Holy Angels

[RhinstoneDangler]

I want to know people expectations of Holy Angels this year. I have been to a few games and they look solid. I would be surprised if anyone gets through them this year.

[ghshockeyfan]

FWIW - well coached, as deep as anyone, and easily one of the very best HS teams I've seen these past few years. Coach has been with the program 10 years, and that makes a huge difference as well. Great kids too. I had the honor these past few years of standing on the summer/off-season bench with these kids (just summer league play) and I'm just amazed at their hockey ability, but even more so about who they are as people. No one should look past this team.

[trilogy]

What I like about Holy Angels is their depth. Watched them play in the Benilde tournament games and they spread the goals around. However, they do play a schedule with a lot of weaker teams they may steamroll over. No doubt they will win their conference easily. Will that prepare them for the journey to the state tournament? If they want to make it out of sections end of season they will have to get by some very good teams like CDH and Burnsville who both look good early season.

[ghshockeyfan]

When I was at Kennedy I figured coming out of 5AA would have been easy in the future with what we had at that time and what I saw of the section. Of course, I didn't expect CDH to be added to the section, I didn't expect AHA to become as strong as they have, and I didn't expect BV to maintain the long term dominance they have. Times and things have changed in 5AA and as I was told as a young coach by my AD then, "no one has an easy road through sections to state."

the scary thing about AHA is that while they are led by Smith scoring wise, there are about 10 other players that can put the puck in the net regularly as well on any given night. They play a strong team game, and they also have multiple strong Goaltenders including Westberg who I've coached and has played very well in big games for AHA.

[xk1]

AHA alsp play in Kaposia, first game is Stillwater. If they get by SW EP would likely be next. They have Hibbing, Edina, Wayzata and Blaine left on their NC schedule.
There is no doubt the bottom of the Missota is pretty weak but NP has beat SSP and tied BV and Hastings, PL beat SSP and tied Jefferson. Shakopee tied Edina and beat Eastview so there is some good competition there.
Eagan, CDH and BV will be tough teams come section time and they will have hard a harder schedule the last month but they did last year as well.

[anderc14]

Not to take anything away from the Holy Angels girls that play with talent, dedication and character but reality is- there are many great female athletes that play for teams other than Holy Angels. Let's not get overly enthralled with one team that is playing well- hockey is a game and really has very little to do with real life.

[ghshockeyfan]

FWIW I think hockey is a way to teach many of the life skills/lessons necissary to navigate the real world as a productive member of society.

[anderc14]

Yes- maybe, you are probably correct but pretty much every sport and extra-curricular activity teaches team work and other life lessons. Hockey is not special in that respect. But then I realize I am on a hockey board that has a pretty big following that might think otherwise.

The point taken was that Holy Angels is having a good season but so what-I looked at their schedule and the teams they play in Missota are really weak. The non-conference schedule has been more challenging and the results more impressive. I would say that the sleeper teams that are going way beyond expectations are much more impressive at this stage of the hockey season then the Holy Angels team.

[iceit]

well said!!!

[ghshockeyfan]

Yes- maybe, you are probably correct but pretty much every sport and extra-curricular activity teaches team work and other life lessons. Hockey is not special in that respect. But then I realize I am on a hockey board that has a pretty big following that might think otherwise.

The point taken was that Holy Angels is having a good season but so what-I looked at their schedule and the teams they play in Missota are really weak. The non-conference schedule has been more challenging and the results more impressive. I would say that the sleeper teams that are going way beyond expectations are much more impressive at this stage of the hockey season then the Holy Angels team.

I see your point. I've simply had the luxury to get to know some of those holy angels kids personally during the off-season and they are good kids. That's all I meant to get across, and so for this reason, and their dedication to working very hard all off-season, as well as their talent, I just wanted to say something nice.

I'm sure many other teams deserve the same, but I don't know them as well and so I don't feel comfortable making similar comments about them.

[Zamman]

Someone has been reading the topics on the boys board. Now someone wants to start in on AHA and their conference for the girls. For a final time, they have no choice in this conference. They are in it for one team, all teams. They are competative in all sports in this conference with the exception of hockey. Let them play and get over their conference....

[MNHockeyFan]

It seems like most of these conference decisions are still made based on football, primarily, and to a lesser extent boys' basketball and boys' hockey. Girls' hockey is just along for the ride, and as you say there is no choice but to play the conference schedule you are given, and then try to arrange a tough non-conference schedule. BSM is in the same situation with the North Suburban, where they only finished 3rd in football and would not compete well in say the Lake, Northwest Suburban or Classic Lake conferences which have teams with much larger school enrollments.

[anderc14]

Very dissappointed in Holy Angels. For a "premier" hockey program, one would think that that the team would have the respect to remove their helmuts during the national anthem as every other team does. I'm a Vietnam veteran and spent many years in psychological operations and counseling veterans from various combat missions and found the Holy Angels team extremely disrespectful to the heritage of our country by not removing their helmuts during the national anthem.

I am writing a letter to the main administrator of the school and complaining for this "me only" expression of behavior. We are Catholic middle school parents and were considering applying to Holy Angels as a back up school but after this- I think we will stick to public schools- a real dissapointment and a typical "me" only attitude that is so prevalent of Holy Angels. Disregarding the heritage of the country and the 3 million vets that sacrificied their lives so girl's can play hockey is just totally unacceptable.

[xk1]

anderic14
What game did you see this at?

[anderc14]

It was the Holy Angels junior varsity playing at the Simley tournament over the past two days. Very offensive especially tha the JV team was playing at Veterans Memorial Community Center in Inver Grove Heights.

[Puck Bag]

I've seen it twice now at the Super Rink - both Varsity teams, not removing their helmets for the national anthem. It's not just HA. One team was Hudson but the other team was MN team and I really think the Girls Coaches Association should address this via e-mail now! I'm not a vet but I take my hat off and I talk to kids that don't. Not to do it on the ice or field is really sad to see and coaches, school admin and AD's take care of this issue NOW!

[xk1]

When you guys refer to HA re this issue kindly refer to them as the HA JV, the varsity always takes their helmets off and the JV should know better. I suspect this is more an oversight than an intentional act of disrespect.

[anderc14]

Junior varsity or varsity Holy Angels- either way it still represents the same school and it is a blemish on the high school overall. Because I have not seen other schools do likewise I cannot personally indict them of a similar offense- it may be that other schools may have committed an injustice to veterans also. This is the first time in high school hockey that we have seen this happen and in this situation it was the Holy Angels JV.

I am Vietnam veteran, enlisted by will, who saw many close friends die in battle and now have some very close friends still serving in Iraq, so please excuse me for taking the matter with such grave weight. Being raised Catholic with a religious background that in my mind equates to a high moral standard, I was extremely disappointed with what I saw over the past couple days. Let's stop making excuses for our teenagers and start teaching them the values that we would like them to have as they move beyond high school hockey.

[allhoc11]

anderc14,

Just curious what exactly you observed in your two days at this tournament in regards to the disrespect to the country you are describing by the HA team?

[hockeywild7]

I saw AHA play stillwater in kaposia and they took helmets off during anthem and looked like a pretty classy team. What you witnessed was probably a one time oversight. Thought they got outplayed by stillwater the first and third periods but took it to stillwater the 2nd period. Stillwater looked faster and more skilled overall.

[anderc14]

Staright forward, the Holy Angels JV playing at Veteran's Memorial Ice Arena in Inver Grove Heights during a JV tournament did not remove their helmets during the national anthem while playing Simley and the Minneapolis Novas. That is all that I saw over the last two weeks... plain and simple, that is the truth and the extent of my observations as a veteran.

[JJhockeySS]

anderc14,

With all due respect I have to disagree with your posts. You make it sound as if there was blatant disrespect by the AHA team on several occasions in the tournament. One problem with those comments is that AHA only played 1 day in the tournament, and I'm told there was only one anthem on the day that they played, prior to their first game. The information that I have is that there were only two players that didn't remove their helmets. The reason being that they both had issues with the snaps on them, and felt it more disrespectful to continually cause a commotion trying to unsnap them during the anthem then to leave them on. A lapse in judgment, most definitely, please know that the issue was addressed immediately by the coaches on the bench. I will let you know that it won't happen again, and the kids in no way meant any disrespect to anyone.

[xwildfan]

anderc14, Hopefully you are as tough on our leaders who got our troops into the current mess as you are on the HA players who forgot to take off their helmets during the NA. I totally support all troops in Iraq (including my nephew); but I have nothing but disdain for our politicians who have essentially left our troops in the middle of a civil war.

I think the players deserve to be cut a little slack regarding the National Anthem. Their only association with the song is that it is played before sporting events and it precedes "Play ball." They were all born after the Vietnam War. I doubt very much if many high schools teach history that deals with the Vietnam War, Korean War, WW I, etc. They have never experienced a draft and for the most part have no concept of what it means to sacrifice anything for your country. It is not their fault. They were born at the most prosperous time in our country's history.

However, I think if these young people had to face a real test regarding making sacrifices for their country, I would bet on them.

Sorry about the seriousness of the post; but anderc14's slamming of the HA players rubbed me the wrong way. Note: I do not have a daughter on the HA team.

[Zamman]

anderc14, first of all I respect you for being a verteran. There are too many people in this country who would give a damn to a veteran, especially a Vietnam veteran. I thank you for serving your country in a bad situation. Next I need to ask a question, I work at an arena and see many hockey games and here the National Anthem all the time. I know when and where it was written and why, but my question is, Women are never asked to remove their hats, only men. Should it be different for womens hockey? I may be wrong.....

Out of respect for the flag and country teams should remove their helmets, but to say the school is classless for this act and you changing your mind about sending your kids there is pretty lame. In our rink, the JV does not get the Anthem only the Varsity and they always take off their helmets....

Rethink sending your kids to the school, it is a quality school that has produced many fine citizens in the community and government.

[JJhockeySS]

Zamman,

I appreciate your support of our school, but anderc14, has had 13 total posts, and 6 of them have had negative connotations to our school/hockey team. I have to wonder if there more to the story. In the one post it is stated that HA was a back-up, I have to wonder how truthful that was. If a family had spent any time in our school community, I find it hard to believe they would be so harsh towards a community for the mistake of two young ladies.