Section 3A (2013-2014)

[Section 3A HockeyScout]

Willmar STRUGGLING without a solid tendy in net. Lost 4-2 to a mediocre Park Rapids team. They outshot Park Rapids 40-20. Now 4-4

Anyone have the scoop on willmar's top goalie? He going to be out awhile or is there a shot he comes back soon?

We can only hope! So once the Willmar/Luverne game comes around, we can get a true judgement at who should have the top seed! Although there is a lot of hockey to play yet. A lot of games I would like to get to this year yet!!

Let's Slow Down on the Top Seed Talk.

First off any of the Top FOUR teams have a good chance being top seed.

New Ulm is currently in the Driver Seat Having Beat Hutch and just flat our refusing to play Luverne. If they can beat Willmar Should go undefeated in Section 3A Play.

Willmar Still has to play all 3 teams Hutch Tomorrow, Luverne on the Road in Early January & New Ulm at Home in Late January. Simple for them they control their own destiny they win all 3 they will be number 1 seed.

Hutchinson Still has an Outside chance at it. If they can Beat Willmar tomorrow and Luverne in Feb. Then have Willmar beat New Ulm they will have a chance at it.

Luverne-Plays Willmar at Home in early Jan and at Hutch in Feb. If they can win those two games it will be the interesting debate if both them and New Ulm are at the top again like last year.

Spoiler Factors
Dont forget about big Rivalry Games.

***If New Ulm teaches you anything it is that those Rivalry games anything can and will happen (See the St Peter Result for them)***

New Ulm Should be ok here but they still have to left with LDC with Wahl can be dangerous but I dont see them having the skill level to really knock off the Eagles.

However Games to Throw a Wrench In Things!!
Marshall @ Luverne- Campion has beat Luverne by himself before (Playoffs Last Year). Also, in the Rivalry Luverne has never swept the Season Series from the Tigers. That game will be an interesting one to pay attention too.

LDC @ Willmar- The Battle for The Cream Cup. This is one of the best West Central MN HS Hockey Rivalries we have in this area. Again another game where you throw the records out and really anything can happen the less talented team has won many times in this great battle.

Hutch @ LDC- Hutch won the first game but this time they have to go into Litch and again these teams have been playing each other in hockey for a LONG LONG time. The Dragons while less talented have a better tender in Wahl and anything could happen.

My point is I hope we stop pointing to Jan 11 as the Game for the Number One Seed. Really if you look at it ALOT CAN HAPPEN YET!

Also, if you get the Number One Seed what does it really matter... ?!?!?

Luverne proved last year that year that just because you get to sit at the top doesn't mean squat once playoffs roll around.

This is such a fun year to watch because you have 4 Teams (NU. Luverne, Hutch & Willmar) that all can easily beat each other on a given night. You also have two Wild Cards LDC & Marshall because of their Tenders and in a ONE GAME & GO HOME SETTING anything can happen.

MANY BIG GAMES STILL TO COME IN SECTION 3A

Tomorrow is A BIG ONE Hutch vs Willmar I will be there



FINALLY ONE LAST RANT ..... NEW ULM & LUVERNE NEED TO PLAY ITS A JOKE THAT THEY DONT !!!!

[MrGoalieBoy]

Very nice post 3A Scout. Will be a very fun second half of the season!! And of course the ending of the first half of the year at the holiday tournaments. Will anyone be able to give updates during the Willmar/Hutch game tomorrow?

[Iranger33]

Very nice post 3A Scout. Will be a very fun second half of the season!! And of course the ending of the first half of the year at the holiday tournaments. Will anyone be able to give updates during the Willmar/Hutch game tomorrow?

I might be able to give a few updates.

[the thrill]

Any updates on the Luverne STMA game??

UPDATE: Luverne 2 to 1, shootout win.

[MrGoalieBoy]

So, technically, Luverne tied them? (Record-Wise) and Willmar beats Hutch 4-1...That score doesn't really surprise me..but does this mean Willmar's backup goalie is better than we thought? Or what? Was anyone at either game?

[Section 3A HockeyScout]

Boys Hockey: Cards drub section rival Hutchinson
By Tom Larson on Dec 26, 2013 at 11:52pm

LITTLE FALLS — Willmar gave up a goal in the game’s opening minutes, then controlled the action from there on Thursday against a Hutchinson team considered a favorite in the Cardinals’ section.

Hunter Mottinger scored two first-period power play goals and goalie Sam Revier made 17 save for his first varsity victory in Willmar’s 4-1 win over Hutchinson in the Little Falls Tournament.

“We needed that,” said Cardinals head coach Dan Tollefson. “We had lost three in a row, close ones against good teams. So to get this one is big.”

In addition to Revier notching his first win, center Sam Anez scored his first varsity goal in the third period to all but ice the game.

The Cardinals, now 5-4, play Little Falls at 7 p.m. today, then wrap up against Mound Westonka at 2 p.m. Saturday.

Hutchinson’s Shane Collings scored unassisted less than three minutes into the game, but Willmar finally broke through when Mottinger scored the first of Willmar’s three power play goals on assists from Tyler Pendill and Trey Tollefson at the 5:54 mark of the first.

Obviously inspired, the Cardinals took advantage of another Hutchinson penalty and struck again two minutes later, with Mottinger beating Tigers goalie Alex Nelson on an assist from Pendill.

Willmar peppered Nelson with 20 shots in the first period.

Ryan Woltjer scored the Cardinals’ third power play goal at 14:13 of the second period on an assist from T. J. Mattison, and Anez took a feed from Nate Ackerman and scored at 10:37 of the third to wrap up the scoring.

Revier made 17 stops, including 7 in the third period.

Hutch, now 4-3, entered the game ranked No. 2 behind Luverne in Minnesota-Scores.net’s Section 3A rankings. The Tigers were ranked No. 19 overall.

Willmar is ranked No. 4 in 3A and No. 33 overall. The Cardinals now play a Little Falls team that entered Thursday with a 1-8 record after winning 62 games in three previous seasons.

Tollefson said the Cardinals still will need to be on top of their game.

“(Little Falls) isn’t as loaded as they have been,” Tollefson said. “But they’re well-coached and it’s their home tournament, so they’ll be ready.”

Willmar 4, Hutchinson 1

Willmar (5-4) 2 1 1 — 4

Hutchinson (4-3) 1 0 0 — 1

FIRST PERIOD – H: Shane Collings 15:23 … W: Hunter Mottinger (Tyler Pendill, Trey Tollefson) 5:54 pp … W: Mottinger (Pendill) 3:53 pp

SECOND PERIOD – W: Ryan Woltjer (T.J. Mattison) 14:13 pp

THIRD PERIOD – W: Sam Anez (Nate Ackerman) 10:37

GOALIE SAVES – Willmar: Nick Revier 6-4-7—17 … Hutchinson: Alex Nelson 18-6-8—32

Big win for Willmar! Huge for Seeding and Willmar looks to be a very dangerous team in 3A

[MrGoalieBoy]

Saw that New Ulm beat Fergus Falls? Is that accurate?

[the thrill]

According to the NU Journal, that is correct. NU 2 to 1.

[Teak]

Marshall beat Winona 3-2 in the quarterfinal of the open division of the Schwan's tournament.

http://marshallindependent.com/page/con ... l?nav=5021

Going to play that powerhouse Bloomington Kennedy in the semi's.

[gopherfan7]

From Little Falls today

Hutch 5

Mound-Westonka 4

[fastncrash]

Luverne 5
Spring Lake Park 2 in game 2 of the Schwans Open Division.
SHIP tomorrow at Noon streamed online.

[MrGoalieBoy]

Looks like 3A is representing very well at the holiday tournaments!

[Can't skate]

3A doing well. Luverne in the championship for the Open division, Marshall playing for 3rd place in the Open. Would if been nice if they would of been playing each other for the championship. Hate to say this but I think Luverne will pull it out against Kennedy today. As for Marshall, just matters what team shows up.

[MrGoalieBoy]

Looks like Luverne is still undefeated after beating Bloomington Kennedy in the championship 3-1.

[Iranger33]

End of 1st

Mound 4
Willmar 0

[Iranger33]

End of 2nd

Mound 6
Willmar 0

Willmar giving up to many odd man rushes.

[MrGoalieBoy]

End of 2nd

Mound 6
Willmar 0

Willmar giving up to many odd man rushes.

This is the same team Hutch beat 5-4?

[Iranger33]

End of 2nd

Mound 6
Willmar 0

Willmar giving up to many odd man rushes.

This is the same team Hutch beat 5-4?

You are correct.

Final
Mound 7
Willmar 1

[jackstraw]

Let's give credit where it is due. Luverne is doing everything they should, plus some. All of you web cruisers check out their youth. They are doing this with good athletes. Their bantam team is doing well, the strength being big, strong defencemen. Think about that, winning with defence. Does that mean anything to any of you?

[RRubberbeeskit]

Saw that New Ulm beat Fergus Falls? Is that accurate?

The Otters are suffering from key injuries. They are missing Sr. D Evenson, Sr. F Lemke and Sr. F Buseth along with 1 Jr.
Not taking anything away from New Ulm as they had solid Goaltending and have a very nice Dman in #7. #s 3,5 and 9 play very well together. They could spell trouble in Sec 3A.
It was nice to have New Ulm up in FF for the HOLIDAY Classic.
Hope all had a safe trip back home.

[ThatHockeyGuy]

End of 2nd

Mound 6
Willmar 0

Willmar giving up to many odd man rushes.

This is the same team Hutch beat 5-4?

Goalie Nick Revier veryyyy inconsistent..

[Section 3A HockeyScout]

Greetings 3A Followers,
Hope Christmas was good for everyone. Here are the Rankings for the week.

Section 3A Power Rankings (12-30-13)
1. Luverne (12-0-1)
2. New Ulm Area (6-4-0)
3. Willmar (6-5-0)
4. Hutchinson (5-3-1)
5. LDC (5-5-0)
6. Marshall (4-7-0)
7. Windom (4-8-0)
8. Worthington (2-7-0)
9. Redwood Valley (2-6-0)
10. Fairmont (1-7-0)
11. Morris-Benson (0-10-0)

Luverne- Has taken care of business. Done everything you could ask so far. Won the Schwan Cup Open Tourney over the weekend Represented 3A Well in the Cities!

New Ulm Area- Have a ton of talent and are starting to come together a little bit. Confusing loss to Park Rapids but they also beat Willmar. If they beat Willmar later this month they could own the #1 seed.

Willmar- Had A HUGE win over Hutch to start the week. Then were throttled at the end by Mound Westonka. This is a very solid team and they get great coaching. If they have 3 big games coming up Vs. Rival LDC, Luverne & New Ulm Area.

Hutchinson- Such a confusing team beat a very good team in Mound then tie a very down Little Falls? Losing to Willmar makes the Feb date with Luverne a MUST WIN for the Tigers.

LDC- Getting better. They have young Sophomores who are starting to learn how to play varsity hockey and have a solid tender in Wahl. They are becoming a very dangerous team. Big on for the Cream Cup on Saturday vs. Willmar.

Marshall- They are starting to play better. Campion on any night can still one. Don’t count the Tigers out yet. I think they have at least one big upset in them.

Windom- Seem to be getting only worse….. Terrible holiday tournament for them giving up a ton and not scoring for some reason?

Worthington- Playing with only 10 men they are impressive. Not a threat but still a fun story of dedication and heart.

Redwood Valley- Won 2 games over the Holidays in Wadena a Young team starting to get better.

Fairmont- Got their first win of the year in OT over Morris Benson

Morris Benson- Wow has this program fallen apart!

Upset Specials!
Marshall Over Luverne- I know I will get grilled by the Luverne Faithful on here. Just a couple reasons. Luverne is feeling good after winning their tournament and maybe looking ahead to a date with Willmar. This is a game that is dangerous for them Marshall has nothing to lose and Campion can and Has beaten these guys by himself. Also, Luverne has NEVER swept the season series vs. Marshall in their Program History.

LDC over Willmar- Battle for the Cream Cup and Willmar maybe looking ahead to a date with Luverne This is a game that is dangerous for them LDC has nothing to lose and Wahl can beat these guys by himself. This game is always very heated and another game like the one above where you have throw out records and who should win on paper because when these two meet all bets are off.

I maybe wrong on both I don’t mean to slight Luverne or Willmar just some very dangerous matchup’s for both if they are not careful.

[MrGoalieBoy]

I agree with mostly everything on your post Scout. I do not agree with the upset pick against Luverne for Marshall, if Willmar was their next game, I would agree with you, they could easily get upset by overlooking Marshall, but I believe they have another game between them and the Willmar game. I do like the upset pick with Litchfield over Willmar though, not because they're overlooking but because of Willmar's inconsistent backup goalie play.

[timcorbin21]

willmar's penalty kill could do better, and they have trouble scoring, their soph goalie has taken some lumps- he's a soph. could be fun to watch litch game. meyer played a couple of lousy games for luverne last year (to be fair, so did other cardinals) dont think campion ever stole one, he always had lots of help. theres reason to think that both teams could play backup goalies .

[MrGoalieBoy]

willmar's penalty kill could do better, and they have trouble scoring, their soph goalie has taken some lumps- he's a soph. could be fun to watch litch game. meyer played a couple of lousy games for luverne last year (to be fair, so did other cardinals) dont think campion ever stole one, he always had lots of help. theres reason to think that both teams could play backup goalies .

It will be very interesting to see how this one goes. I just don't know if Marshall will be able to stop Nelson, Smedsrud, or Norman. But who knows, Meyer let's some weak goals in, anything can happen.