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Congrats Kniven, keep it going.

grindiangrad-80 wrote: ↑Wed Feb 20, 2019 12:18 am Congrats Kniven, keep it going.

Thanks Indian. I sure hope so

Gonna be great semifinals at Amsoil! Go Jacks!

Go Jacks indeed, I'd love to see any team other than East come out of that section.

The Elks take their rightful place in the semifinals at Duluth East. 9 years and running...

alcloseshaver wrote: ↑Wed Feb 20, 2019 3:07 pm The Elks take their rightful place in the semifinals at Duluth East. 9 years and running...

I guess I was wrong; I was thinking Andover by 5.

alcloseshaver wrote: ↑Wed Feb 20, 2019 3:07 pm The Elks take their rightful place in the semifinals at Duluth East. 9 years and running...

Always a chance for an upset, not a lot of pressure this year on ER...as a huge underdog But that’s why you play the games.

Save the trip and play it in the Pit.

alcloseshaver wrote: ↑Wed Feb 20, 2019 6:34 pm Save the trip and play it in the Pit.

What’s the pit? Edit, now I get it Unfortunately ER isn’t the home team

elliott70 wrote: ↑Wed Feb 20, 2019 3:20 pm

alcloseshaver wrote: ↑Wed Feb 20, 2019 3:07 pm The Elks take their rightful place in the semifinals at Duluth East. 9 years and running...

I guess I was wrong; I was thinking Andover by 5.

You may be right but game is at East.
Just trolling Elliott

alcloseshaver wrote: ↑Wed Feb 20, 2019 7:15 pm

elliott70 wrote: ↑Wed Feb 20, 2019 3:20 pm

alcloseshaver wrote: ↑Wed Feb 20, 2019 3:07 pm The Elks take their rightful place in the semifinals at Duluth East. 9 years and running...

I guess I was wrong; I was thinking Andover by 5.

You may be right but game is at East.
Just trolling Elliott

Amsoil is West of Lake Ave, so technically not East Duluth. Central or West.

Jeffy95 wrote: ↑Wed Feb 20, 2019 7:49 pm

alcloseshaver wrote: ↑Wed Feb 20, 2019 7:15 pm

elliott70 wrote: ↑Wed Feb 20, 2019 3:20 pm

I guess I was wrong; I was thinking Andover by 5.

You may be right but game is at East.
Just trolling Elliott

Amsoil is West of Lake Ave, so technically not East Duluth. Central or West.

Central it is then.

alcloseshaver wrote: ↑Wed Feb 20, 2019 8:59 pm

Jeffy95 wrote: ↑Wed Feb 20, 2019 7:49 pm

alcloseshaver wrote: ↑Wed Feb 20, 2019 7:15 pm
You may be right but game is at East.
Just trolling Elliott

Amsoil is West of Lake Ave, so technically not East Duluth. Central or West.

Central it is then.

In the old days, it would have been smack in the middle of the Central High district.

Lee

Some stray notes here, since I didn't get to it last night:

-No real surprises on the southern side of the bracket last night, or in DE-DM. The better teams took care of business (despite what the seeds said in the 4/5 game). No drama at all for the top seeds.
-From all accounts, GR played CEC pretty evenly but couldn't finish. They just didn't really have the veteran scoring talent to make much of a run this year, but that shouldn't take anything away from their obvious improvement toward the end, and with the incoming bantams, it sets them up well to return to the ranks of legitimate contenders in the section next season.
-CEC got good goaltending, which frankly has not been the case at times this season, though Carlson has played well in both East games. They'll need more of that, since they'll be outshot on Saturday.
-The other key for Cloquet will be special teams, since they were awful in that department in the second meeting with East despite getting ample chances on the power play. East, on the other hand, has been strong in that area of late. If the Jacks can flip that script at all, they will have a chance.
-I do really like what Randolph has done with his line construction for East. The top two lines are now both capable of scoring or matching with other teams' top lines and playing well defensively. That creates a match-up problem; if a team tries to shut down the Donovan line, the Anderson line can pick up the load, and both of those lines have some good grit to them. Moving Baker to the third line has also strengthened that unit as well.
-The thing that has me most optimistic about East of late has been the play of the defense. They've settled on a top four, and that core has been rock-solid over the past month or so (in what limited games East has had). If they keep that up, this team throws enough things at the net that they should feel pretty good against the Cloquets of the world. We don't know yet if they can hold up against an attack like Andover's, but we'll cross that bridge when we come to it. For Saturday, East just needs to stick with the program and not get carried away with the emotions of a rivalry game on Saturday.

It’s a good summary Karl. Rapids could for a good portion of the season generate good scoring opportunities with their team speed, but as you said they couldn’t finish because they didn’t have really have a player that could consistently bury those chances(no Patrick White or Blake McLaughlin). Even in a loss by a wide margin to Eden Prairie, Rapids ourchanced them by a big margin. I remember the next day Mariucci saying they could have been up 5-0 after the 1st had they buried grade A chances. My hope was their late season surge would propel them past the quarters and into a close game in the semifinals. That was my hope at the beginning of the year was they could play one game at Amsoil. They should expect to be in the Section Final at minimum next season. I’ll look forward to your Section 7AA sneak peak into next year when the state tourney is over. At this point I will be watching all the 7AA/7A games at Amsoil online. I hope their are as many close games as possible. Also hope we get a 2017 style state tourney with a bunch of last minute/OT drama in both classes. I’m going to be curious to see what kind of forecheck East will run, and will that be adjusted vs Andover provided they advance past their rivals?

hockey59 wrote: ↑Wed Feb 20, 2019 6:39 pm

alcloseshaver wrote: ↑Wed Feb 20, 2019 6:34 pm Save the trip and play it in the Pit.

What’s the pit? Edit, now I get it Unfortunately ER isn’t the home team

There's an outdoor rink at the ACC. That'll do. Save some gas money.

blueline_6 wrote: ↑Thu Feb 21, 2019 9:16 am

hockey59 wrote: ↑Wed Feb 20, 2019 6:39 pm

alcloseshaver wrote: ↑Wed Feb 20, 2019 6:34 pm Save the trip and play it in the Pit.

What’s the pit? Edit, now I get it Unfortunately ER isn’t the home team

There's an outdoor rink at the ACC. That'll do. Save some gas money.

He was referring to the outdoor rink in ER where they played HDM But Andover needs the experience of playing at Amsoil Saturday...since DE has most likely been practicing on that ice sheet...the past two weeks

TheHockeyDJ wrote: ↑Thu Feb 21, 2019 8:22 am . . . I’m going to be curious to see what kind of forecheck East will run, and will that be adjusted vs Andover provided they advance past their rivals?

I think that East is somewhat of a mystery team right now. Thanks to Karl and others for providing us insight into what they've done in the games they have played since Jan. 26. Even in the 2nd Cloquet game, Randolph still seemed to be tinkering a bit. They haven't played many games recently, which, I'm assuming, Randolph does not have a problem with. Their practices must have been very interesting as they settled on line combinations - and which forecheck they'll go with to at least start the game. My guess is we'll see a completely different looking team than what we saw 4-5 weeks ago, especially in losses to Tonka, Brainerd and Moorhead.

mnmouth wrote: ↑Thu Feb 21, 2019 10:36 am

TheHockeyDJ wrote: ↑Thu Feb 21, 2019 8:22 am . . . I’m going to be curious to see what kind of forecheck East will run, and will that be adjusted vs Andover provided they advance past their rivals?

I think that East is somewhat of a mystery team right now. Thanks to Karl and others for providing us insight into what they've done in the games they have played since Jan. 26. Even in the 2nd Cloquet game, Randolph still seemed to be tinkering a bit. They haven't played many games recently, which, I'm assuming, Randolph does not have a problem with. Their practices must have been very interesting as they settled on line combinations - and which forecheck they'll go with to at least start the game. My guess is we'll see a completely different looking team than what we saw 4-5 weeks ago, especially in losses to Tonka, Brainerd and Moorhead.

They lost Hunter Paine 1st or 2nd shift against Tonka, they’d of still lost with him, Tonka was undefeated & rolling at that time, but it would have been closer. And they layed an egg on the NW MN roadtrip, plain & simple, it happens. Cloquet will be a TOUGH game Saturday with DS back on the blue line & up to speed now. If Carlson stays hot in goal, anything can happen. Andover also has a more experienced, more high end goalie than anybody left in 7AA, BH is not experienced in these type of HIGH PRESSURE games, so that needs to be factored in too.But whether it’s DE or Cloquet playing Andover Thursday night on KBJR...it will still be a home game for them, full student section, whole town 15-20 minutes away (not 2.5 hours on a work day. School Night...sounds equitable (Northland style)

hockey59 wrote: ↑Thu Feb 21, 2019 10:35 am

blueline_6 wrote: ↑Thu Feb 21, 2019 9:16 am

hockey59 wrote: ↑Wed Feb 20, 2019 6:39 pm

What’s the pit? Edit, now I get it Unfortunately ER isn’t the home team

There's an outdoor rink at the ACC. That'll do. Save some gas money.

He was referring to the outdoor rink in ER where they played HDM But Andover needs the experience of playing at Amsoil Saturday...since DE has most likely been practicing on that ice sheet...the past two weeks

Doesn't look like they've practice there at all yet. But they're scheduled there today, tomorrow, Monday and Tuesday. Looks like Cloquet and Denfeld get in on the action tomorrow as well.

It's fun to give us board banter, but I still think it's overrated. Rapids got it done there two years in a row. Unless that extra half hour on the charter bus makes the difference for those Cities teams......

mnmouth wrote: ↑Thu Feb 21, 2019 10:36 am

TheHockeyDJ wrote: ↑Thu Feb 21, 2019 8:22 am . . . I’m going to be curious to see what kind of forecheck East will run, and will that be adjusted vs Andover provided they advance past their rivals?

I think that East is somewhat of a mystery team right now. Thanks to Karl and others for providing us insight into what they've done in the games they have played since Jan. 26. Even in the 2nd Cloquet game, Randolph still seemed to be tinkering a bit. They haven't played many games recently, which, I'm assuming, Randolph does not have a problem with. Their practices must have been very interesting as they settled on line combinations - and which forecheck they'll go with to at least start the game. My guess is we'll see a completely different looking team than what we saw 4-5 weeks ago, especially in losses to Tonka, Brainerd and Moorhead.

I think that's a very safe assumption. I think Rando has them right where he wants them and that's where the smart money is. I expect them to be a lot better than the team that outshot Andover and lost in OT in Andover's rink back in December.

Jeffy95 wrote: ↑Thu Feb 21, 2019 11:18 am

mnmouth wrote: ↑Thu Feb 21, 2019 10:36 am

TheHockeyDJ wrote: ↑Thu Feb 21, 2019 8:22 am . . . I’m going to be curious to see what kind of forecheck East will run, and will that be adjusted vs Andover provided they advance past their rivals?

I think that East is somewhat of a mystery team right now. Thanks to Karl and others for providing us insight into what they've done in the games they have played since Jan. 26. Even in the 2nd Cloquet game, Randolph still seemed to be tinkering a bit. They haven't played many games recently, which, I'm assuming, Randolph does not have a problem with. Their practices must have been very interesting as they settled on line combinations - and which forecheck they'll go with to at least start the game. My guess is we'll see a completely different looking team than what we saw 4-5 weeks ago, especially in losses to Tonka, Brainerd and Moorhead.

I think that's a very safe assumption. I think Rando has them right where he wants them and that's where the smart money is. I expect them to be a lot better than the team that outshot Andover and lost in OT in Andover's rink back in December.

I know that DE beat DM during the regular season 8-2, but that QF game was totally one-sided Shots were 54-16 in the regular season, but 49-8 in the wf game. Just felt more one-sided so I would say the Jacks/Hounds SF game will be one of the best those two have played in a long time.

hockey59 wrote: ↑Thu Feb 21, 2019 10:35 am

blueline_6 wrote: ↑Thu Feb 21, 2019 9:16 am

hockey59 wrote: ↑Wed Feb 20, 2019 6:39 pm

What’s the pit? Edit, now I get it Unfortunately ER isn’t the home team

There's an outdoor rink at the ACC. That'll do. Save some gas money.

He was referring to the outdoor rink in ER where they played HDM But Andover needs the experience of playing at Amsoil Saturday...since DE has most likely been practicing on that ice sheet...the past two weeks

I know the rink he's referring to, my kids spend a fair amount of time there. I was trying to add more sarcasm to the idea that two "Southern" teams have to travel to Duluth to play their semifinal against each other.

Jeffy95 wrote: ↑Thu Feb 21, 2019 11:18 am

mnmouth wrote: ↑Thu Feb 21, 2019 10:36 am

TheHockeyDJ wrote: ↑Thu Feb 21, 2019 8:22 am . . . I’m going to be curious to see what kind of forecheck East will run, and will that be adjusted vs Andover provided they advance past their rivals?

I think that East is somewhat of a mystery team right now. Thanks to Karl and others for providing us insight into what they've done in the games they have played since Jan. 26. Even in the 2nd Cloquet game, Randolph still seemed to be tinkering a bit. They haven't played many games recently, which, I'm assuming, Randolph does not have a problem with. Their practices must have been very interesting as they settled on line combinations - and which forecheck they'll go with to at least start the game. My guess is we'll see a completely different looking team than what we saw 4-5 weeks ago, especially in losses to Tonka, Brainerd and Moorhead.

I think that's a very safe assumption. I think Rando has them right where he wants them and that's where the smart money is. I expect them to be a lot better than the team that outshot Andover and lost in OT in Andover's rink back in December.

Of course you do Jeffy, you’d side with DE & Randolph at Amsoil...if they were playing this years version of the Tampa Bay Lightning But at least we agree on everything Hermantown related...