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Burnsville comes into EPCC after a close loss to Hill Murray and dismantles Eden Prairie 5-2. Did EP get a little too much credit pre-season or did Burnsville just have an unreal game? I haven't seen them play yet this season so I can't make any judgements.

tonkafan77 wrote:Burnsville comes into EPCC after a close loss to Hill Murray and dismantles Eden Prairie 5-2. Did EP get a little too much credit pre-season or did Burnsville just have an unreal game? I haven't seen them play yet this season so I can't make any judgements.

Maybe Burnsville is just that good, time will tell.

Not to mention it being way early to attach the "overrated" tag to any team.

Lee

Anyone at the game? Also be interested to hear a breakdown.

#3 loses #7 and they're overrated?

Like I said, I haven't seen either team play. I was hoping for a breakdown from someone to explain what happened.

Hocky hub has an article on the game. Not sure if it will answer your question about EP being overrated but it sounds like Burnsville came to play.

http://www.mnhockeyhub.com/news_article/show/199413

EP defense really trying to do too much. They all seemed to want to rush the puck and got caught in deep too many times. Defense always seemed to wait until they crossed the red line to pass the puck and by then Burnsville had everyone back to clog the middle. EP also broke up their top scoring line from a year ago.
Also credit Burnsville for playing a very disciplined and opportunistic style. They outplayed EP

HShockeywatcher wrote:#3 loses #7 and they're overrated? #-o

That was #7 before a bad loss to Hill - as in 1 goal to a thin D team that lost it's top D in 2nd pd. to game misconduct. EP I had as #4 after Tonka..

So to put in 5 was suprising though special teams can change a lot. Shots were 29-25 EP. 5 goals on 25 shots? - something not right in nets or D just played that poorly. Snugs thinks O first..I saw Warner in 10+ games this fall in EL and he is solid. Goalie Gerdes had 2.95 GAA last year and played in some easy games - also lost in sectionals - 2 G on 17 shots (vs 1 G on 50+ for EP)... so may not be answer..

EP has the O talent to put the puck in the net, they just need to get things tuned. Same with D..Goalie may be a tougher challenge.. B'ville has Sheehy and very thin on O after that. Teemue can be like 4th F but still doesn't make enough difference... At end of yr. EP will be ranked much higher than B'ville.

Isn't it Edina and BSM and the rest...top 10 maybe too hard to pick at this time of the season. When two top teams play it can go either way. Not over-rated, slight upset. Give it till after christmas when we start seeing some differences in the teams....Sounded more like a great game by two good teams.

WarmUpTheBus wrote:Also credit Burnsville for playing a very disciplined and opportunistic style. They outplayed EP

I was not at the game but this looks like typical Burnsville. They are outshot but opportunistis. They are disciplined and they stick to their game plan. Thier goalie plays better than the other. Thye give up three goasl or less. It all adds up to a win.

Any Burnsville team can wiln this way on any given night. I jsut hope the next night is not this Thursday.

bsmguy wrote:

WarmUpTheBus wrote:Also credit Burnsville for playing a very disciplined and opportunistic style. They outplayed EP

I was not at the game but this looks like typical Burnsville. They are outshot but opportunistis. They are disciplined and they stick to their game plan. Thier goalie plays better than the other. Thye give up three goasl or less. It all adds up to a win.

Any Burnsville team can wiln this way on any given night. I jsut hope the next night is not this Thursday.

I wasn't at the game either, but I agree with what you said. I wouldn't put Burnsville in the top 5 just yet (although they're close) but with Mallon, as with other goalies Burnsville has had in the past (Engum, Becker) they can beat any of the top 5 on any given night if their goalie is on his game. This is especially true this year, given that they graduated the majority of their scoring and outside of Sheehy and Teemu (when he gets up the ice into the offensive zone) they lack offensive firepower. However, I am very interested to see what happens tomorrow night. I see one of two outcomes, either Burnsville/Mallon come to play and they win a tight one, or they are overpowered early and lose by 2 or 3. Either way I still think the jury isn't out on this Burnsville team and they no doubt have the potential to go very far come playoff time. I'm very much looking forward to a potential Burnsville/Edina matchup at Mariucci come early March.

bsmguy wrote:

WarmUpTheBus wrote:Also credit Burnsville for playing a very disciplined and opportunistic style. They outplayed EP

I was not at the game but this looks like typical Burnsville. They are outshot but opportunistis. They are disciplined and they stick to their game plan. Thier goalie plays better than the other. Thye give up three goasl or less. It all adds up to a win.

Any Burnsville team can wiln this way on any given night. I jsut hope the next night is not this Thursday.

Yeah, I think this is a few years in a row now in which Burnsville has recorded an upset of a team ranked near the top in the first few weeks of the season. It's obviously a good sign for the Blaze, but it's no guarantee they'll be great, nor has it exactly hurt the teams they knocked off in the long run.

I may have jumped the fun earlier in the season but....is it now safe to say that EP came in extremely overrated this year?

After a close OT win against Hopkins tonight to "bolster" their record to 7-7-1....it just leaves me wondering what the heck happened to this team

tonkafan77 wrote:After a close OT win against Hopkins tonight to "bolster" their record to 7-7-1....it just leaves me wondering what the heck happened to this team

Graduation happened.

PuckU126 wrote:

tonkafan77 wrote:After a close OT win against Hopkins tonight to "bolster" their record to 7-7-1....it just leaves me wondering what the heck happened to this team

Graduation happened.

Then what did they see in the off-season to put them at #3??

tonkafan77 wrote:Then what did they see in the off-season to put them at #3??

Rankings in general can be unreliable, but the pre-season rankings are very unreliable. You know that.

Its all about ranking based on opinion, assumption and its influence by the hangover from last season.

PuckU126 wrote:

tonkafan77 wrote:After a close OT win against Hopkins tonight to "bolster" their record to 7-7-1....it just leaves me wondering what the heck happened to this team

Graduation happened.

That is a hilarious comment..."Graduation happened?" who graduated in 2012 that made a big enough impact on EP Varsity in 2012 to cause this deficit?

The thing that DID happen is that 8 class of 2014 kids have transferred into Eden Prairie in the last few years; ironically they are all in the HS hockey program (and none are on JG;)

Class of 2014 has been a strong year for EP hockey players since squirts and won state as bantams...but @ HS instead of developing and rewarding EP kids; transfers took their place and chemistry and hometown loyalty has gone out the window...

I agree 100% with the comment above, however they weren't really a top tier team until the majority of their transfers came for their 2nd year of bantams when they won the whole thing. EP wins 4-1 with an EN on Saturday night I'm calling it.

The problem at this point is the team is having major trouble scoring goals. Beyond the first line there is no-one else scoring. If they can't find a way to get someone other than Spinner, Berg or Knudson to score; it is going to be a tough month.

EP "Elite" coach had too many EP kids in the "Elite" league and there running out of gas after 40 games in 4 months. Plus it seems to be a priviledged group used to having everything handed to them. At least EP will be a lower seed in the difficult section 6 this year and be able to avoid losing to Armstrong in the quarter-finals.

Nuts&Bolts wrote:EP "Elite" coach had too many EP kids in the "Elite" league and there running out of gas after 40 games in 4 months. Plus it seems to be a priviledged group used to having everything handed to them. At least EP will be a lower seed in the difficult section 6 this year and be able to avoid losing to Armstrong in the quarter-finals.

St.Thomas had the most kids in the so called Elite league and they are the best team in the state and beating everyone including the best U18 team in the nation...

A win in the Lake is a win, no matter how ugly it may be. I watched online and was impressed with Hopkins, wouldn't be surprised to see them get their first ever conference win this season.

Nuts & Bolts - I'd love to know what you think it is this privileged (as you call them), group of kids have had handed to them that the majority of hockey players don't have?

hockey4ever wrote:The problem at this point is the team is having major trouble scoring goals. Beyond the first line there is no-one else scoring. If they can't find a way to get someone other than Spinner, Berg or Knudson to score; it is going to be a tough month.

Agreed.

The preseason ranking overestimated the depth of this team. Last years graduating class didn't have any "top" players, but they were solid and chipped in plenty of key goals. The supporting players this year have not been able to put the puck in the net.

Last nights game is a good example. Knudsen, Spinner, Bergh and Snuggerud had all of the points. Traditionally, games against Hopkins get a wide variety of scoring throughout the roster.