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kniven wrote:I can't seem to get a sense of who takes over though for Bruce from talking to Hermantown hockey folks...

Jeffy95 wrote:

pekyman wrote:

Usthockey13 wrote:
Rumor on the streets in Duluth is Hermantown has submitted papers for moving up to AA and Bruce is going to retire at seasons end

If this is true, I expect Jeffy and Rainier to donate handsomely to the Hermantown rink fund. "Desperately" is an understatement.

Not sure how this affects the High School classification. The Youth program could use the extra sheet, it doesn't affect the High School team. High Schools get priority and they get all of the ice they want. It's mostly a convenience issue for the youth, since they are able to currently rent what they need, mostly from MARS and Carlton. Duluth is in pretty much the same boat with East and Denfeld sharing Fryberger and Heritage. Could be some rental opening up in Proctor's old building too now that they are building a new Arena.

hockey59 wrote:

karl(east) wrote:Well, that Rapids-Cloquet game was one of the more remarkable games I've seen in a while.

It's just baffling to see a team with as much talent as GR look so anemic. There were a few moments when Miller turned on the jets, and one nice feed he had to McLaughlin that prompted a huge save out of Newman when it was still 2-0...but beyond that, they just looked so incredibly flat. They were outworked, with Cloquet skaters going around a lot of orange pylons, and the body language and general vibe off the bench just seemed very down.

They could still turn it around, of course. The talent is there. They did look better in the 3rd period when they broke up the big 3 and could sustain some zone time, though CEC had also grown more defensive by that point, so it's hard to say if that was a sign of progress or just a function of the game situation. No matter what, Klatt has his work cut out for him as he tries to rally this group.

What shouldn't be lost in all of this is Cloquet's effort tonight...they forechecked hard and really took it to the Rapids D. It's an aggressive call against a team that can be lethal in transition, but it sure worked. Their top line hung in there pretty well against Rapids' big guns, and the lower lines were much better than GR's; the second line accounted for 3 of the 4 goals. Some of those kids are growing up, none more so than Landon Langenbrunner, whose waltz about the ice before the 3rd goal was a thing of beauty. This win put this team back on the map, and they could yet cause some trouble in sections.

I think Cloquet has a strong case for the 3-seed, with a convincing later win, a win over an Andover team that GR tied, and general momentum heading into sections. GR just has to make a case for overall body of work and strength of schedule. In the end, though, I'm never one to say it matters that much. Rapids will probably have to go through East and Elk River regardless if they want to go back, while there's not much distinction between Andover and Marshall in the first round. On paper you'd say East would gain and Elk River would lose from CEC being 3 and GR being 4, but honestly, with the way both are playing right now, is that really the case? I guess it depends how much faith you have in GR's ability to flip the switch when their season is suddenly on the line.

East isn't exactly lighting the world on fire right now either, with a flat loss to Lakeville South and Will Fisher probably done for the year with an injury. (Of course, they went into sections pretty flat last season too, and still had themselves a 2-goal lead in the 3rd period of the section final.) On the whole, things are lining up right there for Elk River right now...we'll see if they can cash in.

Despite the ugly swoon, GR will get the 3rd seed. Karl, your wearing your DE goggles (not wanting to play GR in the semifinals) to rationalize an argument for Cloquet getting the 3rd seed. Cloquet's only quality win all season was last night. GR split the season series with Cloquet...and has beaten EP, Edina, Tonka, Wayzata and WBL. I was at the ER vs MG game last night...ER's defense is airtight at this stage of the season...and the ER supporters heads will literally EXPLODE if GR is dropped to the 4th seed, after ER earned the #1 seed. While Cloquet's young team has improved no doubt through the course of the season and Esse is an excellent coach, they'll have a tough time scoring in the semifinals vs ER, and Murray was back to his normal game and heathy last night. The main difference with this ER team compared to the last few years is Coach Gustavson has them playing a more disaplined style, not so much run and gun like the Jamemko teams, so very few odd man rushes given up now compared to those teams...and at least one of Nick Perbix or Benton Mass is on the ice at ALL times, making them very difficult to pin on the forecheck.

Goldyismoldy wrote:

kniven wrote:I can't seem to get a sense of who takes over though for Bruce from talking to Hermantown hockey folks...

If the qualifications are old and perennially crabby, I nominate Elliott.

kniven wrote:

Jeffy95 wrote:

pekyman wrote: If this is true, I expect Jeffy and Rainier to donate handsomely to the Hermantown rink fund. "Desperately" is an understatement.

Not sure how this affects the High School classification. The Youth program could use the extra sheet, it doesn't affect the High School team. High Schools get priority and they get all of the ice they want. It's mostly a convenience issue for the youth, since they are able to currently rent what they need, mostly from MARS and Carlton. Duluth is in pretty much the same boat with East and Denfeld sharing Fryberger and Heritage. Could be some rental opening up in Proctor's old building too now that they are building a new Arena.

I've talked to some prominent hockey folks in Hermantown this year during a game. They are currently designing/planning another sheet of ice. Just a matter of time. I sure hope Duluth Marshall stays AA once Hermantown moves up next year. I can't seem to get a sense of who takes over though for Bruce from talking to Hermantown hockey folks...

Wet Paint wrote:

kniven wrote:

Jeffy95 wrote: Not sure how this affects the High School classification. The Youth program could use the extra sheet, it doesn't affect the High School team. High Schools get priority and they get all of the ice they want. It's mostly a convenience issue for the youth, since they are able to currently rent what they need, mostly from MARS and Carlton. Duluth is in pretty much the same boat with East and Denfeld sharing Fryberger and Heritage. Could be some rental opening up in Proctor's old building too now that they are building a new Arena.

I've talked to some prominent hockey folks in Hermantown this year during a game. They are currently designing/planning another sheet of ice. Just a matter of time. I sure hope Duluth Marshall stays AA once Hermantown moves up next year. I can't seem to get a sense of who takes over though for Bruce from talking to Hermantown hockey folks...

A couple of years ago when they took second for the 15th or 16th time at state I was talking to a couple of guys who have kids in that program about the same thing. Their theory was that their bantam AA coach would move up to the job.

hockey59 wrote:

karl(east) wrote:Well, that Rapids-Cloquet game was one of the more remarkable games I've seen in a while.

It's just baffling to see a team with as much talent as GR look so anemic. There were a few moments when Miller turned on the jets, and one nice feed he had to McLaughlin that prompted a huge save out of Newman when it was still 2-0...but beyond that, they just looked so incredibly flat. They were outworked, with Cloquet skaters going around a lot of orange pylons, and the body language and general vibe off the bench just seemed very down.

They could still turn it around, of course. The talent is there. They did look better in the 3rd period when they broke up the big 3 and could sustain some zone time, though CEC had also grown more defensive by that point, so it's hard to say if that was a sign of progress or just a function of the game situation. No matter what, Klatt has his work cut out for him as he tries to rally this group.

What shouldn't be lost in all of this is Cloquet's effort tonight...they forechecked hard and really took it to the Rapids D. It's an aggressive call against a team that can be lethal in transition, but it sure worked. Their top line hung in there pretty well against Rapids' big guns, and the lower lines were much better than GR's; the second line accounted for 3 of the 4 goals. Some of those kids are growing up, none more so than Landon Langenbrunner, whose waltz about the ice before the 3rd goal was a thing of beauty. This win put this team back on the map, and they could yet cause some trouble in sections.

I think Cloquet has a strong case for the 3-seed, with a convincing later win, a win over an Andover team that GR tied, and general momentum heading into sections. GR just has to make a case for overall body of work and strength of schedule. In the end, though, I'm never one to say it matters that much. Rapids will probably have to go through East and Elk River regardless if they want to go back, while there's not much distinction between Andover and Marshall in the first round. On paper you'd say East would gain and Elk River would lose from CEC being 3 and GR being 4, but honestly, with the way both are playing right now, is that really the case? I guess it depends how much faith you have in GR's ability to flip the switch when their season is suddenly on the line.

East isn't exactly lighting the world on fire right now either, with a flat loss to Lakeville South and Will Fisher probably done for the year with an injury. (Of course, they went into sections pretty flat last season too, and still had themselves a 2-goal lead in the 3rd period of the section final.) On the whole, things are lining up right there for Elk River right now...we'll see if they can cash in.

Despite the ugly swoon, GR will get the 3rd seed. Karl, your wearing your DE goggles (not wanting to play GR in the semifinals) to rationalize an argument for Cloquet getting the 3rd seed. Cloquet's only quality win all season was last night. GR split the season series with Cloquet...and has beaten EP, Edina, Tonka, Wayzata and WBL. I was at the ER vs MG game last night...ER's defense is airtight at this stage of the season...and the ER supporters heads will literally EXPLODE if GR is dropped to the 4th seed, after ER earned the #1 seed. While Cloquet's young team has improved no doubt through the course of the season and Esse is an excellent coach, they'll have a tough time scoring in the semifinals vs ER, and Murray was back to his normal game and heathy last night. The main difference with this ER team compared to the last few years is Coach Gustavson has them playing a more disaplined style, not so much run and gun like the Jamemko teams, so very few odd man rushes given up now compared to those teams...and at least one of Nick Perbix or Benton Mass is on the ice at ALL times, making them very difficult to pin on the forecheck.

Rocketwrister wrote:I agree, Cloquet has some hard working kids. Do players work hard, yes I would agree with that statement. Does he get most out of his guys? I don't know. You can look at hockey hub in section playoff record the last 6 years CEC has gone 4-6. Better then st. Francis, forest lake, etc BUT...

15-16. 1-1. W. 2-1 vs. Marshall
L. 1-5 Vs GR
14-15. 1-1. W 9-4 vs st. Mike
L. 1-9. vs ER
13-14. 0-1. L. 3-4 vs. ER
12-13. 1-1. W 6-2. Vs. Flake
L 0-3 vs East
11-12. 0-1. L. 3-4. Vs ER
10-11. 1-1. W 2-1. Vs Andover
L. 1-5. Rapids

Now you can go and look back further and maybe the record gets better. Not sure, I stopped at the 2010-2011 season. Granted, it's not all on the head coach I realize that. Not sure where CEC compares if you were to compare against all section 7 AA teams, I think it would be interesting to see.

karl(east) wrote:

Rocketwrister wrote:I agree, Cloquet has some hard working kids. Do players work hard, yes I would agree with that statement. Does he get most out of his guys? I don't know. You can look at hockey hub in section playoff record the last 6 years CEC has gone 4-6. Better then st. Francis, forest lake, etc BUT...

15-16. 1-1. W. 2-1 vs. Marshall
L. 1-5 Vs GR
14-15. 1-1. W 9-4 vs st. Mike
L. 1-9. vs ER
13-14. 0-1. L. 3-4 vs. ER
12-13. 1-1. W 6-2. Vs. Flake
L 0-3 vs East
11-12. 0-1. L. 3-4. Vs ER
10-11. 1-1. W 2-1. Vs Andover
L. 1-5. Rapids

Now you can go and look back further and maybe the record gets better. Not sure, I stopped at the 2010-2011 season. Granted, it's not all on the head coach I realize that. Not sure where CEC compares if you were to compare against all section 7 AA teams, I think it would be interesting to see.

Maybe a helpful way to look at this: since Esse started in 2001, Cloquet has pulled (according to the seeding) 7 upsets in 7AA. Over that same stretch, East has 4, Rapids 3, and Elk River (who joined the section in 06) has zero. Going further down the list, Flake has 2 and Andover has zero.

Of course, it's easier to pile up more upsets when you're a lower seed, and harder when you're often a 1 or a 2 like the Hounds and Elks.

Cloquet also twice gave ER one goal games as a 7 seed and an 8 seed, respectively, in the quarterfinals...at least one of those was in OT, I believe. That's pretty rare for a 7 or 8 seed. This group has also had nowhere near the talent level of DE, GR, or ER for nearly 10 years now. (The one possible exception being 2013, when they had Kuhlman and the Michauds, but that team had some off-ice junk going on.) Yet they continue to put up some decent playoff showings.

I'm not saying Esse is a miracle-worker. The Jacks have had some struggles at times, they've been creamed at Amsoil the past two years, and some of their most straight-up talented teams that frankly probably should have won the section (05, 07) failed to close the deal. But when you look at the talent level coming out of the program, they seem to punch above their weight in the playoffs with enough regularity that there's something to it.

grindiangrad-80 wrote:

kniven wrote:

Duluthguy wrote:
Since it's on My9, it can be found at iFan.tv

http://www.ifan.tv/page/show/872603-channel-5

Thank you everyone.

elliott70 wrote:

Goldyismoldy wrote:

kniven wrote:I can't seem to get a sense of who takes over though for Bruce from talking to Hermantown hockey folks...

If the qualifications are old and perennially crabby, I nominate Elliott.

Hey, I smiled just last month, for **** sake.

kniven wrote:

grindiangrad-80 wrote:

kniven wrote: http://www.ifan.tv/page/show/872603-channel-5

Thank you everyone.

I just read this thread from the first post to now. You all are awesome! Thank you for all the give and take. I can take it . Still a lot more posting. Witch has notched into turbo now that seedings have been announced. One of my favorite things is to interact on this forum with all you nut balls!!!!! . We are all crazy about high school hockey and our favorite team. And I appreciate all the honesty. And an occasional cat fight. I know deep down we all respect each other's squads so it's all good. We love the game and get emotional about it - that's what makes it the best! Thanks again

edgeless2 wrote:The lovefest is awesome. When is the last time 7AA won a title? Spehar?

edgeless2 wrote:The lovefest is awesome. When is the last time 7AA won a title? Spehar?

TTpuckster wrote:

edgeless2 wrote:The lovefest is awesome. When is the last time 7AA won a title? Spehar?

Duluth East = 1998