2010-2011 Section 3A predictions

[new2coachin]

Looks like someone stepped out of line on the previous 3A topic. Lets keep this one clean & post your thoughts and predictions.

[Bettman's Bender]

Section comes down to New Ulm and Marshall this year. Hutch and Litch will be good.. But all even goaltending wins over. marshall and new ulm are my picks for the 1 and 2 seed. considering they take care of business.

[Bettman's Bender]

This forum has been very boring lately... Where is corbin, golfer 5 and new2hockey?

scrimmages coming up.. Marshall Hutch, fairmont, sleepy eye are all going to be at New Ulm maybe more??

[letsgowild]

lets wait till after saturday when sleepy eye beats marshall , then we'll have something to talk about.

[new2coachin]

Looking forward to Saturday in New Ulm. Looks like a good portion of the 3A teams will be srimmaging. Anyone have a schedule of scrimmages?

[Bettman's Bender]

lets wait till after saturday when sleepy eye beats marshall , then we'll have something to talk about.

yeah, wouldnt that be something! Lets see if you are right. If you are wrong you know im gonna make you look foolish.

[Bettman's Bender]

scrimmages are done. Redwood has played two games already. how did their second one turn out against Waconia? First game against Henry Sibley got UGLY. L 10-1.

LUVERNE. SECTION 3A CHAMPS.

[Section 3A HockeyScout]

Here is my Preview from the Old Thread

Greetings Fellow 3A Followers,

With November before us in only 2 schools from Section 3A remaining in the MN High School Football Playoffs (Luverne, Dassel-Cokato & Marshall) many young men have shifted their focus to hockey. I thought this would be a good time to give my Preseason 3A Rankings.

I am avid HS Puck Follower and have got to watch the HS Game grow in Southwest MN over the past 15 years. I don’t really have a specific team that I follow I try to be as non-biased as possible. I plan to get out to as many 3A Games as possible I hope to be at a rink near you every Tuesday, Thursday, Friday & Saturday Night!

Please feel free to disagree with me or agree I hope to keep the talk positive as we move forward throughout the season.

Preseason 3A Rankings
1. New Ulm
2. Litchfield-Dassel-Cokato
3. Marshall
4. Hutchinson
5. Redwood Valley
6. Luverne
7. Sleepy Eye
8. Fairmont
9. Windom
10. Worthington

1. New Um Eagles
Head Coach: Erik Setterholm
2009-10 Record: (16-11-1)
State Trips: 1992, 2010

Key Returning Players: Kaleb Juntunen 35 pts., Brody Peterson 34 pts. , Adam Loose 31 pts. , Zach Hoffman 28 pts., Blake Burgau (16-11-1) 3.04 GAA

Season Preview: The Eagles finally broke through to the state tournament last year after years of being right on the doorstep. This year the eagles should be heavy preseason favorites in Section 3A. They return plenty of offensive firepower especially in their top line of Juntunen-Peterson-Loose. New Ulm will have 3 solid lines to throw at some of the less deep teams in 3A. They also return an all around terrific athlete at the blue line in Zach Hoffman. My biggest reason for ranking the Eagles number one though is in the net Blake Burgau returns for his senior campaign after playing every second for the Eagles last year. Burgau has the potential to be outstanding and is going to be tough to beat all season long. This is New Ulm’s section to lose I look for a very big year out of the Eagles.

2. L-D-C Dragons
Head Coach: Chris Olson
2009-10 Record: (16-10-1)
State Trips: 1996, 2008

Key Returning Players: Andy Haataja 36 pts., Quinn Impola 31 pts. , Eric Kivisto 26 pts.

Season Preview: The Dragons fell one game short of a state tournament bid last season. In order for L-D-C to get back to the section title game this year they will rely heavily on their defense. The Dragons return 4 of their top 5 defensemen from last year. Headlining that group is Quinn Impola a do it all defenseman for the L-D-C. He will log a lot of minutes for a very experienced defensive group. The Dragons will have to replace their All-State Honorable Mention goal-scoring machine Nate Adams. They will lean heavily on Andy Haataja and Eric Kivisto to lead a veteran group of forwards. The big question mark heading into the season will be goaltending where they will need someone to step up. The Dragons should be tough in their defensive zone and should have enough firepower to win Section 3A. It will come down to how well they answer the question mark in the net as the season progresses.

3. Marshall Tigers
Head Coach: Kori Pearson
2009-10 Record: (13-13-0)
State Trips: None

Key Returning Players: Brian Willett 25 pts. , CJ Haukom 24 pts. , Aaron Antony 22 pts. , Ethan VanderZiel 10 pts.

Season Preview: They are expecting big things in Marshall this year. It is becoming now or never for the Marshall Tigers Hockey program a perennial contender to get to State over the last 10 years is seeing its talent dry up in the youth ranks. This Veteran group could be the last shot for quite some time. The Tigers will have a very balanced attack they are lead up front by Seniors Brian Willett, CJ Haukom and Aaron Antony. On the Blue line they will be lead by two year Senior Captain Ethan VanderZiel who leads a strong group of deep defenseman. The biggest question will be how well the Tigers adjust to not having All-Sate honorable mention goaltender Mitch Campion in the net. They will lean on Andy Noble to fill those big shoes early on. The Tigers will be a very deep and experienced team who is use to playing good competition and big games. If they can adjust to life after Campion well this could be the year of the Tiger in Section 3A.

4. Hutchinson Tigers
Head Coach: Matt Telecky
2009-10 Record: (11-14-1)
State Trips: 1995, 1997, 2000, 2009

Key Returning Players: Trace Adams 15 pts., Mitch McLain 15 pts. , Logan Hahn 13 pts.

Season Preview: The Tigers of Hutchinson appear to be in a year of transition. Starting with the fact that the Tigers will now compete in the Wright County Conference instead of the Missota of previous years. Looking at the Tigers their strengths will be in their defense where they return 3 regulars from last year in Mitch McLain, Logan Hahn and Max Cowger. The big question mark for Hutchinson is who is going to score goals the forwards will lean heavily on Trace Adams after that it will be a year of developing younger players and defining roles. Jordan Johnson looks to take over in the nets, which is no small order as he is replacing a 4-year starter in Zak Swenson. There are a ton of question marks facing this team, however, Hutchinson hockey is proven a product in Section 3A look for them to develop as the season goes along and be a team no one wants to face come playoff time.

5. Redwood Valley Cardinals
Head Coach: Nathan Sunderman
2009-10 Record: (17-6-1)
State Trips: None

Key Returning Players: Eric Hanson 38 pts., Mike Welch 24 pts. , Jordan Skeie 13 pts.

Season Preview: It is the beginning of a new era in Redwood Valley as the Cardinals have a new coach in Nathan Sunderman. Redwood has made big strides in the last year 6 years and are two time defending Southwest Conference champions. However, this year’s version has many holes to fill due to graduation and transfers. Up front the Cardinals will look for Eric Hanson and Mike Welch to lead the way again they are 2/3 of one of the best lines in southwest Minnesota last year. Unfortunately for Redwood Eric Miller has transferred to Warroad and they need to find a new net minder as John Rebstock who played every minute for the Cardinals the last 3 years has graduated. On defense the cardinals will have to answer plenty of questions as well as they graduated four players who played a regular shift for them. There are plenty of questions that need to be answered in Redwood Valley but that doesn’t mean that the two time defending Southwest Conference champions should be taken lightly by anyone.

6. Luverne Cardinals
Co-Head Coaches: Tony Sandbulte & Derrick Brown
2009-10 Record: (11-13-1)
State Trips: None

Key Returning Players: Connor Fitzer 42 pts., Zach Dingmann 32 pts. , Sklyer Sweir 24 pts., Cody Christensen 20 pts.

Season Preview: Luverne looks to continue their success from last year after finishing the 2009-10 season on an 11-4-0 run, including two victories in the Section 3A Playoffs that earned them a bid to the Section Semi-Finals. The Cardinals only lose one player off of last year’s team and return plenty of firepower up front. The line of Fitzer-Dingmann-Sweir was a tough as any in 3A last year and they look to have continued success as seniors. Luverne will hope for the continued maturation of Austin Maxwell on the Blue Line as he played big minutes as a freshman for them last year. The big thing holding Luverne back from truly making the next big step is their goaltending. If the Cardinals can’t get better play in the net then they did last year don’t look for anything big here. If they can get some solid goaltending though Luverne could become dangerous.

7. Sleepy Eye Indians
Head Coach: Robert Tauer
2009-10 Record: (3-22-0)
State Trips: None

Key Returning Players: Tyler Braulick 25 pts., Jordan Hillesheim 14 pts. , Robert Regan 4.57 GAA.

Season Preview: Sleepy Eye is looking to make some big strides forward this year. After years of taking a beating the Indians are hoping that those young kids have grown out of that habit and look to have successful senior campaigns. Sleepy Eye has a new Coach in Robert Tauer and the Indians are looking to gain momentum off of last years playoff victory. They will be lead up Front Tyler Braulick who has been playing for varsity hockey for a long time now look for him to put up big numbers in his senior campaign. What makes Sleepy Eye so dangerous this year is Robert Regan in the nets. He is use to taking a lot of shots and has the potential to get hot and steal a game. This is not Sleepy Eye of the past look for this program to make big strides and be a competitive bunch all season long.

8. Fairmont Cardinals
Head Coach: Bryan Wilken
2009-10 Record: (6-16-0)
State Trips: None

Key Returning Players: Ross Wilken 19 pts., Luke Sanderfeld 17 pts. , Cody Jacobsen 15 pts.

Season Preview: Fairmont is looking to continue on some of the small successes they experienced last year. They were able to host a playoff game for the first time in many years. However, those good feelings were put to an end when Sleepy Eye defeated them 3-1. The Cardinals bring back a lot of experienced forwards from last year team lead by the coach’s son Ross Wilken. They also return all of their defenseman from last year. The big question mark ill be replacing Ryan Rivers in the nets who played the majority of the time. Fairmont has a big group of Seniors returning this year and if they can get some solid goaltending and confidence early in the season Fairmont could make some big waves in the lower half of Section 3A.

9. Windom Eagles
Head Coach: Steve Clark
2009-10 Record: (8-14-1)
State Trips: None

Key Returning Players: Adam Eisenmenger 26 pts., Mitchell Baumhoefner 20 pts.

Season Preview: The Windom Eagles are in a rebuilding mode this season. They lost the majority of their forwards, defenseman, and goaltender to graduation. The Eagles will need big years out of Eisenmenger and Baumhoefner up front. They will need some players of a decent “B” Bantam team last year to step up and fill holes in their depth. They will also need to find a new steady presence in the net. There are many questions that need to be answered for Windom but Coach Clark always finds a way to put a competitive bunch out on the ice. This year that task seems to be larger but again one should never count these guys out.

10.Worthington Trojans
Head Coach: Pat Christopherson
2009-10 Record: (3-18-0)
State Trips: None

Key Returning Players: Ethan Stofferan 12 pts.

Season Preview: The Trojans have plenty of new faces this year after graduating 12 seniors last year. One of those new faces includes coach Pat Christopherson. He will have plenty of holes to fill this winter. As Worthington returns only one player who was in double digits last season. They also graduated all of their defenseman and both of their goaltenders from last year. It looks like it could be a difficult first year for Coach Christopherson in Worthington.

Once the season gets going I will have a Power Ranking out every Sunday. Hopefully you guys enjoy a non-biased insight to Section 3A.

Look for me next Sunday as I will give my Preseason All Section 3A Team Honors.

Until then debate and discuss!

[Section 3A HockeyScout]

Well with one team in Section 3A getting started and every other team at least having a a few scrimmages I thought it was time to post my Week #1 Rankings.

I was up in the cities for Thanksgiving and go to watch Redwood play and then on Saturday I stopped in at New Ulm on the way home and caught just about every team.

Week #1 Rankings
1. New Ulm
2. Marshall
3. LDC
4. Hutchinson
5. Luverne
6. Redwood Valley (0-1-1)
7. Fairmont
8. Sleepy Eye
9. Windom
10. Worthington

First My thoughts on the Redwood vs Sibley game:
The Cardinals looked like a team under a new coach with a lot of new faces. They really miss all of those Defenseman that they lost from last year. They Still have Hanson and Welch and some nice supporting players. But their goaltending was suspect. They kid they started had a rough night. But they brought in a different goaltender later in the game I thought he looked much better. I am guessing they started him in the second game which they tied 5 to 5. Redwood will be fine its early I would not sleep on them just yet.

Thoughts From the Section 3A Scrimmages in New Ulm:
I got a good look at every team this year in Section 3A besides Worthington.
I will go through some things I saw...

New Ulm: Played Sleepy Eye, Windom & Luverne
They looked solid there top 5 are really good. They dominated both Sleepy Eye and Windom. Against Luverne I thought they had the better end of the play but Luverne was able to find soem cracks. Its still very early I just think in the end the Eagles have too much talent for the rest of Section 3A.

Marshall: Played Sleepy Eye, Fairmont & Hutch
I really liked what I saw from the Tigers. They have both size and speed and depth. They moved the puck well and played tough. They were too much for both Sleepy Eye and Fairmont. And a little Preview of this weeks Section 3A Game of the Week with Hutch I thought Marshall played really well. If these Tigers continue to develop watch out for these guys at the end.

LDC: Played Windom, Luverne, Sleepy Eye
Litch is a very solid team their defenseman look great and they really move the puck. Have some nice forwards who can get to the net and make things happen. They were too much for Windom and Sleepy Eye with Luverne it was more back and forth. The big question mark for the Dragons will be in the net.

Hutchinson: Played Fairmont, Luverne, Windom, Marshall
Hutch is not the normal Hutch. They have some good Big Defenseman and some quicker forwards. I just don't see a goal scorer right now. But that will come in time. They will get better in time and will be dangerous down the stretch. I thought they looked good especially in their D-zone.

Luverne: Played Hutch, LDC and New Ulm
Luverne I thought looked pretty decent they were not over matched by any team they played. They did some nice things. I think they have the ability to beat anyone on a given night but also I saw things that made me think anybody could beat them as well. But they played the toughest schedule of anyone on the day and all three games were close.

Fairmont: Played Hutchinson, Marshall & Windom
These guys looked really big and they want to use the body. They will play a big bruising style of hockey. They will be hurt by teams that can fly as they dont have the best skating speed. But I thought they looked decent.

Sleepy Eye: Played New Ulm, Marshall, LDC
Every year these kids get better they work hard and have a few kids who can really do some nice things. I will tell you this after watching them this weekend. They will knock off someone they shouldn't maybe more then once this year.

Windom: Played New Ulm, Litch, Hutch, Fairmont
The Eagles got a good look at the big boys of the Section and well they had some struggles. They do have a good top line but no depth or numbers they were basically playing with 12 kids it looked like. Goaltending will have to be huge for Windom to win big games.

I am not sure on scores of the games I was going back and forth from rink to rink. But thats what I saw from these two eyes. Others who were there feel free to speak up.

BIG Games in Section 3A this week:
Redwood Valley vs. Windom: Windom goes to Redwood on Tuesday could be a big chance for the Eagles to move up the Rankings.

Sleepy Eye vs. Fairmont: This is a Rematch of the playoffs last year two programs who are looking for success early will be interesting to see what happens.

LDC vs Redwood Valley: Well Redwood complained all last year they could beat the big teams in Section 3A. Well they will get their chance early this year.

Section 3A Game of the Week
Marshall vs Hutchinson: This has huge seeding implications and will tell us alot about both teams. I will be there on Saturday and I can't wait to see what happens.

LETS PLAY HOCKEY!!

[goalieguy_14]

In the "Big games" i'll take

Windom over Redwood
Sleepy Eye over Fairmont
LDC over Redwood

and for the game of the week i'll take marshall, i think they're a better team now, but by the end of the year hutch will be a top 3 team with NU and LDC. I want to hear what everyone else thinks about these games and any other ones that might be going on this coming week.

[d hockey]

Section 3A HockeyScout, Redwood played the same goalie that played the first part of the game friday. It was definately a good game between Redwood and Waconia. They played one 8 minute OT period, and then had a shootout. Waconia actually won the shootout.

[Bettman's Bender]

Section 3A HockeyScout, Redwood played the same goalie that played the first part of the game friday. It was definately a good game between Redwood and Waconia. They played one 8 minute OT period, and then had a shootout. Waconia actually won the shootout.

How good is Waconia this year. I dont think they had a whole lot of kids graduate, but i look at there roster for this year and they have alot of sophomores. We will see how Redwood fares back here in the SW this year. 10-1 against Sibley isnt so good, however when your goalie is off things can get ugly. Maybe it was just one of those nights for Revier. Was that his first varsity start?

[bosshard]

luverne has a solid first line. they switched the line up a little and put fitzer-swier- solma. solma being a sophmore. they have a freshman tender also coming up that doesn't have size but much skill and is quick

[Bettman's Bender]

luverne has a solid first line. they switched the line up a little and put fitzer-swier- solma. solma being a sophmore. they have a freshman tender also coming up that doesn't have size but much skill and is quick

Yeah that frosh tender fir luverne is just as good if not better than their older goalies. I realize that that really doesn't say much... AT ALL... But if luverne was smart they would start the frosh goalie for any game they want to win.. He will be good someday, provided he's not a primadonna... Or some other attitude defect that seems to plague that entire city.

From watching the scrimmage I would say luverne has two good players. They rely heavily on getting breakaway goals. Seems like their breakout just sends a "flyer" for a hail Mary.. ... Which is a decent strategy for a team generally low on talent... As I watched them scrimmage new ulm... Luverne MIGHT have registerred 5-7 shots. maybe... but i believe they did score 3 or 4 of them. (at least 2 breakaways) New Ulm was the better team no question as they can actually string together 3 consecutive passes, im not sure if luverne is capable of that. Luverne will be the best of the worst this year in section 3A... 5 seed.

[Bettman's Bender]

FINAL SCORE FROM WORTHINGTON.


MARSHALL 16 --------- WORTHINGTON 0


Luverne players in attendance to the game reportedly crapped their pants.

[d hockey]

Section 3A HockeyScout, Redwood played the same goalie that played the first part of the game friday. It was definately a good game between Redwood and Waconia. They played one 8 minute OT period, and then had a shootout. Waconia actually won the shootout.

How good is Waconia this year. I dont think they had a whole lot of kids graduate, but i look at there roster for this year and they have alot of sophomores. We will see how Redwood fares back here in the SW this year. 10-1 against Sibley isnt so good, however when your goalie is off things can get ugly. Maybe it was just one of those nights for Revier. Was that his first varsity start?

yes, it was revier's first varsity start. Rebstock had always started the last two years.

[nickel slots]

FINAL SCORE FROM WORTHINGTON.


MARSHALL 16 --------- WORTHINGTON 0


Luverne players in attendance to the game reportedly crapped their pants.

Almost as ridiculous as Holy Family running the score up to 18-0 on Mankato East. Is this really necessary???? Terribly poor sportsmanship on the part of Marshall (& HF). I hope somebody gives them a taste of their own medicine somewhere along the way this year.

[new2coachin]

FINAL SCORE FROM WORTHINGTON.


MARSHALL 16 --------- WORTHINGTON 0


Luverne players in attendance to the game reportedly crapped their pants.

I doubt that, although Marshall did set the bar high now.

What are the Tigers going to do for an encore when they play Worthington again? If Marshall scores less than 16 or Worthington scores 1 or more in their next meeting, will it make a statement that Marshall is slipping?

The only positive I seen from this game was that Worthington did not end up getting chippy, which they often did in the past, kudos to the Trojans for that. #19 from Marshall did get rocked by #24 from Worthington with a nice open ice check though. Worthington's new coach has a loooong list of things his team needs to improve on.

[gr8hkymind]

I was at the Section Scrimmage on Sat. in NU and saw a lot of teams that need a lot of work! But it's early, right? I think the section comes down to 3 teams this year...Luverne, Marshall, and New Ulm. I was very impressed with Marshall! They have speed..but not much size! Goaltending will be a huge ? mark there. Luverne has good talent, size...speed?...Coaching?...dicipline???? Watch the Luverne squad...they might surprise! New Ulm has some outstanding players. Teamwork is what they lack! Goalie is the best in the section this year with the goaltenders that graduated last year. The top line at the scrimmage for NU doesn't seem to like to pass the puck to one another. If NU is to win the section this year...it may boil down to teamwork! That's the only flaw I see in this squad. The Eagles will miss that BIG guy from last year that stood in front of the net on the power play! No body could move him last year!
My Section 3A predictions: (1) New Ulm, (2) Marshall, (3) Luverne, (4)Hutch, (5) Litch, (6) Redwood Falls, (7) Fairmont, (8) Windom, (9) S.E., (10) Worthington.
Best of Luck to all teams!

[timcorbin21]

did you see the goofy ref that couldnt skate?

[Bettman's Bender]

On another note... Marshall took the foot off the petal in the third... If i was a Worthington play i wouldnt even want Marshall to do that. I would want to play and i would want my opponent to try and BURY ME.... Im not going to let up and i wouldnt want my opponent to either.
I dont know about the rest of you but i would rather be buried 30-0 then have a team take it easy on me and beat me 10-0. Thats just me.

[MajorBender]

Some section 3a scores from Dec. 2

Marshall 10 (2-0)
Windom 2 (0-1)

LDC 7 (1-0)
Redwood 1 (0-2-1)

New Ulm 7 (1-0)
New Prague 5

[new2coachin]

Some section 3a scores from Dec. 2

Marshall 10 (2-0)
Windom 2 (0-1)

LDC 7 (1-0)
Redwood 1 (0-2-1)

New Ulm 7 (1-0)
New Prague 5

Only game in the area so I wandered over. Felt this was more like a 5-2 or 4-2 game. Windom goalie had a rough game. Marshall skates & moves the puck well, but Windom played a physical game which slowed down the Tigers. Quite a bit of the game was back & forth but you could tell that only having two lines was taking a toll on the Eagles. Can't wait for next Tuesday's game in Luverne. If the Cardinals play a physical game, I predict they will come out on top. Would not surprise me if Marshall & Luverne split games this year. Windom will be interesting to watch as the year progresses as they have alot of Sophs & Jrs.

[wildhockey20]

I think with a win over New Prague, no one can argue that New Ulm is the clear favorite in this section.

[goldy313]

The northern and private school fans will poo-poo it but with what New Ulm brought back and with what I saw from them against Lourdes last year they're a fringe top 15 class A team. They get a real tough draw in the Rochester tournament in Des Moines (which ever of the two it is) as they are #2 and #3 in their league. Mason City won the Rochester tournament last year beating Lourdes and Int Falls en route to the title and the Mohawks weren't the top team in their league.

The Eagles have some tough games with Hutch, Marshall, and Faribault this month. At the very least it will be interesting to see how New Ulm does.