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TheHockeyDJ wrote:I know St. Michael-Albertville and Andover have teams, but do they actually have any fans? Not sure I've ever seen one post here. Just curious.

Mr. HOCKEYDJ I would be happy to answer any STMA questions you may have. I don't talk too much trash just an occasional shot at Elk River when I can but with the talent they have even that is getting hard to do!

ilovemesomehockey wrote:Karl, when is the last time East's back up goaltender got to play?

You have to go back to last year's regular season finale. It might be time to give him a quick look, if only to shake things up. The Cambridge game tomorrow might be a good opportunity for that.

It's worth noting that Centennial's had East's number over the past 3 years. The games have also pretty much been carbon copies of each other, with East having 2 reasonably good periods and one god-awful one in each game. I'm not terribly fussed by the Andover tie, either. They controlled the game and just ran into a good goalie. Andover did a decent job of sticking around with Elk River last night, but couldn't quite hang on as they did against East.

This team's fate hinges on its very inexperienced defense, which was fine for two periods last night, then folded when things started going downhill. Last night was the first of the year for Lutzka (lone returning D from last year). Spencer has improved and looks to be a capable HS defenseman. Benson still hasn't played a game this year. For the others, it's been trial by fire, but there is talent there.

I'm actually more bothered by the ugly wins over Superior and STMA. They have to take care of the teams they should be able to take care of, starting with Cambridge tomorrow.

The freshmen seem to be coming along. They'll have some freshman moments, but there have been some nice flashes. (Worth had a beauty of a goal last night.) Still waiting on Dow to really get going in red and grey (2 pts. in 5 games), and Bunten only has one point so far, too. The PP is at 10% right now. That won't last.

tl;dr Forget the rankings if you're an East fan. The pieces are there, and they'll be fine if they keep at it.

Dow actually has 4 points in 5 games. He had two assists against Superior. If you look at the scoresheet on the hub from that game it shows them but they arent showing up on his stats and over on the MSHL site is shows 1G 3 A..)

karl(east) wrote:

ilovemesomehockey wrote:Karl, when is the last time East's back up goaltender got to play?

You have to go back to last year's regular season finale. It might be time to give him a quick look, if only to shake things up. The Cambridge game tomorrow might be a good opportunity for that.

It's worth noting that Centennial's had East's number over the past 3 years. The games have also pretty much been carbon copies of each other, with East having 2 reasonably good periods and one god-awful one in each game. I'm not terribly fussed by the Andover tie, either. They controlled the game and just ran into a good goalie. Andover did a decent job of sticking around with Elk River last night, but couldn't quite hang on as they did against East.

This team's fate hinges on its very inexperienced defense, which was fine for two periods last night, then folded when things started going downhill. Last night was the first of the year for Lutzka (lone returning D from last year). Spencer has improved and looks to be a capable HS defenseman. Benson still hasn't played a game this year. For the others, it's been trial by fire, but there is talent there.

I'm actually more bothered by the ugly wins over Superior and STMA. They have to take care of the teams they should be able to take care of, starting with Cambridge tomorrow.

The freshmen seem to be coming along. They'll have some freshman moments, but there have been some nice flashes. (Worth had a beauty of a goal last night.) Still waiting on Dow to really get going in red and grey (2 pts. in 5 games), and Bunten only has one point so far, too. The PP is at 10% right now. That won't last.

tl;dr Forget the rankings if you're an East fan. The pieces are there, and they'll be fine if they keep at it.

karl(east) wrote:I'm actually more bothered by the ugly wins over Superior and STMA. They have to take care of the teams they should be able to take care of, starting with Cambridge tomorrow.

I've been thinking over the past several years that this is a result of their style of play. It seems that Randolph has them play a style that allows them to keep up with more skilled teams.

It seems to have the reverse effect as well, letting teams that shouldn't be able to keep up with them.

Maybe it'll be different this year when Randolph isn't behind the bench. I've heard that he's only coaching part time so that he can watch his son play this year.

Traxler wrote:

karl(east) wrote:I'm actually more bothered by the ugly wins over Superior and STMA. They have to take care of the teams they should be able to take care of, starting with Cambridge tomorrow.

I've been thinking over the past several years that this is a result of their style of play. It seems that Randolph has them play a style that allows them to keep up with more skilled teams.

It seems to have the reverse effect as well, letting teams that shouldn't be able to keep up with them.

Maybe it'll be different this year when Randolph isn't behind the bench. I've heard that he's only coaching part time so that he can watch his son play this year.

Oh, no doubt. They're a system team under Randolph, and they are definitely more committed in getting the system working right than running up goal totals against weaker teams. The question is whether they can get that system (or some variation on it; it's not totally static) working against the top teams. We'll find out in the Schwan Cup, I suppose.

I doubt it will change for the handful of games Randolph will miss. The system is pretty well entrenched in East hockey. If they lose anything when he's gone, it's probably his authority and ability to whip the kids into shape, and maybe the speed of his tactical adjustments.

At this point of the season how I'd seed them along with my personal 1-10 rating just to demonstrate how close I think these teams are.

1. Elk River (8.7)
2. Grand Rapids (7.9)
3. Duluth East (7.1)
4. STMA (6.9)
5. Forest Lake [6.8]
6. Andover (6.7)
7. Cloquet (6.4)

Rapids has lost a lot of games in a row, but mostly to teams that were favored to win. East I thought about putting at 2, but they haven't played many good teams, and if they were a legit top 10 team they would of beat Cambridge by more than 4-0 and wouldn't of struggled with teams like Superior. This week East finally gets to play the quality of teams Rapids has faced the last two weeks starting with St. Thomas Academy.

Big games coming up this week, Grand Rapids vs Cloquet on Tuesday, and Elk River vs Forest Lake on Saturday.

TheHockeyDJ wrote:At this point of the season how I'd seed them along with my personal 1-10 rating just to demonstrate how close I think these teams are.

1. Elk River (8.7)
2. Grand Rapids (7.9)
3. Duluth East (7.1)
4. STMA (6.9)
5. Forest Lake [6.8]
6. Andover (6.7)
7. Cloquet (6.4)

Rapids has lost a lot of games in a row, but mostly to teams that were favored to win. East I thought about putting at 2, but they haven't played many good teams, and if they were a legit top 10 team they would of beat Cambridge by more than 4-0 and wouldn't of struggled with teams like Superior. This week East finally gets to play the quality of teams Rapids has faced the last two weeks starting with St. Thomas Academy.

Big games coming up this week, Grand Rapids vs Cloquet on Tuesday, and Elk River vs Forest Lake on Saturday.

If the season ended today Rapids would be slotted at the 4 seed based on the computer rankings. They are currently 4-6.

TheHockeyDJ wrote:At this point of the season how I'd seed them along with my personal 1-10 rating just to demonstrate how close I think these teams are.

1. Elk River (8.7)
2. Grand Rapids (7.9)
3. Duluth East (7.1)
4. STMA (6.9)
5. Forest Lake [6.8]
6. Andover (6.7)
7. Cloquet (6.4)

Rapids has lost a lot of games in a row, but mostly to teams that were favored to win. East I thought about putting at 2, but they haven't played many good teams, and if they were a legit top 10 team they would of beat Cambridge by more than 4-0 and wouldn't of struggled with teams like Superior. This week East finally gets to play the quality of teams Rapids has faced the last two weeks starting with St. Thomas Academy.

Big games coming up this week, Grand Rapids vs Cloquet on Tuesday, and Elk River vs Forest Lake on Saturday.

.
Back off the crack pipe DJ!

northwoods oldtimer wrote:

TheHockeyDJ wrote:At this point of the season how I'd seed them along with my personal 1-10 rating just to demonstrate how close I think these teams are.

1. Elk River (8.7)
2. Grand Rapids (7.9)
3. Duluth East (7.1)
4. STMA (6.9)
5. Forest Lake [6.8]
6. Andover (6.7)
7. Cloquet (6.4)

Rapids has lost a lot of games in a row, but mostly to teams that were favored to win. East I thought about putting at 2, but they haven't played many good teams, and if they were a legit top 10 team they would of beat Cambridge by more than 4-0 and wouldn't of struggled with teams like Superior. This week East finally gets to play the quality of teams Rapids has faced the last two weeks starting with St. Thomas Academy.

Big games coming up this week, Grand Rapids vs Cloquet on Tuesday, and Elk River vs Forest Lake on Saturday.

.
Back off the crack pipe DJ!

As always, impressed with your in depth and highly interesting analysis Northwoods...

alcloseshaver wrote:

TheHockeyDJ wrote:At this point of the season how I'd seed them along with my personal 1-10 rating just to demonstrate how close I think these teams are.

1. Elk River (8.7)
2. Grand Rapids (7.9)
3. Duluth East (7.1)
4. STMA (6.9)
5. Forest Lake [6.8]
6. Andover (6.7)
7. Cloquet (6.4)

Rapids has lost a lot of games in a row, but mostly to teams that were favored to win. East I thought about putting at 2, but they haven't played many good teams, and if they were a legit top 10 team they would of beat Cambridge by more than 4-0 and wouldn't of struggled with teams like Superior. This week East finally gets to play the quality of teams Rapids has faced the last two weeks starting with St. Thomas Academy.

Big games coming up this week, Grand Rapids vs Cloquet on Tuesday, and Elk River vs Forest Lake on Saturday.

If the season ended today Rapids would be slotted at the 4 seed based on the computer rankings. They are currently 4-6.

Highly accurate the QRF (minnesota-scores.net) is in December right? I mean, STMA, who lost to Duluth East and Monticello (yes, Monticello) is slotted at the 2 seed and East at 3. Good thing we have computers to provide consistently accurate analysis.

Really, just put East at 1, and draw cards for the other spots.

mulefarm wrote:Really, just put East at 1, and draw cards for the other spots.

When was the last time East didn't get the 1 seed? I'm pretty sure the past 6 years they had the 1 seed. Then the year before that they were the 1 seed and lost in the semis to #4 Cloquet with a score around 6-5. So at least 7 years in a row? Maybe this will be the year when they drop down to the 2 seed or even 3 seed if both ER and GR beat them.

Traxler wrote:

mulefarm wrote:Really, just put East at 1, and draw cards for the other spots.

When was the last time East didn't get the 1 seed? I'm pretty sure the past 6 years they had the 1 seed. Then the year before that they were the 1 seed and lost in the semis to #4 Cloquet with a score around 6-5. So at least 7 years in a row? Maybe this will be the year when they drop down to the 2 seed or even 3 seed if both ER and GR beat them.

East was the #2 in 2010. They lost a narrow game to Elk River during the regular season (shots heavily in East's favor, if memory serves). Those two met in the final, and it was a 5-1 demolition that was never close.

karl(east) wrote:

Traxler wrote:

mulefarm wrote:Really, just put East at 1, and draw cards for the other spots.

When was the last time East didn't get the 1 seed? I'm pretty sure the past 6 years they had the 1 seed. Then the year before that they were the 1 seed and lost in the semis to #4 Cloquet with a score around 6-5. So at least 7 years in a row? Maybe this will be the year when they drop down to the 2 seed or even 3 seed if both ER and GR beat them.

East was the #2 in 2010. They lost a narrow game to Elk River during the regular season (shots heavily in East's favor, if memory serves). Those two met in the final, and it was a 5-1 demolition that was never close.

Ahh, so only 4 years in a row. Not sure why, but I think it would be more fun in Duluth East was not the top seed this year.

msbnsports.net will have the audio feed of Elk River at Forest Lake, 7:30 PM on Saturday.

TheHockeyDJ wrote:msbnsports.net will have the audio feed of Elk River at Forest Lake, 7:30 PM on Saturday.

Elk river in a route. Further separation for the sections top dog. Jaremko is best player in the section and it ain't even close.

northwoods oldtimer wrote:

TheHockeyDJ wrote:msbnsports.net will have the audio feed of Elk River at Forest Lake, 7:30 PM on Saturday.

Elk river in a route. Further separation for the sections top dog. Jaremko is best player in the section and it ain't even close.

I think there's a lot who would rank him as the best in the state with all the Mr. Hockey hype. I also don't see Forest Lake putting up much of a fight.

That being said, I have been bad at predicting results this year, so maybe Forest lake keeps it close.

northwoods oldtimer wrote:

TheHockeyDJ wrote:msbnsports.net will have the audio feed of Elk River at Forest Lake, 7:30 PM on Saturday.

Elk river in a route. Further separation for the sections top dog. Jaremko is best player in the section and it ain't even close.

Hopefully in a rout, a route might take to long

Route / rout

northwoods oldtimer: I think you were subconsciously thinking about their route to Duluth for the semifinals and finals. Something that is always on the minds of Elk River.

greenway1969 wrote:northwoods oldtimer: I think you were subconsciously thinking about their route to Duluth for the semifinals and finals. Something that is always on the minds of Elk River.

That has not been a fortunate route for Elk River.

karl(east) wrote:

Traxler wrote:

mulefarm wrote:Really, just put East at 1, and draw cards for the other spots.

When was the last time East didn't get the 1 seed? I'm pretty sure the past 6 years they had the 1 seed. Then the year before that they were the 1 seed and lost in the semis to #4 Cloquet with a score around 6-5. So at least 7 years in a row? Maybe this will be the year when they drop down to the 2 seed or even 3 seed if both ER and GR beat them.

East was the #2 in 2010. They lost a narrow game to Elk River during the regular season (shots heavily in East's favor, if memory serves). Those two met in the final, and it was a 5-1 demolition that was never close.

The big difference for DE this yr compared to the past several yrs is they lack a high end offensive defenseman. ER has that this yr in Kiersted. GOALTENDING is the main thing standing in ER's path to State. DE has some very good forwards, a good goalie and a great coach, but I see ER getting the #1 seed in 7AA...doesn't necessarily mean they will advance to the Xcel...but there is a better chance this yr than in the last few yrs that DE's run to Xcel ends.

This guy has some interesting thoughts on the seeding for the section at this point...

http://www.youthhockeyhub.com/news_arti ... _id=967184

Usthockey13 wrote:This guy has some interesting thoughts on the seeding for the section at this point...

http://www.youthhockeyhub.com/news_arti ... _id=967184

Very entertaining. Thanks for posting!

I like how he has STMA as the 2 seed

Traxler wrote:

Usthockey13 wrote:This guy has some interesting thoughts on the seeding for the section at this point...

http://www.youthhockeyhub.com/news_arti ... _id=967184

Very entertaining. Thanks for posting!