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Who has exceeded expectations this year and your thoughts on why?

A - I like Sauk Rapids based on their losses to graduation from last year, only 5 seniors and this groups sub par youth hockey past. Big wins over Little Falls, Denfeld, Cathedral and Tech. Weston did a great job there.

AA - Benilde based on a coaching change things were not expected to be this good this quick, but with only 3 losses and wins over Tonka and Shattuck, you got to agree they did very well this year. Hopkins could be considered in this category as well.

i've been surprised with Park Rapids,Sauk Rapids,Owatonna,

Hopkins

Virginia. At the begining of the season, there were many who thought they would be at the bottom of the barrel because of the loss of Sacchetti but they surprised everyone by winning some games against some ranked teams and with gritty play throught out the year.

Virginia. At the begining of the season, there were many who thought they would be at the bottom of the barrel because of the loss of Sacchetti but they surprised everyone by winning some games against some ranked teams and with gritty play throught out the year.

Hopkins. After losing Fink, I think most people expected them to drop back down to the bottom. But they were actually better this year than they were last year with Fink.

Gopher Blog wrote:Hopkins. After losing Fink, I think most people expected them to drop back down to the bottom. But they were actually better this year than they were last year with Fink.

I would agree with that!

A lot of surprises in 6AA.

Hopkins was much better than anyone expected, Benilde has been elite and most picked them a peg down from there, and Minnetonka is as good as anyone. Go back and look at the preseason rankings and you won't find Minnetonka in the Top 10.

For other sections...

In 5AA Champlin Park was the #2 seed over Blaine. At 16-8-1 they were a mild surprise. Osseo went 16-9.

Nobody else really, in all of AA.

Yep- Hopkins gets my vote too.
They really pulled together as a working unified unit.

Hopkins gets my vote too. Park Rapids may be a big surprise too.

Hibbing is somewhat of a suprise, Losing i believe 9 seniors last year and Stompohar to the Canadien juniors is a blow to deal with, Guys like Hanegman, Jamnick, DeCenzo, Wagner and Estey have Stepped up and taken the places of Sutherland, Kapella, Marsh, Simonson and Tuomi, And Sandstrom has Been a great Replacement for Jascha Marchuk.

well what about buffalo bison they werent half bad they had a solid record and with losses to teams like moorhead, edina, cloquet, and tonka all solid top ranked teams i think the bison had a pretty successful year

I think Andover was preety impressive from the year before, I look for them to do some damage in the future.

Roseau or Edina.
(beat ya to it Govs)

grindiangrad-80 wrote:Roseau or Edina.
(beat ya to it Govs)

I was thinkin of doin this but decided against it. I see we are all thinkin the same thing though.

Bash Brother wrote:

grindiangrad-80 wrote:Roseau or Edina.
(beat ya to it Govs)

I was thinkin of doin this but decided against it. I see we are all thinkin the same thing though.

He must be playin' gameshow..

A - South St. Paul or St. Cloud Cathedral

AA - Bloomington Jefferson, Rosemount, or Minnetonka

Hopkins would get my vote. Early in the season they wouldn't have though. I saw them play North St. Paul in early December and beat the Polars 5-4 in OT and the Polars had their backup goalie in net. I saw them again in the South St. Paul tournament and they looked better especially after beating Woodbury in the Championship game. That team really improved as the season went on.

I would say Kittson Central. They have had one of the better seasons in recent memory and have gotten alot more people in the area looking at the hockey program. Plus they were the 1st to beat PR.

I would also have to vote for Kittson Central. It has been one of their better seasons in recent history. Sure you can say they didn't beat anybody but Park Rapids, but 17 wins is 17 wins. For a program that generally finishes .500, a 17-9 record for them is great season. They lost out to EGF 4-2 in the quarter finals, that's a lot better than Park Rapids is fairing tonight.

You have to give Winona props...12 wins. That is more then they have the previous 4 season combined!

Hopkins or Jefferson

fan2007
[/quote]AA - Benilde based on a coaching change things were not expected to be this good this quick, but with only 3 losses and wins over Tonka and Shattuck, you got to agree they did very well this year.


Benilde did not beat mtka, i believe you are thinking of the hornets that bsm beat

kennedy

I stand corrected. They did however beat Marshall Edina SSM, CDH and EP. 15 and 1 since droping the STA game also says a lot. However their 1 loss was to the Skippers. I say they are still a nice suprise.