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Thoughts?

it looks like Hill Murray (fairly big gap) White Bear Lake (even bigger gap) everyone else.

slacsap wrote:it looks like Hill Murray (fairly big gap) White Bear Lake (even bigger gap) everyone else.

Ahhh....I love the pre season "Fairly Big Gap" predictions. After all those years of 1-2 goal slug fests in the section finals, you would think the early prognosticators would learn.

With the recent development of Hill Murray losing a high end scoring forward we think this could be a flip of the coin between WB and HM. Goaltending could be the deciding factor.

--Didn't Hill win a championship the year they lost a handful of players for out of school conduct at the start of tryouts?
--Didn't Hill go pretty deep a year ago despite the defection to Juniors of Seniors to be Guentzel/Heinrich?

Hill Murray and Coach Lechner have a plethora of talent and 30 games or so to figure out the puzzle...like they do every year. 4AA is still Hill and then everyone else..no questions asked. One player in a program like theirs does not a team make...

Tenoverpar wrote:--Didn't Hill win a championship the year they lost a handful of players for out of school conduct at the start of tryouts?
--Didn't Hill go pretty deep a year ago despite the defection to Juniors of Seniors to be Guentzel/Heinrich?

Hill Murray and Coach Lechner have a plethora of talent and 30 games or so to figure out the puzzle...like they do every year. 4AA is still Hill and then everyone else..no questions asked. One player in a program like theirs does not a team make...

First off they only went to state that year they lost those players. They won state the year before and those players assumed that, that type of conduct was acceptable with the celebration that happened in Forest Lake after the championship game.

Guentzel was always planning on leaving and Heinrich, well lets just say he wasn't going to Hill for the education....

The lost of 2 players may not hurt but maybe parents will soon learn that Hill is not always the answer to get your son noticed. If they're good they will be noticed.

No question that Willie Brown is a big loss. I have no doubt that Bill Lechner gave him every chance in the world and he screwed it up big time. There are times when it is better to prove that rules, discipline and leadership do mean something. This may be one of them. This club looks good. 11 returning varsity players and 9 from last year's JV. Slattery & Anderson are special players. Nothing wrong with the other top forwards Mills, Funk and French. All can score. A more experienced group of defensemen led by Sharp, Zarembinski & Olson. All accounts are that Wendlandt can be a top goalie to replace Dugas. Young was pretty good as the main JV goalie last year. I think WBL is closer to HM than they have been in years. They showed themselves to be very tough to score on in the 2nd half of last season and Wahlin may be the best player in the state. This should be fun. I think we can mark down the January 16 match at Aldrich and another on February 28 at the Coliseum.

This could be one of those rare years when Hill does not get off to a very good start. The early schedule is tough and Wendlandt, who is widely considered to be their best goalie, is not eligible for the first month or so of the season (he transferred a month into last season and must sit out one year from that date). They wil be a much better team late in the season, just as White Bear always is. A sectional match up should be quite a game.

slacsap wrote:This could be one of those rare years when Hill does not get off to a very good start. The early schedule is tough and Wendlandt, who is widely considered to be their best goalie, is not eligible for the first month or so of the season (he transferred a month into last season and must sit out one year from that date). They wil be a much better team late in the season, just as White Bear always is. A sectional match up should be quite a game.

End result. HM State Champs!

Having seen Wayzata and Edina play last weekend, I would warn you to not quite cash that check just yet.

It's good to be back on the forum. I am by no means a regular poster, but I've been reading this thing for years and it is always a fun read, even with the few blatantly ignorant users who call for firings because they need something to complain about and the people who try to peer into the personal lives of high school student athletes.

Anyway, lets talk about the topic at hand. I am a graduate of White Bear Lake, and my self-given, narcissistic, ego filled title of "Voice of the Bears" gives me more of a bias than many folks on here. The problem is, I also have to cover the Pioneers for local cable access, so I have been forced to remain objective throughout the last six years that I have been covering both teams.

Hill-Murray yet again has the talent, coaching, and goaltending to make a run at the state runner-up three-peat. What they don't have is the leadership, something all Pioneer fans should be very concerned about. Sure, Lechner is the best of the best, but when you got a bunch of kids who are there strictly for hockey and not the team, a coach can only do so much.

What I am saying here means almost jack-squat at this point. Maybe there is a hidden Zach LaValle that will show up on the roster this year and lead this team to victory. But if nobody steps up and they are dependent on talent, some little known coach a while ago argued that teams can't win on talent alone.

White Bear Lake, arguably their only challenger in the section, will be a very good hockey team this year. Keep in mind that their top scorers from last year are back, and what was said by many would be a "rebuilding year" at the beginning of the season turned out to be anything but.

Goaltender Chase Gorman is back this year. He didn't play varsity until late December last year, and I was told he worked very hard all summer last year to eventually move up and earn that spot. Gorman is someone the Bears can trust in net, especially after only giving up one goal to the Pioneers in the finals last year.

Jake Wahlin is an obvious favorite on the offensive side of things, but even without him this team is one of the more depth-filled teams that I've seen in recent years. The Bears third and fourth lines might actually get some regular playing time this season. The defense looks solid, with Jake Dittel, Peter Wachtler, Caden Wippler, and the likes, as long as Dittel can stay out of the box.

Seriously, between him and Delaney, I'm pretty sure the Bears played half of their season shorthanded last year.

Circle the Bears' tilt with Hill-Murray on January 16th, but also consider their game against Ediina on January 4th as worthy of a high school hockey fan consideration. I can't predict the future, but I will say that I am very intrigued with these two teams, and I think that if history says anything about the future, this rivalry may just be renewed once again.

I feel shame self-promotion: All 25 White Bear Lake boys hockey games will be on The Horn this year, online at http://TheHornWBL.com.

ZachHalverson wrote: wblhcky24, what you've just said is one of the most insanely idiotic things I have ever read. At no point in your rambling, incoherent response were you even close to anything that could be considered a rational thought. Everyone on this forum is now dumber for having read it. I award you no points, and may Karl have mercy on your soul.

Looks like the bears have started their fratricidal maulings a little earlier than normal this year.

I've got to agree with everyone that this will be a battle between Hill and WBL. They are just far more talented than everyone else in the section.

Hill definitely took a hit with the loss of Willie Brown, but they will still be able to put a very good hockey team out on the ice. Mitch Slattery is an unbelievably talented player with the puck. They also have a solid D core and tender.

WBL is going to be a very solid team this year! Wahlin may be one of the best players in the league, and he has great talent around him in Welch and Giller. It is good to see that he decided to stay and play another year of high school instead of playing Juniors. The Bears will also have a strong defensive core. I also like Gorman in nets with his strong performance in the later part of last year.

January 16th at Aldrich between these two teams will definitely be a game to go and watch. I am predicting standing room only when its 15 minutes before game time with how popular this game will be.

Good luck to both of these teams this year!

Miracle On Ice wrote:January 16th at Aldrich between these two teams will definitely be a game to go and watch. I am predicting standing room only when its 15 minutes before game time with how popular this game will be.

I'm typing this at the Vadnais Sports Center before a Bears girls game and let me tell you, I am so thankful Hill-Murray has the home game this year and it isn't at this awful building.

ZachHalverson wrote:

Miracle On Ice wrote:January 16th at Aldrich between these two teams will definitely be a game to go and watch. I am predicting standing room only when its 15 minutes before game time with how popular this game will be.

I'm typing this at the Vadnais Sports Center before a Bears girls game and let me tell you, I am so thankful Hill-Murray has the home game this year and it isn't at this awful building.

You got that right!!!! From a fan standpoint, one of the worst arenas I have ever been in.