Big 9

dontmesswiththebest · Fri Dec 18, 2009 10:38 am

[quote="itech22"]dallasstars10 you are right? From the drop of the puck East had no chance due to the energy of Mayo the forecheck was outstanding. Mayo is a very confusing team and needs to realize that hustle alone is going to make them successfull at times such as this. Mayo so far is usually really good out there or really bad. If they can find some consistency they will be a scary team to play for possible upsets in the future.. But until then we will see.

scarlethockey to answer a little bit of your question on who is scoring for Mayo. 12 players last night had a point for Mayo which is very impressive. But the play maker they have is Spencer Lee (junior) who leads the team in scoring . This kid has wheels upon wheels which creates things. I see Austin allowed 81 shots playing Century (ouch) and only had 11. I imagine frutiger shut it down after the 2nd . Owatonna seems to have it's struggles at times as well looking at last night's score. Winona is going to be a team that Faribault and Century have to take seriously or else. JM getting a win over West. West must be really down this year.[/quote]

yeah they allowed 81 shots and how many of those shots were actually goal scoring opportunities, about 10-15, anyone can go on the ice and launch shots towards the goal, that doesn't mean they are going in

Hockey1919 · Post by **Hockey1919** » Fri Dec 18, 2009 10:58 am

I would bet that 20 or 25 of Centurys shot were very good scoring chances. Austins goalie played a great game to keep to score from being 11, 12, 13 to 1.

SEMNHOCKEYFAN · Post by **SEMNHOCKEYFAN** » Fri Dec 18, 2009 1:13 pm

Great win for mayo! Everyone was hyping east to be able to beat mayo and mayo was able to get the win

What happened to West this year? they have seemed to fall off a little

topshelf23 · Post by **topshelf23** » Fri Dec 18, 2009 2:07 pm

quote="itech22"]dallasstars10 you are right? From the drop of the puck East had no chance due to the energy of Mayo the forecheck was outstanding. Mayo is a very confusing team and needs to realize that hustle alone is going to make them successfull at times such as this. Mayo so far is usually really good out there or really bad. If they can find some consistency they will be a scary team to play for possible upsets in the future.. But until then we will see.

scarlethockey to answer a little bit of your question on who is scoring for Mayo. 12 players last night had a point for Mayo which is very impressive. But the play maker they have is Spencer Lee (junior) who leads the team in scoring . This kid has wheels upon wheels which creates things. I see Austin allowed 81 shots playing Century (ouch) and only had 11. I imagine frutiger shut it down after the 2nd . Owatonna seems to have it's struggles at times as well looking at last night's score. Winona is going to be a team that Faribault and Century have to take seriously or else. JM getting a win over West. West must be really down this year.[/quote]
yeah they allowed 81 shots and how many of those shots were actually goal scoring opportunities, about 10-15, anyone can go on the ice and launch shots towards the goal, that doesn't mean they are going in

Dontmesswiththebest you are obviously an austin fan. 81 shots on you usually means that austin had 2 maybe 3 skate marks in century's zone and it was more than likely the refs when they went to go get the puck after austin desperately iced it. Century would of had more but im guessing there 3 and 4 lines played most of the 3rd period.

topshelf23 · Post by **topshelf23** » Fri Dec 18, 2009 2:35 pm

dontmesswiththebest wrote:
siouxhcky21 wrote:
anidesx wrote:Number 8. Austin
Number 9. Mayo
No matter how bad Mayo is, they will not finish worst than Austin.

siouxhcky you're only saying that because your kid was bad for austin in all 3 of his sports so you transfered him to mayo where guess what, he'll still be bad, i've seen austin play this year and they are a changed team from the past couple years, will they be great probably not but they will be a challenge for some teams in the big 9

um dontmesswiththebest the cleveland browns have a better chance of winning the super bowl this year than austin does of winning or even coming close to winning a big 9 game this year...what kid r u TRYING to talk about

a1puck · Post by **a1puck** » Fri Dec 18, 2009 3:05 pm

topgun wrote:mankato west now 1-4, their only win against a Canadian team that could not beat any JV teams in the state of Minnesota, whats going on with these guys ??? looks like its going to be a very long year for them, they might beat Austin or St Peter but that will be about it

What happened to Mankato West? Did the youth program change? Did the High School coach screw it up? My bet is the the underlying program is about the same as it has always been. This year West struggles. The last couple years it was East. Soon the "experts" will chime in with all the answers, or at least point out the flaws.

Different kids. Seems like the best teams have the best players. Bigger, Faster, Stronger.

scarlethockey33 · Post by **scarlethockey33** » Fri Dec 18, 2009 5:48 pm

mankato west has a problem getting pucks in the net. that's really their most obvious problem, they get shots and good chances but until someone on this team or the team as a whole establishes the ability to score goals game in and game out they will continue to lose games.

LifeForHockey · Post by **LifeForHockey** » Fri Dec 18, 2009 11:10 pm

not saying this is a huge difference but they also have a new coach this year, and from my perspective the team doesn't seem as tightly bound together as they were under the previous coach. (sorry i forgot his name for some reason)

SEMinnHockeyNut · Post by **SEMinnHockeyNut** » Sat Dec 19, 2009 11:57 am

It seems that most teams are looking for their identity at this point...there is always the loss of players, but this year some team's lost a ton of guys and have many inexperienced guys...plus a team like West has a new coach on top of it. Still too early in the year to judge the teams, but I think the teams that find their identity and play consistent hockey are going to win most nights...I still think teams 3-8, maybe even 9 are all pretty even.

Only one game between conference foes tonight..Mayo at Owatonna.
West plays New Prague in a section game though.

godaddy · Post by **godaddy** » Sat Dec 19, 2009 10:58 pm

scarlethockey33 wrote:mankato west has a problem getting pucks in the net. that's really their most obvious problem, they get shots and good chances but until someone on this team or the team as a whole establishes the ability to score goals game in and game out they will continue to lose games.

Maybe it has something to do with "The Crankshaft's wonderboy" with only one assist, but 30 count them 30 penalty minutes in 6 games, OUCH!!! Campbell is a great player, but suffers with help like that. West needs to keep Jose out of the penalty box so Campbell has a chance to score.

godaddy · Post by **godaddy** » Sat Dec 19, 2009 11:04 pm

topgun wrote:mankato west now 1-4, their only win against a Canadian team that could not beat any JV teams in the state of Minnesota, whats going on with these guys ??? looks like its going to be a very long year for them, they might beat Austin or St Peter but that will be about it

Sorry make that 1-5

how many penalties did Crankshaft's Wonderboy take tonight at 5 a game he can't be too tired.

SEMNHOCKEYFAN · Post by **SEMNHOCKEYFAN** » Sun Dec 20, 2009 12:51 am

Mayo Beat Owatonna 5-4....looks to me like it was a psysical game....lots of penaltys and Ben O'reilly had a hat trick

LifeForHockey · Post by **LifeForHockey** » Sun Dec 20, 2009 1:29 am

seems like Mayo is making some sort of an early season turn around

SEMNHOCKEYFAN · Post by **SEMNHOCKEYFAN** » Sun Dec 20, 2009 1:41 am

Could look that way.....but i think its key for them to make some noise in the kiawanis tournament

They got farmington then Eastview in the 1st round of the Tourny....then they have there tradition weekend series with hibbing and virginia after the new year key time of hockey for the spartans

GopherPuck15 · Post by **GopherPuck15** » Sun Dec 20, 2009 12:15 pm

Made it to the New Prague/West game last night. My thoughts?
-teams were fairly even.
-West's power play needs to be better
-New Prague plays a gritty style, somewhat like Albert Lea, and leads to success
-Sam Olson is a very good defenseman. fundamentally sound player, doesn't do anything out of the ordinary, but he can play.
-West just cannot seem to score. They had chances, even had a puck sitting on the goalline swarming the net and couldn't put it in.
-It seems to me that West obviously is having trouble scoring, but that they're just in a slump and can't get a bounce to go their way. They need a win for the confidence to let them know they can win a hockey game.

West/East game tuesday night could make or break the Scarlets season in my opinion. Should be a great hockey game, and we know those East boys want nothing more than to pound the Scarlets.

hockeydad · Post by **hockeydad** » Sun Dec 20, 2009 2:26 pm

Good observation about New Prague playing a gritty style. I was talking to someone last night at the game and we agreed that New prague is playing well together and learning how to play without the prolific scorers they have relied on in recent years. As long as they play gritty and don't deteriorate into cheap, they will be OK. As for West, yes, they had some good chances but couldn't put the puck in the net.

scarlethockey33 · Post by **scarlethockey33** » Sun Dec 20, 2009 2:38 pm

the east/west game might be pretty competitive this year compared to past years.

i think it'll come down to west's defense/goal tending vs. east's 1st line

by the way west's coach last year was Ken Essay, new coach is Curtis Doell. Coach Doell has assisted Essay for most of the years Essay coached, most of the upperclassmen know him. i don't think the "bond" with the coach is the problem.

Edger · Post by **Edger** » Sun Dec 20, 2009 4:01 pm

The East/West clash will be awesome this year (finally).
No more blow-outs now that Litch and Leivermann and the twins have moved on.
Coach Doell is a good dude and a great coach, imo. Essay got out while the getting was good. He had a nice run of skilled players who are mostly gone. Took the AD job, can't blame him. A lot of coaches would like to progress up to the AD spot.
It looks like East should win this one this year, but the rivalry aspect will make it a heck of a game. One-goal or an OT wouldn't surprise me one bit.

siouxhcky21 · Post by **siouxhcky21** » Sun Dec 20, 2009 4:23 pm

itech22 wrote:dallasstars10 you are right? From the drop of the puck East had no chance due to the energy of Mayo the forecheck was outstanding. Mayo is a very confusing team and needs to realize that hustle alone is going to make them successfull at times such as this. Mayo so far is usually really good out there or really bad. If they can find some consistency they will be a scary team to play for possible upsets in the future.. But until then we will see.

scarlethockey to answer a little bit of your question on who is scoring for Mayo. 12 players last night had a point for Mayo which is very impressive. But the play maker they have is Spencer Lee (junior) who leads the team in scoring . This kid has wheels upon wheels which creates things. I see Austin allowed 81 shots playing Century (ouch) and only had 11. I imagine frutiger shut it down after the 2nd . Owatonna seems to have it's struggles at times as well looking at last night's score. Winona is going to be a team that Faribault and Century have to take seriously or else. JM getting a win over West. West must be really down this year.

Sounds like Spencer Lee is out for a few weeks after breaking his collar bone last night against Owatonna. He is a senior by the way.

HShockey2180 · Post by **HShockey2180** » Sun Dec 20, 2009 6:42 pm

Mayo has more skilled players than Lee, no offense to him, they proved last night that they can scrape out a win without him so they should be alright.

Black Ice · Post by **Black Ice** » Sun Dec 20, 2009 8:25 pm

Faribault 7 Owatonna 1
Mound 2 Faribault 0
Shakopee 3 Austin 2 OT
East 5 Waconia 4

OU812 · Post by **OU812** » Mon Dec 21, 2009 9:08 pm

Based on the scores so far, I'll take Century to win the Big 9. Faribault and Winona are solid, but Century has played a tougher schedule and looked strongest. The rest are still a little hard to sort out, especially Mayo and JM, who have been up and down.
I'm hoping West can hang tough with East tomorrow night, but we'll have to see because those East forwards can sure score. Right, Black Ice?

Skill Stick · Post by **Skill Stick** » Mon Dec 21, 2009 9:17 pm

I wish I could see the West/East game tomorrow. That first line of East has been quite strong this year. West has an all around decent team, hopefully they can score! Should be a great game!

LifeForHockey · Post by **LifeForHockey** » Mon Dec 21, 2009 10:02 pm

January and February will bring many answers to the various questions about who will take the conference and who will be on bottom.

a few big dates are Jan. 7th when Century travels to Winona, and then Faribault has 2 February games against both Century and Winona and those are the games that will really decide it. Unless one of the three teams in the running(Faribault/Winona/Century) loses to one of the "ok" Big 9 teams then it is going to come down to who shows up every game, but especially the 3 I mentioned.

The Big 9 is going to be a very fun conference to watch because it is virtually unmeasurable, although I am sure everyone has their own predictions, no one will truly know until much further down the road.

Black Ice · Post by **Black Ice** » Mon Dec 21, 2009 11:03 pm

OU812 wrote:Based on the scores so far, I'll take Century to win the Big 9. Faribault and Winona are solid, but Century has played a tougher schedule and looked strongest. The rest are still a little hard to sort out, especially Mayo and JM, who have been up and down.
I'm hoping West can hang tough with East tomorrow night, but we'll have to see because those East forwards can sure score. Right, Black Ice?

East does have some forwards that can score. They've even been getting some goals from their second line in the last few games. Their weakness is they tend to give up too many goals. That could be because their defensemen are almost all recently converted forwards. The D are a work in progress at not only honing their individual skills, but learning to work with a defensive partner. They're all good enough skaters and with enough work they'll hopefully start cutting down on the other teams good scoring opportunities. If East doesn't get down by too many goals to West early in the game they could make it a competitive contest.

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Big 9

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updates 12/20/09