Section 7AA 2013-2014?

[Houndhockey]

[quote="Newguy_10"]Can't believe I'm saying this but Rapids possible #1 seed? Only team with one section loss even though it was a ugly one. Also have a couple losses that a #1 seeded team shouldn't have. Is it possible with how much of a mess this section is right now?[/quote

GR #1? You must be kidding! The seeding isn't solely based off of section records. GR may only have one section loss, but they have too many losses in general and a few bad losses. Not only that, but compared to Elk River and East, they play a cupcake schedule. At this point they should still be considered a #3 or #4 depending on where you rank Andover.

[TheInsider]

Can't believe I'm saying this but Rapids possible #1 seed? Only team with one section loss even though it was a ugly one. Also have a couple losses that a #1 seeded team shouldn't have. Is it possible with how much of a mess this section is right now?

No no no. No way.

[alcloseshaver]

This is good stuff, If sections were played now which team would you take based on how they are playing now. Me
1- Andover
2- ER
3- East
4- CEC
5- Rapids
6- Flake

[Newguy_10]

I agree with both of you that it's not gonna happen just throwing it out there for thought. Houndhockey your statement of too many losses in general is irrelevant considering they only have 2 more losses then DE and ER. Let's all be honest it's pretty tough to beat the hounds in the playoffs with a coach like there's

[Houndhockey]

I agree with both of you that it's not gonna happen just throwing it out there for thought. Houndhockey your statement of too many losses in general is irrelevant considering they only have 2 more losses then DE and ER. Let's all be honest it's pretty tough to beat the hounds in the playoffs with a coach like there's

How would saying too many losses in general be irrelevant? Wins and Losses are what's relevant to the conversation. In most sports, they are the only thing that are relevant, not division wins (like in baseball or football). I realize with sections, they take section records into account as well, but when teams are close like they are in 7AA, you're going to naturally look at the whole body of work, and Rapids has two more losses than Elk River and East. It might not look like much, but they play a lot weaker schedule on top of that, so it kind of is a issue. Maybe not a "big deal", but enough to give them a lower seed.

[curtiscurve]

With last nights loss to CEC, I believe East could drop to #2. If Elk River can knock off Blaine, I think it is a sure thing that they end up the top seed. The only way I see East reclaiming the #1 spot is if the take out Lakeville North on Thursday and Elk River drops the Blaine game. Unfortunately for CEC, I do not think their win last night will catapult them up in seeds, as they have too many bad losses and not enough quality wins to off set them. That being said, I would not be surprised to see CEC pull an upset in the Quarters. Would that be a fabulous Semi-Final meeting if the faced East?
1- Elk River
2- Duluth East
3- Andover
4- Grand Rapids
5- Forest Lake
6- Cloquet-Esko-Carlton
7- St. Michael Albertville
8- St. Francis
9- Cambridge

[HockeyStorm]

This is the closest 7AA race in recent history, playoffs should be great. I agree with Curtis Curve's rankings.

[Houndhockey]

With last nights loss to CEC, I believe East could drop to #2. If Elk River can knock off Blaine, I think it is a sure thing that they end up the top seed. The only way I see East reclaiming the #1 spot is if the take out Lakeville North on Thursday and Elk River drops the Blaine game. Unfortunately for CEC, I do not think their win last night will catapult them up in seeds, as they have too many bad losses and not enough quality wins to off set them. That being said, I would not be surprised to see CEC pull an upset in the Quarters. Would that be a fabulous Semi-Final meeting if the faced East?
1- Elk River
2- Duluth East
3- Andover
4- Grand Rapids
5- Forest Lake
6- Cloquet-Esko-Carlton
7- St. Michael Albertville
8- St. Francis
9- Cambridge

Seems very accurate to me at this point. Grand Rapids I think has the possibility to move up if they score a big win over Hermantown tomorrow night. They will lobby that they only have 1 section loss. Though if they lose to Hermantown (though they are a great team), with that many other losses, and too many to single A schools, they don't really have a leg to stand on. This year has been so much more exciting from purely a hockey fans perspective due to the parity in the section. Obviously as a Hound fan I want them to do well and get the #1 seed, but we have been spoiled of late with great teams and easy #1 seeds. This year has been so much more fun to watch and follow because they truly have to work their butts off every night, or else they lose (like last night).

[bemused]

I agree with both of you that it's not gonna happen just throwing it out there for thought. Houndhockey your statement of too many losses in general is irrelevant considering they only have 2 more losses then DE and ER. Let's all be honest it's pretty tough to beat the hounds in the playoffs with a coach like there's

Coaching is important but they don't play the games..he couldn't"coach" them to a victory last night...

[alcloseshaver]

This is good stuff, If sections were played now which team would you take based on how they are playing now. Me
1- Andover
2- ER
3- East
4- CEC
5- Rapids
6- Flake

Tuesday afternoon final Andover 3 Maple Grove 1. Tomberlin 2g.

[TheInsider]

This is good stuff, If sections were played now which team would you take based on how they are playing now. Me
1- Andover
2- ER
3- East
4- CEC
5- Rapids
6- Flake

Tuesday afternoon final Andover 3 Maple Grove 1. Tomberlin 2g.

Rolling..

[Frequent_MN_Flyer]

Rapids dominates Hermantown with a 5-3 final. Should have been 5-2, Hermantown scored a garbage goal late. Rapids, if they finish off Falls and Denfeld, should be in top 2 discussion. Might need Elks and East to lose 2 games which is very possible looking at schedules.

[sanryam]

Rapids, if they finish off Falls and Denfeld, should be in top 2 discussion. Might need Elks and East to lose 2 games which is very possible looking at schedules.

Not with losses to teams like Marshall, Moorhead, and Virginia...

Hermantown is a top Class A team, yes, but they haven't beaten one above average AA team all year.

I see this as more of Rapids fighting to save the #3 seed from a hot Andover team.

[northwoods oldtimer]

Rapids, if they finish off Falls and Denfeld, should be in top 2 discussion. Might need Elks and East to lose 2 games which is very possible looking at schedules.

Not with losses to teams like Marshall, Moorhead, and Virginia...

Hermantown is a top Class A team, yes, but they haven't beaten one above average AA team all year.

I see this as more of Rapids fighting to save the #3 seed from a hot Andover team.

. Yup 3 seed if rapids wins out. Not bad at all for the young team.

[Slammer]

Rapids dominates Hermantown with a 5-3 final. Should have been 5-2, Hermantown scored a garbage goal late. Rapids, if they finish off Falls and Denfeld, should be in top 2 discussion. Might need Elks and East to lose 2 games which is very possible looking at schedules.

Nope, no way. Even if ER or DE lost most of their last games it wouldn't happen.

[Frequent_MN_Flyer]

Rapids dominates Hermantown with a 5-3 final. Should have been 5-2, Hermantown scored a garbage goal late. Rapids, if they finish off Falls and Denfeld, should be in top 2 discussion. Might need Elks and East to lose 2 games which is very possible looking at schedules.

Nope, no way. Even if ER or DE lost most of their last games it wouldn't happen.

I said "in the discussion", NOT they SHOULD BE 2 or 1. For Christ's sake.
East and Elk River haven't been that impressive at times either. East just lost to Cloquet and got steam-rolled by Blaine and Hill Murray AND had embarrasing wins vs Apple Valley and Lakeville South. I am expecting East and Elky to be top 2, but you never know. Everyone just has farts and giggles over a 5-0 score. East is not 5 goals better than Rapids. Just a bad night for the T'Hawks.

[Immigrant Fan]

The way Rapids played tonight, I will take my chances with any seed. If it has ice and nets, the team that showed up after the first 5 minutes will be in the game.

I think this game should put to rest discussion of GR going on the road for the quarterfinal game.

[Slammer]

Rapids dominates Hermantown with a 5-3 final. Should have been 5-2, Hermantown scored a garbage goal late. Rapids, if they finish off Falls and Denfeld, should be in top 2 discussion. Might need Elks and East to lose 2 games which is very possible looking at schedules.

Nope, no way. Even if ER or DE lost most of their last games it wouldn't happen.

I said "in the discussion", NOT they SHOULD BE 2 or 1. For Christ's sake.
East and Elk River haven't been that impressive at times either. East just lost to Cloquet and got steam-rolled by Blaine and Hill Murray AND had embarrasing wins vs Apple Valley and Lakeville South. I am expecting East and Elky to be top 2, but you never know. Everyone just has farts and giggles over a 5-0 score. East is not 5 goals better than Rapids. Just a bad night for the T'Hawks.

So you think GR would win against Hill Murray and Blaine?

[MTStringer]

Nope, no way. Even if ER or DE lost most of their last games it wouldn't happen.

I said "in the discussion", NOT they SHOULD BE 2 or 1. For Christ's sake.
East and Elk River haven't been that impressive at times either. East just lost to Cloquet and got steam-rolled by Blaine and Hill Murray AND had embarrasing wins vs Apple Valley and Lakeville South. I am expecting East and Elky to be top 2, but you never know. Everyone just has farts and giggles over a 5-0 score. East is not 5 goals better than Rapids. Just a bad night for the T'Hawks.

So you think GR would win against Hill Murray and Blaine?

You never know when 18yr olds take the ice. On any given night. I've seen it too many times over all the years I've watched hockey.

[north_bear]

Rapids certainly has more of a case for a top 2 with the win tonight. Do I think they should be top 2? No. Have stranger things happened? Yes. Rapids should land a 3-4 seed for sure, provided they don't have a debacle against Denfeld.

Lots of good teams in 7AA this year, there are going to be some disappointed teams after the 1/4's.

[Frequent_MN_Flyer]

Nope, no way. Even if ER or DE lost most of their last games it wouldn't happen.

I said "in the discussion", NOT they SHOULD BE 2 or 1. For Christ's sake.
East and Elk River haven't been that impressive at times either. East just lost to Cloquet and got steam-rolled by Blaine and Hill Murray AND had embarrasing wins vs Apple Valley and Lakeville South. I am expecting East and Elky to be top 2, but you never know. Everyone just has farts and giggles over a 5-0 score. East is not 5 goals better than Rapids. Just a bad night for the T'Hawks.

So you think GR would win against Hill Murray and Blaine?

Would? Who knows. The way the played tonight... Good chance! And they were without Mischke, Adams, and Mark.

I really don't care what seed they get. They are peaking at the right time.
Can't say that about East and Elky.

[curtiscurve]

Top 4 continues to be very confusing. Lots of talk about GR moving up in the seedings and I have to agree. However, I believe tonight ER and East could lock up the top 2 seeds with wins over Blaine and LV North. Those are really the only 2 games remaining for either team I see being possible losses. The way the section is going, I see both East and ER losing tonight and then it becomes a real mess (Like it's not already). I know just a couple of days ago, I had Rapids slotted as the 4 seed, but I am going to go out on a limb and give them the 1 seed if ER and East lose tonight. This is how I predict it will look on seeding day.
1- Grand Rapids - They will win their last 2 games and finish with a 18-7 record with a 5-1 record against section 7AA. (Key Wins: Elk River, Hermantown, Warroad, CEC x2, FL) (Key Losses: Virginia, Duluth Marshall, East blow out)
2- Elk River - They will lose to Blaine but win out after that finishing 18-6 (They will be 1 game short as they are not making up the BSM game) with a 3-2 record against 7AA (Key Wins: East, FL, Andover, Edina, Blaine) (Key Losses: Grand Rapids and Andover blow out)
3- Duluth East - They will lose to North but win their remaining games finishing with a 18-6-1 record and a 6-2 record against 7AA (including a bad OT win vs Cambridge). (Key Wins: CEC, GR, Andover, FL, EP) (Key Losses: CEC, ER, Centennial)
4- Andover - They will win their next 2 but then fall to Blaine and finish with a 17-8 record and a 2-3 record against 7AA. (Key Wins: Elk River, CEC Blow out, Maple Grove x2) (Key Losses: ER, East, FL, and a bad loss to Armstrong)
5- Forest Lake - More than likely will go 3-1 in the last 4 losing to WBL and finishing with a 14-7-4 record (4-3 in 7AA). Did beat Andover but not enough quality wins to elevate them above the 5 seed
6- Cloquet-Esko-Carlton - If they beat STMA like I think they will, they should end with a 11-12-2 record (assuming they make up the Hibbing game) 4-5 record against 7AA. Big win against East, but that will not be enough to make up for the 5 section losses.
7- St. Michael-Albertville - At best, I see them ending the year 12-12-1 with a 4-3 record in 7AA with the only wins being against Cambridge and St. Francis.
8- St. Francis - They should win 3 of the last 4 bringing them to a 8-17 record with 2 7AA wins against Cambridge
9- Cambridge-Isanti - They will most likely lose out to finish 3-22 and zero 7AA wins.

I realize many will disagree with Grand Rapids at #1, but if it plays out the way I laid it out, I think they will have a strong case.

[offtheglas]

Top 4 continues to be very confusing. Lots of talk about GR moving up in the seedings and I have to agree. However, I believe tonight ER and East could lock up the top 2 seeds with wins over Blaine and LV North. Those are really the only 2 games remaining for either team I see being possible losses. The way the section is going, I see both East and ER losing tonight and then it becomes a real mess (Like it's not already). I know just a couple of days ago, I had Rapids slotted as the 4 seed, but I am going to go out on a limb and give them the 1 seed if ER and East lose tonight. This is how I predict it will look on seeding day.
1- Grand Rapids - They will win their last 2 games and finish with a 18-7 record with a 5-1 record against section 7AA. (Key Wins: Elk River, Hermantown, Warroad, CEC x2, FL) (Key Losses: Virginia, Duluth Marshall, East blow out)
2- Elk River - They will lose to Blaine but win out after that finishing 18-6 (They will be 1 game short as they are not making up the BSM game) with a 3-2 record against 7AA (Key Wins: East, FL, Andover, Edina, Blaine) (Key Losses: Grand Rapids and Andover blow out)
3- Duluth East - They will lose to North but win their remaining games finishing with a 18-6-1 record and a 6-2 record against 7AA (including a bad OT win vs Cambridge). (Key Wins: CEC, GR, Andover, FL, EP) (Key Losses: CEC, ER, Centennial)
4- Andover - They will win their next 2 but then fall to Blaine and finish with a 17-8 record and a 2-3 record against 7AA. (Key Wins: Elk River, CEC Blow out, Maple Grove x2) (Key Losses: ER, East, FL, and a bad loss to Armstrong)
5- Forest Lake - More than likely will go 3-1 in the last 4 losing to WBL and finishing with a 14-7-4 record (4-3 in 7AA). Did beat Andover but not enough quality wins to elevate them above the 5 seed
6- Cloquet-Esko-Carlton - If they beat STMA like I think they will, they should end with a 11-12-2 record (assuming they make up the Hibbing game) 4-5 record against 7AA. Big win against East, but that will not be enough to make up for the 5 section losses.
7- St. Michael-Albertville - At best, I see them ending the year 12-12-1 with a 4-3 record in 7AA with the only wins being against Cambridge and St. Francis.
8- St. Francis - They should win 3 of the last 4 bringing them to a 8-17 record with 2 7AA wins against Cambridge
9- Cambridge-Isanti - They will most likely lose out to finish 3-22 and zero 7AA wins.

I realize many will disagree with Grand Rapids at #1, but if it plays out the way I laid it out, I think they will have a strong case.

That is the first time I have heard the the CI game come up vs DE. DE is a good team but not great just like the other top 4 or 6 teams in the section. I would only change up one team on the seedings prediction and have East as #1. Then I predict a GR/Andover final. I would not want to play Andover or Cloquet in the quarters or semi finals.

[Usthockey13]

Rapids will not get the 1 seed with the loses to Marshall,Vrigina and dont forget their loses to Moorhead and WBL. Those come in to play as well. Plus people can say all they want Hermantown isnt that great of a team record looks good. Even with that win I could see them being 4 with Andover jumping them. If East loses to North tonight that will not affect the seeding as much as you think. They are not a common opponent with anyone in the section. Depeding on how Andover finishes I could see it

1 ER
2 East
3 Andover
4 GR
5 FLake
6 Cloquet
7 STMA
8/9 Cambridge/STF

Top 4 continues to be very confusing. Lots of talk about GR moving up in the seedings and I have to agree. However, I believe tonight ER and East could lock up the top 2 seeds with wins over Blaine and LV North. Those are really the only 2 games remaining for either team I see being possible losses. The way the section is going, I see both East and ER losing tonight and then it becomes a real mess (Like it's not already). I know just a couple of days ago, I had Rapids slotted as the 4 seed, but I am going to go out on a limb and give them the 1 seed if ER and East lose tonight. This is how I predict it will look on seeding day.
1- Grand Rapids - They will win their last 2 games and finish with a 18-7 record with a 5-1 record against section 7AA. (Key Wins: Elk River, Hermantown, Warroad, CEC x2, FL) (Key Losses: Virginia, Duluth Marshall, East blow out)
2- Elk River - They will lose to Blaine but win out after that finishing 18-6 (They will be 1 game short as they are not making up the BSM game) with a 3-2 record against 7AA (Key Wins: East, FL, Andover, Edina, Blaine) (Key Losses: Grand Rapids and Andover blow out)
3- Duluth East - They will lose to North but win their remaining games finishing with a 18-6-1 record and a 6-2 record against 7AA (including a bad OT win vs Cambridge). (Key Wins: CEC, GR, Andover, FL, EP) (Key Losses: CEC, ER, Centennial)
4- Andover - They will win their next 2 but then fall to Blaine and finish with a 17-8 record and a 2-3 record against 7AA. (Key Wins: Elk River, CEC Blow out, Maple Grove x2) (Key Losses: ER, East, FL, and a bad loss to Armstrong)
5- Forest Lake - More than likely will go 3-1 in the last 4 losing to WBL and finishing with a 14-7-4 record (4-3 in 7AA). Did beat Andover but not enough quality wins to elevate them above the 5 seed
6- Cloquet-Esko-Carlton - If they beat STMA like I think they will, they should end with a 11-12-2 record (assuming they make up the Hibbing game) 4-5 record against 7AA. Big win against East, but that will not be enough to make up for the 5 section losses.
7- St. Michael-Albertville - At best, I see them ending the year 12-12-1 with a 4-3 record in 7AA with the only wins being against Cambridge and St. Francis.
8- St. Francis - They should win 3 of the last 4 bringing them to a 8-17 record with 2 7AA wins against Cambridge
9- Cambridge-Isanti - They will most likely lose out to finish 3-22 and zero 7AA wins.

I realize many will disagree with Grand Rapids at #1, but if it plays out the way I laid it out, I think they will have a strong case.

[alcloseshaver]

Nice synopsis, I would want to avoid Andover in the semi's. Elk River had their chance against Rapids back in December and that still haunts them. Rapids with only one quality win in my opinion, is that enough? We might be looking at a all NW Sub. Final if ER can hold onto the 1 seed.