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One running time game and very possible a couple more coming up, which unfortunately has become the norm in Class A on Wednesday. Any thoughts on anything the MSHSL can do? Just not the way you want to start the tournament every year.
Here is a totally outside the box idea: (someone had suggested this for sectionals to eliminate early round blow-outs)
Tuesday Night:
5 vs 8
6 vs 7
Wednesday Night:
Winners play the 3 and 4 seeds
Friday Morning:
Winners play the 1 and 2 seeds
It would be quite the format change but should give us better games. Thoughts?

You can't really say it's become the norm. While it did happen many years in a row, and again in today's first game, there was a few years there where none of the games were blowouts. Luverne took Hermantown to double overtime a few years ago. Monticello wasn't ranked and made an underdog run all the way to the championship. There's just no way of knowing if a cinderella will surprise everyone, which is what you hope for.

Before they did seeding, it wasnt that normal.

Girls "A" are notorious for quarter blowouts.

Maybe just not seed class A and rotate them like they used to?

StanleyCup55 wrote: ↑Wed Mar 04, 2020 2:43 pm Maybe just not seed class A and rotate them like they used to?

Yeah but do you really want the two top teams to potentially play on the first game on Wednesday?

Maybe the teams blowing out the others should be playing in the AA tourney. Both SCC and Hermantown should be in AA. Been said for a while...but since they have the right to be here we will continue to have the blowouts...

Joe2015 wrote: ↑Wed Mar 04, 2020 1:48 pm One running time game and very possible a couple more coming up, which unfortunately has become the norm in Class A on Wednesday. Any thoughts on anything the MSHSL can do? Just not the way you want to start the tournament every year.
Here is a totally outside the box idea: (someone had suggested this for sectionals to eliminate early round blow-outs)
Tuesday Night:
5 vs 8
6 vs 7
Wednesday Night:
Winners play the 3 and 4 seeds
Friday Morning:
Winners play the 1 and 2 seeds
It would be quite the format change but should give us better games. Thoughts?

Do away with the Sections format. Take the best 16 teams, have a one game playoff to get down to eight, and then reseed for Wednesday.

I was thinking about this today,I don't think that blowouts have been so regular that anything will be done,but what if they did the old back door like was the case way back in the single tournament days?

Say the champions of section 1 and 3 maybe even 5 play the section runners up from 6 7 & 8 or whatever it might be.

HSPuckFan wrote: ↑Wed Mar 04, 2020 5:34 pm I was thinking about this today,I don't think that blowouts have been so regular that anything will be done,but what if they did the old back door like was the case way back in the single tournament days?

Say the champions of section 1 and 3 maybe even 5 play the section runners up from 6 7 & 8 or whatever it might be.

That was fun back then. Runnersup in 7 and 8 dueling for Region 3, Regions 2,4, 5and 6 vying for Region 1. Often they would meet again at State. At least twice in finals, 1952 and 1972.

Zamman wrote: ↑Wed Mar 04, 2020 4:16 pm Maybe the teams blowing out the others should be playing in the AA tourney. Both SCC and Hermantown should be in AA. Been said for a while...but since they have the right to be here we will continue to have the blowouts...

Let’s pump the brakes a bit on the idea that Cathedral is some sort of unstoppable dynasty. Next season will be telling after the current group of seniors graduates. I can’t see them falling off a cliff by any means, but they are also unlikely to be state title contenders again.

Eliminate the "Opt Up" option - no exceptions. Each team below the mid-enrollment point would have to play A. In addition to Warroad, Mahtomedi, Hermantown and St. Cloud Cathedral you would have teams like St. Thomas, Blake, Breck, Benilde, Holy Angels, Grand Rapids, Roseau, East Grand Forks, C-E-C, and others. That would make for a more competitive and entertaining Class A tournament and would give a big boost to attendance.

MNHockeyFan wrote: ↑Thu Mar 05, 2020 12:42 am Eliminate the "Opt Up" option - no exceptions. Each team below the mid-enrollment point would have to play A. In addition to Warroad, Mahtomedi, Hermantown and St. Cloud Cathedral you would have teams like St. Thomas, Blake, Breck, Benilde, Holy Angels, Grand Rapids, Roseau, East Grand Forks, C-E-C, and others. That would make for a more competitive and entertaining Class A tournament and would give a big boost to attendance.

I would be ok with this, but they'd need to limit how many sections private schools are in or there'd be potential for privates to dominate state participation in any given year. Right now there are competitive teams (HF and Gentry included for potential) spread across several sections in A/AA. I realize I did not list every private school below:

2 Holy Family, Breck
3 STA
4 Hill-Murray, Gentry
5 TG
6 BSM, Blake, CDH, SCC

Split them and the other privates into 2 sections at most and no one outside the private backers would complain.

It's never going to happen, but removing the opt-up would definitely make A more competitive.

Another option outside of removing the opt-up would be instead of 8 sections going to 4 regions allowing to spread more traditionally competitive programs throughout the 4. Sections winners and runner-ups make state, with the incentive of winning the section being you can't be seeded behind the runner-up.

Would still allow for Cinderella runs when the magic happens. One possible negative is we could more so than now see the same names at state year after year.

MNHockeyFan wrote: ↑Thu Mar 05, 2020 12:42 am Eliminate the "Opt Up" option - no exceptions. Each team below the mid-enrollment point would have to play A. In addition to Warroad, Mahtomedi, Hermantown and St. Cloud Cathedral you would have teams like St. Thomas, Blake, Breck, Benilde, Holy Angels, Grand Rapids, Roseau, East Grand Forks, C-E-C, and others. That would make for a more competitive and entertaining Class A tournament and would give a big boost to attendance.

lol...that will NEVER HAPPEN. No one gives a crap about blowouts in the Single A quarterfinals. And the semifinals will be terrific...since all 4 contenders are AA caliber teams

hockey59 wrote: ↑Thu Mar 05, 2020 9:02 am

MNHockeyFan wrote: ↑Thu Mar 05, 2020 12:42 am Eliminate the "Opt Up" option - no exceptions. Each team below the mid-enrollment point would have to play A. In addition to Warroad, Mahtomedi, Hermantown and St. Cloud Cathedral you would have teams like St. Thomas, Blake, Breck, Benilde, Holy Angels, Grand Rapids, Roseau, East Grand Forks, C-E-C, and others. That would make for a more competitive and entertaining Class A tournament and would give a big boost to attendance.

lol...that will NEVER HAPPEN. No one gives a crap about blowouts in the Single A quarterfinals. And the semifinals will be terrific...since all 4 contenders are AA caliber teams

That is the trade-off: we had bad hockey on Wed but are in for some tasty match-ups tomorrow morning

The next four games will be epic. I encourage anyone interested in good hockey to watch. Private school v hated Dynasty, tiny northern power v suburbanites...
AND great teams all of them.

MNHockeyFan wrote: ↑Thu Mar 05, 2020 12:42 am Eliminate the "Opt Up" option - no exceptions. Each team below the mid-enrollment point would have to play A. In addition to Warroad, Mahtomedi, Hermantown and St. Cloud Cathedral you would have teams like St. Thomas, Blake, Breck, Benilde, Holy Angels, Grand Rapids, Roseau, East Grand Forks, C-E-C, and others. That would make for a more competitive and entertaining Class A tournament and would give a big boost to attendance.

So what sections would the northern teams of EGF, Warroad, Thief River Falls, Roseau, Bemidji, Grand Rapids, CEC, and Hermantown be in?

defense wrote: ↑Thu Mar 05, 2020 9:30 am The next four games will be epic. I encourage anyone interested in good hockey to watch. Private school v hated Dynasty, tiny northern power v suburbanites...
AND great teams all of them.

I don’t know if we’ve ever seen the level of top end talent as we will in the Class A semis this year. Just as a point of reference for Warroad, I think Oshie had 99 points his senior year and Nelson had 97. With his 7 point night last night I think Slukynsky is sitting at 96, but someone might be able to correct me.

I would like them to go back to the brackets that are set on a rotation years in advance. I don't care if the two best teams play the 11:00 semi-final.

Green and White Fan wrote: ↑Thu Mar 05, 2020 10:14 am I would like them to go back to the brackets that are set on a rotation years in advance. I don't care if the two best teams play the 11:00 semi-final.

It was intriguing wasn't it?? I just dont know if we can turn back now.

1st thing they got to do is move the #4 vs #5 game to 6PM. It's usually the only good game on the first day and it should be when most people are watching on TV.

if you do something for A, do you have to do it for AA?

Would it be possible to go 6 sections for A & then have a way to fill in the remaining 2 teams?

I agree that Wednesday typically seems to be a drag, but the payoff is usually Friday afternoon makes up for it (at least 1 of the games usually seems to be one that's remembered for a while).