2024 AA tourney

[SEC Scotty]

Glad I stayed home.

[Gov78]

Bottom line...We should all be proud of what we have...Of course we want more...Of course things aren't always fair. Of course old farts like me want the "good ole days back." But for one week in March, every year, our cute little bubble we take for granted is on the eyes of millions of hockey fans all over the world.

Exactly. A modern back-door bid would go to the runners-up from 2 & 6 playing off. It was cool when a northern team was allowed a mulligan.

Regions 4 & 5 runners-up played for Region 1 representative as there were no hockey teams in region 1.

[SpreadOut!]

The north used to dominate the sport now the south does. So what.

As far as who said I did? You did. You even PM’d me.

Enjoy the game. I’m going to.

Wrong guy. I’ve never private messaged anyone on this site. Don’t even know how to do it.

[Nostalgic Nerd]

Giles pulls another rabbit out of the hat. Seemed like they were getting blitzed after the 2nd. Lots of luck too.

[Gov78]

Giles pulls another rabbit out of the hat. Seemed like they were getting blitzed after the 2nd. Lots of luck too.

A couple Chan mistakes including retaliation penalty was the break Edina needed.

[Gotothenetman]

It was a terrible call by the ref to make that call. They pass on the 5 minute major and then call that. To bad a great game was changed by a ref.

[ryguyMN]

Bertram keeping the game 1-0 through 2 was the difference.

Fitting end for Lou’s last game.

[JerseyDave]

A couple Chan mistakes including retaliation penalty was the break Edina needed.

Yep, that was disappointing. What a snipe by Cowan though, they gave him too much space to set it up.

[JerseyDave]

It was a terrible call by the ref to make that call. They pass on the 5 minute major and then call that. To bad a great game was changed by a ref.

Agreed. That hit into the boards was worse than the five-minute majors called in earlier games. In those games, the announcers said refs were calling it tight to protect the players, but in this game, a player actually got hurt and it was a normal two-minute penalty. The retaliation penalty was disappointing because Edina was rewarded for its "chippy" play on the edge of penalties. Both calls had a material effect on the game's outcome, IMO.

[Brodziak Fan Club]

Last I checked you're allowed to kill a penalty even if you disagree with it

(it was the correct call btw). Halverson can be an agitator... which he used as an asset tonight. Part of hockey. Don't retaliate. Go Hornets. Haters gonna hate.

[Brodziak Fan Club]

In all seriousness, Chanhassen was GREAT tonight. Like Lou said, they did everything but win the game.

I was very impressed with the way they carried themselves after the game as well. That coaching staff and those kids are special.

[Nostalgic Nerd]

A couple Chan mistakes including retaliation penalty was the break Edina needed.

Yep, that was disappointing. What a snipe by Cowan though, they gave him too much space to set it up.

He does have a great shot, and he snaps it off quick. His breakaway goal vs GR was another one.

[Nostalgic Nerd]

Giles pulls another rabbit out of the hat. Seemed like they were gettinag blitzed after the 2nd. Lots of luck too.

A couple Chan mistakes including retaliation penalty was the break Edina needed.

Reminiscent of the 2019 final. Getting beat pretty badly, but won the 3rd period.

[ryguyMN]

It was either going to be a predictable and boring AA tourney or chaos with upsets galore, and unfortunately it was the former. At least the championship was memorable and to watch Lou sign off for the final time is something I’ll remember forever.

I have to give the nod to the Class A tourney this year for most interesting of the two. Not big on Class A, but they had me hooked.

[ryguyMN]

MN sports in general is pretty cursed, and probably a decent comparison. But at least we've won playoff games/series in every major sport. The Bears have literally never gotten off the schneid. It would be the equivalent of the Vikings making the postseason all the times that they have, but not winning a single one of those games. Championships are one thing. Not winning a singletime despite making it 20+ times is another.

Responding to a Chris Long tweet, I called WBL Boys Hockey the most cursed sports team in Minnesota, at any level.

[East Side Pioneer Guy]

Before the Christmas presents were wrapped, we knew it would be sections 2 and 6 in the title game. And a few weeks ago, it became apparent that the #3-unseeded game and the #4 - #5 would be competitive, the semis would not be competitive, and the final would be very close.

Switch the coaches, and you may switch the results in the final. It's very difficult to win this tournament for first time entrants. After winning the 1991 tournament, Hill coach Jeff Whisler said that in the '88 championship game vs. Willard Ikola, he felt like he was in diapers. Add to that the Edina kids had been there last year, and Chanhassen has to play near flawlessly to win. Experience, for both coaches and players, can be just a huge advantage in these situations.

Gilles was pretty emotional after they won. Has he always been like that after they win? I guess I'm usually in the building and not watching on the telly. He seems like he usually has such a poker face.

[slacsap]

I was watching the game with some friends and some of them were of the opinion that there should have been matching penalties on the play which led to ther power play where Edina scored the winning goal. The way I saw it, it appeared the refs were going to call nothing and then the Chanhassen took the stupid retaliation penalty. Any thoughts?

[slacsap]

BTW, I thought the officiating in the tournament was very good overall.

[Gotothenetman]

BTW, I thought the officiating in the tournament was very good overall.

I do not disagree and did not have a horse in the barn but strongly feel the way the game was called that call made no sense and had a huge impact on game.

[dherman8]

I was watching the game with some friends and some of them were of the opinion that there should have been matching penalties on the play which led to ther power play where Edina scored the winning goal. The way I saw it, it appeared the refs were going to call nothing and then the Chanhassen took the stupid retaliation penalty. Any thoughts?

Throughout the tournament the refs seemed to do well. The retaliation looked just too obvious. The only real big one I can remember is the cross checking on Edina last night. It seemed like it would have been extremely obvious no matter where you were on the ice with whatever vantage point anyone could have had, that was boarding. I guess I can't see how the thought of a cross check even came to mind there. It was a check from behind that was a few feet from the boards. The definition of the penalty right in the name.

Hats off to Edina for cashing in on their chances, though. They were few and far between, but they made them count

[BlueLineSpecial]

I thought the refs were pretty good all tourney, including the championship game. I'm trying to recall all the penalites.....

There was an obvious trip against Chanhassen in the third. And there was the retaliation penalty. The Edina player instigated it, but the relatiation looked worse. He went high with the shove into the face, which I didn't think the Edina player did initially. So it is what it is there.

As far as the boarding/cross checking call, I actually thought they got it right at initial glance. I could be wrong, but it seemed like the Chanhassen player was perpendicular to the boards, so went into the more with the shoulder first than the head/neck first. Again, I'm not a rules expert. But I didn't see it initially as a 5

What can you say about Edina. They are the kings (and queens) of high school hockey. Girls and boys both win the title. Boys have more titles by a mile than everyone else. They seem to always play their best in big games. Great program. Ridiculous actually. And in my opinion they seem to do it the right way. Yes they are a wealthy suburb, but they seem to do everything right, every year. Even Sweet Lou is an Edina guy. Arguably the best, most iconic uniforms. Braemar, solid rink. For me, they are the envy of the HS hockey world. Hats off.

[East Side Pioneer Guy]

I think what some people are saying is the rich are getting richer. We can agree or disagree but those that can and will recruit are going to have a huge advantage over the rest of the teams who can't or won't.

But we all have to admit Minnesota HS hockey is in a transition from what used to be a zip code community based sport to a model now more resembling AAA hockey. Me? I find myself nowadays cheering more and more for Edina. Sure they have a coach that literarily looks like he is miserable 24/7 but for every 1 move in they get, they probably lose 10. That community just gets it when it comes to the sport of hockey.

The state tournament is alive and well anyone walking around St Paul this week will tell you that. The out of touch grey hairs have no reason to change a thing at this point. They just have to learn to delete more and more angry emails ripping them for turning their backs to some things that we all know can be tweaked.

Bottom line...We should all be proud of what we have...Of course we want more...Of course things aren't always fair. Of course old farts like me want the "good ole days back." But for one week in March, every year, our cute little bubble we take for granted is on the eyes of millions of hockey fans all over the world.

Excellent post. I’m supposed to hate Edina, but they seem to have it figured out. You don’t hear many kids transferring into Edina, even at the youth level. Giles must make it very clear that he’s not buying and if so, you gotta love that. I also get the feeling that once Giles is gone, the ceiling will come falling down as it’d like he’s the only one that can deal with the nut job parents, politics, etc. because he simply doesn’t deal with them. Just gives the stare and people get the hint.

Given the hometown talent, it's not hard for Giles to not take transfers. France doesn't import much champagne.

[East Side Pioneer Guy]

7AA has one one bad game in the semifinals in decades and 8AA has one bad game in quarterfinals in years and now we need to fix the sections , where was this uproar in 2006,2007,2008 when a top 4 Moorhead team lost to Roseau.
Or how about Elk River in 2006, 2015, 2017, Duluth East 2017 Cloquet 2007 Grand Rapids 1989 that was way worse then tonka not making it this year! give me a break. You could go on and on with fantastic teams that didn’t make it

I'm not advocating any sort of massive rejiggering of section formats. But to be fair, the issue is not highly favored teams getting upset in section play, ehich can always happen. The concern is significant unbalance in talent levels between sections. No one is complaining about Wayzata or Tonka being upset, but we can argue that Wayzata and Tonka deserved to be in the tournament. Two things can be true at once.

[East Side Pioneer Guy]

The more I think about it, this tournament resembled Womens Olympic hockey. The only drama in that is if it's the US or Canada winning the gold medal game, provided there isn't an upset before that game.

[east hockey]

I think what some people are saying is the rich are getting richer. We can agree or disagree but those that can and will recruit are going to have a huge advantage over the rest of the teams who can't or won't.

But we all have to admit Minnesota HS hockey is in a transition from what used to be a zip code community based sport to a model now more resembling AAA hockey. Me? I find myself nowadays cheering more and more for Edina. Sure they have a coach that literarily looks like he is miserable 24/7 but for every 1 move in they get, they probably lose 10. That community just gets it when it comes to the sport of hockey.

The state tournament is alive and well anyone walking around St Paul this week will tell you that. The out of touch grey hairs have no reason to change a thing at this point. They just have to learn to delete more and more angry emails ripping them for turning their backs to some things that we all know can be tweaked.

Bottom line...We should all be proud of what we have...Of course we want more...Of course things aren't always fair. Of course old farts like me want the "good ole days back." But for one week in March, every year, our cute little bubble we take for granted is on the eyes of millions of hockey fans all over the world.

Excellent post. I’m supposed to hate Edina, but they seem to have it figured out. You don’t hear many kids transferring into Edina, even at the youth level. Giles must make it very clear that he’s not buying and if so, you gotta love that. I also get the feeling that once Giles is gone, the ceiling will come falling down as it’d like he’s the only one that can deal with the nut job parents, politics, etc. because he simply doesn’t deal with them. Just gives the stare and people get the hint.

Given the hometown talent, it's not hard for Giles to not take transfers. France doesn't import much champagne.

Analogy of the week right there. Well done.

Lee