Hill-Murray vs Moorhead

[Gems]

Who wins?...for those who care

[BlueLineSpecial]

Who wins?...for those who care

I care, Gems. I care.

HM should handle Moorhead as we focus up for sections. HM has played Moorhead to end the regular season for something like 10 years now. Always enjoy watching two historically strong teams play each other. Last year's final game HM beat up the Spuds pretty good, then saw them again at State and squeeked by with a 2-1 OT win (with Bitzer in goal for Moorhead and playing great that night)

I'll say HM wins 5-0

[Reg7]

Would this game be on the internet?

[BlueLineSpecial]

Would this game be on the internet?

Not sure, sorry

Hey, might be able to catch it the old fashioned way (Praise FM 95.3). They sometimes broadcast Hill games, although it might only be for section/state games. I'll let you know if I come across anything

[East Side Pioneer Guy]

I will be making the trek northwestward for the first time. I've almost always caught it down here and until last year it's always been a good game. Two good programs that get a nice tune up right before the playoffs. Except last year, when the Spuds seemed disinterested.

As far as "squeeking by" in the semis, sure it was 2-1 in OT, but it was easily the least nerve-wracking Hill OT tournament game I've ever seen. And I've seen them all. I'm pretty sure Moorhead had about two shots on goal in the last 20 minutes of play. And one of those was a clearing attempt.

[CitiesSpudsGuy]

Prediction:

Pioneers - 6
Potatoes - 1

[SPUDNUT]

Prediction:

Pioneers - 6
Potatoes - 1

What ? You starting to make predictions, now ?

OK, I got one for 'ya:
The Pioneers, not accustomed to that long bus ride, come out sleepy & bored. The Taters jump on 'em big time. Not enough time left to make up the huge deficit. Pioneers go home with their tails between their legs.
How's that ?

That's all - gotta go see my therapist, now.

[stpaul]

The Pioneers, not accustomed to that long bus ride, come out sleepy & bored.

The road team is 7-4 in this series. The long bus ride does not seem to be a detriment.

[CitiesSpudsGuy]

What ? You starting to make predictions, now ?

OK, I got one for 'ya:
The Pioneers, not accustomed to that long bus ride, come out sleepy & bored. The Taters jump on 'em big time. Not enough time left to make up the huge deficit. Pioneers go home with their tails between their legs.
How's that ?

That's all - gotta go see my therapist, now.

You can wish in one hand and crap in the other and see which gets filled first! Now we know why you have the word 'nut' in your screen name!

[Reg7]

Would this game be on the internet?

Not sure, sorry

Hey, might be able to catch it the old fashioned way (Praise FM 95.3). They sometimes broadcast Hill games, although it might only be for section/state games. I'll let you know if I come across anything

Thanks Blue...

[Reg7]

Prediction:

Pioneers - 6
Potatoes - 1

What ? You starting to make predictions, now ?

OK, I got one for 'ya:
The Pioneers, not accustomed to that long bus ride, come out sleepy & bored. The Taters jump on 'em big time. Not enough time left to make up the huge deficit. Pioneers go home with their tails between their legs.
How's that ?

That's all - gotta go see my therapist, now.

Hill-Murray drove up Friday...so should be a good game.

[SPUDNUT]

What ? You starting to make predictions, now ?

OK, I got one for 'ya:
The Pioneers, not accustomed to that long bus ride, come out sleepy & bored. The Taters jump on 'em big time. Not enough time left to make up the huge deficit. Pioneers go home with their tails between their legs.
How's that ?

That's all - gotta go see my therapist, now.

You can wish in one hand and crap in the other and see which gets filled first! Now we know why you have the word 'nut' in your screen name!

Wow - that's the same thing my therapist said !

I think secretly, he's a Pioneer fan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . you, too ?

[stpaul]

Hill-Murray 6, Moorhead 4
Shots HM 36-29
4 straight (5 counting the state semi last year) in the series.
HM finishes the regular season 22-2-1.

[Pioneerprideguy]

HM gave up 4 goals?...can't somebody please explain what is going on??

Nice win yesterday against a wonderful program with a classy coach. I hope the tradition of playing Moorhead continues next year & good luck to the Spuds in sections.

Fantastic regular season for the Pioneers. I don't think anyone could have seen this record & ranking prior to the start of the year. For that you have earned a top seed in sections.

Now the next phase begins and the previous accomplishments mean little. Enjoy supporting the girls at State this week & hopefully the tables are turned down the road.

[East Side Pioneer Guy]

Giving up 3 goals to So St Paul, 4(!) to No St Paul and 4 to Moorhead is a bit of a concern.

Similarly, going up 6-2 on Moorhead last night would have slammed the door and if it had happened in the second period the goalie might not have seen the 3rd. But the Spuds did play very well and didn't let up.

[mnhockfan99]

I wouldn't worry too much about HM. They have a team that is very capable of winning it all and their section has few potholes to worry about compared to the more difficult sections they could be playing in...

[wingman]

Lack of conistency on this subject for ALL players is very evident. If plus minus stat were monitored it would be very revealing on this subject. Some kids are held accountable others are not!!! Those teams shouldn't get 2 goals a game!!!

On another note don't have to guess what HM's weakness is this year! Do I smell an upset or will they come out correcting this obvious flaw? Should be exciting for a team like Tartan and WB as they have the capability to score in bunches with solid goal tending at times. Could make for a very interesting sectional games.

[BlueLineSpecial]

Lack of conistency on this subject for ALL players is very evident. If plus minus stat were monitored it would be very revealing on this subject. Some kids are held accountable others are not!!! Those teams shouldn't get 2 goals a game!!!

On another note don't have to guess what HM's weakness is this year! Do I smell an upset or will they come out correcting this obvious flaw? Should be exciting for a team like Tartan and WB as they have the capability to score in bunches with solid goal tending at times. Could make for a very interesting sectional games.

Honestly, as a Hill fan I am no more or less worried this year than other years (I'm always worried). From the games i've watched this year, I think the 'issue' is that there are members of this squad that would much rather win a game 8-5 than 3-0. They turn it on defensively against very good teams, but seem to get sloppy when they play middle of the road teams. I am confident they will lock it down in sections.

[BlueLineSpecial]

I am concerned about the number of goals they've given up this year to mediocre teams, but if you look at the top teams they've played this year, they are remarkably strong at D:

In 12 total games against top tier competition (Burnsville twice, St. Thomas Academy three times, Tartan twice, Eagan, Benilde, White Bear, Minnetonka, and Wayzata) they have given up just 19 total goals. Thats just over 1.5 goals a game.

The oddity is that they have given up their most goals against these teams: South St. Paul (3), Mahtomedi (4), North St. Paul (4) and Moorhead (4)

Clearly they are capable of playing shut-down D when needed. They'll need to do this in every game moving forward

[Wallyworld]

From someone who was there. Hill looked fine and was up 5-2 before letting up a bit.. Bus ride (the day before unlike Moorhead coming down the morning of last year's afternoon game - thus the 6-1 Hill win) thrown in, no concern from me about a 6-4 win against section 8's #1 seed.. What I like better is the consistency throughout the year and going 22-2-1 with at least a dozen games against top 10+ teams..

When I look at that schedule (including Schwann's) with B'ville (twice), Eagan, BSM, STA (3 times), Edina, Minnetonka, Wayzata. It's impressive that they went 8-2 against those teams..

I heard they were seeding 5 teams this year.. Which means (favorites prevailing) Hill would draw (Sect. 1) Lakeville N - Hill beat them 7-0 (Sect 8) Moorhead, or else Blaine/Eagan.. I don't like the way Hill matches up against Blaine should they face them and their toughest win of the year (after STA in the Cup) was early on against Eagan (3-2ot) [People have been enamored lately with Eagan's 3 loss record but their schedule was relatively weak.] So I hope the selection gods follow odds and match Hill with section 1 or 8.

[Shinbone_News]

I am concerned about the number of goals they've given up this year to mediocre teams, but if you look at the top teams they've played this year, they are remarkably strong at D:

In 12 total games against top tier competition (Burnsville twice, St. Thomas Academy three times, Tartan twice, Eagan, Benilde, White Bear, Minnetonka, and Wayzata) they have given up just 19 total goals. Thats just over 1.5 goals a game.

The oddity is that they have given up their most goals against these teams: South St. Paul (3), Mahtomedi (4), North St. Paul (4) and Moorhead (4)

Clearly they are capable of playing shut-down D when needed. They'll need to do this in every game moving forward

Good point. I'd say the exact same thing is true of #2 BSM -- they've been capable of astonishingly bad defensive performances against second-tier teams, and then they pull out the iron curtain against a Shattuck.

I'm not saying I'd like to see a HM-BSM repeat in the ship this year (time to see a public school there again, maybe), but they're comparable in this way.

I also think Dugas' shot at the Brimsek is maybe now in question, with Zevnick staying maybe a little more consistent down the stretch??? Just a thought.

[BlueLineSpecial]

I am concerned about the number of goals they've given up this year to mediocre teams, but if you look at the top teams they've played this year, they are remarkably strong at D:

In 12 total games against top tier competition (Burnsville twice, St. Thomas Academy three times, Tartan twice, Eagan, Benilde, White Bear, Minnetonka, and Wayzata) they have given up just 19 total goals. Thats just over 1.5 goals a game.

The oddity is that they have given up their most goals against these teams: South St. Paul (3), Mahtomedi (4), North St. Paul (4) and Moorhead (4)

Clearly they are capable of playing shut-down D when needed. They'll need to do this in every game moving forward

Good point. I'd say the exact same thing is true of #2 BSM -- they've been capable of astonishingly bad defensive performances against second-tier teams, and then they pull out the iron curtain against a Shattuck.

I'm not saying I'd like to see a HM-BSM repeat in the ship this year (time to see a public school there again, maybe), but they're comparable in this way.

I also think Dugas' shot at the Brimsek is maybe now in question, with Zevnick staying maybe a little more consistent down the stretch??? Just a thought.

When does the voting for the Brimsek award take place? Does it count only regular season games?

Head to head between Dugas and Zevnick is pretty even, with a slight advantage to Dugas. HM had a tougher out-of-conference schedule too, in my opinion. That said, Zevnick only gave up 4 goals one time this season (to Tartan) so he has been tremendous all year and more consistent that Dugas.

If I had to make a guess, I'd say Dugas gets it by a hair

[East Side Pioneer Guy]

I, too, am no more concerned about Hill this year than any other year. Well, I do hate that #1 tag. Lech's teams do better when going into the tournament #4 or unranked. We are a clearbut not dominant #1. I wouldn't consider losing to BSM or Tonka much of an upset. Tartan should not be taken lightly and WBL is always dangerous.

I'm thinking that if you look back, while there will be some exceptions, most often the state champion has not often given up more than 2 goals/game and giving up 4 would be very exceptional. Championship teams have a very stingy defense most years. I'm not talking about the last 3-4, I mean going back 10-15 years for those who like to go back and analyze data.

[slacsap]

With the exception of the first Mahtomedi game (and Zephyr coach Jeff Poeschl is a former Pioneer who almost always has his team ready for his alma mater), the games in which Dugas has given up a lot of goals were games in which Hill had, at some point, a comfortable lead. (Dugas did not play in the South St. Paujl game in which HM gave up 3 goals) In close games against top teams, he and the defensemen have been solid. That being said, this team is a bit more vulnerable than other top ranked teams in recent years because they have struggled to score against quality teams. They are a solid favorite in 4AA, maybe more of a favorite than any other team except possible Eagan, but there is more of an upset possibility this year than in some past years. Also, remember that the last time HM went into sections ranked #1 was in 2011 and they lost to WBL in the final.