kniven wrote: ↑Wed Feb 12, 2020 11:02 pm
You people are all morons. I was just at the girls single A championship game vs. P/H. It was the most amazing experience of my life in sports. Nobody cared it was single A. Not the kids, coaches, or fans.
Double AA this and double AA that. It’s a bunch of squat. I don’t care what you AA worshipers think. Oh my gosh golly.
I’m happy for the Cloquet Girls, awesome for them!!! That said, kniven, you don’t know what the HELL you are talking about, because you haven’t personally experienced watching your AA Boys hockey team achieve winning a AA Section title and advancing to Xcel & then watching them play in front of 18,000 fans. I HAVE...and it exceeds advancing to 10 single a state tournaments for a team that has no business competing in single a..namely Hermantown & this comes from somebody who also experienced his older son lose in two AA section finals, both 1 goal games & also advance to a MAHA State Bantam tournament (back when there was only one “A” level classification)
Last edited by hockey59 on Thu Feb 13, 2020 10:15 am, edited 3 times in total.
Yes congratulations to cloquet girls , but you can’t compare girls hockey to boys , Grand Rapids-greenway have 7 graders on the team this year it’s a different animal. I think everyone that knows hockey can agree Hermantown boys are way better program then Hermantown girls. The boys state hockey tournament AA vs A 18,000 for AA barely 9-10000 for A nothing against those small schools but for me growing up we were taught if you wanna be the best you have to play the best, beat the best etc. this everyone needs a trophy thing needs to stop what happened to they might be better then us now so what can we do to get better as a program develop better but in today’s age omg they are to good let’s move down and I get it for small programs like “Park Rapids “ , “lake of the woods” but A is getting over crowded for them to even compete so it wrecks the hole purpose of class A . Just my opinion
[quote=Edinahopkins post_id=743470 time=1581608943 user_id=22583]
Yes congratulations to cloquet girls , but you can’t compare girls hockey to boys , Grand Rapids-greenway have 7 graders on the team this year it’s a different animal. I think everyone that knows hockey can agree Hermantown boys are way better program then Hermantown girls. The boys state hockey tournament AA vs A 18,000 for AA barely 9-10000 for A nothing against those small schools but for me growing up we were taught if you wanna be the best you have to play the best, beat the best etc. this everyone needs a trophy thing needs to stop what happened to they might be better then us now so what can we do to get better as a program develop better but in today’s age omg they are to good let’s move down and I get it for small programs like “Park Rapids “ , “lake of the woods” but A is getting over crowded for them to even compete so it wrecks the hole purpose of class A . Just my opinion
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goldy313 wrote: ↑Thu Feb 13, 2020 8:24 am
Hill Murray has only been in the high school league since 1974, they have never has a losing season I can recall. Two years ago they ended up 13-13-2, even that took two losses at the state tournament to bring the Pioneers down to .500, I think I remember some discussion about that team possibly being the first to ever have a losing season.
2000-2001 season they finished 12-14-1
Good catch, the next year they were state runner up. Hard to see a team going from a losing record to 2nd place in one year.
kniven wrote: ↑Wed Feb 12, 2020 11:02 pm
You people are all morons. I was just at the girls single A championship game vs. P/H. It was the most amazing experience of my life in sports. Nobody cared it was single A. Not the kids, coaches, or fans.
Double AA this and double AA that. It’s a bunch of squat. I don’t care what you AA worshipers think. Oh my gosh golly.
Congrats to the C-E-C girls on winning their 7A section final and advancing to State! They were the No. 1 seed and had a relative easy path until meeting, and beating, the No. 2 seed, Proctor/Hermantown, in the section final. There is no question that on the girls side, Class A is where C-E-C belongs, if for no other reason they would have little, if any, chance against powerhouses Forest Lake and (especially) Andover in Section 7AA.
In boys - from what I understand - I believe pretty much the same situation applies, if the decision rests, at least in part, on having a realistic opportunity to win the section and have a chance to represent the section at the State Tournament. I don't follow the boys as closely as most here, but from my vantage point I'm not seeing a solid case why they should continue to "opt up". Just too many teams in the section that, year after year, are going to be just plain better than the purple, mainly driven by numbers and economics. Maybe someday that will change, but for the time being it looks to me that C-E-C is the "perfect epitome" of what a competitive Class A team should be.
Cloquet has no realistic chance of winning 7A for at least the next six years. After that six years, even if you catch Hermantown with a relatively down group, they will just bring in enough talent to make sure it never happens. We saw it with the current Juniors and Seniors. That was always Hermantown's weakest group in Youth Hockey and gave area teams some hope for this year in High School. So they just went to work and added enough top players to get them right back to a top 5 AA team, (according to PageStat).
Cloquet would be better off competing at a higher level with all of their traditional rivals. Their program is well respected and has produced a lot of great players over the years and has a great tradition. Why give all of that up for an outside shot at 2nd place in 7A?
This.
What is the biggest plus to playing in class A vs AA?
On the surface it means being able to compete with schools who have similar enrollments thus having a better chance at success. This whole train of thought is flawed. Only difference is that when a team goes to class A, they can no longer use the bigger school rhetoric as an excuse and have to resort to complaining about the current private school who is winning.
All of this said, if Cloquet were to go class A, good deal then class A would have an even tougher field and be a more legitimate league.
Wise Old Man wrote: ↑Thu Feb 13, 2020 2:30 am
Can someone with better knowledge clarify something for me? I see Duluth East finished with a regular season record of 10-12-2. Is that the first sub-.500 regular season record ever in the program's history or, the first in a very long time?
First one since 1952-53.
Lee
I've been waiting all year for Lee or Karl to chime in "This will mark the blank year in a row that East will finish with a winning record"
Tough news for Grand Rapids, hearing Joey is done for the season. The bright side for Grand Rapids is the lines 1-3 don’t really drop off , they are almost 3 lines equal at the forward depth no super star power talent but they are decent hard working players that can make you pay if you don’t go hard.
Edinahopkins wrote: ↑Thu Feb 13, 2020 1:46 pm
Tough news for Grand Rapids, hearing Joey is done for the season. The bright side for Grand Rapids is the lines 1-3 don’t really drop off , they are almost 3 lines equal at the forward depth no super star power talent but they are decent hard working players that can make you pay if you don’t go hard.
That is a shame. I hate to see players work hard all year and then miss out on playoffs.
Wise Old Man wrote: ↑Thu Feb 13, 2020 2:30 am
Can someone with better knowledge clarify something for me? I see Duluth East finished with a regular season record of 10-12-2. Is that the first sub-.500 regular season record ever in the program's history or, the first in a very long time?
First one since 1952-53.
Lee
I've been waiting all year for Lee or Karl to chime in "This will mark the blank year in a row that East will finish with a winning record"
At last the streak is over!
So instead of having the longest current streak, they'll have the longest historical streak.
Besides, if they go to state, they'll be one game over .500 There's always that 1/2 of a percent chance.
Lee
Message Board arsonist since 2005
Egomaniac since 2006
I've been waiting all year for Lee or Karl to chime in "This will mark the blank year in a row that East will finish with a winning record"
At last the streak is over!
So instead of having the longest current streak, they'll have the longest historical streak.
Besides, if they go to state, they'll be one game over .500 There's always that 1/2 of a percent chance.
Lee
That’s crazy, the streak extended nearly 60 years and back to almost the inception of the program.
As a kid growing up in the 1980s, I naively assumed that Denfeld was the preeminent Duluth program since I had never seen anyone else at state.
You grew up during a period where East, while good, was never quite good enough to get over that hump. If Cloquet or Denfeld wasn't beating them, it was a North Suburban school (Irondale, Anoka, Roseville, Mounds View, Columbia Heights). It was brutal (unless you weren't an East fan!). 15 straight years with no trips to state? Hard to believe given what they've done since 1990.
And true, Denfeld was very good from 1986-89.
Lee
Message Board arsonist since 2005
Egomaniac since 2006
Rapids firing on all cylinders heading into playoffs. Biggest collapse tonight was the opening 20 seconds. Great game. Both teams had flurries of control and chances. Rapids looked better to close it out.
If it comes to it, I think Andover will have a hefty challenge in front of them. This team has made huge strides since the beginning of the season, fun to watch them shut down the other team. Great job Chiodo.
Have to like what Rapids is putting together toward the end of the season here. I certainly no longer think this is the one team race we might have thought it was a month or two ago. The defense of the Amsoil curse may be in your hands, Thunderhawks...
Elsewhere, Forest Lake has now lost five of six heading into sections. Wouldn't be stunned to see them lose to Elk River, which has shown some signs of improvement lately, in the quarters.
karl(east) wrote: ↑Thu Feb 13, 2020 9:34 pm
Have to like what Rapids is putting together toward the end of the season here. I certainly no longer think this is the one team race we might have thought it was a month or two ago. The defense of the Amsoil curse may be in your hands, Thunderhawks...
Elsewhere, Forest Lake has now lost five of six heading into sections. Wouldn't be stunned to see them lose to Elk River, which has shown some signs of improvement lately, in the quarters.
GR is clearly on a ROLL. Big win tonight. Shocked Biondi was held off the score sheet the final 2 games of HT regular season. The 7AA Final sure appears to be shaping up as Andover vs GR Could be a real doozy (GR having the section playoff experienced goalie) but Andover holding the advantage in all other aspects. Never having ever broken threw to Xcel, Andover simply needs to handle the pressure of being in the big spot, which is easier said than DONE!
karl(east) wrote: ↑Thu Feb 13, 2020 9:34 pm
Have to like what Rapids is putting together toward the end of the season here. I certainly no longer think this is the one team race we might have thought it was a month or two ago. The defense of the Amsoil curse may be in your hands, Thunderhawks...
Elsewhere, Forest Lake has now lost five of six heading into sections. Wouldn't be stunned to see them lose to Elk River, which has shown some signs of improvement lately, in the quarters.
With East and Forest Lake very close in the last QRF, the Rangers' bad loss to Stillwater may be enough to drop them to the fourth seed. Or am I missing how the QRF does its rankings?
karl(east) wrote: ↑Thu Feb 13, 2020 9:34 pm
Have to like what Rapids is putting together toward the end of the season here. I certainly no longer think this is the one team race we might have thought it was a month or two ago. The defense of the Amsoil curse may be in your hands, Thunderhawks...
Elsewhere, Forest Lake has now lost five of six heading into sections. Wouldn't be stunned to see them lose to Elk River, which has shown some signs of improvement lately, in the quarters.
With East and Forest Lake very close in the last QRF, the Rangers' bad loss to Stillwater may be enough to drop them to the fourth seed. Or am I missing how the QRF does its rankings?
When teams are within a "tiebreaker margin," which varies but tends to be around 6 points in QRF, QRF applies two tiebreakers: first, head-to-head (East lost to FL) and then overall record (East's is worse than both FL and CEC). Unless FL sinks a lot more than I expect for that Stillwater loss (margin of defeat doesn't matter in QRF) or there were enough dominoes to tip CEC out of the tiebreaker margin in tonight's results, East will be the 5-seed.
karl(east) wrote: ↑Thu Feb 13, 2020 9:34 pm
Have to like what Rapids is putting together toward the end of the season here. I certainly no longer think this is the one team race we might have thought it was a month or two ago. The defense of the Amsoil curse may be in your hands, Thunderhawks...
Elsewhere, Forest Lake has now lost five of six heading into sections. Wouldn't be stunned to see them lose to Elk River, which has shown some signs of improvement lately, in the quarters.
With East and Forest Lake very close in the last QRF, the Rangers' bad loss to Stillwater may be enough to drop them to the fourth seed. Or am I missing how the QRF does its rankings?
When teams are within a "tiebreaker margin," which varies but tends to be around 6 points in QRF, QRF applies two tiebreakers: first, head-to-head (East lost to FL) and then overall record (East's is worse than both FL and CEC). Unless FL sinks a lot more than I expect for that Stillwater loss (margin of defeat doesn't matter in QRF) or there were enough dominoes to tip CEC out of the tiebreaker margin in tonight's results, East will be the 5-seed.
Thanks. I thought it was straight QRF, but I see East and Cloquet are five points apart. I figured Cloquet was stuck in fifth. I agree that the Elks will beat Forest Lake. The Rangers having been struggling the end of the year while the Elks could be the third best team at this moment despite a very slow start to the season. Nice to see GR playing so well. Andover will need to play up to its capabilities or it could be out in the semis or finals. Shaping up to be a fun section.
karl(east) wrote: ↑Thu Feb 13, 2020 9:34 pm
Have to like what Rapids is putting together toward the end of the season here. I certainly no longer think this is the one team race we might have thought it was a month or two ago. The defense of the Amsoil curse may be in your hands, Thunderhawks...
Elsewhere, Forest Lake has now lost five of six heading into sections. Wouldn't be stunned to see them lose to Elk River, which has shown some signs of improvement lately, in the quarters.
GR is clearly on a ROLL. Big win tonight. Shocked Biondi was held off the score sheet the final 2 games of HT regular season. The 7AA Final sure appears to be shaping up as Andover vs GR Could be a real doozy (GR having the section playoff experienced goalie) but Andover holding the advantage in all other aspects. Never having ever broken threw to Xcel, Andover simply needs to handle the pressure of being in the big spot, which is easier said than DONE!
All the pressure is on Andover NOT to lose in 7AA. 'Junk yard dogs' from Rapids got no pressure or high expectations.
Last edited by northwoods oldtimer on Fri Feb 14, 2020 8:06 am, edited 1 time in total.
I HAVE...and it exceeds advancing to 10 single a state tournaments for a team that has no business competing in single a..namely Hermantown & this comes from somebody who also experienced his older son lose in two AA section finals, both 1 goal games & also advance to a MAHA State Bantam tournament (back when there was only one “A” level classification) 
There's always that 1/2 of a percent chance. 
The 7AA Final sure appears to be shaping up as Andover vs GR