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If the Bears play well, can they beat a struggling Hill?

inthetwine wrote:If the Bears play well, can they beat a struggling Hill?

I doubt it. The Bears seem to play much better come sections. I don't see them winning this game.

Lets put it this way. WBL has 3 - 4 players that would make the Hill varsity squad. The rest would be on their JV team or cut altogether.

BodyShots wrote:Lets put it this way. WBL has 3 - 4 players that would make the Hill varsity squad. The rest would be on their JV team or cut altogether.

Hill is a offensive juggernaut

HILARY2016 wrote:

BodyShots wrote:Lets put it this way. WBL has 3 - 4 players that would make the Hill varsity squad. The rest would be on their JV team or cut altogether.

Hill is a offensive juggernaut

*was

Traxler wrote:

HILARY2016 wrote:

BodyShots wrote:Lets put it this way. WBL has 3 - 4 players that would make the Hill varsity squad. The rest would be on their JV team or cut altogether.

Hill is a offensive juggernaut

*was

Oooh. Fighting words! Lol

I would say both teams are down this year. not as much depth on either team and not as many high impact players. Maybe a few for Hill and 1 or 2 for WBL. I think this could be Stillwater's year. However, none the less, I'm sure it will be entertaining. Oh and to clarify, this is not a rip on either team, every team goes through their down seasons.

I'll take Hill 4-1. The Bears haven't played a complete game yet and that was against opponents that aren't very tough. Even with H-M supposedly being "down", I don't see the Bears winning this game

I'd say White Bear has a good shot at beating HM or losing or even tying. Could 'easily' see the Bears pulling a mild upset in this one as the scoring for HM hasn't clicked in (yet?). Will be very different if they play again in February. The game early in the year seems to favor White Bear.

Nuts&Bolts wrote:I'd say White Bear has a good shot at beating HM or losing or even tying. Could 'easily' see the Bears pulling a mild upset in this one as the scoring for HM hasn't clicked in (yet?). Will be very different if they play again in February. The game early in the year seems to favor White Bear.

Huh? Has WBL even beaten Hill twice in the last ten years? I'm referring to the one scheduled game, not any Schwan's games, or any section games.

If I'm not mistaken the only time WBL has beaten hill in recent history is at the section game a few years back. As much as I hope for a WBL win I don't have a lot of confidence that it will happen.

Nuts&Bolts wrote:I'd say White Bear has a good shot at beating HM or losing or even tying.

Way to go out on a limb with that prediction!

Nuts&Bolts wrote:The game early in the year seems to favor White Bear.

Any why do you say that? First of all, this is the first time they have played this early in the season in a long, long, time. Second, I can't even remember the last time WBL won a game against HM during the season. (I'm sure Starlimb could let us know. ) Lastly, best case scenario is that HM destroys WBL during the season and then when the section rolls around, they overlook them. Doesn't happen too often though.

11 years ago Nov. 23, 2004 at Aldrich.
WBL 3, HM 2
10-0 regular season and 19-1 overall for HM since.

This is the worst WBL team in probably two decades. No forward talent, and besides the top two defensemen an awful blue line. It's gonna be a long season, but should end quickly come section time.

The sad thing is this Hill team is pretty average too, and WBL had no chance.

WBLHockeyfan04 wrote:The sad thing is this Hill team is pretty average too, and WBL had no chance.

No Bear or Pioneer in this race, but what's to explain the WBL decline? Not exactly an inner ring suburb, so you wouldn't think changing "demographics" is the reason. Or maybe it is?

MNHockeyFan wrote:

WBLHockeyfan04 wrote:The sad thing is this Hill team is pretty average too, and WBL had no chance.

No Bear or Pioneer in this race, but what's to explain the WBL decline? Not exactly an inner ring suburb, so you wouldn't think changing "demographics" is the reason. Or maybe it is?

I have no answer to this question. The future of White Bear hockey looks average at best which is really sad.

20*-1

MNHockeyFan wrote:

WBLHockeyfan04 wrote:The sad thing is this Hill team is pretty average too, and WBL had no chance.

No Bear or Pioneer in this race, but what's to explain the WBL decline? Not exactly an inner ring suburb, so you wouldn't think changing "demographics" is the reason. Or maybe it is?

Its an older community, with not a ton of younger families. Im sure it will be a few years before that trend reverses as the older generation moves into condos/apartments and younger families move into WBL again.

HM 5 - WBL 2

4 shorthanded goals for the pie and ears

sachishi4 wrote:HM 5 - WBL 2

4 shorthanded goals for the pie and ears

Sager has proved me wrong, I did not think his coaching could get worrse, but it has.
Sure, the talent is down this year, but his coaching ability is nonexistent.

"Parenteau for the love of god" WBL finally decides to schedule a tough non-conference...besides Wyatt Newpower this team stinks...lose to 1-4 Roseville....WBL goes 14-11 at best to end the regular season.

This was one of, if not the most bizarre hockey games I have ever seen. Four SHG in one game, two on the same damn penalty, and all the while it was actually far from a blowout! Shots were relatively close, the Bears had chances, and had they not completely blown their power plays they actually had a legitimate shot at winning this game.

The worst part in all of this is how this rivalry has fallen. The crowd was small, the atmosphere on both sides was nonexistent, and it just did not feel anything like any previous matchup between these two teams before. Scheduling it this early was a big mistake, though the talent level of both teams wouldn't have helped that much.

Maybe we'll get a rematch for the first time in 3 years, though it'll probably be in the semis. Ironically, one of the biggest reasons I started The Horn was to broadcast these games, and I've only had one regular season game each of the last two seasons. It's a darn shame.

I was also thinking after the game about this great rivalry and wondered what has happened. I had to go back and look at the records to see if it was real. It was. For 17 seasons and 43 games from 1989 through 2005, Hill-Murray won 23 times, White Bear Lake won 19 times and there was 1 tie. WBL went to the state tournament 9 times and HM went 7 times. There were many great games - great comebacks, OT games, underdog victories, huge crowds at Aldrich and packed section finals at the Met Center, Mariucci and the Coliseum. In the 10 years since then, HM is 20-1 and has won the section 8 times to 1 for WBL. White Bear's youth program looks just as big and as strong as in the past - maybe passed by a bit by Stillwater's. The only major difference at WBL appears to be the coach.

I wasn't at the game, but I got to know.....

Did they run the umbrella PP with only one defensemen?

OMG, 4 short handed goals in one game.

It's too bad when an outdated/out of touch Coach literally can hold an entire program back. I would imagine things wouldn't improve a ton in WBL until they find someone new.