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Virginia
Hibbing
I. Falls
Marshall
The Field

I am picking I. Falls 4 Virginia 2 in the Section Final

Virginia 5 I Falls 3

Virginia 4
Duluth Marshall 3

Nodak Sioux wrote:Virginia 4
Duluth Marshall 3

these teams cant both be in the finals

virginia will meet marshall in semis

Broncos

Marshall-3
Jackets-4


I think Mausolf sparks the Toppers and the Jackets will play better hockey.
I'm going out on a limb.

Virginia

That is a limb-- neither playing well

Virginia Blue Devils will come out of sec 7a.Playing good hockey right now and have a stellar net minder in Lustig. If the Devils continue to play like they have been,you'll see them at the big show.

Falls will beat virginia 3-2

muskie17 wrote:Falls will beat virginia 3-2

I would love to see a virginia vs. falls final

I have to go with Virginia. They are hot coming into the tourney.

Virginia 4
Hibbing 3

O/T

The DECC would be absolutely nuts.

This section is the deepest section in single A in the state of Minnesota.

My pick is still Hibbing even though they got beat up pretty bad on Tuesday. I just cant see Virginia keeping up the way they're playing. Westin has never led Virginia in big games and either has Lustig and this isnt the year it will happen.

Marshall 2

Hibbing 4

[quote="7A0809"]This section is the deepest section in single A in the state of Minnesota.

My pick is still Hibbing even though they got beat up pretty bad on Tuesday. I just cant see Virginia keeping up the way they're playing. Westin has never led Virginia in big games and either has Lustig and this isnt the year it will happen.

Marshall 2

Hibbing 4[/quote] Nice fantasy buddy being these two won't be in the finals. Virginia 5 Falls 1 :lol:

Virginia will be at state if.... the younger players can play with the emotion they showed during the final few games of the year and coach Hendrickson keeps his head and stays with all his lines . Virginia has enough depth this year to take home section title

An broncos goalie actually plays a couple good games in a row and virginia cant handle the body checks...
Broncos 4
Devils 1

the only way hibbing gets to the X is if decenzo decides to do the right thing and run two lines

I have had a chance to see all of the top four teams play at least four times each this year - and for obvious reasons, I have seen the scoresheets from all of their games. From what I have seen, here is my take on the top four teams in 7A:

#1 - Virginia/MI-B
The Blue Devils have to be the odds on favorite after the 7-1 dismantling of Hibbing which was preceded by very recent wins over both Duluth Marshall and International Falls. Virginia will run four lines and three sets of defensemen. No other team in the section comes close to their depth, which is more typical of a AA school. All four lines are scoring goals and none are a defensive liability. Unless a game becomes a complete special teams battle, they will wear down opponents by games end. They also have the most potent line in the section with Chris Westin, Garrett Hendrickson, and Andrew Judnick. The Blue Devils also have an experienced goaltender who put up the best numbers of any goaltender in the section this season in Will Lustig. This will be Lustig's third playoff run. Its hard to find a glaring weakness on this squad. The Blue Devils average 5.7 goals per game and give up just 2.0 - both tops in the section. Since Christmas, Virginia has posted a 15-1 record.

#2 - Hibbing/Chisholm
The Blue Jackets may have some confidence issues heading into the playoffs after losing its final two games by a combined score of 12-1. They are not deep, mainly a two-line team with a third thrown in on occasion and they primarily use two sets of defensemen. The challenge will be to keep their top guns fresh late in the game. The Jackets probably have the best talent in the section with Aaron Jamnick, but others will need to step up as the other teams will key on him. The Blue Jackets have been held to one goal or less in seven of their last 11 games, so they are going to need to keep their opponents off the scoreboard to stay in games. A big part of that will be their sophomore goaltender Nathan Tromp, who, as a typical young and inexperienced goalie tends to be, has been hot and cold at times. He will need to be hot for the Jackets to advance. They also need to take advantage of their scoring chances, someone will need to step up and finish. Averaging 3.6 goals per game and 2.8 against is the worst of the top four in both categories. The Jackets are the coldest of the group coming into the playoffs, ending the season with a 2-5 mark in their last seven games.

#3 International Falls
The Broncos are the most balanced team in the section. Its difficult to differentiate between their first and third lines - they all score and all play solid defensively. Line number four probably won't see much ice time from here on out. They are also pretty strong at defense, although a recent goaltending change may present an issue as Glenn Walls does not have the playoff experience that Mike Hart could offer. There aren't too many chinks in this team's armor, but they aren't quite as deep as Virginia and may only go as far as Walls takes them. The Broncos average 5.4 goals per game and give up 2.5. The Broncos are 6-1-1 since losing to Virginia on January 23rd, with the tie and loss coming in their final two contests.

#4 Duluth Marshall
The Hilltoppers, while having been to the state tournament for three straight years, are actually quite inexperienced with this year's group. Especially defensively. They will rely on a heavily worked Willie Paul in goal to bail them out of some mistakes by their younger defensemen. Paul has not been as strong as the past two seasons, perhaps due to the defense or perhaps due to the fact that this is the first time he has been solely the main guy and played so many minutes. The Toppers have primarily one - and maybe two (now that Zach Mausolf is back) lines that do the bulk of the scoring. A third line plays often, but a fourth probably won't be seen on the ice to often from here on out. The Toppers score an average of 3.8 goals per game - which is way down from a year ago, and give up 2.8 - which is tied with Hibbing for the most amongst the top four. A little more difficult schedule may help them with some experience, but they have struggled to win many of their games with top teams. The Toppers have not been a streaky team - never winning more than three in a row, and never losing more than twice in a row this season.

I think Virginia might have done all of there winning in the regular season. Marshall has Mausolf back and I think thats a huge plus for them. In the Hibbing vs. Falls game its going to be goaltending and I really don't know what to think yet. The only optimism I have for Hibbing is they played a bad game in Falls and only lost 4-3 or whatever it was. So if they play even an average game with Tromp playing better they should win. Should be exciting semi finals.

gophers101 wrote:Marshall has Mausolf back and I think thats a huge plus for them.

Just to clarify things, Mausolf was in the lineup against both Hibbing and Virginia when Marshall played them this year, although he only played the first period against Hibbing before he took the misconduct penalty that eventually led to him taking a few games off. He scored in the first and third periods against Virginia, so it won't be anything new having him in the lineup against them.

Just a little biased. Hoping the Broncos go. If we get our goaltending figured out. They beat the devils 4-2 in a nail biter at the decc. And to whoever goes may they represent the North well. We have 4 teams in this section that have the ability to play at the state level.

PuckRanger wrote:

gophers101 wrote:Marshall has Mausolf back and I think thats a huge plus for them.

Just to clarify things, Mausolf was in the lineup against both Hibbing and Virginia when Marshall played them this year, although he only played the first period against Hibbing before he took the misconduct penalty that eventually led to him taking a few games off. He scored in the first and third periods against Virginia, so it won't be anything new having him in the lineup against them.

Yeah, but I think he has been a real big spark for them lately. I don't know how he did against SCC but before that he was playing well. Just a prediction.

It should be an entertaining playoffs no doubt..may the best team win.

Along with the STA SSP section, this is the deepest section in A. It will be a great one to watch, but I would have to call Virginia the favorite. No one can match their overall team play with their forwards, D, and Lustig. Obviously the semi's will be tough for all 4 teams if they get there, but seeing that Marshall just played them tough, they could slip up if they run in to a hot Paul.

Earlier i would have said Hibbing was the favorite but they are slipping quite a bit.

I see a Virginia Ifalls final.