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From the Pioneer Press

KAPOSIA CLASSIC
When: Jan. 1-3
Where: Wakota Arena, South St. Paul
Teams: Roseville, Eastview, Blake, Hibbing, Crookston, Eden Prairie, Hutchinson, South St. Paul

The skinny: In its 14th season, the Kaposia is still the best girls hockey tournament of the regular season. Eden Prairie is the defending Class AA champion, and Roseville is ranked No. 3 in the metro area. Powerful Blake might be the team to beat in Class A, but perennial champion South St. Paul is looming. Outstate powers Crookston and Hibbing beef up the tournament, too.

IF Roseville can get by Eastview (no guarantee there) and IF Blake beats Hibbing/Chisolm then Roseville vs. Blake on Friday at 5:00pm. That one would be worth the price of admission and then some.

Roseville will smoke Eastview. Just my opinion

Methinks host team SSP gave themselves an easy road to the finals with these brackets

nothernewguy wrote:Roseville will smoke Eastview. Just my opinion

Methinks host team SSP gave themselves an easy road to the finals with these brackets

I totally agree on SSP being on the weak bracket. When you run your own tourney you can do what you want.
The real Championship game is Roseville vs Eastview. Eastview will not be a pushover.

g31 wrote:The real Championship game is Roseville vs Eastview.

I think the Blake players would take exception to what you're saying here!

EP will take the Championship again!!!!!!!!!!!

My Opinion: Blake is the best team in the state, A, AA, AAA, XX, whatever. But if anyone can handle them I'd say it would be Roseville because of their speed and solid D. If they meet it will be fun. I don't know anything about Eastview except they got smoked by Breck and took Hopkins to OT.

Blake as best team in state?? Wow! They haven't played any top teams yet and you are that sold on them. You must have graduated from Blake.

Bensonmum wrote:My Opinion: Blake is the best team in the state, A, AA, AAA, XX, whatever. But if anyone can handle them I'd say it would be Roseville because of their speed and solid D. If they meet it will be fun. I don't know anything about Eastview except they got smoked by Breck and took Hopkins to OT.

Joethehockeydad wrote:Blake as best team in state?? Wow! They haven't played any top teams yet and you are that sold on them. You must have graduated from Blake.

Bensonmum wrote:My Opinion: Blake is the best team in the state, A, AA, AAA, XX, whatever. But if anyone can handle them I'd say it would be Roseville because of their speed and solid D. If they meet it will be fun. I don't know anything about Eastview except they got smoked by Breck and took Hopkins to OT.

Or just has an opinion!

Could it be... Both the best AA and A team in state are in Hopkins??? =)

Joethehockeydad wrote:Blake as best team in state?? Wow! They haven't played any top teams yet and you are that sold on them. You must have graduated from Blake.

Bensonmum wrote:My Opinion: Blake is the best team in the state, A, AA, AAA, XX, whatever. But if anyone can handle them I'd say it would be Roseville because of their speed and solid D. If they meet it will be fun. I don't know anything about Eastview except they got smoked by Breck and took Hopkins to OT.

Using the KRACH overall rankings, Blake has played exactly one current top 10 team this season (Edina) and Hopkins has played exactly two (Edina and Roseville).

I'm not going to argue strength of schedule in total because Hopkins will win that battle by the end of the season, but I will beg to differ on the use of the phrase top team. That is because it is getting harder to define top team this season as we have seen several top teams lose games you would expect they'd win. But Hopkins and Blake are both taking on the competition and winning and they are doing it with tremendous defense to go along with the offense. Very few goals allowed.

With 8 seniors at Hopkins and 7 seniors at Blake, you have two teams with formidable depth and not much losses from last season. As a matter of fact, if I had an 8th grader this year I would be looking hard at these two schools if I lived anywhere nearby. There is huge opportunity next year when the current class graduates.

I'll have to look back after game results this weekend to see if my remarks still hold true. But my guess is both teams will still be on top.

Actually your numbers are off quite a bit as to games against top KRACH teams. Hopkins has played exactly 2 top ten teams in the current rankings but they are Roseville (#4) and Centennial (#10). If you want to go down to Edina at #15 (Hopkins was missing their top D player for that game) you must also add in Minnetonka (#13) for Hopkins and add Breck (#14) for Blake. So Hopkins has #'s 4, 10, 13, 15 and Blake has only #'s 14, & 15. And if you go to the QRF rankings things look even better for Hopkins case for competitive teams played with Eastview and Maple Grove thrown in there. Again, I'm not saying that Blake is not a good team only that they haven't played any top teams YET. I definately don't see Edina as a top team in any rankings now or later IMO.

nothernewguy wrote:

Joethehockeydad wrote:Blake as best team in state?? Wow! They haven't played any top teams yet and you are that sold on them. You must have graduated from Blake.

Bensonmum wrote:My Opinion: Blake is the best team in the state, A, AA, AAA, XX, whatever. But if anyone can handle them I'd say it would be Roseville because of their speed and solid D. If they meet it will be fun. I don't know anything about Eastview except they got smoked by Breck and took Hopkins to OT.

Using the KRACH overall rankings, Blake has played exactly one current top 10 team this season (Edina) and Hopkins has played exactly two (Edina and Roseville).

I'm not going to argue strength of schedule in total because Hopkins will win that battle by the end of the season, but I will beg to differ on the use of the phrase top team. That is because it is getting harder to define top team this season as we have seen several top teams lose games you would expect they'd win. But Hopkins and Blake are both taking on the competition and winning and they are doing it with tremendous defense to go along with the offense. Very few goals allowed.

With 8 seniors at Hopkins and 7 seniors at Blake, you have two teams with formidable depth and not much losses from last season. As a matter of fact, if I had an 8th grader this year I would be looking hard at these two schools if I lived anywhere nearby. There is huge opportunity next year when the current class graduates.

I'll have to look back after game results this weekend to see if my remarks still hold true. But my guess is both teams will still be on top.

At some point I'll run the KRACH SOS (Stregth-of-Schedule) rankings and that is very interesting as you may see some teams with few losses not ranked very high as a result of their SOS.

ghshockeyfan wrote:At some point I'll run the KRACH SOS (Stregth-of-Schedule) rankings and that is very interesting as you may see some teams with few losses not ranked very high as a result of their SOS.

SOS Rankings are at:
http://www.ushsho.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=18551

As a metro coach, you can't call the top team in the state this early until you watch the BEST Holiday tournament in the state the Edina Holiday classic) the next three days. Strength of schedule is the underlying factor in all of rankings. Some teams ranked high right now have played very few highly ranked teams. An educated hockey person would look at the teams strength of schedule before ranking teams so high ie. (Bensonnum). Wait a few more days before making the "midseason" best of the state. The Edina tournament has clearly taken over the "Best of Holiday tournaments" so we will all know in a few days who is the power. No slight to Blake as they are a very competitive team.
________
Marijuana Bubbler

conehead wrote:As a metro coach, you can't call the top team in the state this early until you watch the BEST Holiday tournament in the state the Edina Holiday classic) the next three days. Strength of schedule is the underlying factor in all of rankings. Some teams ranked high right now have played very few highly ranked teams. An educated hockey person would look at the teams strength of schedule before ranking teams so high ie. (Bensonnum). Wait a few more days before making the "midseason" best of the state. The Edina tournament has clearly taken over the "Best of Holiday tournaments" so we will all know in a few days who is the power. No slight to Blake as they are a very competitive team.

I agree the Edina Tournament is great and someone worked very hard to get a top group of teams there and have according to LPH the #1AA, #3AA, #4AA, #5AA, #7AA, #10AA, #13AA, #15AA.

Roseville or Breck could just as easily be top teams in Edina Tournament. I also agree Kaposia seems to be in place to give SSP a nice platform to look good and play good competition but they do always seem to seed their bracket lighter/eaiser which you can when it is your tournament. The field is mostly A with 5 A and 3AA teams: #1A, #2AA, #17AA, #5A, #9A, #10A, #17A and unranked #AA Eden Prairie.

Had heard following scores:

Roseville 9 Eastview 1
Blake 5 Hibbing 1

What were other scores for the day?

Had heard following scores:

Roseville 9 Eastview 1
Blake 5 Hibbing 1

What were other scores for the day?

conehead wrote:As a metro coach, you can't call the top team in the state this early until you watch the BEST Holiday tournament in the state the Edina Holiday classic) the next three days. Strength of schedule is the underlying factor in all of rankings. Some teams ranked high right now have played very few highly ranked teams. An educated hockey person would look at the teams strength of schedule before ranking teams so high ie. (Bensonnum). Wait a few more days before making the "midseason" best of the state. The Edina tournament has clearly taken over the "Best of Holiday tournaments" so we will all know in a few days who is the power. No slight to Blake as they are a very competitive team.

I form an opinion by what I see on the ice. I'm not sending in a ballot to make or break a team's season, Professor. If you need a stack of schedules and game results and computer printouts to form an opinion, Dr. Conehead, that's your problem. I know what I've seen. Blake is the best, IMO, that I've seen, which includes Hopkins, Roseville, Edina, HM, WBL, and Stillwater, which pretty much covers any others who might be considered the best now that Breck smoked Warroad. Blake could play U14B teams the rest of the year, and I'd still say at this point in time they're the best.
By the way, you should know since you're so educated, that intelligent people recognize when they say something that's arrogant, condescending, and inane, and feel ashamed and embarassed. Obviously you're not in that group.

Joethehockeydad wrote:Actually your numbers are off quite a bit as to games against top KRACH teams. Hopkins has played exactly 2 top ten teams in the current rankings but they are Roseville (#4) and Centennial (#10). If you want to go down to Edina at #15 (Hopkins was missing their top D player for that game) you must also add in Minnetonka (#13) for Hopkins and add Breck (#14) for Blake. So Hopkins has #'s 4, 10, 13, 15 and Blake has only #'s 14, & 15. And if you go to the QRF rankings things look even better for Hopkins case for competitive teams played with Eastview and Maple Grove thrown in there. Again, I'm not saying that Blake is not a good team only that they haven't played any top teams YET. I definately don't see Edina as a top team in any rankings now or later IMO

Well phfft, I must have looked at the wrong week's rankings. But at any rate, I wouldn't go any deeper than #10 this year. Big dropoff.

As far as Edina, if you're going to use rankings to prove your case then you have to use them all. Can't throw one out just because in your opinion they don't belong there.

I form an opinion by what I see on the ice. I'm not sending in a ballot to make or break a team's season, Professor. If you need a stack of schedules and game results and computer printouts to form an opinion, Dr. Conehead, that's your problem. I know what I've seen. Blake is the best, IMO, that I've seen, which includes Hopkins, Roseville, Edina, HM, WBL, and Stillwater, which pretty much covers any others who might be considered the best now that Breck smoked Warroad. Blake could play U14B teams the rest of the year, and I'd still say at this point in time they're the best.
By the way, you should know since you're so educated, that intelligent people recognize when they say something that's arrogant, condescending, and inane, and feel ashamed and embarassed. Obviously you're not in that group.[/quote]

Agree totally with Bensonmum on this one. So many things you can't see in stats or rankings. Such as how the play ramps up when certain lines or players come on the ice. The number of quality shots vs. shots. Time of puck possession. Forechecking, forechecking, forechecking.

I could go on but you get the point. 9 times out of 10 one can walk into a rink and within 5 minutes tell if you're looking at an average or a top team.

Northernguy, what did I not include?? I credited everything to both teams. If it is only top 10 then "Hopkins has played exactly 2 top ten teams" and Blake ZERO (I was assuming people understood that). You incorrectly threw Edina out there, not me. I do disagree with your opinion that there is some BIG dropoff after the top ten though, maybe by the end of the year that statement would be correct, but not now as evidenced by some of the recent scores over these holiday tourneys.

nothernewguy wrote:

Joethehockeydad wrote:Actually your numbers are off quite a bit as to games against top KRACH teams. Hopkins has played exactly 2 top ten teams in the current rankings but they are Roseville (#4) and Centennial (#10). If you want to go down to Edina at #15 (Hopkins was missing their top D player for that game) you must also add in Minnetonka (#13) for Hopkins and add Breck (#14) for Blake. So Hopkins has #'s 4, 10, 13, 15 and Blake has only #'s 14, & 15. And if you go to the QRF rankings things look even better for Hopkins case for competitive teams played with Eastview and Maple Grove thrown in there. Again, I'm not saying that Blake is not a good team only that they haven't played any top teams YET. I definately don't see Edina as a top team in any rankings now or later IMO

Well phfft, I must have looked at the wrong week's rankings. But at any rate, I wouldn't go any deeper than #10 this year. Big dropoff.

As far as Edina, if you're going to use rankings to prove your case then you have to use them all. Can't throw one out just because in your opinion they don't belong there.

Benson, what did Conehead say wrong?? At least his argument made sense. Talking about Blake playing U14B teams.......really? They rank somewhere in the 60's in SOS. Don't you think any top 10 team would have a pretty impressive record and look good playing that kind of schedule?

Bensonmum wrote:

conehead wrote:As a metro coach, you can't call the top team in the state this early until you watch the BEST Holiday tournament in the state the Edina Holiday classic) the next three days. Strength of schedule is the underlying factor in all of rankings. Some teams ranked high right now have played very few highly ranked teams. An educated hockey person would look at the teams strength of schedule before ranking teams so high ie. (Bensonnum). Wait a few more days before making the "midseason" best of the state. The Edina tournament has clearly taken over the "Best of Holiday tournaments" so we will all know in a few days who is the power. No slight to Blake as they are a very competitive team.

I form an opinion by what I see on the ice. I'm not sending in a ballot to make or break a team's season, Professor. If you need a stack of schedules and game results and computer printouts to form an opinion, Dr. Conehead, that's your problem. I know what I've seen. Blake is the best, IMO, that I've seen, which includes Hopkins, Roseville, Edina, HM, WBL, and Stillwater, which pretty much covers any others who might be considered the best now that Breck smoked Warroad. Blake could play U14B teams the rest of the year, and I'd still say at this point in time they're the best.
By the way, you should know since you're so educated, that intelligent people recognize when they say something that's arrogant, condescending, and inane, and feel ashamed and embarassed. Obviously you're not in that group.

Crookston 5, Eden Prairie 3

Crox 6 SSP 1 Its Crox against Roseville in the finals So much for SSP easy road to the finals. Beware of teams you know nothing about! Blake lost to roseville 4-1

Bensonmum wrote:I form an opinion by what I see on the ice...Blake is the best, IMO, that I've seen, which includes Hopkins, Roseville, Edina, HM, WBL, and Stillwater, which pretty much covers any others who might be considered the best now that Breck smoked Warroad. Blake could play U14B teams the rest of the year, and I'd still say at this point in time they're the best.

Quite honestly, I didn't disagree with you and thought Blake might be the best in the State too, having seen them play a couple of times. But Roseville's convincing 4-1 win puts that claim to rest, at least for now. If Roseville can handle a surprising Crookston team in the final, they will have a legitimate claim on the new No. 1...depending on what happens in the Stillwater-Edina ABRA final. In any case, it's looking like the true No. 1 will be decided on Tuesday night, when Roseville faces off against Stillwater (wish I could be there to see that one).

It's turning out to be a very interesting year!