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greenway1969 wrote:I'm really hoping Luverne makes it to state. They have a decent win (Kennedy) and I'm hoping they can perform well against the big boys of Class A. Can't see them getting a higher seed than 5 seed most likely a 6 or 7 if all the favorites make it to state. If they can win 2 games at state that will really help improve the perception of them for future years.

Nice post!

There clearly the favorites but maybe seeing there shadows in the mirror a bit...

Hoping they can stave off stage fright and get to the big show finally!

Looking for a great Saturday in Gustavus!

Good luck to all the teams in 3A!

How long until trout calls for morris to beat Luverne?

notTONIGHT wrote:How long until trout calls for morris to beat Luverne?

It's gotta be a trap game!!!!

Section 3A Play-In Games Playoff Preview
#9 Seed Fairmont (4-19-0) @ #8 Seed Morris-Benson (8-16-1)
# 9 Seed (4-19-0) Fairmont Cardinals Preview:
It has been a rough year again for Fairmont. They are led up front by Junior Duo Rodney Engstrom (9-7-16 pts.) & Samuel Haven (6-5-11 Pts.). Scoring goals has been a struggle all year for Fairmont. They are led on the Blue line by Senior Greg Claeys (3-8-11 pts.). The key to Fairmont’s success lies in the nets where Junior Colton Cunning has played every minute this year. If he gets hot Fairmont will be in the game if not they really don’t stand much of a chance.

# 8 Seed (8-16-1) Morris Benson Storm Preview:
The Storm have been on fire late in the season. They have won 6 of their last 7 games and look to be building confidence in what looks to be a fairly young squad. They are led by a trio of Juniors Taner Gimberlin (14-10-24 pts.), Corey Goff (10-10-20 pts.) and Bo Olson (11-7-18 pts.) throw in 24 point by Senior Corey Srorck and the Storm have found balance in their offense. Their weakness is they are very thin and don’t possess a ton of speed on the Blueline. They have had Freshman goalie Tony Burns step up as their number one goalie the second half of the year. They have been the most improved team as the season has moved on.

Prediction: I look for Morris Benson to jump put of Fairmont as it will be a very long bus ride for Fairmont tomorrow night. Both teams are still fairly young. Burns will be in his first playoff game start will he get jitters. Cunning is more battle tested but doesn’t have the talent in front of him that the storm have.
Morris Benson 4 Fairmont 2

Section 3A Play-In Games Playoff Preview
#11 Seed Worthington (3-16-0) @ #6 Seed Litchfield/Dassel-Cokato (5-18-1)
# 11 Seed (3-16-0) Worthington Trojans Preview:
It has been a rough year again for Worthington where they have such low numbers. They are led up front by Junior Duo Nick Newman (18-9-27 pts.) & Andrew Johnson (11-15-26 Pts.).Depth is a huge issue with the Trjoans. They are very thin on the Blue which leads them to giving up a lot of shots on the nets where Senior Alex Purdy has played the majority of the minutes this year.

# 6 Seed (5-18-1) LDC Dragons Preview:
Been a long season for the Dragons both on and off the ice this season. They have been led by their super sophomores Jared Pedersen (13-12-25 pts.) & David Raisanen (9-15-24 pts.) up front and very stout sophomore defenseman Ben Haugo (4-8-12 pts.) on defense. The Dragons have not won a game since December but many say they could still make a run because of Solid Senior Tender Braeden Wahl. With Wahl the Dragons could be a tough out on any given night.

Prediction: I look for LDC to cruise in this one. They are on their home ice and have much more depth and talent then the depleted Trojans at this pint in the year. The Dragons will be looking to get confidence as they head into their match up with New Ulm
LDC 10 Worthington 0

Section 3A Play-In Games Playoff Preview
#10 Seed Redwood Valley (4-14-0) @ #7 Seed Windom (9-14-0)
# 10 Seed (4-14-0) Redwood Valley Cardinals Preview:
It has been a rough year for the YOUNG Redwood Valley Cardinals where they have such low numbers. They are led up front by Junior Jacob Prouty(10-10-20 pts.) & the Freshman Duo of Bailey Sommers (7-10-17 Pts.) & Alex Olsen (7-7-14 pts.) They are very thin on the Blue which leads them to giving up a lot of shots on the nets where Sophomore Tyler Domeier has played the majority of the minutes this year. Redwood has been very up and down which you would expect from such a young squad. This was a growing year for them.

# 7 Seed (9-14-0) Windom Eagles Preview:
Been a disappointing season for the Eagles on ice this season. They have been led by their solid sophomore Devin Nielsen (15-15-30 pts.) & Solid Senior Zach Bartosh (18-18-36 pts.) up front and very good Junior defenseman Jack Mellstrom (3-24-27 pts.) on defense. The problem with Windom lies in the nets where they have gotten inconsistent goaltending all season. Windom has not been able to play the upper teams because o this but has been very solid vs. the lower half.

Prediction: I look for very good battle in Windom. Redwood Valley closed the gap the second time these two teams met when Redwood had a player in the nets. Windom can score and seems to have more veteran talent in their lineup.
Windom 5 Redwood Valley 4

Anybody out there? You 3A faithful have been pretty quiet with the exception of Scout. Saw that Luverne beat PA in pretty convincing fashion or so it seems from the stats. Nice regular season and they should be proud of that accomplishment. Also wondering, without looking back through 15 years of history, why is it that if Luverne were to lose a game now (like ANY good team could) they are considered chokers. Can't it just be a loss at an unfortunate time? As a gopher fan, I have to accept that even though they are one of the best college teams in the country, they don't ALWAYS win every game. Why so many haters? Or is it like Herb postulates.... really just one with multiple accounts?

They are only considered choke artists by one person and that is the one and only TROUT. He thinks because the Luverne fans talk and brag up their team that if they lose they will have choke. He is also putting this into perspective with them losing to a hot goalie last year. So anytime Luverne loses they choke according to TROUT.

hawkenjonny wrote:Anybody out there? You 3A faithful have been pretty quiet with the exception of Scout. Saw that Luverne beat PA in pretty convincing fashion or so it seems from the stats. Nice regular season and they should be proud of that accomplishment. Also wondering, without looking back through 15 years of history, why is it that if Luverne were to lose a game now (like ANY good team could) they are considered chokers. Can't it just be a loss at an unfortunate time? As a gopher fan, I have to accept that even though they are one of the best college teams in the country, they don't ALWAYS win every game. Why so many haters? Or is it like Herb postulates.... really just one with multiple accounts?

I dont do a lot of postulating. OR whatever that is, but yeah, pretty funny they stopped after getting called out. AND dont be surprised when they return shortly after this post.
Its just trout.

MAybe this is what the thread should be called

Bleed Maroon and Gold wrote:They are only considered choke artists by one person and that is the one and only TROUT. He thinks because the Luverne fans talk and brag up their team that if they lose they will have choke. He is also putting this into perspective with them losing to a hot goalie last year. So anytime Luverne loses they choke according to TROUT.

Trout can't stand the fact that Luverne is one of the up and coming teams in all of class A. But yet he has to come on here and pretend he has no interest in the cards. He is the biggest imposture on here. Kinda funny how he has dam near made all of the cards games this year....but yet he sits in his lazy boy ripping on them every chance he gets...

Yes is it possible that they could get beat. But also the chances are in there favor to put together a big playoff run. I feel it is wide open this year outside of two teams... Egf & Hermantown with that being said I like the cards chances!

Roll cards roll!!

n-tnght please apologize to those fine sd people at trout haven for likening them to 3a ts.My 5 and 6yr old got to catch 60 fish on one afternoon there during biker week. The bike riders chose a kid to cheer for and then proceeded to pay for every fish. Those people at trout haven worked their butts off.

ps they had the fish cooked and shared with everyone

I am amazed this thread has reached 38 pages talking about this section. The only real news out of this section is Luverne and their run last year and this year. Congrats to the Cardinals on the undefeated season.

I expect Luverne to make an almost uncontested walz through sections and get to St Paul, no new news there. That is where the yellow brick road will end. As an unseeded team, they will draw either (should all these teams make it) EGF, Breck, Totino Grace, St Cloud Cathedral, or Hermantown, or maybe Warroad, Mankato West, Duluth Marshall, Mahtomedi, or Alexandria. Some reward for the season Luverne has had. Until the powers that be schedule some better opposition for Luverne than Minnehaha, Achiever, or Dodge County and they WIN those games, Luverne will be viewed as an up and comer and will never "arrive".

Losing in the first round at state will not make Luverne chokers. Do it for several years like New Ulm and they will get that reputation. Luverne DOES need to play outside the section more and they will have to travel to do it. Swing through the metro, head to Duluth, do a NW trip like Breck and Cathedral, play some teams in the top 10. Until then Section 3A will be synonymous with the epic whoopings put on New Ulm in the first round of state.

Can't imagine why teams like Breck, Cathedral, D-Marshall, H-town etc would even attempt to put Luverne on their schedule of limited games when they already have top notch competition that will prepare them for the end of the season in their backyard. Luverne's issue DOES NOT seem to be willingness to travel as I stated before they caught my attention with younger teams that are FAR from home and winning or at least competing. Can't make other teams play you especially when they have little to gain. Tough deal, but I agree, gotta try. Tournaments? Good luck Luverne. Hope you prove some people wrong.

Best thread on the whole forum; thanks guys. Glad to see posters take a stand, at least. Thought I better jump in before section results start rolling in tonight...

Good News for Cardinals Fans: Luverne will win 3A. Only Breck is as strong a favorite to win thier Class A section as Luverne is. Luverne also has beaten all takers in 3A this year (despite constant predictions of "trap game", or "dangerous" opponents, or hot goalies derailing the Cards). For the Luverne haters, your timing is pretty funny; they had thier best year in history, and are probably headed to the X - maybe you should pick a better target next season! It's also good for all of Southern Minnesota hockey to have a team like Luverne and it's fans do well; lots of people have mentioned them this year, and many say they hope to see them in St Paul.

Caveat for Luverne posters: While lots of people statewide are cheering for Luverne, please don't get too touchy about people on the forum questioning the Card's schedule or related stats. There is some truth in there, somewhere. According to the USHSHO final regular season rankings, out of 164 teams statewide in the 16 sections, Sec 3A has no less than five teams rated in the bottom twelve (no AA section even has one, and no other Class A section has more than two). That makes a big difference in scoring - Hockeyhub stats say that in Luverne's nine total games against those teams, the Cards put up over 110 goals. No offense, but Cardinal scoring seemed to drop off a bit in thier two games against Dodge County (themselves ranked #64 out of 67 AA teams). Just sayin, keep a little perspective.

BUT...I still think Luverne is one of the top 10 stories in all of MN HS hockey this season. They are clearly on the rise, and have outstanding talent when compared to similar sized programs. I'll be cheering for them in sections.

Good luck to all teams. Would love to see the 3A section final, if for no other reason than to see the postgame hug/handshake between 3A Scout and NOTtonight

hawkenjonny wrote:Can't imagine why teams like Breck, Cathedral, D-Marshall, H-town etc would even attempt to put Luverne on their schedule of limited games when they already have top notch competition that will prepare them for the end of the season in their backyard. Luverne's issue DOES NOT seem to be willingness to travel as I stated before they caught my attention with younger teams that are FAR from home and winning or at least competing. Can't make other teams play you especially when they have little to gain. Tough deal, but I agree, gotta try. Tournaments? Good luck Luverne. Hope you prove some people wrong.

Until they build up their reputation as a winner outside of 3A, they will have to travel. For tournaments, they need to move up a level or more in the Schwan Cup, Hilltopper Classic? Warroad, TRF, or Roseau holiday tournaments? Jason Stadstad in Grand Forks? Options are there.

Section 3A Playoff Scores
Morris Benson 6 Fairmont 1

LDC 14 Worthington 4

Windom 8 Redwood Valley 5

Windom 8-5 over Redwood
Very hard fought game for both teams. Special teams were the difference in this one as Redwood couldn't score in 14 minutes on the power play (including 2 shorties given up). Windom moves on to play Willmar in round two in what should be a cakewalk for the cardinals. Look for Redwood to turn it around next year and build some future momentum. Only graduating one senior. They have a sophomore goalie and lots of freshman and sophomores on the team. Should be a dangerous team in the future.

Morris Benson 6 Fairmont 1

Morris-Benson has now won 7 of their last 8 games. They outshot Fairmont tonight 44 - 14. The Storm are starting to get balanced scoring from more then one line. Their powerplay was also very effective going 2 for 2 tonight. The Storm are very hot right now and playing as good of puck as anyone.

Section 3A HockeyScout wrote:Section 3A Playoff Scores
Morris Benson 6 Fairmont 1

LDC 14 Worthington 4

Windom 8 Redwood Valley 5

Can we get our Morris over Luverne pick already?

notTONIGHT wrote:

Section 3A HockeyScout wrote:Section 3A Playoff Scores
Morris Benson 6 Fairmont 1

LDC 14 Worthington 4

Windom 8 Redwood Valley 5

Can we get our Morris over Luverne pick already?

Luverne should be able to take of Morris Benson on Thursday. I do think The Storm can play with Luverne for a bit. Last meeting they were tied 3 to 3 after One Period. However, Luverne should be able to win that game. They will meet there match When the Face a VERY UNDERRATED HUTCH team on Saturday at Gustavus!

Section 3A HockeyScout wrote:

notTONIGHT wrote:

Section 3A HockeyScout wrote:Section 3A Playoff Scores
Morris Benson 6 Fairmont 1

LDC 14 Worthington 4

Windom 8 Redwood Valley 5

Can we get our Morris over Luverne pick already?

Luverne should be able to take of Morris Benson on Thursday. I do think The Storm can play with Luverne for a bit. Last meeting they were tied 3 to 3 after One Period. However, Luverne should be able to win that game. They will meet there match When the Face a VERY UNDERRATED HUTCH team on Saturday at Gustavus!

So are you giving hutchtostate some confidence NOTTONIGHT?

Or are we setting the hook again??

Scout14 wrote:

Section 3A HockeyScout wrote:

notTONIGHT wrote: Can we get our Morris over Luverne pick already?

Luverne should be able to take of Morris Benson on Thursday. I do think The Storm can play with Luverne for a bit. Last meeting they were tied 3 to 3 after One Period. However, Luverne should be able to win that game. They will meet there match When the Face a VERY UNDERRATED HUTCH team on Saturday at Gustavus!

So are you giving hutchtostate some confidence NOTTONIGHT?

Or are we setting the hook again??

I thought for sure the trout traps would be set up and down stream after the hottest team in the section (morris) won tonight.

I can barely type that without heaving......

notTONIGHT wrote:

Scout14 wrote:

Section 3A HockeyScout wrote: Luverne should be able to take of Morris Benson on Thursday. I do think The Storm can play with Luverne for a bit. Last meeting they were tied 3 to 3 after One Period. However, Luverne should be able to win that game. They will meet there match When the Face a VERY UNDERRATED HUTCH team on Saturday at Gustavus!

So are you giving hutchtostate some confidence NOTTONIGHT?

Or are we setting the hook again??

I thought for sure the trout traps would be set up and down stream after the hottest team in the section (morris) won tonight.

I can barely type that without heaving......

No worries it was just the rest of the pack that played tonight....

Perk up NOTtonight the fish sniffer is on the road trying to find his next catch...

NOTtonight's 3A quarterfinal prediction
Luverne handily over Morris
Hutch over Marshall
New Ulm over LDC
Willmar handily over Windom

Anyone have any insight into the state of Marshall? Are they feeling frisky there? Campion proved he is capable of stealing games, but has been a shell of what he was last year. Everyone knows hutch can LAY EGGS on any given night.

How about New Ulm? Close game with LDC the first time, but in the most recent meeting they rolled over the dragons. Should be a good win for New Ulm, unless Wahl gets hot.

The machine in Willmar wont be stopped by Windom. I expect a gritty defensive effort from Windom. If they can pop a few early, Willmar struggles scoring goals. Willmar should win in a run time finish.

Good Luck boys!!

notTONIGHT wrote:NOTtonight's 3A quarterfinal prediction
Luverne handily over Morris
Hutch over Marshall
New Ulm over LDC
Willmar handily over Windom

Anyone have any insight into the state of Marshall? Are they feeling frisky there? Campion proved he is capable of stealing games, but has been a shell of what he was last year. Everyone knows hutch can LAY EGGS on any given night.

How about New Ulm? Close game with LDC the first time, but in the most recent meeting they rolled over the dragons. Should be a good win for New Ulm, unless Wahl gets hot.


The machine in Willmar wont be stopped by Windom. I expect a gritty defensive effort from Windom. If they can pop a few early, Willmar struggles scoring goals. Willmar should win in a run time finish.

Good Luck boys!!

Reading THIS was just about as entertaining as watching the camera-shots of the Russian fans during their game with Finland this morning!