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The field is almost set and I will go out on a limb and say Mahtomedi will advance tonight. I see seeding going like:

#1 - Hermantown
#2 - Mahtomedi
#3 - East Grand Forks
#4 - Breck
#5 - St Cloud Apollo

Draws: Spring Lake Park, New Prague, New Ulm

I know my picks look like the Let's Play Hockey poll, but this is my WAG. After Alexandria was eliminated, #5 became a wild card for me but I am confident in Apollo getting the #5 even though they were the #4 in their section.

12thgraders wrote:The field is almost set and I will go out on a limb and say Mahtomedi will advance tonight. I see seeding going like:

#1 - Hermantown
#2 - Mahtomedi
#3 - East Grand Forks
#4 - Breck
#5 - St Cloud Apollo

Draws: Spring Lake Park, New Prague, New Ulm

I know my picks look like the Let's Play Hockey poll, but this is my WAG. After Alexandria was eliminated, #5 became a wild card for me but I am confident in Apollo getting the #5 even though they were the #4 in their section.

Agreed. Chances of a QF upset are extremely slim this year. Final four should see some excellent parity and hopefully three barnburners.

Breck and Apollo in the first round should be good.

It would not surprise me to see NP get the 5 seed.

I could see some games being played by the top teams to try and get Apollo pushed down into the draws.

When you look at the schedules I believe Apollo and NP are a toss up. NP has played a tougher schedule IMHO.

Also, don't count out SPA. They are a solid team and Mahtomedi's coach is second only to WBL in the ability to choke when all the marbles are on the line.

I think it would be a shame if New Prague was given the 5 seed over Apollo. Section 6A was so tight. The top 4 seeds all could have been considered for the top seed. Apollo should not be penalized for a lower seed in the section. They proved they were the best team in the section by beating the #1 and #2 seeds. I think they will be able to knock off Breck and I guess that is why I would be bummed if they don't get the 5. I do not think New Prague can stay with Breck.

curtiscurve wrote:I think it would be a shame if New Prague was given the 5 seed over Apollo. Section 6A was so tight. The top 4 seeds all could have been considered for the top seed. Apollo should not be penalized for a lower seed in the section. They proved they were the best team in the section by beating the #1 and #2 seeds. I think they will be able to knock off Breck and I guess that is why I would be bummed if they don't get the 5. I do not think New Prague can stay with Breck.

If I were you I wouldn't want the 5 seed because, if you win, the road to the state championship game would have to go likely through Hermantown which would be a daunting task.

hshockeyfan53 wrote:

curtiscurve wrote:I think it would be a shame if New Prague was given the 5 seed over Apollo. Section 6A was so tight. The top 4 seeds all could have been considered for the top seed. Apollo should not be penalized for a lower seed in the section. They proved they were the best team in the section by beating the #1 and #2 seeds. I think they will be able to knock off Breck and I guess that is why I would be bummed if they don't get the 5. I do not think New Prague can stay with Breck.

If I were you I wouldn't want the 5 seed because, if you win, the road to the state championship game would have to go likely through Hermantown which would be a daunting task.

I am not an Apollo fan, just an observer. I just want to see the best possible 4 v 5 match-up (and the team with the best chance to beat Breck).

I back the Trojan's, but I don't see them getting seeded. Not the team they were last year but capable of beating Breck.

I know everyone has conceded the tournament to Hermantown, but not so fast.

This is the most balanced top 5, I've seen in Single A.

The Best:
1. Hermantown: target firmly on their back and hasn't really been challenged for a couple months (I would imagine they have little ghosts talking in their head after 5 consecutive runner up finishes).
2. Mahtomedi: (assuming they win tonight) has probably been the most impressive Single A team this season.
3. EGF: Had to battle through sections. Defending champions with a lot of top end talent, clearly a team everyone would like someone else to take out.
4. Breck: They play a AA schedule and certainly another team nobody really wants to play.
5. Apollo: Late on the scene but has played very well down the stretch.

New Prague: Could get the #5 seed. They have played a good schedule.
New Ulm: A bit of an unknown, but they don't really look like a walk.

Spring Lake Park: The Rodney Dangerfield of the tournament. They appear to be the only team that everyone wants to play.