4 C-E-C (111. 3-3-1 17-7-1 4.6 2.5 Lost 1
5 Duluth Marshall (115.4) 3-3-0 16-7-2 4.1 2.0 Won 3
6 Forest Lake (99.1) 3-3-0 14-10-1 2.4 2.5 Won 3
7 St. Francis (70.0) 2-2-0 14-11-0 4.2 3.1 Won 1
8 Grand Rapids (70.1) 2-5-0 6-18-1 1.6 4.4 Lost 1
9 Cambridge(31.5) 0-4-0 4-21-0 2.6 6.9 Lost 7

I’ll be at Cloquet Tuesday & for once DE doesn’t get a walk over game to Amsoil

I'll be surprised if the East/Rapids game is not running time.

[hockey59]

Final seeds

1 Duluth East (150.7) 5-1-1 20-2-3 5.4 1.9 Won 2
2 Andover (126.0) 6-3-0 20-5-0 5.1 1.9 Won 4
3 Elk River/ (114.7) 2-2-0 18-7-0 4.8 2.5 Won 4
4 C-E-C (111. 3-3-1 17-7-1 4.6 2.5 Lost 1
5 Duluth Marshall (115.4) 3-3-0 16-7-2 4.1 2.0 Won 3
6 Forest Lake (99.1) 3-3-0 14-10-1 2.4 2.5 Won 3
7 St. Francis (70.0) 2-2-0 14-11-0 4.2 3.1 Won 1
8 Grand Rapids (70.1) 2-5-0 6-18-1 1.6 4.4 Lost 1
9 Cambridge(31.5) 0-4-0 4-21-0 2.6 6.9 Lost 7

I’ll be at Cloquet Tuesday & for once DE doesn’t get a walk over game to Amsoil

I'll be surprised if the East/Rapids game is not running time.

DE is going to win, but it won’t be like when they typically play St Francis or Cambridge

[WestMetro]

If you had got the coaches together from all other sections to plot against Mike Randolph in 7AA playoffs , you couldn’t have come up with a more conspiracy laden set of pairings:

First Grand Rapids state champions with a top 5 goalie , next semi finals against a crosstown battle tested top 15 rival, finally a bitter north-south rivalry game also against a top15 opponent

Then if he’s lucky enough to get out of the section and make it to Saint Paul , he will draw no. 7 WBL first , then would have to face Minnetonka in the semi’s to get to Edina Saturday nite

Karl/other’s - have I got this right?

[elliott70]

If you had got the coaches together from all other sections to plot against Mike Randolph in 7AA playoffs , you couldn’t have come up with a more conspiracy laden set of pairings:

First Grand Rapids state champions with a top 5 goalie , next semi finals against a crosstown battle tested top 15 rival, finally a bitter north-south rivalry game also against a top15 opponent

Then if he’s lucky enough to get out of the section and make it to Saint Paul , he will draw no. 7 WBL first , then would have to face Minnetonka in the semi’s to get to Edina Saturday nite

Karl/other’s - have I got this right?

Close....
Deast will win the first 2 games in sections going away by 4 or 5 and then beat Andover by 3.
They will be the third seed at state and get Tartan in the QF and then lose to Edina in the semi and lose to Moorhead in the third place game.

[hermantown2000]

Predictions:
Play in
Grand Rapids 6,Cambridge 0(
QF
Duluth East 4,Grand Rapids 3(Ot) Grand Rapids may be down this year but I think they will take the Hounds to the limit before falling short in another close and tense game
Cloquet 3, Duluth Marshall (Ot) Another close one going the Jacks way
Andover 10,St. Francis 0
Elk River 5,Forest Lake 2
Semifinals:
Duluth East 5,Cloquet 4(3 ots) The two regular season games between these two heated rivals were good ones. No reason why this game should be different
Elk River 4,Andover 2
Final
Duluth East 4, Elk River 3(OT)- Elk River will leave section 7 after the same script plays itself out again.

[grindiangrad-80]

I have to agree with Greenway on this one. If GR can get by Cambridge Saturday they would need all the planets to lineup perfectly to not get run out of the arena by East. Realistically, Rapids could get fantastic goal tending and still end up in running time.

Don't get me wrong, I would love to see a nail biter come down to the wire. That is asking a lot, even for a die hard orange and black fan.

[WestMetro]

Kniven , do you know the semis schedule yet, semis TV schedule , and Kniven living room semis broadcast schedule ?

[hockey59]

Predictions:
Play in
Grand Rapids 6,Cambridge 0(
QF
Duluth East 4,Grand Rapids 3(Ot) Grand Rapids may be down this year but I think they will take the Hounds to the limit before falling short in another close and tense game
Cloquet 3, Duluth Marshall (Ot) Another close one going the Jacks way
Andover 10,St. Francis 0
Elk River 5,Forest Lake 2
Semifinals:
Duluth East 5,Cloquet 4(3 ots) The two regular season games between these two heated rivals were good ones. No reason why this game should be different
Elk River 4,Andover 2
Final
Duluth East 4, Elk River 3(OT)- Elk River will leave section 7 after the same script plays itself out again.

GR taking DE to OT on Tuesday is just nonsense. They simply don’t have the TALENT to compete with DE in 2017-2018, even if Carey Price was between the pipes Tuesday Will they get put on running time, probably not, but it won’t be a 1 goal or 2 goal EN game. Not taking a shot at them...however reality is reality this season.

[alcloseshaver]

Elk River loosing to Armstrong Cooper late in the 3rd....

Elks win 6-1. My backup source must be on drugs.

Must have been a hell of a comeback Knivvsy.

[kniven]

Elk River loosing to Armstrong Cooper late in the 3rd....

Elks win 6-1. My backup source must be on drugs.

Must have been a hell of a comeback Knivvsy.

Exactly! Hey....Duluth East is a big favorite in the section playoffs. I know it’s not PC to say that. 2 Mr. Hockey finalists, 12 Elite League players, and Coach Randolph. #respect

[karl(east)]

If you had got the coaches together from all other sections to plot against Mike Randolph in 7AA playoffs , you couldn’t have come up with a more conspiracy laden set of pairings:

First Grand Rapids state champions with a top 5 goalie , next semi finals against a crosstown battle tested top 15 rival, finally a bitter north-south rivalry game also against a top15 opponent

Then if he’s lucky enough to get out of the section and make it to Saint Paul , he will draw no. 7 WBL first , then would have to face Minnetonka in the semi’s to get to Edina Saturday nite

Karl/other’s - have I got this right?

I don't know. GR in the first round is an interesting wrinkle, and if GR sticks around, yes it could become an adventure. The regular season game at IRA did stay close, though it was a deathly boring affair. GR executed its game plan and got Holum at his best, and they stuck around for a while. (Holum's numbers against East before that one were not particularly good.) Still, it was never in doubt; GR got its late goal on its only legitimate scoring chance of the entire contest. And East has known this quarterfinal matchup was likely for one, maybe two months now, so it's not coming as a surprise or something they'll take lightly. Yes, it's the playoffs, a team sticks around and starts to believe, etc. etc...it's all possible. But it could also be running time.

After that, they were always going to have to beat two good teams to get out of 7AA no matter what. I'm not sure the order they got seeded really mattered from an East perspective. Based on regular season results, you could argue that a bracket put Cloquet as the 3-seed and made East's possible path be GR-DM-CEC would be even more daunting. It's just that, on paper, their harder game may be in the semi than the final.

I'm not saying East is home free if they win the semi; Andover and ER are both capable of giving the Hounds a much better game than either of them did in the regular season. Both games were pretty tight for a period before the floodgates opened. But we knew from the start that East was #1 in this section, and that there was a large group of teams that would be nipping at their heels and have enough talent to pull an upset if enough goes right. None of that has changed. If East can't beat three of the other teams in 7AA in a row, no matter what order they'd come up against them, they don't deserve to go to State.

[kniven]

If you had got the coaches together from all other sections to plot against Mike Randolph in 7AA playoffs , you couldn’t have come up with a more conspiracy laden set of pairings:

First Grand Rapids state champions with a top 5 goalie , next semi finals against a crosstown battle tested top 15 rival, finally a bitter north-south rivalry game also against a top15 opponent

Then if he’s lucky enough to get out of the section and make it to Saint Paul , he will draw no. 7 WBL first , then would have to face Minnetonka in the semi’s to get to Edina Saturday nite

Karl/other’s - have I got this right?

I don't know. GR in the first round is an interesting wrinkle, and if GR sticks around, yes it could become an adventure. The regular season game at IRA did stay close, though it was a deathly boring affair. GR executed its game plan and got Holum at his best, and they stuck around for a while. (Holum's numbers against East before that one were not particularly good.) Still, it was never in doubt; GR got its late goal on its only legitimate scoring chance of the entire contest. And East has known this quarterfinal matchup was likely for one, maybe two months now, so it's not coming as a surprise or something they'll take lightly. Yes, it's the playoffs, a team sticks around and starts to believe, etc. etc...it's all possible. But it could also be running time.

After that, they were always going to have to beat two good teams to get out of 7AA no matter what. I'm not sure the order they got seeded really mattered from an East perspective. Based on regular season results, you could argue that a bracket put Cloquet as the 3-seed and made East's possible path be GR-DM-CEC would be even more daunting. It's just that, on paper, their harder game may be in the semi than the final.

I'm not saying East is home free if they win the semi; Andover and ER are both capable of giving the Hounds a much better game than either of them did in the regular season. Both games were pretty tight for a period before the floodgates opened. But we knew from the start that East was #1 in this section, and that there was a large group of teams that would be nipping at their heels and have enough talent to pull an upset if enough goes right. None of that has changed. If East can't beat three of the other teams in 7AA in a row, no matter what order they'd come up against them, they don't deserve to go to State.

You hit the nail on the head there KarlEast!

[WestMetro]

Karl, when is last time one section had 5 of the top 16 ranked teams in the state??

[kniven]

Grand Rapids dominated C/I tonite. The team in Orange seems to be clicking on all cylinders.......

[TheHockeyDJ]

Grand Rapids dominated C/I tonite. The team in Orange seems to be clicking on all cylinders.......

That was to be expected. Rapids will need to play like they did in the first period vs CEC to have any chance of keeping the game close vs East. I still expect the Hounds to make state, but their semifinal game might be the biggest roadblock.