Time to renew the Rapids/Greenway rivalry

greenway1969 · Post by **greenway1969** » Thu Jan 23, 2014 11:24 am

If Rapids is planning to stay in the IRC, Greenway should be put on their schedule next year. Greenway should be at least as good as Virginia and the Falls next year. Greenway should be more competitive over the next several years. Rapids could make room for Greenway by playing Virginia or the Falls once instead of twice. The intensity that this rivalry has would sure be fun to experience again. Nothing better than a full-house at Hodgins-Berardo Arena and playing the Chickenhawks.

HockeyStorm · Post by **HockeyStorm** » Thu Jan 23, 2014 12:09 pm

No matter how down Greenway is, I can't believe this game wouldn't be on the schedule every year!

TheHockeyDJ · Post by **TheHockeyDJ** » Thu Jan 23, 2014 12:10 pm

HockeyStorm wrote:No matter how down Greenway is, I can't believe this game wouldn't be on the schedule every year!

It got pointless when Rapids kept winning by double digits and Greenway wasn't sure they'd even have a team. Might be okay to bring it back, but I doubt it will be that competitive in the near future (1-3 years).

GR3343 · Post by **GR3343** » Thu Jan 23, 2014 2:36 pm

I think Grand Rapids is going to attempt to strengthen their schedule by eliminating as many meetings with Class A schools as possible & replacing them with more AA teams. Adding a below average Greenway team doesn't really fall in line with that mission.

greenway1969 · Post by **greenway1969** » Thu Jan 23, 2014 3:55 pm

I'm not sure if they are teaching reading in Rapids anymore. If you look at my original post I stated if Rapids is to remain in the IRC then they could schedule Greenway instead of the Falls or Virginia twice. That would not weaken their schedule as Greenway will be at least as good as them next year. Of course I am assuming that Greenway will keep improving as they have over the season. Next year Greenway may get to .500. In two years the group of freshmen and sophomores should be mature enough to be an above average Class A school. Their bantam team is good without the top 9th graders who are playing varsity. Rapids would certainly be favored, but the games would be closer then Rapids fans think. I know playing Greenway would be step down for such an elite program that goes to state just about every year and consistently beats AA powers Edina and Duluth East but I think the games could be fun.

curtiscurve · Post by **curtiscurve** » Thu Jan 23, 2014 4:43 pm

greenway1969 wrote: I know playing Greenway would be step down for such an elite program that goes to state just about every year and consistently beats AA powers Edina and Duluth East but I think the games could be fun.

In the words of Jack Nicholson in Anger Management "Sarcasm is Anger's ugly cousin".

Given the fact that the MSHSL only allows for 25 regular season games, I don't see Grand Rapids scheduling Greenway for nostalgic purposes. I would guess GR will keep playing Hibbing and Virginia, but I Falls will be removed from the schedule, just as Greenway, Eveleth and other teams from the old IRC.

Bigcat99 · Post by **Bigcat99** » Thu Jan 23, 2014 7:54 pm

greenway1969 wrote:... if Rapids is to remain in the IRC then they could schedule Greenway instead of the Falls or Virginia twice. .

The old IRC ain't what it used to be.... and never will be again. Blow it up already. That being the case, playing both Hibbing and Virginia once/yr and eliminating I Falls all together would give them another three openings to schedule better AA metro schools. Id also like to see them try to get a team like an EGF on the schedule on the same weekend as they play the Spuds each year.

northwoods oldtimer · Post by **northwoods oldtimer** » Fri Jan 24, 2014 7:02 am

greenway1969 wrote:I'm not sure if they are teaching reading in Rapids anymore. If you look at my original post I stated if Rapids is to remain in the IRC then they could schedule Greenway instead of the Falls or Virginia twice. That would not weaken their schedule as Greenway will be at least as good as them next year. Of course I am assuming that Greenway will keep improving as they have over the season. Next year Greenway may get to .500. In two years the group of freshmen and sophomores should be mature enough to be an above average Class A school. Their bantam team is good without the top 9th graders who are playing varsity. Rapids would certainly be favored, but the games would be closer then Rapids fans think. I know playing Greenway would be step down for such an elite program that goes to state just about every year and consistently beats AA powers Edina and Duluth East but I think the games could be fun.

Nice shot at a team that is technically single A but prefers to compete up at the AA level of hockey!! I guess you forgot to mention that in your commentary. Would be nice to get the rivalry going again. I do not think it is arrogance to want to try ramp up the schedule when you are playing teams like Elk River, East, Forest Lake, Cloquet and Andover come playoff and you just had a series of games against I-Falls, Virginia and Eveleth coming into playoff. Not to slight those teams but most only have one good line. So the compete drops off substantially. There is nothing wrong with wanting to try compete with your peers in AA. That is fostering a winning mindset and a compete in your team. If Greenway can put up a good game then by all means the game is worth scheduling, if not it is far better playing an East Grand Forks, Warroad, Roseau, Brainerd, Elk River, Andover, White Bear Lake in a home and home series instead.

Newguy_10 · Post by **Newguy_10** » Fri Jan 24, 2014 10:45 pm

It would be great if the rivalry could be renewed. Problem is I don't see it being competitive. Greenway has a very nice bantam team this year for a single A team but there still no match for Grand Rapids AA bantam team. Now at the pee wee level I believe they have split so far this year so there is a possibility of this rivalry be renewed in 5 years or so. The rumor has it GR athletic director won't let Rapids leave the IRC but that next year they will only play 4 games. Virginia Hibbing Ifalls Eveleth all once. I love the iron range and I sadly think GR needs to get out of the IRC if they want to be competitive in 7AA down the road. Would love to see it renewed but don't see it happening.

grandindian · Post by **grandindian** » Fri Jan 24, 2014 11:20 pm

Gotta admit I am torn on this one. I remember those great games and atmosphere back in the day in some of the old barns on the range. Hibbing, Eveleth, Coleraine, yup and Rapids. But I just don't see it working for Rapids to stay in the IRC if it wants to maintain itself talent wise. I gotta believe dollars have something to do with it too...that's a lot of travel money to go south all the time. Maybe someone knows more about what impact that has?

And PS...People forget that Rapids could be playing A hockey and have done a damn good job staying with the bigger schools, hockey programs, and bigger money. They get sold short on that. Don't get me wrong, I like the pride, and hey....stay AA forever!

bemused · Post by **bemused** » Fri Jan 24, 2014 11:43 pm

northwoods oldtimer wrote:
greenway1969 wrote:I'm not sure if they are teaching reading in Rapids anymore. If you look at my original post I stated if Rapids is to remain in the IRC then they could schedule Greenway instead of the Falls or Virginia twice. That would not weaken their schedule as Greenway will be at least as good as them next year. Of course I am assuming that Greenway will keep improving as they have over the season. Next year Greenway may get to .500. In two years the group of freshmen and sophomores should be mature enough to be an above average Class A school. Their bantam team is good without the top 9th graders who are playing varsity. Rapids would certainly be favored, but the games would be closer then Rapids fans think. I know playing Greenway would be step down for such an elite program that goes to state just about every year and consistently beats AA powers Edina and Duluth East but I think the games could be fun.
Nice shot at a team that is technically single A but prefers to compete up at the AA level of hockey!! I guess you forgot to mention that in your commentary. Would be nice to get the rivalry going again. I do not think it is arrogance to want to try ramp up the schedule when you are playing teams like Elk River, East, Forest Lake, Cloquet and Andover come playoff and you just had a series of games against I-Falls, Virginia and Eveleth coming into playoff. Not to slight those teams but most only have one good line. So the compete drops off substantially. There is nothing wrong with wanting to try compete with your peers in AA. That is fostering a winning mindset and a compete in your team. If Greenway can put up a good game then by all means the game is worth scheduling, if not it is far better playing an East Grand Forks, Warroad, Roseau, Brainerd, Elk River, Andover, White Bear Lake in a home and home series instead.

i believe Duluth is 75 minutes away. A home and home against DE would be a good idea..

northwoods oldtimer · Post by **northwoods oldtimer** » Sat Jan 25, 2014 5:01 am

bemused wrote:
northwoods oldtimer wrote:
greenway1969 wrote:I'm not sure if they are teaching reading in Rapids anymore. If you look at my original post I stated if Rapids is to remain in the IRC then they could schedule Greenway instead of the Falls or Virginia twice. That would not weaken their schedule as Greenway will be at least as good as them next year. Of course I am assuming that Greenway will keep improving as they have over the season. Next year Greenway may get to .500. In two years the group of freshmen and sophomores should be mature enough to be an above average Class A school. Their bantam team is good without the top 9th graders who are playing varsity. Rapids would certainly be favored, but the games would be closer then Rapids fans think. I know playing Greenway would be step down for such an elite program that goes to state just about every year and consistently beats AA powers Edina and Duluth East but I think the games could be fun.
Nice shot at a team that is technically single A but prefers to compete up at the AA level of hockey!! I guess you forgot to mention that in your commentary. Would be nice to get the rivalry going again. I do not think it is arrogance to want to try ramp up the schedule when you are playing teams like Elk River, East, Forest Lake, Cloquet and Andover come playoff and you just had a series of games against I-Falls, Virginia and Eveleth coming into playoff. Not to slight those teams but most only have one good line. So the compete drops off substantially. There is nothing wrong with wanting to try compete with your peers in AA. That is fostering a winning mindset and a compete in your team. If Greenway can put up a good game then by all means the game is worth scheduling, if not it is far better playing an East Grand Forks, Warroad, Roseau, Brainerd, Elk River, Andover, White Bear Lake in a home and home series instead.
i believe Duluth is 75 minutes away. A home and home against DE would be a good idea..

Would be great but Randolph won't schedule that home and home.

HShockeywatcher · Post by **HShockeywatcher** » Sat Jan 25, 2014 8:28 am

grandindian wrote:And PS...People forget that Rapids could be playing A hockey and have done a damn good job staying with the bigger schools, hockey programs, and bigger money. They get sold short on that. Don't get me wrong, I like the pride, and hey....stay AA forever!

What people are you referring to? I haven't encountered anyone that forgets that.

There are 6 teams in the IRC right now and Rapids plays 3 of them twice. They could schedule each once and have 5 conference games on their schedule instead of 6.
I don't have a care in the world what conference they're in, or if they're in one at all, but it there are plenty of teams around the state that are in a conference where they play plenty more games than Rapids that are lopsided.
I don't know for sure, but I don't think the difference in a bus ride for a couple extra hours is that much more of an expense in the grand scheme of things. I wouldn't ever disagree with making a schedule more competitive, but they it is ranked #24 by PageStat right now and they do play plenty of quality opponents. Ultimately a decision for the school to make, just a few thoughts.

TheInsider · Post by **TheInsider** » Sat Jan 25, 2014 9:13 am

Sorry, but Greenway wont be competitive enough to call this a "rivalry"

Post by **east hockey** » Sat Jan 25, 2014 9:58 am

northwoods oldtimer wrote:
bemused wrote:
northwoods oldtimer wrote: Nice shot at a team that is technically single A but prefers to compete up at the AA level of hockey!! I guess you forgot to mention that in your commentary. Would be nice to get the rivalry going again. I do not think it is arrogance to want to try ramp up the schedule when you are playing teams like Elk River, East, Forest Lake, Cloquet and Andover come playoff and you just had a series of games against I-Falls, Virginia and Eveleth coming into playoff. Not to slight those teams but most only have one good line. So the compete drops off substantially. There is nothing wrong with wanting to try compete with your peers in AA. That is fostering a winning mindset and a compete in your team. If Greenway can put up a good game then by all means the game is worth scheduling, if not it is far better playing an East Grand Forks, Warroad, Roseau, Brainerd, Elk River, Andover, White Bear Lake in a home and home series instead.
i believe Duluth is 75 minutes away. A home and home against DE would be a good idea..
Would be great but Randolph won't schedule that home and home.

There is far too much money in East's travel budget to settle for a short 80-mile trip every season.

Lee

north_bear · Post by **north_bear** » Tue Jan 28, 2014 7:42 pm

greenway1969 wrote:I'm not sure if they are teaching reading in Rapids anymore. If you look at my original post I stated if Rapids is to remain in the IRC then they could schedule Greenway instead of the Falls or Virginia twice. That would not weaken their schedule as Greenway will be at least as good as them next year. Of course I am assuming that Greenway will keep improving as they have over the season. Next year Greenway may get to .500. In two years the group of freshmen and sophomores should be mature enough to be an above average Class A school. Their bantam team is good without the top 9th graders who are playing varsity. Rapids would certainly be favored, but the games would be closer then Rapids fans think. I know playing Greenway would be step down for such an elite program that goes to state just about every year and consistently beats AA powers Edina and Duluth East but I think the games could be fun.

I would love nothing more than to watch Rapids beat Greenway 14-0 like they did against IFalls or I'd even settle for 6-1 or 5-0 like the Virginia and Hibbing games. About as close as those games would be. The teams haven't played for so long I would be surprised if the players felt much of anything when lining up against each other.

greenway1969 · Post by **greenway1969** » Tue Jan 28, 2014 8:00 pm

Don't kid yourself, there will be plenty of feelings when they line-up. All of us old timers will make certain of that. Plus there is plenty of bulletin board material from this site.

PuckRanger · Post by **PuckRanger** » Tue Jan 28, 2014 10:59 pm

Given that Grand Rapids walloped International Falls 14-0, and a couple weeks prior Greenway and International Falls skated to a 0-0 overtime tie... Its hard to make a case.

I don't mean to burst anyone's big green bubble here, but even if Greenway improves for a couple years, they are not going to get to that level for any sustained amount of time. The one "good" group of Bantams they have coming up will only bring them a year of two of moderate success, IF, in fact, that pans out. And I might add, that Bantam team did lose 6-2 to Grand Rapids this year in their only meeting. Not exactly a nail-biter. Neither were their 4-0 and 7-2 losses to Hibbing.

They are just not very strong behind that Bantam group in youth hockey. In Peewee's they lost to Virginia 9-1 and have lost to Grand Rapids three times this year - and Grand Rapids appears to be down a bit at this level (they have more than 20 losses). They also got blown out by the likes of Duluth East, Spring Lake Park, Tartan, and Alexandria just to name a few.

In Squirts, they are losing by touchdowns to the likes of Grand Rapids, Virginia, Eveleth-Gilbert, and International Falls and I'm not sure that either one of their teams has even won a game at all this year. While this is a young age group to try and project and a lot can happen as they go up the ladder, there is an obvious disparity in talent level here that makes it look pretty bleak.

The only realistic shot Greenway has at competing with the top teams on the Iron Range, which almost always includes Grand Rapids, is the Bantam group. After that, it thins out fast.

I just don't see a bright enough outlook for this to realistically happen.

greenway1969 · Post by **greenway1969** » Tue Jan 28, 2014 11:33 pm

You're not bursting my green bubble. I'm a realist. I understand that the only opportunity Greenway has to make it a game is with the bantam group. That's why i put forth the idea of renewing the rivalry now. Even with the bantam group Greenway would be big underdogs but why not give it a try?

Coldzone · Post by **Coldzone** » Fri Jan 31, 2014 10:41 pm

Ok DJ so tonight what was the lucky break to allow a little IRC team to take down the awesome thunderchickens? We all are waiting for the next line of excuses. Fact is Greenway and the IRC will be able to give Rapids enough competition for the next 5 years. No reason to spend all that money to travel to the cities for every game. I know bntms last year was a 5-2 game empty net goal and this year was a 6-3 empty net game. Pw greenway beat rapids AA. Sure there will be nights that it all works for rapids like against I falls the other night but when Shepard grads they do not have a goalie to keep them in games. No argument. They are not Edina or Eden Pr. They can compete in a one game deal with anyone or get beat by anyone. Tonight is proof that they are just a good team not a great team and that is with Avery and Hunter. Two D-1 prospects. This is proof enough that there is no need for a elitest level in rapids. Virginia beats Rapids and Falls beats Hibbing. This is why they play the game. No excuses tonight please. I bet Edina wouldn't stumble like that.

WendyClark · Post by **WendyClark** » Fri Jan 31, 2014 10:55 pm

Schedule this game!

The irishmens shanty on this bored once said "YES it can happen"

greenway1969 · Post by **greenway1969** » Fri Jan 31, 2014 11:13 pm

I'm not that surprised that Rapids lost to Virginia. After watching them play White Bear, they have shown how average they are. Rapids is now a number 4 seed in Section 7A (yes 7A). They have lost to Virginia and Marshall and will lose to Hermantown. They could slip to a 5 seed because they play Denfeld the last game of the season.

northwoods oldtimer · Post by **northwoods oldtimer** » Sat Feb 01, 2014 6:35 am

greenway1969 wrote:I'm not that surprised that Rapids lost to Virginia. After watching them play White Bear, they have shown how average they are. Rapids is now a number 4 seed in Section 7A (yes 7A). They have lost to Virginia and Marshall and will lose to Hermantown. They could slip to a 5 seed because they play Denfeld the last game of the season.

If you are talking Section 7AA 4th seed you have a point.

pipersniper12 · Post by **pipersniper12** » Sat Feb 01, 2014 8:28 am

Coldzone wrote:Ok DJ so tonight what was the lucky break to allow a little IRC team to take down the awesome thunderchickens? We all are waiting for the next line of excuses. Fact is Greenway and the IRC will be able to give Rapids enough competition for the next 5 years. No reason to spend all that money to travel to the cities for every game. I know bntms last year was a 5-2 game empty net goal and this year was a 6-3 empty net game. Pw greenway beat rapids AA. Sure there will be nights that it all works for rapids like against I falls the other night but when Shepard grads they do not have a goalie to keep them in games. No argument. They are not Edina or Eden Pr. They can compete in a one game deal with anyone or get beat by anyone. Tonight is proof that they are just a good team not a great team and that is with Avery and Hunter. Two D-1 prospects. This is proof enough that there is no need for a elitest level in rapids. Virginia beats Rapids and Falls beats Hibbing. This is why they play the game. No excuses tonight please. I bet Edina wouldn't stumble like that.

Greenway is terrible! There is no reason why GR should schedule the 132nd ranked team in the state. Greenway is better off scheduling a home and home series with Moose Lake or Bagley.

Coldzone · Post by **Coldzone** » Sat Feb 01, 2014 9:14 am

You got it wrong. I don't really care if they play Greenway. That's not true either. I believe Rapids I'd not above the IRC and they should play them once each and then look at the teams every year and play the top one or two teams twice. That will very year to year and is pretty easy to predict. Next year play Hibbing twice. In two years Greenway will be ready to compete twice. In three years Virginia has the strength coming up. It is pretty easy and the 6 games a year close to home for rapids and keeping range hockey alive is good comp for rapids and all involved. Not playing at all will be the demise of rapids hockey also. They are not that dominate

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Time to renew the Rapids/Greenway rivalry

Time to renew the Rapids/Greenway rivalry

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