7AA Quarterfinals
Posted: Mon Feb 18, 2013 9:49 am
This is probably the most intriguing set of quarterfinals out there.
#5 Forest Lake at #4 Cloquet
-A good match-up on many levels: north vs. metro, front-end talent vs. a deeper team with no obvious stars. Cloquet cruised to a 7-1 win back in December, but they haven't been playing all that well lately, while Forest Lake had a relatively strong second half. The Jacks will almost certainly outshoot the Rangers, so the visitors will need some quality goaltending, and have do what they can to disrupt the CEC breakouts. The winner gets a crack at Duluth East, which might motivate both of them; obviously Cloquet will want to take down their archrivals, and the Rangers are likely sick of the Hounds coming out of this section, too.
#6 Andover at #3 Elk River
-The two NWSC rivals meet for the third time this season. The Elks won both regular season match-ups, but they were very different games; they cruised to a fairly easy 4-1 win in the first meeting, but the second game went to OT and shots were more or less even. The Elks have a few more horses, but the Huskies also have some depth, and they are also the more experienced team, having been to a section final last season. Most importantly, Andover has Chase Perry, and they've been playing reasonably well down the stretch. Elk River, on the other hand, has had some rough games against top teams, though they have taken care of all of their weaker opponents.
#7 St. Francis at #2 Grand Rapids
-It's not often that a 7-seed has beaten a 2-seed in the regular season, and that fact alone, despite the talent mismatch, makes this one interesting. For St. Francis, the task is straightforward, if not very easy: play sharp defense, get another 50ish saves out of goaltender Darion Hanson, and finish on the chances they do get. Rapids obviously has the superior talent here, and just needs to play smart and not get frustrated if St. Francis shows signs of hanging around again. Both teams have been playing pretty well of late.
#8 STMA at #1 Duluth East
-Uhh...yeah. (Though to be fair to STMA, their 6-1 regular season loss to East was closer than most 8-v.-1 games East has played over the years. But still.)
All games start at 7:00 on Tuesday. Who ya got?
#5 Forest Lake at #4 Cloquet
-A good match-up on many levels: north vs. metro, front-end talent vs. a deeper team with no obvious stars. Cloquet cruised to a 7-1 win back in December, but they haven't been playing all that well lately, while Forest Lake had a relatively strong second half. The Jacks will almost certainly outshoot the Rangers, so the visitors will need some quality goaltending, and have do what they can to disrupt the CEC breakouts. The winner gets a crack at Duluth East, which might motivate both of them; obviously Cloquet will want to take down their archrivals, and the Rangers are likely sick of the Hounds coming out of this section, too.
#6 Andover at #3 Elk River
-The two NWSC rivals meet for the third time this season. The Elks won both regular season match-ups, but they were very different games; they cruised to a fairly easy 4-1 win in the first meeting, but the second game went to OT and shots were more or less even. The Elks have a few more horses, but the Huskies also have some depth, and they are also the more experienced team, having been to a section final last season. Most importantly, Andover has Chase Perry, and they've been playing reasonably well down the stretch. Elk River, on the other hand, has had some rough games against top teams, though they have taken care of all of their weaker opponents.
#7 St. Francis at #2 Grand Rapids
-It's not often that a 7-seed has beaten a 2-seed in the regular season, and that fact alone, despite the talent mismatch, makes this one interesting. For St. Francis, the task is straightforward, if not very easy: play sharp defense, get another 50ish saves out of goaltender Darion Hanson, and finish on the chances they do get. Rapids obviously has the superior talent here, and just needs to play smart and not get frustrated if St. Francis shows signs of hanging around again. Both teams have been playing pretty well of late.
#8 STMA at #1 Duluth East
-Uhh...yeah. (Though to be fair to STMA, their 6-1 regular season loss to East was closer than most 8-v.-1 games East has played over the years. But still.)
All games start at 7:00 on Tuesday. Who ya got?
