Games Thursday 12-26-24

[elliott70]

Blake vs Pine City Area - National Sports Center - Super Rink Winter Classic 11:15 AM CST
Apple Valley/Burnsville vs Park of Cottage Grove - Heritage Sports Center - Heritage Hockey Classic 11:30 AM CST

Monticello vs Sauk Rapids-Rice - Municipal Athletic Complex - Granite City Showcase 11:30 AM CST
Somerset vs North Shore - St. Luke's Sports & Event Center, Proctor - Bill McGann Holiday Classic 12:00 PM CST

St. Thomas Academy vs Lakeville North - Dakotah! Ice Center - Tradition Holiday Invite 12:00 PM CST
Lakeville South vs Rogers - Plymouth Ice Center - Premiere Holiday Classic in the PIC 12:30 PM CST

Bemidji vs St. Cloud - Municipal Athletic Complex - Granite City Showcase 1:45 PM CST
Duluth Marshall vs Gentry Academy - National Sports Center - Super Rink Winter Classic 1:45 PM CST

Superior vs Mankato West - Heritage Sports Center - Heritage Hockey Classic 2:00 PM CST
Eden Prairie vs Cretin-Derham Hall - Dakotah! Ice Center - Tradition Holiday Invite 2:30 PM CST

Champlin Park vs Holy Angels - Maple Grove Community Center - Premiere Holiday Classic in the Grove 2:30 PM CST
Becker/Big Lake vs Breckenridge/Wahpeton - Fergus Falls Ice Arena - Fergus Falls Holiday Classic 2:30 PM CST

Osseo vs Red Lake Falls - St. Luke's Sports & Event Center, Proctor - Bill McGann Holiday Classic 2:30 PM CST
Minnetonka vs Wayzata - Plymouth Ice Center - Premiere Holiday Classic in the PIC 2:45 PM CST

Hayward vs Rochester Century/JM - Graham Arena - Rochester Kiwanis Hockey Festival 3:00 PM CST
Delano vs Hermantown - Hermantown Hockey Arena 3:00 PM CST

Grand Forks Red River (ND) vs Warroad - The Gardens Arena - Hockeytown Holiday Classic 4:00 PM CST
Minnesota River vs Providence Academy - National Sports Center - Super Rink Winter Classic 4:15 PM CST

Moose Lake Area vs Kittson County Central - Ely Ice Arena - Ely Holiday Classic 4:30 PM CST
Irondale vs Owatonna - Heritage Sports Center - Heritage Hockey Classic 4:30 PM CST

Rosemount vs Andover - Maple Grove Community Center - Premiere Holiday Classic in the Grove 5:00 PM CST
Chanhassen vs Sartell - St. Louis Park Rec Center - Premiere Holiday Classic in the Park 5:00 PM CST

Minot (ND) vs Lake of the Woods - Memorial Arena - Roseau Holiday Classic 5:00 PM CST
Hill-Murray vs Prior Lake - Dakotah! Ice Center - Tradition Holiday Invite 5:00 PM CST

Worthington vs Faribault - Windom City Arena - Windom Holiday Classic 5:00 PM CST

Cloquet/Esko/Carlton vs Luverne - Municipal Athletic Complex - Granite City Showcase 5:00 PM CST
Fort Frances (ON) vs Bagley/Fosston - Bronco Arena - International Falls Holiday Classic 5:00 PM CST

Brookfield vs Hopkins - St. Luke's Sports & Event Center, Proctor - Bill McGann Holiday Classic 5:00 PM CST
La Crescent-Hokah vs Dodge County - Graham Arena - Rochester Kiwanis Hockey Festival 5:30 PM CST

Bloomington Kennedy vs Windom - Windom City Arena - Windom Holiday Classic 7:00 PM CST
Robbinsdale Armstrong/Cooper vs Roseau - Memorial Arena - Roseau Holiday Classic 7:00 PM CST

Anoka vs Duluth Denfeld - Heritage Sports Center - Heritage Hockey Classic 7:00 PM CST
Ely vs MayPort (ND) - Ely Ice Arena - Ely Holiday Classic 7:00 PM CST

Albert Lea vs Fergus Falls - Fergus Falls Ice Arena - Fergus Falls Holiday Classic 7:00 PM CST
Moorhead vs Edina - Dakotah! Ice Center - Tradition Holiday Invite 7:15 PM CST

Mankato East vs St. Cloud Cathedral - Municipal Athletic Complex - Granite City Showcase 7:15 PM CST
Willmar vs International Falls - Bronco Arena - International Falls Holiday Classic 7:30 PM CST

Proctor vs New Ulm - St. Luke's Sports & Event Center, Proctor - Bill McGann Holiday Classic 7:30 PM CST
Shakopee vs Benilde-St. Margaret's - St. Louis Park Rec Center - Premiere Holiday Classic in the Park 7:30 PM CST

Maple Grove vs Holy Family - Maple Grove Community Center - Premiere Holiday Classic in the Grove 7:30 PM CST
Fargo South/Shanley (ND) vs Rochester Mayo - Graham Arena - Rochester Kiwanis Hockey Festival 7:45 PM CST

[east hockey]

Top games today in Minnesota Boys' high school hockey per PageStat:

#27 Champlin Park vs #9 Holy Angels
#14 Eden Prairie vs #4 Cretin-Derham Hall
#19 Lakeville South vs #5 Rogers
#12 Minnetonka vs #15 Wayzata
#8 Moorhead vs #3 Edina ***
#13 Shakopee vs #17 Benilde

*** Game of the Day

(will be posted on my Bluesky account at the season progresses)

[ryguyMN]

Apparently, STA is playing with a backup goalie for the whole holiday tourney. No reason given.

[BlueLineSpecial]

Anyone know how the picked the games being played for the Tradition Holiday Invitational? Hill has a soft draw compared to every other team in the tourney. Is this because they didn't want Hill playing STA & Edina 3 times this year (we're already scheduled to play both twice)? Or is it purely a random draw?

[Brodziak Fan Club]

After 1:

CHD 1
EP 0

Cretin's D struggled to handle EP's heaviness for a while, but the Raiders speed slowly took over as the period went on, drawing two Eagle penalties late in the period.

[Brodziak Fan Club]

Anyone know how the picked the games being played for the Tradition Holiday Invitational? Hill has a soft draw compared to every other team in the tourney. Is this because they didn't want Hill playing STA & Edina 3 times this year (we're already scheduled to play both twice)? Or is it purely a random draw?

On the YHH pod Tony has alluded to the fact that teams get more say/their schedules get tougher the more years they play in the tournament.

[Brodziak Fan Club]

Final
CDH 3 (EN)
EP 1

Cretin definitely the more talented team but a bit undisciplined and relied on creating chances off the rush. Thought Eden Prairie did a nice job pushing them around on the forecheck but scoring goals seems like pulling teeth for the Eagles right now.

[BlueLineSpecial]

Hill up 6-0 after 1

https://www.youthhockeyhub.com/livegamevideos

Streaming link above

[SEC Scotty]

Anyone know how the picked the games being played for the Tradition Holiday Invitational? Hill has a soft draw compared to every other team in the tourney. Is this because they didn't want Hill playing STA & Edina 3 times this year (we're already scheduled to play both twice)? Or is it purely a random draw?

The problem is there are so many Holiday Tournaments in the Metro area the competition is watered down.
The other problem is none are in the East Metro.
Hill should host a Holiday Classic and hand pick the teams much like their players.

[Lino Lakes Hockey]

CDH Max Anderson out the next few for fighting. Will be interesting to see how they adjust without one of their top playmakers.

[BlueLineSpecial]

Anyone know how the picked the games being played for the Tradition Holiday Invitational? Hill has a soft draw compared to every other team in the tourney. Is this because they didn't want Hill playing STA & Edina 3 times this year (we're already scheduled to play both twice)? Or is it purely a random draw?

The problem is there are so many Holiday Tournaments in the Metro area the competition is watered down.
The other problem is none are in the East Metro.
Hill should host a Holiday Classic and hand pick the teams much like their players.

Meh. Then all the tools who whine about sections at Aldrich and Hill home cooking will whine about Hill having an advantage in an Aldrich holiday tourney. Maybe White Bear could host? They could ask Gentry to borrow their rink for the weekend.

[Smooth]

CDH Max Anderson out the next few for fighting. Will be interesting to see how they adjust without one of their top playmakers.

Cdh is a team of knuckleheads

[ClassAGuy]

BHS Hockey Class A Scores
Thursday (12/26/24)
Section 1A
Dodge County 10 La Crescent-Hokah 0
Faribault 10 Worthington 4
Albert Lea 1 Fergus Falls 5

Section 2A
#8 Delano 0 #2 Hermantown 3
#24 Providence Academy 7 Minnesota River 4

Section 3A
#18 Luverne 1 #1 Cloquet/Esko/Carlton 4
Mankato East 0 #6 St Cloud Cathedral 5
New Ulm 4 #16 Proctor 1
Minnesota River 4 #24 Providence Academy 7
Mankato West 1 Superior (Wis.) 2 OT
Worthington 4 Faribault 10
Windom 3 Bloomington Kennedy 6

Section 4A
Bloomington Kennedy 6 Windom 3

Section 5A
#3 Monticello 4 Sauk Rapids 2
#6 St Cloud Cathedral 5 Mankato East 0
Pine City 0 Blake 4
Becker/Big Lake 5 Breckenridge/Wahpeton 4 OT

Section 6A
Breckenridge/Wahpeton 4 Becker Big Lake 5 OT
Fergus Falls 5 Albert Lea 1
Willmar 3 International Falls 1

Section 7A
#1 Cloquet/Esko/Carlton 4 #18 Luverne 1
#2 Hermantown 3 #8 Delano 0
#16 Proctor 1 New Ulm 4
North Shore 1 Somerset (Wis.) 2
Moose Lake 2 Kittson County Central 3
Ely 1 Mayville/Portland (N.D.) 7
International Falls 1 Willmar 3

Section 8A
#4 Warroad 4 Grand Forks Red River (N.D.) 2
Red Lake Falls 1 Osseo 5
Kittson County Central 3 Moose Lake 2
Lake of the Woods 2 Minot (N.D.) 10
Bagley/Fosston 2 Fort Frances (Ontario) 3

[slacsap]

Anyone know how the picked the games being played for the Tradition Holiday Invitational? Hill has a soft draw compared to every other team in the tourney. Is this because they didn't want Hill playing STA & Edina 3 times this year (we're already scheduled to play both twice)? Or is it purely a random draw?

The problem is there are so many Holiday Tournaments in the Metro area the competition is watered down.
The other problem is none are in the East Metro.
Hill should host a Holiday Classic and hand pick the teams much like their players.

Doesn't every team pick their players? Isn't that what try outs are for?

[East Side Pioneer Guy]

Are these really tournaments? Is there a a trophy awarded? Aren't these just exhibitions? I don't mean exhibitions in the sense of games that don't count at all, but they seem to be no different than any other regular season non-conference games.

Holiday tournaments don't have a great track record o success in attracting fans. It seems like the 8 team bracketed tournaments were not popular with coaches, they only knew the first opponent. After that, you may draw a couple of lower tier teams that weren't enough of a challenge. Pool play came next. At least you knew who you played, but it lacked the drama of a bracketed tournament; the final game may be between two teams that lost both previous games, and there may not be an actual championship game.

I guess that's how we got here, where at least you know who is playing who and when. It seems like we just slap the name "tournament" on instead of calling it "Three regular season non-conference games for each team", which doesn't have a great ring to it.

I don't recall on the YHH podcast where Tony said that there are some sort of seniority rights, but I may have missed it. I do recall him saying that each coach gets to pick two opponents, can block one opponent, and gets assigned the 3rd.

What has long bothered me is the idea that it's somehow anathema to play a conference opponent 3 times in the regular season, or a non-conference opponent twice. If it's good competition, who cares? I want Hill playing a tough schedule, and if that means coming up against STA three times, I'm good with that.

[East Side Pioneer Guy]

Anyone know how the picked the games being played for the Tradition Holiday Invitational? Hill has a soft draw compared to every other team in the tourney. Is this because they didn't want Hill playing STA & Edina 3 times this year (we're already scheduled to play both twice)? Or is it purely a random draw?

The problem is there are so many Holiday Tournaments in the Metro area the competition is watered down.
The other problem is none are in the East Metro.
Hill should host a Holiday Classic and hand pick the teams much like their players.

And what would you like to go with that whine? I would suggest a delicious white cheddar. Just make sure it sits out of the fridge for a good half hour, so that you can fully enjoy it.

[Sparlimb]

Andover Strikes Back

[SEC Scotty]

Anyone know how the picked the games being played for the Tradition Holiday Invitational? Hill has a soft draw compared to every other team in the tourney. Is this because they didn't want Hill playing STA & Edina 3 times this year (we're already scheduled to play both twice)? Or is it purely a random draw?

The problem is there are so many Holiday Tournaments in the Metro area the competition is watered down.
The other problem is none are in the East Metro.
Hill should host a Holiday Classic and hand pick the teams much like their players.

And what would you like to go with that whine? I would suggest a delicious white cheddar. Just make sure it sits out of the fridge for a good half hour, so that you can fully enjoy it.

Totally enjoy ruffling you and your girlfriends feathers.

[BlueLineSpecial]

The problem is there are so many Holiday Tournaments in the Metro area the competition is watered down.
The other problem is none are in the East Metro.
Hill should host a Holiday Classic and hand pick the teams much like their players.

And what would you like to go with that whine? I would suggest a delicious white cheddar. Just make sure it sits out of the fridge for a good half hour, so that you can fully enjoy it.

Totally enjoy ruffling you and your girlfriends feathers.

Early start to the name-calling this year! I recall last season you didn't start swearing and name-calling until like game 15. It's starting earlier - chalk that up to Alzheimers progression or the Pioneers being undefeated. Regardless, it's nice to have our 4AA puppy dog back, following around the HM posters, commenting on everything they say. Sit. Stay. Good boy!

[Sparlimb]

By thew way, not said in the thread yet. Moorhead is REALLY good. Don't often see teams that have the better of play than Edina, but that's what we saw. Edina just could not keep up with them or stop them from scoring. Was a fun game to watch, one of the best games I've seen in a long time. Moorhead vs STA is going to be a great game on Saturday.

[CrimsonCakeEater]

By thew way, not said in the thread yet. Moorhead is REALLY good. Don't often see teams that have the better of play than Edina, but that's what we saw. Edina just could not keep up with them or stop them from scoring. Was a fun game to watch, one of the best games I've seen in a long time. Moorhead vs STA is going to be a great game on Saturday.

Moorhead was absolutely the better team, but I don’t think the score is reflective of the game. Edina very nearly tied it at 4 early in the third period despite being down 3-0 in the second. STA will have their work cut out for them the next two days, I think those two teams are the second and third best in the state (sorry Hill).

[ryguyMN]

Are these really tournaments? Is there a a trophy awarded? Aren't these just exhibitions? I don't mean exhibitions in the sense of games that don't count at all, but they seem to be no different than any other regular season non-conference games.

I see them more as showcases, not tournaments. There's no bracket involved, or champion formally declared.

[ryguyMN]

By thew way, not said in the thread yet. Moorhead is REALLY good. Don't often see teams that have the better of play than Edina, but that's what we saw. Edina just could not keep up with them or stop them from scoring. Was a fun game to watch, one of the best games I've seen in a long time. Moorhead vs STA is going to be a great game on Saturday.

I could see Moorhead playing Saturday night at the X. I really liked what I saw out of them against Edina. They're right there with STA and Hill.

[grindiangrad-80]

By thew way, not said in the thread yet. Moorhead is REALLY good. Don't often see teams that have the better of play than Edina, but that's what we saw. Edina just could not keep up with them or stop them from scoring. Was a fun game to watch, one of the best games I've seen in a long time. Moorhead vs STA is going to be a great game on Saturday.

Moorhead was absolutely the better team, but I don’t think the score is reflective of the game. Edina very nearly tied it at 4 early in the third period despite being down 3-0 in the second. STA will have their work cut out for them the next two days, I think those two teams are the second and third best in the state (sorry Hill).

[grindiangrad-80]

By thew way, not said in the thread yet. Moorhead is REALLY good. Don't often see teams that have the better of play than Edina, but that's what we saw. Edina just could not keep up with them or stop them from scoring. Was a fun game to watch, one of the best games I've seen in a long time. Moorhead vs STA is going to be a great game on Saturday.

Moorhead was absolutely the better team, but I don’t think the score is reflective of the game. Edina very nearly tied it at 4 early in the third period despite being down 3-0 in the second. STA will have their work cut out for them the next two days, I think those two teams are the second and third best in the state (sorry Hill).