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PASTRAPIDSFAN wrote:

rams80 wrote:The only two teams that would represent this section well in St. Paul are I. Falls and Marshall.

hibbing

Hibbing would be home by Thursday afternoon

BIAFP wrote:

PASTRAPIDSFAN wrote:

rams80 wrote:The only two teams that would represent this section well in St. Paul are I. Falls and Marshall.

hibbing

Hibbing would be home by Thursday afternoon

I dont think so

I Falls all the way!!!

[quote="PASTRAPIDSFAN"][quote="BIAFP"][quote="PASTRAPIDSFAN"][quote="rams80"]The only two teams that would represent this section well in St. Paul are I. Falls and Marshall. [/quote]
hibbing[/quote]


Hibbing would be home by Thursday afternoon [/quote]

I dont think so [/quote]

Did you mean think so or hope so

puckranger do you honestly think virginia could beat marshall? marshall has them in every way possible and virginia doesnt have a nico who can win them a hockey game... nor do they have a guy who scares marshall one bit.. marshall has some big names and alot of older physical guys...

Section7Hockey wrote:puckranger do you honestly think virginia could beat marshall? marshall has them in every way possible and virginia doesnt have a nico who can win them a hockey game... nor do they have a guy who scares marshall one bit.. marshall has some big names and alot of older physical guys...

Indeed not a whole lot of people THINK Virginia will beat DM in the semi's, if that is even the matchup, but this is the playoffs and section 7 is one of the deepest sections in the state if not the deepest (A). ANYTHING CAN HAPPEN

i think Hibbing would do a fine job at the state tourney. they've played Duluth Marshall tough and split with Falls two of the top single A teams in the state. i honestly dont thnk hibbing will make it but if they do they wouldnt represent to poorly

Jacketfan06 wrote:i think Hibbing would do a fine job at the state tourney. they've played Duluth Marshall tough and split with Falls two of the top single A teams in the state. i honestly dont thnk hibbing will make it but if they do they wouldnt represent to poorly

Agreed.

Section7Hockey wrote:puckranger do you honestly think virginia could beat marshall? marshall has them in every way possible and virginia doesnt have a nico who can win them a hockey game... nor do they have a guy who scares marshall one bit.. marshall has some big names and alot of older physical guys...

Hey, it almost happened two weeks ago... I wouldn't go so far as to list Virginia as a favorite, because they are not, but their certainly not huge underdogs... And they do have to get by Greenway first. Chris Westin would be that one player that you speak of... he drew three penalties in the game in Virginia, all as he was getting through the Marshall defense and they had to drag him down.

The thing about Marshall that makes them vulnerable in my opinion is their lack of scoring. They really don't score a lot of goals. Their powerplay is running at around 17% (That is extremely low for a top team) and they have more shorthanded goals (17) than powerplay goals (16). They play very good defense, but one breakdown or a bad bounce -- in any game... not just Virginia, and they could be in trouble (See Superior or Warroad for an example). Seriously, look at their last seven games:

Duluth Denfeld(W 3-2): 2 Even Strength Goals, 1 SH goal.
Virginia(W 3-1): 2 Even Strength Goals, 1 Empty-netter
Ashland(W 12-1): Well-- they're awful... nothing of value gained here, but they scored a dozen.
Superior(L 1-2): 1 Even Strength Goal
Cretin-DH(W 3-1): 3 Even Strength Goals
Proctor(W 3-0): 1 Even Strength Goal, 2 SH Goals
St. Cloud Cathedral(W 2-0): 2 Even Strength Goals

That's 11 Even Strength goals in six games (I'm throwing out the Ashland game... Everyone's putting up double-digits on them). ZERO powerplay goals, and 3 Shorthanded goals. Granted, these are all pretty good opponents, but this is what they're going to be facing.

You can go back and see the same things in games against Hibbing (2-0 win), Warroad (3-2 OT Loss), and Hermantown (3-2 win). They live and die with defense. I see no reason why they should be the heavy favorite. The only team they absolutely took care of business against was St. Thomas Academy. The rest of their wins have been mostly squeekers, with the exception of the really weaker teams.

Don't get me wrong here, I'm not saying Marshall can't win... because they most certainly can. They are very good at keeping the other team from scoring, probably better than the rest of the teams in the section in fact. But if somebody puts up a three or four spot on the scoreboard, they are in trouble.

Virginia is vulnerable because of their youth. Heavy forechecking causes them to panic and make poor decisions and bad passes. They are not going to beat you with tic-tac-toe pretty passing plays or end-to-end rushes. They score by capitalizing on mistakes and by good old-fashioned hard work in the offensive zone. Chris Westin might be the only exception. If the opposition is more talented, works hard, and plays very physical - they will probably win.

Hibbing's problem is still scoring depth. The secret to stopping Hibbing remains the same. Stop DeCenzo and Jamnick and you stop Hibbing. Easier said than done, though.

International Falls has the least weaknesses in my opinion. They play very good defensively with their 2nd and 3rd lines. They might be the one team that you want your top line out against theirs because the Youso line does give up goals. The problem is that they score them as well, so pick your poison: Try and outgun the first line, or take your chances trying to score on the other lines.

All four have capable and comparable goaltending, so I see no advantage to anyone there.

Alright, I've babbled long enough...

Well said Puck.

PuckRanger wrote:

Section7Hockey wrote:puckranger do you honestly think virginia could beat marshall? marshall has them in every way possible and virginia doesnt have a nico who can win them a hockey game... nor do they have a guy who scares marshall one bit.. marshall has some big names and alot of older physical guys...

Hey, it almost happened two weeks ago... I wouldn't go so far as to list Virginia as a favorite, because they are not, but their certainly not huge underdogs... And they do have to get by Greenway first. Chris Westin would be that one player that you speak of... he drew three penalties in the game in Virginia, all as he was getting through the Marshall defense and they had to drag him down.

The thing about Marshall that makes them vulnerable in my opinion is their lack of scoring. They really don't score a lot of goals. Their powerplay is running at around 17% (That is extremely low for a top team) and they have more shorthanded goals (17) than powerplay goals (16). They play very good defense, but one breakdown or a bad bounce -- in any game... not just Virginia, and they could be in trouble (See Superior or Warroad for an example). Seriously, look at their last seven games:

Duluth Denfeld(W 3-2): 2 Even Strength Goals, 1 SH goal.
Virginia(W 3-1): 2 Even Strength Goals, 1 Empty-netter
Ashland(W 12-1): Well-- they're awful... nothing of value gained here, but they scored a dozen.
Superior(L 1-2): 1 Even Strength Goal
Cretin-DH(W 3-1): 3 Even Strength Goals
Proctor(W 3-0): 1 Even Strength Goal, 2 SH Goals
St. Cloud Cathedral(W 2-0): 2 Even Strength Goals

That's 11 Even Strength goals in six games (I'm throwing out the Ashland game... Everyone's putting up double-digits on them). ZERO powerplay goals, and 3 Shorthanded goals. Granted, these are all pretty good opponents, but this is what they're going to be facing.

You can go back and see the same things in games against Hibbing (2-0 win), Warroad (3-2 OT Loss), and Hermantown (3-2 win). They live and die with defense. I see no reason why they should be the heavy favorite. The only team they absolutely took care of business against was St. Thomas Academy. The rest of their wins have been mostly squeekers, with the exception of the really weaker teams.

Don't get me wrong here, I'm not saying Marshall can't win... because they most certainly can. They are very good at keeping the other team from scoring, probably better than the rest of the teams in the section in fact. But if somebody puts up a three or four spot on the scoreboard, they are in trouble.

Virginia is vulnerable because of their youth. Heavy forechecking causes them to panic and make poor decisions and bad passes. They are not going to beat you with tic-tac-toe pretty passing plays or end-to-end rushes. They score by capitalizing on mistakes and by good old-fashioned hard work in the offensive zone. Chris Westin might be the only exception. If the opposition is more talented, works hard, and plays very physical - they will probably win.

Hibbing's problem is still scoring depth. The secret to stopping Hibbing remains the same. Stop DeCenzo and Jamnick and you stop Hibbing. Easier said than done, though.

International Falls has the least weaknesses in my opinion. They play very good defensively with their 2nd and 3rd lines. They might be the one team that you want your top line out against theirs because the Youso line does give up goals. The problem is that they score them as well, so pick your poison: Try and outgun the first line, or take your chances trying to score on the other lines.

All four have capable and comparable goaltending, so I see no advantage to anyone there.

Alright, I've babbled long enough...

You know the saying, Defense wins championships.

i fully agree with puck here. they played one heck of a game a couple weeks ago. 35 seconds left tied at 1 then DM put it away with a few goals. i've been saying for a little while that i thought greenway had a chance at beating virginia but i take that back and i do think that virginia does have a chance at taking down the toppers. semis for 7a are going to be awesome if the top four teams win in quarters. virginia and Dm at the memorial then a little trip over to rapids for Hibbing and Virginia

hshckfan08 wrote:

PuckRanger wrote:

Section7Hockey wrote:puckranger do you honestly think virginia could beat marshall? marshall has them in every way possible and virginia doesnt have a nico who can win them a hockey game... nor do they have a guy who scares marshall one bit.. marshall has some big names and alot of older physical guys...

Hey, it almost happened two weeks ago... I wouldn't go so far as to list Virginia as a favorite, because they are not, but their certainly not huge underdogs... And they do have to get by Greenway first. Chris Westin would be that one player that you speak of... he drew three penalties in the game in Virginia, all as he was getting through the Marshall defense and they had to drag him down.

The thing about Marshall that makes them vulnerable in my opinion is their lack of scoring. They really don't score a lot of goals. Their powerplay is running at around 17% (That is extremely low for a top team) and they have more shorthanded goals (17) than powerplay goals (16). They play very good defense, but one breakdown or a bad bounce -- in any game... not just Virginia, and they could be in trouble (See Superior or Warroad for an example). Seriously, look at their last seven games:

Duluth Denfeld(W 3-2): 2 Even Strength Goals, 1 SH goal.
Virginia(W 3-1): 2 Even Strength Goals, 1 Empty-netter
Ashland(W 12-1): Well-- they're awful... nothing of value gained here, but they scored a dozen.
Superior(L 1-2): 1 Even Strength Goal
Cretin-DH(W 3-1): 3 Even Strength Goals
Proctor(W 3-0): 1 Even Strength Goal, 2 SH Goals
St. Cloud Cathedral(W 2-0): 2 Even Strength Goals

That's 11 Even Strength goals in six games (I'm throwing out the Ashland game... Everyone's putting up double-digits on them). ZERO powerplay goals, and 3 Shorthanded goals. Granted, these are all pretty good opponents, but this is what they're going to be facing.

You can go back and see the same things in games against Hibbing (2-0 win), Warroad (3-2 OT Loss), and Hermantown (3-2 win). They live and die with defense. I see no reason why they should be the heavy favorite. The only team they absolutely took care of business against was St. Thomas Academy. The rest of their wins have been mostly squeekers, with the exception of the really weaker teams.

Don't get me wrong here, I'm not saying Marshall can't win... because they most certainly can. They are very good at keeping the other team from scoring, probably better than the rest of the teams in the section in fact. But if somebody puts up a three or four spot on the scoreboard, they are in trouble.

Virginia is vulnerable because of their youth. Heavy forechecking causes them to panic and make poor decisions and bad passes. They are not going to beat you with tic-tac-toe pretty passing plays or end-to-end rushes. They score by capitalizing on mistakes and by good old-fashioned hard work in the offensive zone. Chris Westin might be the only exception. If the opposition is more talented, works hard, and plays very physical - they will probably win.

Hibbing's problem is still scoring depth. The secret to stopping Hibbing remains the same. Stop DeCenzo and Jamnick and you stop Hibbing. Easier said than done, though.

International Falls has the least weaknesses in my opinion. They play very good defensively with their 2nd and 3rd lines. They might be the one team that you want your top line out against theirs because the Youso line does give up goals. The problem is that they score them as well, so pick your poison: Try and outgun the first line, or take your chances trying to score on the other lines.

All four have capable and comparable goaltending, so I see no advantage to anyone there.

Alright, I've babbled long enough...

You know the saying, Defense wins championships.

I agree that anyone can upset someone with just one game in the playoffs. I also agree with the overall picture that when it comes down to playoffs the games become much closer and lower scoring. Marshall has scored only 6 less goals than I Falls so you can't really say they don't really score alot of goals and they've only have a 1.7 G.A.A which is pretty good. But I guess none of this really matters anyway around this time of the year...It's all about who wants it more... I'm just hoping for a Duluth Marshall vs. I Falls game at the DECC. I guess we'll have to wait and see.

hshockey17 wrote:I agree that anyone can upset someone with just one game in the playoffs. I also agree with the overall picture that when it comes down to playoffs the games become much closer and lower scoring. Marshall has scored only 6 less goals than I Falls so you can't really say they don't really score alot of goals and they've only have a 1.7 G.A.A which is pretty good. But I guess none of this really matters anyway around this time of the year...It's all about who wants it more... I'm just hoping for a Duluth Marshall vs. I Falls game at the DECC. I guess we'll have to wait and see.

Your right, I probably should have worded that differently. Marshall has scored more than Virginia and Hibbing as well. But they have had a few bigger games and a bunch of lower scoring ones and don't ever get shutout. I Falls has had higher scores more consistently - they have four or more goals in 18 games, Marshall has been at three or less in almost half of their games, 12 to be exact.

Here's how the offense and defense finished up (per game avg in ()):
International Falls: 129 Goals (5.2), 53 GA (2.1)
Duluth Marshall: 123 Goals (4.9), 42 GA (1.7)
Virginia: 110 Goals (4.4), 74 GA (3.0)
Greenway: 106 Goals (4.2), 108 GA (4.3)
Hibbing: 86 Goals (3.6), 75 GA (3.1)

I wouldn't be so sure that it will be Marshall and I Falls. Every time I think about the finals, I just think back to HIbbing beating the Falls last time they met and I just don't know if the Falls has what it takes to make it there. I am excited to find out how that game goes on Saturday.

[quote="RonJeremy"]I wouldn't be so sure that it will be Marshall and I Falls. Every time I think about the finals, I just think back to HIbbing beating the Falls last time they met and I just don't know if the Falls has what it takes to make it there. I am excited to find out how that game goes on Saturday.[/quote]

Unless Ifalls spends over 1/3 of the game in the penalty box like they did last time these teams met, i dont think Hibbing is going to take this one.

Northern16hockey wrote:

RonJeremy wrote:I wouldn't be so sure that it will be Marshall and I Falls. Every time I think about the finals, I just think back to HIbbing beating the Falls last time they met and I just don't know if the Falls has what it takes to make it there. I am excited to find out how that game goes on Saturday.

Unless Ifalls spends over 1/3 of the game in the penalty box like they did last time these teams met, i dont think Hibbing is going to take this one.

So do any of the Falls players need help packing their bags for St. Paul or has that been done already?

nikebauer_07 wrote:

Northern16hockey wrote:

RonJeremy wrote:I wouldn't be so sure that it will be Marshall and I Falls. Every time I think about the finals, I just think back to HIbbing beating the Falls last time they met and I just don't know if the Falls has what it takes to make it there. I am excited to find out how that game goes on Saturday.

Unless Ifalls spends over 1/3 of the game in the penalty box like they did last time these teams met, i dont think Hibbing is going to take this one.

So do any of the Falls players need help packing their bags for St. Paul or has that been done already?

As long as the same two homer officials that worked the last Hibbing/Falls contest don't work the game, the Falls will win this one. 18 minutes of powerplay time in a high school game is unheard of.

So I take it they are all ready to go?

Put it this way, the last time the Falls played Hibbing the refs were terrible and it was at Hibbings arena. This time it will be in Rapids with completely different refs. End of story the Falls will win!

Refs wont be different, will still be either IRC or Section 7 A Refs.

Always excuses
I hope Hibbing pulls off the win just to shut up all you Falls folk.

I love listening to everybody talk. You can definately tell who's from where. I doubt that there will be any upsets, and if there is so be it. I think that International Falls is a better team then Hibbing, and that they should win the game on Saturday. Same with Marshal, the score might have been close with Virginia, but I think that the shots on net tell the real story about the game. The game I can't wait to see is if the Falls and Marshal both make it to the DECC. That would definately be a game worth going to.

Wouldnt it be funny if a miracle happenend and Ely upset the Falls tomorrow night

I'm just crossing my fingers Hibbing doesn't have a melt down against 2 Harbors.