mnhockeyperson wrote:Thanks for the link Snowmass. Here are my thoughts. The number next to the team is the ranking from MYHOCKEYRANKINGS.
NORTH
Rochester RED (not Black) - NR
MPLS Storm - 30
Lkville Sth - 20
EP - 8
Rochester Red beat EP the other day 4-3 so that game would prove to be the only test for EP. Home tourney in home rink I give the nod to EP to win North.
EP 4PTS
ROCH. 1PT
MPLS 1 PT
LKSTH 2PT
PREDICTION: EP WINS POOL WITH LKSTH BEATING MPLS TO ADVANCE TO CONSOLATION
SOUTH
Eagan - 40
ChanChaska - 32
Wayzata - 5
Roseau - NR
Wayzata gets a raw deal in that they will not have any real tests in their pool. Roseau is a wildcard since they have only played one game which was a one goal win over Grafton. Wayzata wins pool easily.
WAYZATA WINS POOL. PREDICTION: ROSEAU BEATS EAGAN TO ADVANCE TO CONSOLATION.
WEST
Edina - 6
STMA - 10
Stillwater - 28
LkvilleNrth - 25
Pool winner should come down to first game for the pool on Friday which is the STMA/Edina game. I will go with Edina since they are defending state champs but it should be a close game.
EDINA 4PTS
STMA 2PTS
STILLW 0 PTS
LKNTH 2 PTS
EDINA WINS POOL. PREDICTION STMA AND LKNTH TIE AND LKNTH ADV TO CONSOLATION ON GOAL DIFF.
EAST
Minnetonka - 9
Osseo/MG - 14
Elk River - NR but is a top 10 team
WBLake - 22
Should be most competitive pool in tournament. Tonka is very solid. Omg can be a threat. ER has played some top team and all have been close games. WBL will have to find some extra energy to compete in this pool. Flip a coin between Tonka/Omg/ER - probably Tonka, likely ER and strong chance Omg. I will go with T.O.E. or this pool.
ER 2PTS
OMG 2PTS
WBL 2PTS
MTKA 2PTS
AFTER TWO ROUNDS OMG IS IN LEAD WITH A +2 GOAL DIFF, TNKA 0, ER -1, WBL -1. PREDICTION, ANYONES GUESS.
Semifinals
The number one seed will be Wayzata due to weaker pool and big goal differential.
Number two seed will be Edina with big differential wins over Stillwater and LakevilleNth.
Number three seed will be EP.
Number four seed will be T.O.E. - tight games so pool winner will not have much for positive goal differential
Wayzata battles T.O.E into OT with Wayzata winning
EP plays Edina tough but cannot find the net in the 3rd and lose a close game.
Nice job by EP for a well run tournament. Thoughts on the tournament? I thought wayzata Edina and EP all looked good this weekend. Elk river had a nice showing to. Congratulations to wayzata for winning the whole thing. Any disappointments? I'll vote for Minnetonka because I know they are better than what happened this weekend. Same with STMa getting beat by an average chaska team. Looked like there were some let downs this weekend.
Pretty easy to say who is on top:
Wayzata 17 (South)
Edina 17 (West)
Every game between these two will be close.
The middle group is tough but here are some thoughts:
Middle A - not in any order.
Elk River 0 (East)
Tonka 4 (East)
STMA -3 (West)
OMG 1 (East)
EP 6 (North)
LkNth -2 (West)
Every game between these should be close with the ability to beat an Edina and Wayzata from time-to-time but not beat them consistently.
Middle B - not in any order
WBL -5 (East)
LKSth 1 (North)
Chaska 3: (South) record coming into tournament was not good.
Rochester -2 (North)
Will not beat top teams but do have the ability to beat the Middle A.
The lower level is as follows but plenty of time for things to change:
Stilwtr -12 (West)
Eagan -14 (South)
Roseau -6 (South)
MplsStrm -5 (North)
I don't think there were many surprises or disappointments when you look at the tournament across all of the games. The STMA loss to Chaska is surprising. Tonka being a disappointment? I don't think so - they were in a competitive pool and needed OMG to tie ER but didn't get the help as OMG lost to ER 3-2. Tonka losing to STMA I am sure was disappointing to Tonka.
Best Pools in Tournament: EAST and WEST. 6 out of 8 top teams were in these two pools.
Softest Pools in Tournament: NORTH and SOUTH. 6 out of 8 lower teams were in these two pools.