4AA Final: White Bear Lake vs. Hill-Murray

[karl(east)]

The Bears put forth a strong defensive in the latest chapter in this rivalry, but in the end, Hill finds a way to slip one in and hold on from there. The Pioneers dominated play pretty thoroughly, but credit them for staying disciplined and not trying to force things, as often happens when a team controls the game so decisively but fails to score. In the end, WBL just couldn't generate enough offense to pull it off.

Congrats to both teams, and on to State we go.

[BodyShots]

And a WBL boy scores the only goal of the game. To bad he plays for the Pioneers.

Not a lot of excitement in this one. The bears sat back and just tried to keep it close.

Congrats Davis. You had a great mite coach who taught you well.

[cigar]

first period was fairly even..

2nd and 3rd hill dominates. i can only recall wbl having maybe one scoring opportunity during the last two periods.

wbl did give hill some trouble with the trap, but as the game progressed hill got better.

have to give wbl a lot of credit for hanging around and having a shot...

[East Side Pioneer Guy]

I have to toot my own horn a bit. While I was wrong on the score (4-2), I was correct that Hill fans would not be able to relax until about 16:30 of the third.

I don't think anyone expected a 1-0 game, kind of odd, and a bit of a let down considering the build up this game always gets and usually deserves.

As for the lower seed being dangerous, in recent years that hasn't been nearly as true as it was late 90's/early 2000's.

[Pioneerprideguy]

It wasn't the most intense section final, but in the end, it was very enjoyable. It never gets old beating WB & it certainly never gets old going to State. Congrats Pioneers, good luck next week, and enjoy the experience!

[UntouchableFlow]

Like others have noted, just an interesting game. I thought Hill thoroughly outplayed WBL in the 2nd and 3rd, but the whole game, WBL was only a bounce or a deflection away from getting the lead. Congrats to Lechner and the Pioneers, looking forward to a run at the X.

[GreekChurch]

This was probably the most boring hockey game I have been to in a long, long time. I can understand the White Bear trap game plan, but i cannot understand why Lechner went with virtually no forecheck. There was no reason not to pressure the young D of White Bear, like they did in their first meeting. They really let White Bear hang around, just one bad bounce from disaster. Oh well, a win is a win. On to State - Good luck Pioneers!

[BodyShots]

OK Hill fans, my wife wants to know.

What the heck happened to the HM band? In her words, they used to be the best and biggest back when Ashenbrenner ran things. Last night they had maybe 20 members, of which all you heard were the drummers banging as loud as they can.

Do they not recruit band geeks anymore?

[inthetwine]

And a WBL boy scores the only goal of the game. To bad he plays for the Pioneers.

Not a lot of excitement in this one. The bears sat back and just tried to keep it close.

Congrats Davis. You had a great mite coach who taught you well.

Who scored the winning goal? And is he really from WBL?

[Pioneerprideguy]

I've seen Wahlin play twice (both games against HM) and both times I thought he was invisible. I realize he is only a Soph, but after reading so much about him, I was expecting more. Did he just shine against average teams? Maybe I just caught him on off nights.

[BodyShots]

And a WBL boy scores the only goal of the game. To bad he plays for the Pioneers.

Not a lot of excitement in this one. The bears sat back and just tried to keep it close.

Congrats Davis. You had a great mite coach who taught you well.

Who scored the winning goal? And is he really from WBL?

Davis Zarembinski - White Bear Lake Youth Hockey Alumni

[stpaul]

This will be the 14th time HM and WBL have met in the Section Finals (17 if you count Mariner). All together they have met 28 times in Section games. There have been many classic games in this rivalry. Let's hope we get another on Friday night.

I don't know if last night could be considered a classic but it sure was a tense one. HM dominated possession and shots but it felt like they were teetering on the brink of disaster all night. I kept waiting for a Wahlin breakaway. I think the emphasis on defense was intentional by both teams. WBL played with discipline, clogged up the middle and stayed out of the box. HM was too cautious and was constantly missing the net high and wide on shots. Congrats to both teams. The building was full but pretty quiet. The rivalry does continue. Maybe we'll get STA added to the mix next year.

[koolio]

I've seen Wahlin play twice (both games against HM) and both times I thought he was invisible. I realize he is only a Soph, but after reading so much about him, I was expecting more. Did he just shine against average teams? Maybe I just caught him on off nights.

The kid is super skilled. Containing him is a credit to the HM team. You have probably seen him play his last hs game. Likely off to juniors next year. The Bears are young and should do well over the next couple of years even without JW.

[slacsap]

I agree with St. paul's assessment about the tension level at the Coliseum last night. It was a game that HM dominated after the first period, but I, too, was waiting for Wahlin's line to create the one great scoring chance that could have tipped the game in the Bear's favor. Great shot by Zarembinski for the only goal. He has started to show some offensive ability in the second half of the season and, as a sophomore, has a bright future. What some people fail to see is that this year's Pioneer squad is basically a defense first team, at least against top competition. They are not the free-wheeling, high scoring team that Hill-Murray has often had in the past. They wear teams down with their depth and create chances, but sometimes struggle to finish their chances. Last night was one of those occasions , with good scoring opportunities missing the net. I'm not sure what to expect from this team next week. They are certainly capable of winning it all, but they are also capable of losing on Thursday. Best of luck to all the teams at the "X" and I hope they put on a good show for us.

[East Side Pioneer Guy]

I agree with St. paul's assessment about the tension level at the Coliseum last night. It was a game that HM dominated after the first period, but I, too, was waiting for Wahlin's line to create the one great scoring chance that could have tipped the game in the Bear's favor. Great shot by Zarembinski for the only goal. He has started to show some offensive ability in the second half of the season and, as a sophomore, has a bright future. What some people fail to see is that this year's Pioneer squad is basically a defense first team, at least against top competition. They are not the free-wheeling, high scoring team that Hill-Murray has often had in the past. They wear teams down with their depth and create chances, but sometimes struggle to finish their chances. Last night was one of those occasions , with good scoring opportunities missing the net. I'm not sure what to expect from this team next week. They are certainly capable of winning it all, but they are also capable of losing on Thursday. Best of luck to all the teams at the "X" and I hope they put on a good show for us.

White Bears goalie played great. But I didn't see Hill as getting robbed. They had lots of shots, many shots that went high (Looking for the upper corners?), but not a lot of great chances where you wondered' "Holy cow! How did that goalie nab that one?"

I agree Hill could go either way on Thursday. They should be #1, but they are by no means a dominant #1. It's very easy to see any of the top 4 seeds winning out; any of the bottom 4 would be very surprising. Hopefully 1-4 make for a great Friday evening, although Moorhead could make a nice run too. They played very well against Hill at the end of the regular season.

[meridian90]

I've seen Wahlin play twice (both games against HM) and both times I thought he was invisible. I realize he is only a Soph, but after reading so much about him, I was expecting more. Did he just shine against average teams? Maybe I just caught him on off nights.

The kid is super skilled. Containing him is a credit to the HM team. You have probably seen him play his last hs game. Likely off to juniors next year. The Bears are young and should do well over the next couple of years even without JW.

I have heard from a few reliable sources that Jake is pretty torn in his decision. It seems he goes back and forth a bit with what he wants to do. Mostly, it sounds like he wants to stay at WB one more year and then head to Iowa after the conclusion of his junior campaign. But, it also seems a few other "sources" are pushing him to head to Iowa now. I just hope the kid makes the decision for him.

Me personally, I'm torn. After watching him most of the year, offensively he is gifted, and very smart with the puck both offensively and defensively. I do, however, still feel like he has a lot more tools he could develop at this level before he makes the jump.

I think top of the list is to get a little bigger. He grew enough to where his frame is big enough to put on maybe 5-10 more pounds (good pounds) while maintaining or increasing speed. Especially at his age, where adding good weight is easier than say 4-5 years from now.

Also, you just don't see him shine as much against really talented defensive teams. He seems to get bodied off the puck (see above) sometimes and I think he can develop that better at this level than Juniors. Sort of a ramp to the size of some of the kids at Juniors.

If he left after next season, he would still have 1.5 years of juniors before jumping into hockey east which I think would be enough to really develop. It took his brother about a year to really settle in and become a dominant scorer, and I feel like more than 2 seasons of Juniors would feel like treading water.

I just want to finish by saying no matter what happens, it was wonderful to watch him skate this season and congratulations to him for breaking the WB single season scoring record. He would have a real great shot at breaking the MN all time scoring if he stayed two more years, but that won't happen.

Anyway, I think WB will be ok with or without him. Very young and talented across the board. Jake is probably just the difference between trying to grind out a state tourney birth, and being a favorite in the state.

Sad because this is the best group of talent since the 05/06 campaigns, and as white bear fan, still holding out hope ill see a first round state win before all is said and done.

[Pioneerprideguy]

Will he develop more under Sager or with some other coach?

[BogeyMan]

Patiently waiting on you Wallyworld.......

[JoltDelivered]

Will he develop more under Sager or with some other coach?

Develop how?

As a scorer? As a contributor? If so...pretty hard to complain about his development this year.

[old goalie85]

He can still develope by staying, He can go down play a few games in Iowa this year/Then train summer w/older bro/steffin/whoever this summer/elite league this fall/high school season next year/then off to Jrs.

[meridian90]

Will he develop more under Sager or with some other coach?

Greer is a good coach. Knows a lot about what can help him at the next level too.

[East Side Pioneer Guy]

Anyway, I think WB will be ok with or without him. Very young and talented across the board. Jake is probably just the difference between trying to grind out a state tourney birth, and being a favorite in the state.

Sad because this is the best group of talent since the 05/06 campaigns, and as white bear fan, still holding out hope ill see a first round state win before all is said and done.[/quote]

The Vikings winning a Super Bowl and White Bear winning a quarter final game are two of the Four Horseman of the Apocalypse.

[meridian90]

Anyway, I think WB will be ok with or without him. Very young and talented across the board. Jake is probably just the difference between trying to grind out a state tourney birth, and being a favorite in the state.

Sad because this is the best group of talent since the 05/06 campaigns, and as white bear fan, still holding out hope ill see a first round state win before all is said and done.

The Vikings winning a Super Bowl and White Bear winning a quarter final game are two of the Four Horseman of the Apocalypse.[/quote]

Moorhead winning a championship game not withstanding.

[wbmd]

I just want to finish by saying no matter what happens, it was wonderful to watch him skate this season and congratulations to him for breaking the WB single season scoring record

Actually, Wahlin didn't break the White Bear Lake scoring record, no matter what the story from Hockeyhub states.

Jake Hansen has the school scoring record from his junior season (2006-07 season) when he had 28 goals and a school record 43 assists for 71 points.

Sager is probably just disregarding Hansen's points because he left a year early for the USHL.

[TheNightman]

The Vikings winning a Super Bowl and White Bear winning a quarter final game are two of the Four Horseman of the Apocalypse.

Sad but true