#1 Warroad vs #5 East Grand Forks
Posted: Mon Feb 06, 2023 9:15 am
#1 Warroad (21-0-0) vs #5 East Grand Forks (12-8-0)
A rare Monday night Class A showdown between the two best teams in Section 8A gets underway tonight. A back to back home and home to determine the #1 seed in Section 8A and the last remaining challenger from Class A the Warriors face on their quest to go unbeaten in the regular season. If there was a team that might be the thorn in Warroad’s side it would be their long time youth hockey nemesis East Grand Forks. These two groups of kids have gone through the youth ranks and played in plenty of big games against each other. There will be no love loss and no fear as both sides know exactly how the other wants to play in what should be an all out battle over the next two nights in Northwest Minnesota.
Top Line Power- Both teams get the majority of their offense to generate from their top lines. By now everyone is well aware of the Warrods 1st line of of #17 Shaugabay- #18 Pilgrim-#22 Marvin-Cordes which is Class A’s best Top line; the trio plays mega minutes and has accounted for an eye popping 78 goals this winter which accounts for a big chunk of Warroads offense. They have speed and skill and are a delight to watch and no one they have faced this year has been able to slow them down. East Grand Forks will counter with good top line of their own in Junior standouts #22 Borck Schultz and #7 Landon Jamieson and emerging sophomore stand out #10 Jace Van Eps. They have really played well during the Greenwaves recent surge carrying a heavy load of the offense. However, the health of their top player Brock Schultz is something to keep an eye on as according to the stat sheet he missed the last game and without him the Greenwave will stand much of a chance.
Big Minute Blueliners- Both teams have a pair of stand out defenseman that play lots of minutes in all situations. Warroad’s top two defenseman #25 Ryan Lund and #2 Erick Comstock they are polar opposite players but both outstanding defenseman. Lund is a big sized physical in your face and jumps up into the rush defender with a heavy shot, while Comstock is tiny in stature but one of the best skaters I have seen with incredible gap control and his outlets and playmaking ability is outstanding. East Grand Forks has two very good defenders of their own in lefties #18 Grady Magner and #2 Cole Bies who the Greenwave separate to try and keep at least one of them on the ice at all times. Magner is an aggressive defender who likes to jump in the rush and has a laser from the point to make him very noticeable as he runs the powerplay. Bies is a youngster who is lanky and growing into his 6’2 frame, a good defender with some offensive flair of his own.
Battle in the Pipes- This is where on paper the Warriors have a big advantage as they have an Elite Goaltender in Division 1 commit #1 Hampton Slukynsky who is as good as they come in the nets. The Greenwave will counter with Junior #1 Chase Mero who has won the starting job but again a big advantage for the Warriors in the nets.
Special Teams Mismatch- Warroad has the significant special teams advantage that could play a role as the East Grand Forks PK unit has struggled at times this year rolling along at around 80 % where the Warrior PP Unit is humming at nearly 34 %. A bigger mismatch though is the 95 % PK unit of Warroad whose 19 shorthanded goals is almost double that of the 10 goals the struggling EGF Power Play has produced at only around 15% on the winter.
On paper this one looks like it should belong to the Warriors but as the locals of both teams know all bets are off when these two long time rivals meet up to do battle. It should be two very tightly contested and good hockey games over the next 48 hours and preview of the Section Final we will see in a few weeks.
A rare Monday night Class A showdown between the two best teams in Section 8A gets underway tonight. A back to back home and home to determine the #1 seed in Section 8A and the last remaining challenger from Class A the Warriors face on their quest to go unbeaten in the regular season. If there was a team that might be the thorn in Warroad’s side it would be their long time youth hockey nemesis East Grand Forks. These two groups of kids have gone through the youth ranks and played in plenty of big games against each other. There will be no love loss and no fear as both sides know exactly how the other wants to play in what should be an all out battle over the next two nights in Northwest Minnesota.
Top Line Power- Both teams get the majority of their offense to generate from their top lines. By now everyone is well aware of the Warrods 1st line of of #17 Shaugabay- #18 Pilgrim-#22 Marvin-Cordes which is Class A’s best Top line; the trio plays mega minutes and has accounted for an eye popping 78 goals this winter which accounts for a big chunk of Warroads offense. They have speed and skill and are a delight to watch and no one they have faced this year has been able to slow them down. East Grand Forks will counter with good top line of their own in Junior standouts #22 Borck Schultz and #7 Landon Jamieson and emerging sophomore stand out #10 Jace Van Eps. They have really played well during the Greenwaves recent surge carrying a heavy load of the offense. However, the health of their top player Brock Schultz is something to keep an eye on as according to the stat sheet he missed the last game and without him the Greenwave will stand much of a chance.
Big Minute Blueliners- Both teams have a pair of stand out defenseman that play lots of minutes in all situations. Warroad’s top two defenseman #25 Ryan Lund and #2 Erick Comstock they are polar opposite players but both outstanding defenseman. Lund is a big sized physical in your face and jumps up into the rush defender with a heavy shot, while Comstock is tiny in stature but one of the best skaters I have seen with incredible gap control and his outlets and playmaking ability is outstanding. East Grand Forks has two very good defenders of their own in lefties #18 Grady Magner and #2 Cole Bies who the Greenwave separate to try and keep at least one of them on the ice at all times. Magner is an aggressive defender who likes to jump in the rush and has a laser from the point to make him very noticeable as he runs the powerplay. Bies is a youngster who is lanky and growing into his 6’2 frame, a good defender with some offensive flair of his own.
Battle in the Pipes- This is where on paper the Warriors have a big advantage as they have an Elite Goaltender in Division 1 commit #1 Hampton Slukynsky who is as good as they come in the nets. The Greenwave will counter with Junior #1 Chase Mero who has won the starting job but again a big advantage for the Warriors in the nets.
Special Teams Mismatch- Warroad has the significant special teams advantage that could play a role as the East Grand Forks PK unit has struggled at times this year rolling along at around 80 % where the Warrior PP Unit is humming at nearly 34 %. A bigger mismatch though is the 95 % PK unit of Warroad whose 19 shorthanded goals is almost double that of the 10 goals the struggling EGF Power Play has produced at only around 15% on the winter.
On paper this one looks like it should belong to the Warriors but as the locals of both teams know all bets are off when these two long time rivals meet up to do battle. It should be two very tightly contested and good hockey games over the next 48 hours and preview of the Section Final we will see in a few weeks.
