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500 Rapids fans? Maybe 150-200
What game were you at?
There was prob only 500-600 total at the game!

Rapids first line is scary and just finds each other like they have eyes in the back of there heads!

Goaltending is where it's at tho, they have got a combination there that is gonna make the coaches make a tough decision down the road. Unless what happens last year?

ndirishfighting wrote:500 Rapids fans? Maybe 150-200
What game were you at?
There was prob only 500-600 total at the game!

Rapids first line is scary and just finds each other like they have eyes in the back of there heads!

Goaltending is where it's at tho, they have got a combination there that is gonna make the coaches make a tough decision down the road. Unless what happens last year?

And I thought I drank a lot.

Yea me too all those beverages from the Dutchy, Forest Lake, Toivis, Florios and Rcs 🍺🍻🥃

alcloseshaver wrote:Does Middlestadt seem a little off his game?

He looks to just be that much better then his teammates, it's as if they are trying to keep up with him.

I wanna see Miller and Mittlestead in a race

karl(east) wrote:

north_bear wrote:GR up 3-0 after dman Anderson buries a nice feed from dman Heitkamp.

There's a little bit of secondary scoring for them.

I don't know if Mittelstadt is off; he's had some fine flashes. I do think the Eagles as a whole look awfully individualistic, though. Much like last season, they just don't seem like they have a ton of chemistry, and haven't done much to correct that. You can't blame that all on Leivermann's absence, either.

GR, on the other hand, has taken steps to fix up its weaknesses. The defense beyond Stampohar may not be blessed with incredible skill, but they don't do dumb things anymore, and the goaltending has been the difference-maker.

If ER wins tonight, the early game tomorrow could plausibly be #1 vs. #2.

Mittelstadt is a tremendous player, let's not take that away from him, but as a previous comment that I made, it's as if his teammates are trying to play catch up with him. It's almost as if he needs to slow his game down a bit in order for things to work for Eden Prairie.

I wonder what the attendance numbers would be like for this tournament if they had it at the IRA Civic Center one year?

TheHockeyDJ wrote:I wonder what the attendance numbers would be like for this tournament if they had it at the IRA Civic Center one year?

Then it wouldn't be the "Edina Classic" now would it?

goldy313 wrote:

TheHockeyDJ wrote:I wonder what the attendance numbers would be like for this tournament if they had it at the IRA Civic Center one year?

Then it wouldn't be the "Edina Classic" now would it?

you...don't....say.....

anyone got some insight on the Edina Elk River game? I saw Edina won 5-0, but I missed it and was hoping for a recap.

good games and any of the 4 teams could have a nice showing at state. GR played a nice game with really good goaltending. NL would not have made much of difference in this game for EP. That GR line is really good. CM is a nice player but he does seem a little off this year. I think it has more to do with teams figuring out that putting a body on CM impacts his game which is what Wayzata did in championship game last year taking him out of the game. Sullivan is fine on that line, just not sure the other player is a good fit there. But it has nothing to do with "keeping up" with CM.

How about Edina! Really took care of a very good ER team. If there was a poll i would vote

best team GR and ER (tie)--winner is decided tonight.
most underrated Edina (could be a surprise at state)
most disappointing EP (based on expectations--still a good team)

gorilla1 wrote:How about Edina! Really took care of a very good ER team. If there was a poll i would vote

best team GR and ER (tie)--winner is decided tonight.
most underrated Edina (could be a surprise at state)
most disappointing EP (based on expectations--still a good team)

I've been able to watch all the games, and the most one-sided game so far, both on the scoreboard and on the ice, was the pasting Edina gave ER last night. And it could have been worse than 5-0, as the Hornet's missed on two clean breakaways. In their first game Edina outshot GR 50-20, so pending tonight's outcome I would say you're right about them being underrated.

karl(east) wrote:

north_bear wrote:GR up 3-0 after dman Anderson buries a nice feed from dman Heitkamp.

There's a little bit of secondary scoring for them.

I don't know if Mittelstadt is off; he's had some fine flashes. I do think the Eagles as a whole look awfully individualistic, though. Much like last season, they just don't seem like they have a ton of chemistry, and haven't done much to correct that. You can't blame that all on Leivermann's absence, either.

GR, on the other hand, has taken steps to fix up its weaknesses. The defense beyond Stampohar may not be blessed with incredible skill, but they don't do dumb things anymore, and the goaltending has been the difference-maker.

If ER wins tonight, the early game tomorrow could plausibly be #1 vs. #2.

I agree with Karl on EP. They do not play as a team. EP downfall will be ego, team chemistry and coaching. The same issues they faced last year. CM is a great talent and a great kid. Look what he did in the USHL. Playing CM 40-50 minutes of the game is not a recipe for success. CM draws so much attention - the other kids have to work to support the puck and they will get chances. They can't just sit back and watch CM. Big part of that is coaching. Also NL does make the D corp better and adds another threat. As for team chemistry one has to think that bringing in Dietrich is not helping. I recall that Moshet and Wiencek were a pretty good tandem in Bantam AA.

NDIrish- all rows were filled behind GR bench from center ice to goal line. Plus
another 50 GR spillover behind EP bench. Plus solid row of standers against railing. Plus orange standers at south end of rink. And many fans on near side of rink had orange. So, I'd maybe lower to 400 but not less.

Second game was way lower .

Who Will Show Up Tonite


o GR slow out of the gate Thursday and lucky to win, but on fire Friday

o Elk on fire Thursday but couldnt find their way Friday

o EP takes two losses, has things to figure out

o Edina, lowest ranked of the bunch , two consistent high intensity games, would have been 2-0 against most goalies, but instead record of 1-1.

Anyone's guess tonite!

I was at both games Thursday, but neither on Friday. It will be interesting seeing how EP reacts tonight and if they can bounce back after losing 2 straight competitive games. It's early, but I question if EP is as deep as last years team on the top end (losing Graham to the USHL & Lawrence & Roehl to the NAHL) They have added Jensen, who is flashy. an offensive D (#3) also caught my eye. And not having Nick L. available...he is a player that would make a BIG difference...maybe it wouldn't have tipped the scales this particular weekend but down the road, having him healthy will be key factor for EP. Losing a couple games (but not 3) might be good for EP, reducing all the pre-season hype. On a different subject, I heard Matt Anderson of Holy Family will likely be back in a couple weeks, saw him get injured at the Turkey Trot, having him back healthy will be HUGE for HF. Finally, ER vs GR will be an interesting game tonight with important 7AA implications.

hockey59 wrote:I was at both games Thursday, but neither on Friday. It will be interesting seeing how EP reacts tonight and if they can bounce back after losing 2 straight competitive games. It's early, but I question if EP is as deep as last years team on the top end (losing Graham to the USHL & Lawrence & Roehl to the NAHL) They have added Jensen, who is flashy. an offensive D (#3) also caught my eye. And not having Nick L. available...he is a player that would make a BIG difference...maybe it wouldn't have tipped the scales this particular weekend but down the road, having him healthy will be key factor for EP. Losing a couple games (but not 3) might be good for EP, reducing all the pre-season hype. On a different subject, I heard Matt Anderson of Holy Family will likely be back in a couple weeks, saw him get injured at the Turkey Trot, having him back healthy will be HUGE for HF. Finally, ER vs GR will be an interesting game tonight with important 7AA implications.

Graham graduated

Correct, all 3 players I mentioned graduated.

Lots of discussion about EP and CM


Not the first time that a team has difficulty early in season how to find an optimal game plan when a standout player has so much more speed and scoring punch, but is constantly being shadowed and doubled.

Justin Kloos at Lakeville South comes to mind. Dylan Malmquist senior year another. Both finished with over 200 career points.

One thing EP has to do is early in each game is see who is most often taking the body or slashing or clutching on CM and send them signal that they have to be otherwise occupied looking over their own shoulder

In addition, seems to me EP has to add to game plan to be more physical both forechecking in offensive corners and at the D blue line. They have got the size to make this effective. That will help open things up a little more for passing into the offensive slot, or outlet passing from the D zone into center ice. Also will tire out opponent more. With more open space, EP center icemen got more chance to optimize their talent.

Second and third lines have to step up even more, putting up even more points, there is plenty of talent there, that way bench can be confident there is scoring punch behind CM.

Have watched CM come to the bench two nights in row starting early in third period after double shifts with heavy shadowing and contact and clutching, not sure that is optimizing use of resource without some other adjustments to game plan. I think in the third period of the Elk game, EP third line only came out for one shift, or two at most.

ADDED: Agree , Leivermann being out, and loss of Graham,Lawrence and Roehl makes a big difference. But HJ, NS, and JB are still here and dont forget the addition of JJ . Also, another year experience for several other quality upcoming players. Added all up, should pretty much equal things out to last year, once NL returns and team resource utilization and game plan is optimized.

green4 wrote:anyone got some insight on the Edina Elk River game? I saw Edina won 5-0, but I missed it and was hoping for a recap.

ER's speed was nullified and the lack of size and strength of there forwards didn't allow them to get to the quality scoring areas. They have little bit of a depth issue after Zerban decided to not come back from from somewhere in Pennsylvania. Edina was great and deserves kudos. Should be fun against Rapids tonight, hopefully less of a chirp fest than last year with their old buddy Blake M.

All of what we have seen first two nights will be brought to the forefront tonight...sure, its STILL early. But this tourney will definitely set the tone.
GR as faves this season and for state title. ER a little wake-up call and adjustments to be made...but we all know they will be there come late Feb/early March. ER...? Well, lets see how they bounce back tonight vs. GR.
Edina? EP will give them all they can handle. Sure, Edina has speed, grit and hustle, but they are outsized at C and F...and young. Can they hold up another night and grind it out versus EP...? Whose backs are against the wall and you know their crosstown rival Edina will bring out their best - they don't want to be 0-3 at this tourney.
GR so impressive...skilled, tough, hard-working, good goalies, good coaching.
ER key is to have good showing tonight...if not? They'll drop and possibly swap spots with Edina should Edina take out EP.
No matter what transpires its been a blast! Good luck to all!
(PS - keep an eye on Edina soph F, #22 Jett Jungles...)

Where was this ER team last night? Must have been thinking about how good they were after beating EP. Controlled the 2nd period.

alcloseshaver wrote:Where was this ER team last night? Must have been thinking about how good they were after beating EP. Controlled the 2nd period.

I agree. Much more composed and smart with the puck tonight. After the drubbing they took last night it's an impressive comeback against a very potent GR team.

The 3rd period should be great!

MNHockeyFan wrote:

alcloseshaver wrote:Where was this ER team last night? Must have been thinking about how good they were after beating EP. Controlled the 2nd period.

I agree. Much more composed and smart with the puck tonight. After the drubbing they took last night it's an impressive comeback against a very potent GR team.

The 3rd period should be great!

Another steal for Motzko = Nick Perbix.

Congrats to the Elks on a very good tournament. They earned that win again tonight. Great game winning goal. Good stuff for sure.