DEast and Tonka

[grindiangrad-80]

not to bad considering on the road and played last night.

That is a signature win Dave. Like O Town said- Edina, East, Tonka, St Thomas-

Good chance they will be in St. Paul mid March.

[karl(east)]

Solid win for East. As I expected some, they struggled with Tonka's speed and crispness in the first few minutes, but really locked in after that. They started setting the tone with their first PP, and after that there were long stretches of strong possession. East's physicality was also a difference-maker in this one, as they outhit Tonka all game long and were perfectly comfortable throwing their 4th line out against Tonka's Brink-Bayless line to just hit people and clog things up. WMD had a strong game, with Worth scoring twice and just missing on a few more (he's definitely playing his way into Mr. Hockey finalist status), and Mageau being a wrecking ball all over the place, but East also got goals from three different lines. Tonka fought back early in the 3rd with a good stretch of play and the Loheit PP goal, but then East settled into a more defensive mode and kept the clock rolling, with few good chances after that.

East is alone among the undefeateds now, and there's certainly reason to feel good after seeing this effort this afternoon. Goaltending has been a question, but Hanson--who started for a second game in a row, breaking up the rotation--was very solid in this one. If they have that going, they have the physical element that the other top four don't, and with some early issues in back basically gone, depth that can match anyone's, and WMD scoring, they can be the complete package.

Tonka misses Luedtke, of course, and that could perhaps be a difference-maker. Glockner has been great, but looked mortal in this one. I like their top two line combinations, but they did get outworked at times. We'll see what they do in Lake play; those Edina rematches are the only two games left among the top four, who I think have now separated themselves from everyone else (with Holy Family lurking right behind)--they've only lost to each other. East, Edina, Tonka, and STA would be a great final four...but, these things rarely go as planned. Should be a fun second half.

[WestMetro]

Random thoughts about this game

- Pagels high intensity lighting and blue banners make it one of the best venues in metro
- Hounds road uniforms are and always have been the best in the state
- Great to see Karl, and the announcing teams
- Nice to visit with parents Howe , Andres, Fischer, Cochran. Dedication!
- Ryder grows by an inch in between each time I see him
- Great assist pass by Brink on first goal, early momentum to skips
- Hounds power play followed the Randolph rule: dont hold the puck more than 2 seconds, either pass or shoot. Worth delivers, with nice assists
- Hounds are tenacious around the net on short shots and rebounds
- Skips forwards like to hang back on far blue line looking for breakaway ,
low percentage chance against Hounds D.
- Nice 2nd Skip goal by Loheit, good power move to the net
- Unfortunate turnover by Skips in O zone slot late in game, with chance to tie
- Hounds using all 4 lines, pretty early in season but paid off
- Hounds extra size was definitely a factor , but frankly not as much as I had anticipated,
- Worth gets #1 star with 2 goals in a high pressure game.

[Jeffy95]

DE is overrated! I'm going with Tonka 5-2.

Duluth East had 12 of their varsity playing for the Elite League North this fall. That’s 12 of the best hockey players in 218 skate for the Hounds. I’m sure the junior and senior classes were at state multiple times as peewee and bantams.

And based on that, everybody thought they were going to be dominate and run away with 7AA. Some suggested they were going to be the top team in the state.

Based on their last 5 games, I'm not seeing the domination:

- Tied Cloquet who WBL beat rather convincingly. Plus they had to score with 4 seconds left to get the tie.
- Beat Cent by 2 goals and needed the last 2 in the final 5 minutes to get by them.
- Slipped by DM in OT. Again needing a late goal in the third to tie it up.
- Escaped LN with 2 power play goals to win by a goal.
- Tied a Blaine team that has struggled this year.

Not to mention they were lucky to escape WBL with a tie, if their goalie didn't play way over his head in the OT. And WBL had how many Elite players this summer? (1)

OVERRATED.

I've never been a guy to say I told you so, but this is the closest I've come. Mike Randolph has infinite options with this group. How many want to bet against that? Da Hounds...

[hockey59]

Random thoughts about this game

- Pagels high intensity lighting and blue banners make it one of the best venues in metro
- Hounds road uniforms are and always have been the best in the state
- Great to see Karl, and the announcing teams
- Nice to visit with parents Howe , Andres, Fischer, Cochran. Dedication!
- Ryder grows by an inch in between each time I see him
- Great assist pass by Brink on first goal, early momentum to skips
- Hounds power play followed the Randolph rule: dont hold the puck more than 2 seconds, either pass or shoot. Worth delivers, with nice assists
- Hounds are tenacious around the net on short shots and rebounds
- Skips forwards like to hang back on far blue line looking for breakaway ,
low percentage chance against Hounds D.
- Nice 2nd Skip goal by Loheit, good power move to the net
- Unfortunate turnover by Skips in O zone slot late in game, with chance to tie
- Hounds using all 4 lines, pretty early in season but paid off
- Hounds extra size was definitely a factor , but frankly not as much as I had anticipated,
- Worth gets #1 star with 2 goals in a high pressure game.

I was at the game, agree about Pagel, great sight lines from the catwalk & lighting & while I wounldn’t concede DE the best road jerseys they are certainly top 5. Tonka has chances to extend their 1-0 lead but failed to do so & once DE scored on the PP the tone of the game changed. Tonka is a quick, fast, skilled team but not very physical & this was a game where the refs let them play, which helped DE. Probably LaMaster’s best game of the 4 I’ve seen DE play & his partner Paine is really good too. Worth is a special HS player and the WMD line is as effective a 2 way top line as there is in the State. Still expecting more big plays from Donovan (who will likely still be playing hockey in 10 years). And Mageau is the glue on the line, a physical force who does a lot of dirty work in the corners. DE may have rolled 4 lines at times, but the WMD line still plays a ton. While I haven’t seen STA yet, I’ve seen the other top 3 teams multiple times and these 4 teams have clearly separated themselves from the pack. If they stay focused, which isn’t easy for HS kids, not sure DE will lose another regular season game... but if they played in the Lake conf instead...they surely would lose 1 or 2 by seasons end. Really hard to say who’s the best team between DE, Edina, STA & Tonka at this point. If Luedtke had played and the result was the same, I’d probably give DE the nod, BUT he didn’t play, good news is he evidently will be back soon. Holy Family is 5th based on recent results, after them...who knows.

[O-townClown]

Randolph and the boys will out SOG Tonka by 25 shots.

For the record, it was 27-21 favoring East. In other words, they'll have to play Minnetonka a second time to get your 50 shot prediction.

[kniven]

Randolph and the boys will out SOG Tonka by 25 shots.

For the record, it was 27-21 favoring East. In other words, they'll have to play Minnetonka a second time to get your 50 shot prediction.

I stand corrected. Thanks o-town