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Reminder, the upper Midwest high school elite league has games at Mars arena this weekend. Tonight, there are two games, first one 5 PM featuring Section 7 kids against a metro team, and the second starting at 7.30 featuring Section 8 kids against a metro team

Karl will be attending, and I'm sure we will find some updates on his Twitter site or on this site

Sunday, there are three games, check website for teams and times

Karl, how is Team North doing??

I ended up not going last night, nor could I drag myself out to Cloquet at 8 AM this morning (what were they thinking in scheduluing that?!), but I will be at the North-Great Plains game this afternoon.

A bit of a slow start to the afternoon Great Plains-North game, but it got good and interesting in the last couple minutes when GP tied it at 3 with 1-something left and North grabbed the lead back with 30-odd seconds to go. The game also involved a long delay as North goalie Cade McEwen (Hermantown) sustained a cut on his neck or face. With no backup goalies for either team and just over 3 minutes left in the first period, they wound up just taking the intermission early and playing the remainder of the period before sounding the buzzer and immediately starting the 2nd.

Stray notes:

-Blake McLaughlin looked as dominant as I've ever seen him, though he's also prone to some questionable no-look passes. His line with Hain and Tyler Watkins was, unsurprisingly, great.
-Team North seemed to have abusively long line shifts all game. Has that been a trend?
-Good day for Gabe Holum in goal for Great Plains. McEwen gave up one pretty questionable goal but was otherwise pretty solid.
-East should have a nice, mobile defensive corps this season, which is probably an upgrade on the past few years. They'll be young, but there's a good core to build around.
-Upon first inspection, I understand the Ethan Frisch hype: he's not all that big, but he's very smooth and didn't have the raw edge you'd expect out of a sophomore Elite League D. The Bemidji kids also looked sharp, so there are the makings of a very good 8AA race here.
-Another player who jumped out: Bryden Stoskopf from Roseau. The Rams have some nice pieces, though depth is the big issue up there.
-Over on the other side of the Red River, Grant Johnson should have a very big year for Grand Forks Central. With a bunch of players on this team, I'm guessing they're the best North Dakota has to offer this year?

karl(east) wrote:A bit of a slow start to the afternoon Great Plains-North game, but it got good and interesting in the last couple minutes when GP tied it at 3 with 1-something left and North grabbed the lead back with 30-odd seconds to go. The game also involved a long delay as North goalie Cade McEwen (Hermantown) sustained a cut on his neck or face. With no backup goalies for either team and just over 3 minutes left in the first period, they wound up just taking the intermission early and playing the remainder of the period before sounding the buzzer and immediately starting the 2nd.

Stray notes:

-Blake McLaughlin looked as dominant as I've ever seen him, though he's also prone to some questionable no-look passes. His line with Hain and Tyler Watkins was, unsurprisingly, great.
-Team North seemed to have abusively long line shifts all game. Has that been a trend?
-Good day for Gabe Holum in goal for Great Plains. McEwen gave up one pretty questionable goal but was otherwise pretty solid.
-East should have a nice, mobile defensive corps this season, which is probably an upgrade on the past few years. They'll be young, but there's a good core to build around.
-Upon first inspection, I understand the Ethan Frisch hype: he's not all that big, but he's very smooth and didn't have the raw edge you'd expect out of a sophomore Elite League D. The Bemidji kids also looked sharp, so there are the makings of a very good 8AA race here.
-Another player who jumped out: Bryden Stoskopf from Roseau. The Rams have some nice pieces, though depth is the big issue up there.
-Over on the other side of the Red River, Grant Johnson should have a very big year for Grand Forks Central. With a bunch of players on this team, I'm guessing they're the best North Dakota has to offer this year?

https://youtu.be/AoJkiCJdxzs