7AA, how would you seed them now?

[TheHockeyDJ]

First off, before I get to 1-4, let's talk about 5-7. This is pretty easy to figure out. Elk River doesn't play Forest Lake. However, Elk River beat East 5-3. Forest Lake lost to East 7-2 (ouch!). Also, Elk River swept Andover. Forest Lake also handily beat Andover in their lone game. Therefore Elk River, Forest Lake, and Andover in that order. Now let's look at 1-4. Grand Rapids beat and tied Cloquet, lost to Anoka and East. Anoka lost to East. Cloquet beat East in their lone meeting but has been the most inconsistent of the 4. So.....

1. Duluth East
2. Anoka
3. Grand Rapids
4. Cloquet
5. Elk River
6. Forest Lake
7. Andover
8/9. St. Francis/Cambridge-Isanti

Seeds 2,3, and 4 will have difficult home playoffs games in the quarterfinals. Although, the semi-finals should look like this:

DECC Noon
Duluth East vs. Cloquet/Elk River winner
2:00
Anoka vs. Grand Rapids

The Cloquet/Elk River game should be outstanding!!!!

[grindiangrad-80]

That's how I see it too.

[elliott70]

Me. too.

[elliott70]

something stuck

[elliott70]

something stuck, II.

[PASTRAPIDSFAN]

me too

[PuckRanger]

Too many in agreement! Time to spark up some discussion.

I would seed it this way:

1. Anoka - Yes, they lost to East, but that is the only 7AA loss they have and they have a better overall record. The games early in the year count, too. East was struggling early.

2. East - The losses to Elk River and Cloquet put them here.

3. Forest Lake - Wins over Grand Rapids, Cambridge, and Andover. Losses to East and CEC. 12-8 overall record and southern vote influcence will move them up.

4. Grand Rapids - Losses to Anoka, East, and Forest Lake. Win over Elk River. Tie and Win over CEC keeps them ahead of CEC.

5. Cloquet - Here because of tie and loss to Grand Rapids. Wins over East and Forest Lake. Tied Andover. Some poor results against some common opponents. Can you say inconsistent?

6. Elk River - 2 Wins over Andover and one good period against East to pull out a win really doesn't add up to much. 2 Losses to Anoka and a loss to Grand Rapids. Poor overall record.

7. Andover - Competetive, but just couldn't get the big "W" against the top half.

8. Cambridge-Isanti - Didn't play a ton of section opponents, but did beat St. Francis.

9. St. Francis - 4 Wins, none in the section. Played a game where they didn't get a single shot on goal. Automatic #9.

[PASTRAPIDSFAN]

Puckranger you have a good discussion point here I see what you mean with the southern teams.

[TheHockeyDJ]

Too many in agreement! Time to spark up some discussion.

I would seed it this way:

1. Anoka - Yes, they lost to East, but that is the only 7AA loss they have and they have a better overall record. The games early in the year count, too. East was struggling early.

2. East - The losses to Elk River and Cloquet put them here.

3. Forest Lake - Wins over Grand Rapids, Cambridge, and Andover. Losses to East and CEC. 12-8 overall record and southern vote influcence will move them up.

4. Grand Rapids - Losses to Anoka, East, and Forest Lake. Win over Elk River. Tie and Win over CEC keeps them ahead of CEC.

5. Cloquet - Here because of tie and loss to Grand Rapids. Wins over East and Forest Lake. Tied Andover. Some poor results against some common opponents. Can you say inconsistent?

6. Elk River - 2 Wins over Andover and one good period against East to pull out a win really doesn't add up to much. 2 Losses to Anoka and a loss to Grand Rapids. Poor overall record.

7. Andover - Competetive, but just couldn't get the big "W" against the top half.

8. Cambridge-Isanti - Didn't play a ton of section opponents, but did beat St. Francis.

9. St. Francis - 4 Wins, none in the section. Played a game where they didn't get a single shot on goal. Automatic #9.

How would you change your seedings if Cloquet beats East at the DECC?

[PASTRAPIDSFAN]

If cloquet wins that should push 4 and 5 to 3 and 4 and 3 to 5 spot any other opinions

[Metallica81]

The way I see Section 7AA seeded as of 1-27-08:

1. Duluth East
2. Anoka
3. Grand Rapids
4. Cloquet
5. Forest Lake
6. Elk River
7. Andover
8. Cambridge-Isanti
9. St. Francis

Seeds 7, 8 and 9 are locked in for all intents and purposes. Andover's going to be a tough out regardless. They've taken Anoka, Cloquet and Elk River to overtime. I could see Elk River and Forest Lake potentially switching the 5th and 6th positions. With no head-to-head matchup I give the edge to Forest Lake, who plays in an equally challenging conference, because of a better overall record. (Forest Lake 12-8 ) (Elk River 6-12) They both have a sub .500 record within the section (Forest Lake 3-2), (Elk River 3-3), and one quality within section 7AA. Forest Lake's being a 4-3 OT win over Grand Rapids and Elk River's a 5-3 win over Duluth East.

Seeds 1 through 4 are still yet to be determined in my estimation. I really think it all comes down to the game on Wednesday, February 6th at the DECC between Cloquet and Duluth East. If Duluth East wins or ties I see the seeds staying the same, but if Cloquet happens to win then all bets are off and there's truly a predicament. Because if Cloquet, with all of their inconsistency, beats the existing #1 seed Duluth East twice how do you not seed them at least #2?

I think in that case you would have the top 4 seeds being:
1. Anoka
2. Cloquet
3. Duluth East
4. Grand Rapids

The month of February should be very interesting to say the least. A lot of people view Section 7AA as being down this year. To the contrary I think the section is deeper from top to bottom than it is in most years. It's usually pretty top heavy, but this year you can't take any team for granted. Many of the quarterfinal matchups will be intriguing this year. Seven out of eight teams will have to defeat three formidable opponents to make it to state. That's unheard of. Usually the top seeds are shoe-ins for the semifinals. Not this year.

One thing's for sure – whoever represents section 7AA at state this year will have ran the gauntlet – and definitely earned it.


On a side note:
- 9 days till Cloquet/Duluth East round II
- 27 days till Semifinal Saturday at the DECC
- 32 days till the Section 7AA Championship
- And 38 days till the start of the State Hockey Tournament

I'm looking forward to all of it

[PuckRanger]

How would you change your seedings if Cloquet beats East at the DECC?

If CEC wins this game, it cements Anoka into #1 and creates more arguments for each team in 2-5, but honestly, I don't think I would change anything. Its still the same team they already have a win against. CEC needed a win against someone else to muddy things up.

The big mess would come if Andover beats Anoka. The first meeting not long ago was 1-0 Anoka in OT. Its not out of the realm of possibilities. An East win and an Andover win would put East at the top. A CEC win and Andover win would create a mess with every team having a valid claim that they deserve to be ahead of a team in front of them because of a head-to-head win. That would make it virtually impossible to predict and it will make for a very long seeding meeting!

[TheHockeyDJ]

How would you change your seedings if Cloquet beats East at the DECC?

If CEC wins this game, it cements Anoka into #1 and creates more arguments for each team in 2-5, but honestly, I don't think I would change anything. Its still the same team they already have a win against. CEC needed a win against someone else to muddy things up.

The big mess would come if Andover beats Anoka. The first meeting not long ago was 1-0 Anoka in OT. Its not out of the realm of possibilities. An East win and an Andover win would put East at the top. A CEC win and Andover win would create a mess with every team having a valid claim that they deserve to be ahead of a team in front of them because of a head-to-head win. That would make it virtually impossible to predict and it will make for a very long seeding meeting!

I think I remember last year the meeting was something ridiculous like 2 hours long. Typically I think it is only 1 hour. Anyone know what the official date is this year. The last few years I think it has been the last Wednesday night of the regular season like around the 12th?

[boblee]

Here is what I have right now:

1. Duluth East
2. Anoka
3. Grand Rapids
4. Cloquet
5. Forest Lake
6. Elk River
7. Andover
8. Pick whoever
9. Pick whoever

[PASTRAPIDSFAN]

Here is what I have right now:

1. Duluth East
2. Anoka
3. Grand Rapids
4. Cloquet
5. Forest Lake
6. Elk River
7. Anoka MUST BE ANDOVER
8. Pick whoever
9. Pick whoever

[Neutron 14]

Too many in agreement! Time to spark up some discussion.

I would seed it this way:

1. Anoka - Yes, they lost to East, but that is the only 7AA loss they have and they have a better overall record. The games early in the year count, too. East was struggling early.

2. East - The losses to Elk River and Cloquet put them here.

3. Forest Lake - Wins over Grand Rapids, Cambridge, and Andover. Losses to East and CEC. 12-8 overall record and southern vote influcence will move them up.

4. Grand Rapids - Losses to Anoka, East, and Forest Lake. Win over Elk River. Tie and Win over CEC keeps them ahead of CEC.

5. Cloquet - Here because of tie and loss to Grand Rapids. Wins over East and Forest Lake. Tied Andover. Some poor results against some common opponents. Can you say inconsistent?

6. Elk River - 2 Wins over Andover and one good period against East to pull out a win really doesn't add up to much. 2 Losses to Anoka and a loss to Grand Rapids. Poor overall record.

7. Andover - Competetive, but just couldn't get the big "W" against the top half.

8. Cambridge-Isanti - Didn't play a ton of section opponents, but did beat St. Francis.

9. St. Francis - 4 Wins, none in the section. Played a game where they didn't get a single shot on goal. Automatic #9.

Looks good puck! For now...

A ways to go though.

[karl(east)]

Important: the East-Cloquet game is NOT, I repeat, NOT, on Feb. 5th. Due to the caucuses it has been pushed back to the 6th. Same time, same place.

Anyway, I've already posted my rankings somewhere else on here and they agree with the first one listed.

There is no way, IMO, East cannot be #1 if they beat Cloquet. They'll have beaten the other 3 realistic contenders for the section, and it's hard to argue against that. And though section seedings are primarily based on records within the section, East certainly deserves a little credit for playing one of the toughest schedules in the state (this wipes out any advantage Anoka may have for putting together a better record).

Common opponents, East and Anoka:
Hastings (Anoka win, East TBD)
Elk River (Anoka 2 wins, East L)
Blaine (both W, Anoka with another meeting upcoming)
Centennial (Anoka 1-1, East 1-0-1)
Wayzata (Anoka L, East W)
Grand Rapids (both W)

Section records of the top 4:
Cloquet 2-1-2
Rapids 2-3-1
East 3-2
Anoka 4-1

The problem with Anoka's section record it's weak...they don't play Cloquet. East and Rapids play Cloquet twice. Therefore I'd argue Anoka had to take advantage of its limitied opportunities against other section powers, and losing 4-0 to East doesn't fit that bill.

To be honest, I don't think there's much of a debate here, and won't be unless we see an upset by Cloquet or Andover. Cloquet has not been playing well at all lately, but in East-Cloquet I think we've learned that anything is possible.

[boblee]

Rapids is 2-3-1 in the section.

Wins:
Elk River
Cloquet

Losses:
Duluth East
Forest Lake
Anoka

Tie:
Cloquet

[karl(east)]

That seemed wrong...I omitted the Elk River game in the Edina Tournament. It's been fixed.

[PuckRanger]

To be honest, I don't think there's much of a debate here, and won't be unless we see an upset by Cloquet or Andover.

Elk River (Anoka 2 wins, East L)

Section records...:
East 3-2
Anoka 4-1

Right there is the argument, along with Anoka having a better overall record. That one period against Elk River might come back to haunt the Greyhounds.

I also think that without Brainerd and Northern Lakes in the section this year, the votes will tilt toward the south - not out of spite or anything like that, but just based on familiarity with the other southern teams and their common opponents.

[PASTRAPIDSFAN]

What happens if cloquet beats denfed and rapids looses to denfeld

[TheHockeyDJ]

Rapids tied and beat CEC so that shouldn't matter.

[PuckRanger]

Rapids tied and beat CEC so that shouldn't matter.

I agree. There is head to head results, so common opponents won't come into play between these two teams.

[EREmpireStrikesBack]

rr has it dead on.

[TheHockeyDJ]

Rapids tied and beat CEC so that shouldn't matter.

Then again it could be a repeat of 2002. Rapids beat and tied Greenway and had to play in Hodgins-Berrardo in the quarters. GR started the seeding meeting as a 3, someone ran their mouth and the dumb southern coaches at the time just agreed and said okay let's drop Rapids for no good reason at all down to 5.

Perhaps though since Bruce is a back to back champ what he says will hold the most weight in that room.