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huville wrote:Minnetonka will not win state for 1 reason.... their goalie. He is very shaky, putting rebounds in the slot. I think when they run into better teams every night, he won't be bailed out constantly.

I also noticed the huge rebounds.

Coatta gets hat trick. 4-3 Minnetonka

how much time left?

Roseauverrated wrote:how much time left?

One minute

Minnetonka- 4
Blaine- 3
Final

Anyone else notice the vision and great passes that Justin Holl makes? Hard and accurate - his completion ratio must have been over 95%.

MNHockeyFan wrote:Anyone else notice the vision and great passes that Justin Holl makes? Hard and accurate - his completion ratio must have been over 95%.

He seems to be a pretty good stay-home defenseman in the D-zone, along with Hesketh to clear some of those bigger rebounds.... He is the type of D-man the Gophers need, to help cover the mistakes of the offensive-minded D...

Although Minnetonka's goalie didn't look great, the rest of the team did. IMO, Minnetonka is undoubtably the best team in the state.

Gardiner and Coatta were the two best forwards on the ice tonight. They are blessed with D that help control the game. Bjugstad is not as blessed in that area.

Did Bjugstad pick up a phantom helper on their 2nd goal? Maybe I missed something.

breakout wrote:Although Minnetonka's goalie didn't look great, the rest of the team did. IMO, Minnetonka is undoubtably the best team in the state.

Gardiner and Coatta were the two best forwards on the ice tonight. They are blessed with D that help control the game. Bjugstad is not as blessed in that area.

Did Bjugstad pick up a phantom helper on their 2nd goal? Maybe I missed something.

I thought I saw a Joey XXXXX sighting at the scorer's table..... That wasn't right of me to say... I am sorry.. I am sure Joey's a nice kid...

Goldfishdude wrote:

breakout wrote:Although Minnetonka's goalie didn't look great, the rest of the team did. IMO, Minnetonka is undoubtably the best team in the state.

Gardiner and Coatta were the two best forwards on the ice tonight. They are blessed with D that help control the game. Bjugstad is not as blessed in that area.

Did Bjugstad pick up a phantom helper on their 2nd goal? Maybe I missed something.

I thought I saw a Joey Benik sighting at the scorer's table..... That wasn't right of me to say... I am sorry..

Ouch!

Hopefully I am mistaken. Players shouldn't claim what they did not earn. However, it wouldn't be the first time a player has taken credit for an unearned assist.

By far one of the best hockey games ive seen this year so far. Ive seen Minnetonka before this, Blaine looks to be a strong contender for a state title. they were able to stay in this game with lots of hitting and slowed Minnetonka down by the 3rd. Early wistle in the first was a early christmas gift for Minnetonka when the gaolie didnt have the puck. This game should have been tied. Tough break for Blaine. The refereeing in the game otherwise wasnt bad. Im looking forward to seeing these 2 teams get to the big dance.

Goldfishdude wrote:

breakout wrote:Although Minnetonka's goalie didn't look great, the rest of the team did. IMO, Minnetonka is undoubtably the best team in the state.

Gardiner and Coatta were the two best forwards on the ice tonight. They are blessed with D that help control the game. Bjugstad is not as blessed in that area.

Did Bjugstad pick up a phantom helper on their 2nd goal? Maybe I missed something.

I thought I saw a Joey Benik sighting at the scorer's table..... That wasn't right of me to say... I am sorry.. I am sure Joey's a nice kid...

Ummm... usually you don't have to ask the scorer to give you credit for goals... which is pretty much the only type of points Joey gets!

huville wrote:Minnetonka will not win state for 1 reason.... their goalie. He is very shaky, putting rebounds in the slot. I think when they run into better teams every night, he won't be bailed out constantly.

welcome to duluth east from 95-2000


His D will bail him out.. He already got a "W" against 2 of the top 3 teams in the state

eastside hockey wrote:By far one of the best hockey games ive seen this year so far. Ive seen Minnetonka before this, Blaine looks to be a strong contender for a state title. they were able to stay in this game with lots of hitting and slowed Minnetonka down by the 3rd. Early wistle in the first was a early christmas gift for Minnetonka when the gaolie didnt have the puck. This game should have been tied. Tough break for Blaine. The refereeing in the game otherwise wasnt bad. Im looking forward to seeing these 2 teams get to the big dance.

Based on the shots it looks like Blaine's Christmas present was their goalie... Was the game as lop sided as the shots looked? Sounds a little similar to the STA v Breck game...

Saw last five minutes of the last game on FSN. Nice goal by Coatta and set up by Frawley and Gardiner...

The Exiled One wrote:

Goldfishdude wrote:

breakout wrote:Although Minnetonka's goalie didn't look great, the rest of the team did. IMO, Minnetonka is undoubtably the best team in the state.

Gardiner and Coatta were the two best forwards on the ice tonight. They are blessed with D that help control the game. Bjugstad is not as blessed in that area.

Did Bjugstad pick up a phantom helper on their 2nd goal? Maybe I missed something.

I thought I saw a Joey Benik sighting at the scorer's table..... That wasn't right of me to say... I am sorry.. I am sure Joey's a nice kid...

Ummm... usually you don't have to ask the scorer to give you credit for goals... which is pretty much the only type of points Joey gets!

All kidding aside, I was really impressed with the poise Harper displayed. I think Kruger's game wasn't as much a reflection of his ability versus the quality of shots. Bjugstad's first period goal was just a phenominal top shelf shot.

breakout wrote:Although Minnetonka's goalie didn't look great, the rest of the team did. IMO, Minnetonka is undoubtably the best team in the state.

Gardiner and Coatta were the two best forwards on the ice tonight. They are blessed with D that help control the game. Bjugstad is not as blessed in that area.

Did Bjugstad pick up a phantom helper on their 2nd goal? Maybe I missed something.

Bjugstad isn't the type of kid to claim something he didn't earn mostly because he doesn't need to. He gets his points the good ol' fashion way... hard work. Wasn't able to catch the game but from what I'm reading, my Bengals battled and Harper played phenominal. Congrats to the Skippers but mark my words, this won't be the last you hear from the Bengals!

pondpucker13 wrote:

breakout wrote:Although Minnetonka's goalie didn't look great, the rest of the team did. IMO, Minnetonka is undoubtably the best team in the state.

Gardiner and Coatta were the two best forwards on the ice tonight. They are blessed with D that help control the game. Bjugstad is not as blessed in that area.

Did Bjugstad pick up a phantom helper on their 2nd goal? Maybe I missed something.

Bjugstad isn't the type of kid to claim something he didn't earn mostly because he doesn't need to. He gets his points the good ol' fashion way... hard work. Wasn't able to catch the game but from what I'm reading, my Bengals battled and Harper played phenominal. Congrats to the Skippers but mark my words, this won't be the last you hear from the Bengals!

WOW, I watched this game. Tonka is very good and Blaine is close. Blaine just needed another year to mature and Tonka is solid in all positions. EP's slide reflects Edina's dominance at the Braemar arena. EP and Jefferson will be in the mix along with Holy Angels. Benidle is the outsider looking into the mix. EP lost too many players and a goalie to Benidle, Blake, Shattuck and the junior level program to compete this year. I doubt EP will repeat this year, given their losses of talent.

Factsmatter1 wrote:

eastside hockey wrote:By far one of the best hockey games ive seen this year so far. Ive seen Minnetonka before this, Blaine looks to be a strong contender for a state title. they were able to stay in this game with lots of hitting and slowed Minnetonka down by the 3rd. Early wistle in the first was a early christmas gift for Minnetonka when the gaolie didnt have the puck. This game should have been tied. Tough break for Blaine. The refereeing in the game otherwise wasnt bad. Im looking forward to seeing these 2 teams get to the big dance.

Based on the shots it looks like Blaine's Christmas present was their goalie... Was the game as lop sided as the shots looked? Sounds a little similar to the STA v Breck game...

Saw last five minutes of the last game on FSN. Nice goal by Coatta and set up by Frawley and Gardiner...

Yes... after two periods it was 33-12 Tonka and 3-2... I believe Blaine scored on its first shot pf period 3. I made the comment that the puck couldn't have been in the Tonka zone more than 3 minutes the entire period 2. Period 3 was pretty evenly played, as Tonka's forecheck was neutralized alot.

Lakeviewing wrote:EP lost too many players and a goalie to Benidle, Blake, Shattuck and the junior level program to compete this year. I doubt EP will repeat this year, given their losses of talent.

afaik EP didn't lose anyone from last year's roster to the privates and every top program (including Edina, Mtka, Wayzata, BJ) loses quality players to other schools.

[quote Based on the shots it looks like Blaine's Christmas present was their goalie... Was the game as lop sided as the shots looked? Sounds a little similar to the STA v Breck game.....[/quote]

This game was one of the best games I have seen all year. Harper really looked steady. Is he a senior? Where will he go next year?

Harper was outstanding, no question, but he did have some luck along the way. The Skippers had at least a half dozen chances where Harper was beat, but the puck would skitter off their stick, the deflection went just wide, or a player simply just missed a wide opening from close in. My guess is that on a normal night half of those go in.

But kudos to the Blaine coach and players for making some excellent adjustments in the 3rd to make it much more even. They had a number of great chances of their own and could have pulled it out. In being able to make the adjustments it looked as if Blaine learned something about how to neutralize Minnetonka's forecheck and this could pay dividends if they should meet again in March.

A dog that craps fast doesn't crap long.

I was very impressed with the Skippers speed. They really took it to the Blaine defensemen with their forecheck. I saw numerous times that the Blaine De just casually went back to get the puck only to have a Skipper forecheck and take the puck away.

You got to like Coatta's nose for the front of the net. For a freshmen to set up out front and battle is pretty impressive. He got 3 goals, but easily could have had a couple more, if Harper wasn't on his game.

The Skippers De were outstanding. Prochno reminds me of DE's Forbert, very offensive minded. Holl was more offensive than his career stats show. He must have really picked up that part of his game. I also thought his passing was exceptional.

Finally, the Gophers are going to get some big, talented offensive forwards in Bjugstad and Gardiner. Just curious to see who is going to get the number 27 jersey!

Great game.

BodyShots wrote:Just curious to see who is going to get the number 27 jersey!

I say give it to Bjugstad since #27 is the number his uncle wore at the U. Family history should break the "tie" on who gets it.

I was also impressed that Urick ran all 3 lines throughout the entire game. With Blaine having the advantage on the change, it would have been easy for him shorten the bench. All 3 of Tonka's lines kept good control of the puck and had great scoring chances. They're going to be tough to beat with that depth.