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Blaine hasn't played a Lake Conference team all year. Despite Apple Valley's 11 losses, 10 were to top Class AA teams. While there is definitely a favorite in this game, it should be a close game.

The last time these two teams met at state was the 1992 quarterfinals where Blaine walked away with a 4-2 win, ending up with a 3rd place finish.

Good luck to both teams

Blaine 4-1

Apple Valley playing much better with A.J. back! A.V. Shuts down Blaine with short bench. A.V.5 Blaine2

This could be an upset. But, I don't think A.V. has an answer for Bjugstad.

It will be fun to see how Apple Valley develops over the next couple of years. They have a good young team. Hopefully the players stick around.

Blaine-4
AV-3

deciding goal comes late from the bug

I think Blaine's experience and overall stronger offense with Mr. Hockey finalist will win out but if gretz is hot he will certainly give AV a chance...out on a limb I will say Blaine 4 with an empty netter and AppleValley 2

Blaine is ripe for the picking. I've seen them twice in person this year and both time their defense was really poor. They have one pretty good line and Bjugstad, who was responsible for all 3 goals against Maple Grove. All you need to do is get ahead of Blaine and then forecheck like crazy and they don't have a chance. Don't be surprised to see an upset here. I like AV 3-2.

Sparlimb wrote:Blaine is ripe for the picking. I've seen them twice in person this year and both time their defense was really poor. They have one pretty good line and Bjugstad, who was responsible for all 3 goals against Maple Grove. All you need to do is get ahead of Blaine and then forecheck like crazy and they don't have a chance. Don't be surprised to see an upset here. I like AV 3-2.

That will be to AV's liking, they forecheck very well

Blaine-3
AV-2

Bjugstad.....

Sparlimb wrote:Blaine is ripe for the picking. I've seen them twice in person this year and both time their defense was really poor. They have one pretty good line and Bjugstad, who was responsible for all 3 goals against Maple Grove. All you need to do is get ahead of Blaine and then forecheck like crazy and they don't have a chance. Don't be surprised to see an upset here. I like AV 3-2.

Blaine took care of Maple Grove's forecheck when it mattered in the section finals and that was also after falling behind. This game may not be as clear cut as it appears on paper but Blaine has more than 1 line and will take this game 4-2.

i predicted the right score last year when blaine beat Century 5-0, I'll take Blaine in this tilt 4-1

this is by far the easiest game one matchup for me

6-1 blaine..
apple valley what a joke..2 and done..stick to wrestling.

I am pulling BIG TIME for the underdog team Apple Valley. Especially after the smart comments made on this thread about their program.

northwoods oldtimer wrote:I am pulling BIG TIME for the underdog team Apple Valley. Especially after the smart comments made on this thread about their program.

You are a good man AV takes this one 3-1. Gretz is on fire right now! The whole team is on fire right now and they are pumped to take on blaine thursday!

AV takes this one 3-1. Gretz is on fire right now! The whole team is on fire right now and they are pumped to take on blaine thursday![/quote]

hockeyhockeyhockey wrote:this is by far the easiest game one matchup for me

6-1 blaine..
apple valley what a joke..2 and done..stick to wrestling.

I would be pretty surprised if the Minnetonka game is closer than this one, but people forget to always mention how solid Harper is in net. I think Blaine has two solid lines, and strong goaltending. It should be close for a little while, but Blaine pulls away in the 3rd period.

Blaine-3
Apple Valley-1

Going with heart over head and am going to say AV 3-2 in OT.

hockeyhockeyhockey wrote:this is by far the easiest game one matchup for me

6-1 blaine..
apple valley what a joke..2 and done..stick to wrestling.

With a comment like that, it shows me that YOU are a JOKE !!

[quote="HappyHockeyFan"][quote="hockeyhockeyhockey"]this is by far the easiest game one matchup for me

6-1 blaine..
apple valley what a joke..2 and done..stick to wrestling.[/quote]With a comment like that, it shows me that YOU are a JOKE !![/quote]

I actually believe this is the one upset that may occur. Not sure Bjug can be stopped and the D for AV may run into problems with youth. Early against woodbury Gretz had to bail out AV, gonna need to be on his game. Fischer, Goodman and the young D are the keys, not anything about Blaine. If AV D can step up and keep Bjug outside I can smell an upset.

AV-2
Blaine-1

Blaine 7
Apple Valley 2

hockeyhockeyhockey wrote:this is by far the easiest game one matchup for me

6-1 blaine..
apple valley what a joke..2 and done..stick to wrestling.

Probably from EV. I would be mad too if my team couldnt get past section quarterfinals two years in a row.

I think this is a very interesting game in the making, we all know that blaine can score goals, but everytime I have seen them play their defense isnt anything spectacular, they better be on their game or Apple Valley could shock them in this game, but at the same time I think the Bengals have too much fire-power to go down here,
Bengals 6
APV 3

All you guys have been talking about is Bjugstad this and Bjugstag that, you cant count one one person to lead your team to victory no matter how good he is, AV might be young but they have a lot of talent and a lot of good players,they have 2 foward lines that are dangerous and when the D is on their game you cant get by them and right now Gretz is hot in goal, Blaine dose have a real good Offense i'll give them that but their D is sketchy, so im going to have to go on a limb and say AV 3 Blaine 2

MN/AVPuck#1 wrote:All you guys have been talking about is Bjugstad this and Bjugstag that, you cant count one one person to lead your team to victory no matter how good he is, AV might be young but they have a lot of talent and a lot of good players,they have 2 foward lines that are dangerous and when the D is on their game you cant get by them and right now Gretz is hot in goal, Blaine dose have a real good Offense i'll give them that but their D is sketchy, so im going to have to go on a limb and say AV 3 Blaine 2

Bjugstad is great no doubt and Blaine is a fine team, but I agree with AVPuck (and not just because I'm from AV). While young, there is talent there. I would argue that Michaelson and Fasching are better players than anyone on the Blaine roster other than Bjugstad (and may be as good/better by the time they graduate). So on the top end talent side, I think this game is closer than people think. The key comes down to depth and goaltending. I would concede the Blaine is probably deeper, but Valley's top two lines are excellent and good. Defense is solid and goaltending has been excellent. Gretz is hot right now and has a confident team playing in front of him with a chip on their shoulders.

The other factors that could play in IMO are that Valley will not be intimidated by Blaine as they're more than battle tested from playing in the Lake (EP, Jefferson, Eagan) and non-con games against teams like Duluth East and Wayzata. Frequently young teams wilt under the pressure of playing a top rated team at the X. This should not be the case for a Valley team that has seen great opponents this year. Simply put, they won't be afraid of the name on the front of the jersey of anyone they play. They played and won a tournament they weren't expected to be competitive in in Grand Forks (a tourney Roseau lost early in BTW), beating some good teams from NoDak so they believe they can be successful in a tournament setting as well. Lastly, there is no pressure on them because all they keep hearing is that they don't belong here. "Won't beat Eagan/Woodbury, oops beat them, well Eagan/Woodbury weren't that good anyways". I think the Eagles are the best bet to pull a first round surprise as they are confident and playing with a chip on their shoulder. The key IMO is for them to get out to an early lead, if they do, look out, they will take the play to Blaine and have a chance to pull the upset. If Blaine gets out early, they should win by two plus.