The Decade of the 00s in Review

Post by **karl(east)** » Mon Mar 16, 2009 2:25 pm

Well, we’ve played our last state tournament in the 00s, so I suppose now would be a good time to look back on the decade. This can include teams of the decade and discussion of the best individual teams/games/coaches/players that have made their mark over the past 10 years.

Candidates for team of the decade in AA:

Holy Angels (236-36-12), 4 State Tourneys, 2 1sts, 1 3rd, avg. PS2 finish 7.5 (highest: 1, lowest: 22)
-The only team to win multiple championships in the decade, had the best overall record, and also won over 20 games in 9 of the ten years. Minor knocks on them include a weak conference, which inflates the record a bit, and the fact that all of their success at the state level came in a 4-year span. AHA 2002-05 was the closest thing we had to a dynasty in a decade of relative parity.

Moorhead (204-60-19), 6 State Tourneys, 4 2nds, avg. PS2 finish of 8.8 (highest: #1 3 times, lowest: 20)
-A dominant force from start to finish, but the lack of a championship stands out like a sore thumb. Tied for most tourney appearances and were the #1 seed in their section 8 times, 2 more than the next-best team, Duluth East.

Hill-Murray (205-74-10), 6 State Tourneys, 1 1st, 1 2nd, avg. PS2 finish of 11.7 (highest: 1, lowest: 22)
-Plenty of appearances and a title, but a lack of top 3s compared to the competition, and the 6th-highest average PS2 keep them from standing out.

Blaine (160-111-9), 5 State Tourneys, 1 1st, 2 3rds, avg. PS2 finish of 35.9 (highest: 3, lowest: 90)
-Their achievements at the state level match up with almost anyone. The problem with Blaine were the 4 years from 01-04, when they were absolutely awful. Take those out and they have an average PS2 finish of 11, better than Hill-Murray’s.

Duluth East (192-79-14), 5 State Tourneys, 1 2nd, 2 3rds, avg. PS2 finish of 8.3 (highest: 3, lowest: 15)
-Lack a title, but were probably the most consistent team throughout the decade, as the only one to never finish out of the top 15 or earn anything lower than a 1 or a 2 seed in sections. Also probably played the hardest schedule over this period.

Others who probably deserve some mention, though are probably not candidates:
-White Bear Lake (4th-best average PS2). Had some issues with the state tournament, though.
-Elk River (4 tourney trips, a title, avg. PS2 of 15.5)
-Edina (4 tourneys trips, 199 wins, avg. PS2 of 15.7, only 1 top-3 finish, a 2nd)
-Roseau (4 tourney trips, a title)
-Grand Rapids (only 2 tourney trips, but finished 2nd both times)
-Eden Prairie (3 tourney trips, 1 title, 201 wins, avg. PS2 of 10.2, good for 5th-best)
-Centennial (200 wins, 1 title, though only 1 tourney)
-Bloomington Jefferson (197 wins, avg. PS2 of 11.9, but no top 3s in 3 tourney trips)
-Roseville (191 wins, 2 PS2 #1s)

As for some general trends:
Cities-area publics: 5 1sts, 2 2nds, 4 3rds
Privates: 4 1sts, 1 2nd, 2 3rds
The North: 1 1st, 7 2nds, 3 3rds
The Sotuth: 1 3rd

We essentially had parity between the top 3, though the north struggled in title games.

Let's get some nice discussion going, and if someone could do things for single-A, that'd be nice.

deacon · Post by **deacon** » Mon Mar 16, 2009 3:00 pm

cool thread

dulutheastfan · Post by **dulutheastfan** » Mon Mar 16, 2009 5:17 pm

good job karl very well done

DoubleDeuce · Post by **DoubleDeuce** » Mon Mar 16, 2009 5:34 pm

I think you are my hero man! This again is awesome! Ever thought about writting a book about high school hockey? Maybe you and Ross can hook up and write one! Thanks! What's next?

My only comment on this is - Centennial, 200 wins and only one tournament appearance. What's wrong with this picture?

Post by **karl(east)** » Mon Mar 16, 2009 5:56 pm

DoubleDeuce wrote:This again is awesome! Ever thought about writting a book about high school hockey? Maybe you and Ross can hook up and write one!

Hey, if someone wants to fund me, I'd gladly write a book this summer...

EREmpireStrikesBack · Post by **EREmpireStrikesBack** » Mon Mar 16, 2009 7:51 pm

AHA no doubt.

Papa Bergundy · Post by **Papa Bergundy** » Mon Mar 16, 2009 10:06 pm

When I saw this topic I was going to post a reply saying "maybe we should wait for the decade to end first".

Then it dawned on me that it was over. Ah so old so fast.

nipe 6 · Post by **nipe 6** » Tue Mar 17, 2009 1:52 pm

My vote for best team goes to Moorhead. Even though they never won the title making it to the championsip 4 times is tough. They always suprised me with the depth that they had. It seemed like they would always have a down year after losing alot of players to graduation and would still be a top 10 team in the state. They never really seem to rebuild, it seems like they reload.
Is there anyway to look up what teams sent the most players on to D1 and/or the NHL during the 00's

big_thurst · Post by **big_thurst** » Tue Mar 17, 2009 2:58 pm

AHA. You can't really argue another team. They are no longer the dynasty they were and are still very competitve, but the glory years they were incredible.

hockeyjunkie2 · Post by **hockeyjunkie2** » Tue Mar 17, 2009 3:16 pm

big_thurst wrote:AHA. You can't really argue another team. They are no longer the dynasty they were and are still very competitve, but the glory years they were incredible.

As much as I hate to admit it, I agree I vote AHA with Moorhead my close 2nd.

.Marshall · Post by **.Marshall** » Wed Mar 18, 2009 7:29 pm

Little Falls Anyone?

Post by **karl(east)** » Wed Mar 18, 2009 7:33 pm

.Marshall wrote:Little Falls Anyone?

My bit was on AA, but if we open it up to A, LF has to be a candidate, along with Warroad, Duluth Marshall, STA, and Breck (3 titles in the decade). If someone else wants to look up the numbers, that'd be great.