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Good Luck to All
Here's your TOP *8*
1st round
Duluth Denfeld vs East Grand Forks = Duluth Denfeld
Wayzata Blue vs Edina Green = Wayzata Blue
St.Cloud Red vs Elk River = Elk River
Edina White vs OMG Crimson = OMG Crimson

2nr round
Denfeld vs Wayzata Blue = Wayzata Blue
Elk River vs OMG Crimson = OMG Crimson

Championship Game
Wayzata Blue vs OMG Crimson = Wayzata Blue
I think these 2 teams are playing that strong of hockey.
Should be a great game to watch. They battled for 1st seed in the East.

Denfeld is a sleeper. They are well coached and have great goal tending. Elk River out shot them 47 - 17 and lost 2-1 in 3 ot in regions. They also beat DE in OT for the championship. With a hot goalie anything can happen.

I would like to see 1 of the smaller clubs win it.
I would have alot of fun with that, right (TS)
Talikng about the rankings. Were are the new ones?

Coming off my stellar region predictions (seven out of eight entrants predicted) I thought I would entertain myself with doing the State Tourney predictions. But before I get into it, congratulations to all of the teams that participated in regions.

DAY 1
Duluth Denfeld vs EFG: DD top line carries them to victory. DD advances.

Way Blue vs Edina Green: EG playing better their overall record would indicate and gives Way Blue a scare but fall to the #1 team in the state. WB advances.

St. Cloud vs Elk River: Tough game to call but have to go with ER on this one. ER advances.

Edina White vs OMG Crimson: This is the game of the day. Edina White has a 1-3 record against OMG Crimson this year. OMG Crimson quadruple OT loss to Way Blue in Region Final shows that they are a contender for the title. Have to give the slight edge to OMG. OMG advances.

DAY 2
Denfeld vs. Way Blue: Too much depth on Wayzata and their strong D eliminates DD top line. WB advances to championship.

ER vs. OMG: ER has not beaten OMG this year and the trend will continue as OMG advances to championship.

On the consolation side, Edina Green beats EGF and Edina White beats St. Cloud. EW vs EG in Consolation Championship.

DAY 3
Edina White takes Consolation Championship.

Duluth Denfeld takes 3rd Place.

Wayzata Blue vs OMG in Championship. All accounts it sounds as though the Region final was one for the ages. OMG up 4-2 in 3rd only to lose lead in last minute as Wayzata had their goalie pulled. With less than one minute remaining 4th OT Wayzata gets the game winner leaving OMG to fight for a spot to get in the tourney later that afternoon.

To make picking the winner even harder the scores of these games have been very close. The game results for the year have been:

WB 3 - OMG 2
WB 2 - OMG 2
WB 3 - OMG 1
WB 4 - OMG 1
WB 5 - OMG 4 (4OT)

Can OMG do what they haven't done all year and beat Wayzata Blue? The answer is NOT SURE. I am going to think about it for a little while and reply later.

I may provide a prediction on the all-tournament team roster.

- Faded.

FadedRedLine wrote: Can OMG exercise their demon in Wayzata Blue? The answer is NOT SURE. I am going to think about it for a little while and reply later.


- Faded.

exorcise

Sorry, but cannot keep the teacher in me from correcting.
I believe this is what you meant, drive out the devil?????

elliott70 wrote:

FadedRedLine wrote: Can OMG exercise their demon in Wayzata Blue? The answer is NOT SURE. I am going to think about it for a little while and reply later.


- Faded.

exorcise

Sorry, but cannot keep the teacher in me from correcting.
I believe this is what you meant, drive out the devil?????

Butcha gotta be careful, it can bite ya on the backside.

my bad. I will edit appropriately.

As predicted, Denfeld, Wayzata, Elk River and OMG won their quarter final games. I see no reason to change by predictions of Wayzata and OMG advancing thru to the state championship.

So who wins? It would be the easy pick Wayzata since they have won every time these two teams have played and the wizards at YHH predicted a Wayzata championship.

I am going a different direction and predicting:

Final: OMG 3 - Way 2. (ot).

Great job to the 8 in state.

-faded.

Down goes Fraizer!

Denfield 2
Wayzata Blue 1 in OT

Omg 6
Er 1

Hunters vs. Crimson Orioles for first tomorrow.

GREAT JOB DULUTH DENFELD
Way to prove me wrong.

Another program that "doesn't have the talent for an A team".....

It must be better for development to play B hockey???? Way to go DD!?!?

oldschoolpuckster wrote:Another program that "doesn't have the talent for an A team".....

It must be better for development to play B hockey???? Way to go DD!?!?

Bitter Much?

Good Luck Hunters!

2 - 1 DD wins

Eating appetizers at the bar in Grand Rapids while listening to Osseo Maple Grove parents and coaches brag endlessly about how great there team is, while at the same defending the fact that they are 2 associations combined into one and how they still should be considered the same as every other team in the state tournament - $38.57 in chips and wings.

Ordering drinks at the bar in Grand Rapids while listening to the Osseo Maple Grove parents talk about how great there kids are and how much they enjoy living their lives through the hockey exploits of their 14 and 15 year old boys, while all the while defending the fact that OMG doesn't evenly split there B teams and runs a B1"A" team - $64.21 in beer

Watching Osseo Maple Grove parents cry (actually cry - parents were talking about here) when there beloved team loses to Duluth Denfield, and then claim how unfair it is that Duluth Denfield doesn't have an A team - PRICELESS!!!

CONGRATULATIONS TO DULUTH DENFIELD - 2011-2012 Bantam B1 State Champions!!!

Bleed Maroon and Gold wrote:

oldschoolpuckster wrote:Another program that "doesn't have the talent for an A team".....

It must be better for development to play B hockey???? Way to go DD!?!?

Bitter Much?

No, not bitter. Happy for those kids, they still had to earn the wins. It is not easy to do. It kind of has that "St. Thomas" feeling to it.

These are the top kids that DD has in their program...should field an A team (Kennedy always does).

I do like the fact that they beat OMG and Wayzata, two programs that field B1(a) teams (to trophy chase) but the fact that DD beat them both tells all of us that they (DD) are playing at the wrong level.

Enjoy the victory...see what happens in High School and you have to play against the top players every game. Last I checked there is not a B1 High School Tournament.......or is there???

GREAT JOB, DULUTH DENFELD
Let them cry about not having a (A)team. They just beat 2 so called (A)B1 teams.
That should rank them#1

Congrats to Denfeld! Hopefully this success, albeit at the B level, will help to turn the program around and lead them to field A teams in the coming years.

WOW. A #1 ranking for an A team playing B...what a great accomplishment...they should have won (that is what they were after when they decided to play B)

Again, I'm not bitter. Just sick of associations chasing trophy's by making poor development decisions like this one and then treating it like it was a great idea.

No real suprise that it is a team from Duluth...trying to hold on to that "up north" winning tradition.

AA/A will solve this. Top B teams from big associations compete with A teams in smaller associations.

Congrats to DD. They beat two good teams to win it all.

Wisconsinguy wrote:Eating appetizers at the bar in Grand Rapids while listening to Osseo Maple Grove parents and coaches brag endlessly about how great there team is, while at the same defending the fact that they are 2 associations combined into one and how they still should be considered the same as every other team in the state tournament - $38.57 in chips and wings.

Ordering drinks at the bar in Grand Rapids while listening to the Osseo Maple Grove parents talk about how great there kids are and how much they enjoy living their lives through the hockey exploits of their 14 and 15 year old boys, while all the while defending the fact that OMG doesn't evenly split there B teams and runs a B1"A" team - $64.21 in beer

Watching Osseo Maple Grove parents cry (actually cry - parents were talking about here) when there beloved team loses to Duluth Denfield, and then claim how unfair it is that Duluth Denfield doesn't have an A team - PRICELESS!!!

CONGRATULATIONS TO DULUTH DENFIELD - 2011-2012 Bantam B1 State Champions!!!

There, their, they're.

oldschoolpuckster wrote:WOW. A #1 ranking for an A team playing B...what a great accomplishment...they should have won (that is what they were after when they decided to play B)

Again, I'm not bitter. Just sick of associations chasing trophy's by making poor development decisions like this one and then treating it like it was a great idea.

No real suprise that it is a team from Duluth...trying to hold on to that "up north" winning tradition.

Geez, give me a break. It's been a long time since Duluth Lakers had a highly ranked A team. They initally planned on an A team until late in the summer. Meanwhile, OMG Crimson (or whichever color of the 5 or so B teams they field) doesn't shed any tears when they come up North (Silver Bay tourney) and stomp all over (most goal differentials 10+) B teams up there. How about OMG fielding more than 1 A team -- then lets talk (or whine if you prefer)

oldschoolpuckster wrote:WOW. A #1 ranking for an A team playing B...what a great accomplishment...they should have won (that is what they were after when they decided to play B)

Again, I'm not bitter. Just sick of associations chasing trophy's by making poor development decisions like this one and then treating it like it was a great idea.

No real suprise that it is a team from Duluth...trying to hold on to that "up north" winning tradition.

In my opinion you sound quite bitter there Puckster.

Do you even know the situation in Duluth that led to the decision to play B1 hockey this year?

The Western end of town has seen hockey decimated by low numbers. On top of that, the majority of the returning players from last year's Bantam A team moved on, either to Denfeld or in mass to Marshall. The total number of kids trying out for their bantam teams was in the 30's, and they still needed some players from East to fill out the B2 team.
Anyone wanting to play A hockey was given the option of trying out for the team at East, and they lost one player there as well.

Given that they were going to be mostly players from the previous year's B1 team, and a bunch of 1st year bantams, the association decided that B1 was the appropriate level for them to play at.

To take anything away from this group by saying they were "Trophy Chasing" is really pathetic. I think the trophy chase is taking place by the large metro associations who will not step up and field multiple A teams. Even East Grand Forks took a stab at that last year after having a very successful B1 team the year before. Do you know what the result was? Not very good. Now they are back at state because they are playing at the level they should. Nothing wrong with that.

In the end, the Denfeld program felt that this was the right decision to develop a group of kids and who's level of success was a huge question mark coming into the year. Had they been a group that had advanced to regions at the A level the year before, I could see your argument. The fact that nobody saw this result coming into the season bears out that rather than "trophy chasing", Denfeld was doing what they thought was in the best interest of the program, and they ended up having a fantastic season.

Way to go Hunters!

puckhead58 wrote:

oldschoolpuckster wrote:WOW. A #1 ranking for an A team playing B...what a great accomplishment...they should have won (that is what they were after when they decided to play B)

Again, I'm not bitter. Just sick of associations chasing trophy's by making poor development decisions like this one and then treating it like it was a great idea.

No real suprise that it is a team from Duluth...trying to hold on to that "up north" winning tradition.

Geez, give me a break. It's been a long time since Duluth Lakers had a highly ranked A team. They initally planned on an A team until late in the summer when several top players bailed for Duluth East. Meanwhile, OMG Crimson (or whichever color of the 5 or so B teams they field) doesn't shed any tears when they come up North (Silver Bay tourney) and stomp all over (most goal differentials 10+) B teams up there. How about OMG fielding more than 1 A team -- then lets talk (or whine if you prefer)

When is the last time OMG's A team has accomplished anything at the Bantam level? They went to the state tourney in 2009 and 2010 and before that it was what, the mid 90's?

I think it's more logical for them to field 2 even B1 as opposed to stacking one of them vs fielding 2 A teams. Especially considering I can't think of a single association that actually has 2 A teams at the Bantam level (fill me in if I'm missing something there). It's interesting to me how people give OMG so much flak about being a "combined" association when they consistently win absolutely nothing at the A level. Congrats to Duluth, well deserved and great memories for the kids.

Denfeld actually had 19 skaters and 4 goalies try-out for their team. 10 "bantam eligible" kids left the program. Including, all "returners" from the Duluth Laker Bantam A team from the year before. The program was left with 6 second year bantams total. Duluth East graciously sent 3 B2 players from their program to the Denfeld program so that two small Denfeld Bantam teams could be created. All the second year bantams made the B1 team and the rest of the kids who made it came from the Duluth Laker PA or PB team from last year. 8 kids are first year bantams. None of the kids who were on the team this year were on winning teams last year and no Laker team even made it out of districts. Chasing trophies? Sounds to me like a group of people who came together under difficult circumstances and had an incredible journey.