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hockeyhockeyhockey wrote:hill 3 -2

this was the final but for an empty net with 4 sec left...

hockeyhockeyhockey wrote:

hockeyhockeyhockey wrote:hill 3 -2

this was the final but for an empty net with 4 sec left...

Close but not correct.

However, it was better than my prediction.

Solid win for HM.

Karl, what do you suppose this would do to the rankings? Does Hill Murray surpass BSM? Does Edina become new #1?

We've had quite a tumultuous week with a Wayzata win over East, a BSM win over Burnsville, a Tonka win over Eagan and St. Thomas, and now this one. I know it's early on in the season and rankings don't matter that much....it will just be interesting to see what happens after this week.

I attended the game, HM outplayed BSM. In my humble opinion, HM had nothing to lose and played like it. BSM was tight and played not to lose...bad combo.

thefatcat wrote:I attended the game, HM outplayed BSM. In my humble opinion, HM had nothing to lose and played like it. BSM was tight and played not to lose...bad combo.

"On any given Saturday night" It was Hills night and they played well and deserved to win but like Lechner says its just another hockey game. I wonder, after the victory, if he still feels the same? The difference in the game was the goaltending and the battle of the first lines...Hill did a great job of shutting down Benilde while making some great plays on the offensive end...

Gems wrote:

thefatcat wrote:I attended the game, HM outplayed BSM. In my humble opinion, HM had nothing to lose and played like it. BSM was tight and played not to lose...bad combo.

"On any given Saturday night" It was Hills night and they played well and deserved to win but like Lechner says its just another hockey game. I wonder, after the victory, if he still feels the same? The difference in the game was the goaltending and the battle of the first lines...Hill did a great job of shutting down Benilde while making some great plays on the offensive end...

In my opinion, after following this program for the last 8 years, it is just another win for Lex. They're happy to take that win now, but they'd rather get BSM in March when it counts for something. This Hill squad is far more impressive than the team from last year, and they've still got 3 more months to improve.

In all honesty, I think that this BSM team is just like any other BSM team from the past; a good offensive team with expectations that may be too high. Heading into the playoffs last year, they weren't the favorite to come out of their section, but they put together a string of great games. If I were to bet, I'll make a bold prediction and say that they won't be in the Tourney in March.

UntouchableFlow wrote:If I were to bet, I'll make a bold prediction and say that they won't be in the Tourney in March.

Not that bold of a prediction for any team in Section 6AA.

1 loss and now Benilde has no chance. Just like last year they will work thru a few things (3 new lines) and win it again come March. They are the deepest most talented team in state just need to play together a bit more and get all the guys into lineup.

Defense and a solid goalie wins championships. BSM has great scoring power from a couple of lines but lost the defensive core with graduation and Glover/Collins going to Ann Arbor. It's early and the Red Knights may come around, but I like Tonka's D play and goalie coupled with slightly less powerful offensive punch.

minnscout wrote:1 loss and now Benilde has no chance. Just like last year they will work thru a few things (3 new lines) and win it again come March. They are the deepest most talented team in state just need to play together a bit more and get all the guys into lineup.

It's a little early to be predicting state champion with such certainty...especially when Section 6 contains 4 out of the top 10 teams. Needing to "play together a bit more" isn't something that can be fixed in a short period of time, especially when a team contains so many "superstars" who have never played with each other before this year.

Obviously it's a different group this year, but fans and media were writing off BSM due to a lack of defense in December last year, and they turned it around and went on to win state, giving up just six goals in six games of Sections/State.

Like I said, it's a different group, but I'd be hesitant to write off BSM after a one goal (+ empty net) loss to a top five team.

tonkafan77 wrote:...especially when a team contains so many "superstars" who have never played with each other before this year.

Not entirely true - they do have returning players each season, and they do practice together every day they don't have a game. With a good coach at the helm it shouldn't take very long for "superstar players" to figure it out.

And I suppose you could say the same thing about other private schools that have somehow managed to win championships, even though their "superstars" didn't play with each other when they were peewees. Makes you wonder how Shattuck-St. Mary's does so well year after year with all of their superstars.

I was not saying Benilde doesn't have a shot at winning because yes, they do have a shot. I was merely laughing at the fact that you can claim that a team will win it all after just the first couple weeks. After they just lost.

tonkafan77 wrote:

minnscout wrote:1 loss and now Benilde has no chance. Just like last year they will work thru a few things (3 new lines) and win it again come March. They are the deepest most talented team in state just need to play together a bit more and get all the guys into lineup.

It's a little early to be predicting state champion with such certainty...especially when Section 6 contains 4 out of the top 10 teams. Needing to "play together a bit more" isn't something that can be fixed in a short period of time, especially when a team contains so many "superstars" who have never played with each other before this year.

you have to be pretty dense if you think these kids have never played together before. Think of all of the leagues outside of the MSHSL they play in with other team mates.

This was a very entertaining game. The building was pretty well full. Both student sections were boisterous. There was no lull in the pace of the game from start to finish. It doesn't seem like there are a lot of regular season full houses any more, and being early in the season yet, that makes it more remarkable.

A game like this, early in the schedule between two non-conference opponents, doesn't mean a whole lot. It is good to see the Pioneers clicking early.