***** My 'Great Eight' Rankings - December 9, 2012 *****

[Wallyworld]

Last Week = Benilde, Edina, Tonka, EP, Tie Hill & Blaine, Duluth East, Wayzata.

While I was one of few to have Duluth East ranked as low as I did and initially had them at #8 behind Wayzata, I misjudged Hill and EP in a major way.. Voters disagreed most with my ranking of Wayzata at #8 and Blaine tied for #5 but both have showed they belong... Here is week 2


[Great Eight] - December 9, 2012


#1 Edina - Moves up a spot after Benilde's loss and has shown no weaknesses this year..

#2 Hill Murray It's a stretch to move them all the way up to #2 but they have dispatched all comers and showed they can play with anyone. There is no longer this illusion that there is Benilde & Edina and then everyone else.. Hill's victory levels the top of the playing field somewhat and is good for high school hockey... Lavalle, Brown, & Slattery (SSM transfer) is now officially a line and Slattery showed why he belonged with the two returning 1st liners - and is an adequate Guentzel replacement for the line..The game winning 3rd goal against BSM was a thing of beauty as Brown had a chance to shoot but drew the goalie over before firing the pass to Lavalle where a near empty net awaited.. Good stuff.. Dugas is heart & soul of this team. He has faced #1,#7, #8, and LVS and has a GAA under 1...

#3 Minnetonka Eagan game was closer than I thought it should be though Tonka followed with a win over STA and definitely have shown that they belong in Top 5.. More of a D led team the past Tonka teams, perhaps, but until they lose, it's hard to argue about style..

#4 BSM Flip-flopped a little as I had Blaine here initially but one loss does not a slide make. Still a talented team and will be steaming in next couple of games...

#5 Blaine - Close win over Centennial surprised me a bit after the offense they displayed in previous games including 9-2 drubbing of Osseo but they did put 57 shots on goal in that OT win. In fact, they average over 45 shots on goal so far.. Tyler Cline leads the way though he has plenty of help.. They have Benilde this Saturday which should be a great and illuminating game. If this was Benilde's first game after the Hill loss, I would bet on them without reservation but Benilde will likely unleash their anger (as much as any Catholic school can allow:) from the Hill loss upon Holy Angels on Thursday.. Saturday's game should be a toss up.. I'm looking for a 4-2 BSM win..

6) Eden Prairie One of the biggest surprises of the season (besides Andover) has been EP's play.. On paper and based upon performance of players like Spinner, Bergh, Knudsen, Snuggerud & Warner last season as well as in the Elite League this fall, it seems like they should be playing at a higher level and beating lower caliber teams by a higher margin. Just not clicking yet though and Goalie may be an issue. Sophmore Jake Kielly has a .833 save percentage and allowed 5 goals on 26 shots against Holy Angels and 5 goals on 25 shots against Burnsville (Jake Gerdes has played one game, a 4-2 win over anoka w/ 26 saves on 28 shots). I was not at any of these games so I cannot comment on root of the problem though, from reports, it sounded like D was playing undisciplined as well. Snugs always thinks O first, though Hunter Warner is a solid, stay at home guy.. Likely a combination of factors at play here but they have to solve this to stay in top 8. Time will tell if they can play together as a team and collectively rise to the level of their individual talent.

7) Wayzata - I had the Trojans here briefly last week before flip-flopping and putting them at #8 behind Duluth East. Should have went with initial instinct.. I have seen them in 3 games and they are growing up as a team, even though Duluth tested them on Saturday.. The strength of this team is D and a great pair of goalies. The small, quick forwards like Wahl, Freytag & Zimmer should only get better as the season goes on..They do need to improve on the Power Play as that is a definite weakness..The penalty kill however is phenomenal, killing off all 17 shorthanded situations.. My post last week discussed my concern about the ability of this team to put shots on net.. The 12 shots against Duluth did not alleviate my concerns here and it would be difficult to see them higher than #7 until they can consistently put the puck on net.. In fact, they have scored less than two goals a game, on average, over their last 6 games. Still, a 6-1 start, with a 1.39 GAA, against some tough competition says a lot. They play D and just find a way to win..

#8) Duluth East Body of work so far is slim and a 1-0 loss to Wayzata was not encouraging. They did outshoot Wayzata 28-12 but a loss is a loss. Obviously a strong defensive team but they need to find their O on a consistent basis to compete with the big boys..



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[grandmeadowhockeyfan]

Lake vile north missing!!!

[Just Checking]

Lake vile north missing!!!

maybe old topic. Good Catch!!!

[Traxler]

This is funny, even with the date in the title of the topic he missed it.

[InYourFace09]

How far back did meadow have to go to find this thread?

Must have a lot of time on his hands.

[notTONIGHT]

How far back did meadow have to go to find this thread?

Must have a lot of time on his hands.

His state champions tourney that was so well received must have concluded.

[grandmeadowhockeyfan]

Are you still interested. I could start the tourney up again, what you think?

[Traxler]

Are you still interested. I could start the tourney up again, what you think?

I believe I speak on everyone's behalf when I say we are not interested.

[notTONIGHT]

Are you still interested. I could start the tourney up again, what you think?

I believe I speak on everyone's behalf when I say we are not interested.

If only there were a favorite button on this site....