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Posted: **Wed Dec 23, 2015 10:30 am**

Traxler wrote:I think other results of the teams that beat East this year (specifically STMA and Cloquet) demonstrate that they get up for their games against East more than they do for their other games.

I'm not sure why East can't handle these teams even when the lesser quality teams play inspired hockey.

My guess is that East doesn't get up for those "other teams" as much as they do for some other games.

Posted: **Wed Dec 23, 2015 11:11 am**

The danger for East is that while they might get hot at the right time, experimenting with your lineup is not a permission slip for losing to CEC, Marshall, and STMA. Those games count the same as December games do for everyone else.

Posted: **Wed Dec 23, 2015 11:47 am**

TheHockeyDJ wrote:Current 7AA seeding race:

1. Elk River
2. Grand Rapids
3. Duluth Marshall
4. Duluth East
5. Andover
6. Forest Lake
7. Cloquet
8. St. Francis

Would really like to hear from STMA fans on what they saw in their home win over Duluth East compared to their home loss to St. Francis. St. Francis has home games the first week of January vs Duluth Marshall and Cloquet. Forest Lake is at Grand Rapids next week, which will probably be a 2-1 type of game if recent history continues. Andover is at Elk River in a couple weeks and Andover has given Elk River fits in recent years.

Pretty easy formula for playing STMA. Score one and you will probably loose - score three and you will probably win. If you only score two, then all bets are off!

Posted: **Wed Dec 23, 2015 2:05 pm**

TheHockeyDJ wrote:The danger for East is that while they might get hot at the right time, experimenting with your lineup is not a permission slip for losing to CEC, Marshall, and STMA. Those games count the same as December games do for everyone else.

I don't know this to be true, but it seems like Randolph doesn't really care about seeding implications. Maybe it's because he figures he can control the seedings as has been suggested year after year on this board, or he figures it's not possible to drop below 4 and if you play your first game at home then they're all home games anyway - does the last line change really provide an advantage?

Posted: **Tue Dec 29, 2015 9:49 am**

DJ, Big 4 game stretch for Rapids the next 2 weeks. 10 of the last 14 games at home.

Posted: **Tue Dec 29, 2015 9:46 pm**

Starting off with a nice 5-2 win over Forest Lake tonight. They get Brainerd at home tomorrow at 3:00. FL has a nice player in Dougherty? and the goaltending was pretty good for them too. GR came out playing angry the first period and it showed with an early goal maybe a minute or two in. 2nd period was ok, then they poured it on in the 3rd. Knowing the history between these two, for whatever reason it is always a battle. GR won close games the last two years, this year the higher end talent showed with Hain getting a goal and two for Gunnar Harris. It's a good win, obviously a loss here would have been devastating for seedings. Forest Lake will be a tough out in the quarterfinals. The play pretty good team defense and everyone on their team skates hard. Brainerd will be another tough game I think much like tonight. Aus seems to have put his stamp on them. They certainly played Bemidji much tougher than I expected.

Posted: **Tue Dec 29, 2015 11:30 pm**

Nice win for Rapids against a team that has been a real pest to them in recent years. However, I thought the game was much closer than the final score suggests. That first goal at about 58 seconds sure looked like the work of a team with a fire lit under them. Then they went "Rapids" on us and played some of the time and took other parts of the game off. Pretty much the entire second period looked like they took a break.

Does anyone know why Alex Adams was not playing? More and more I think he is an integral part of that first line. However, I thought Keaghan Graeber did a nice job tonight infusing some much needed energy. Mitchell Matson seems a tremendous talent, but it sure looked like he was sleepwalking much of the time and gave-up on some plays way too soon. I was wondering if he was sick or hurt.

It was a good win, but I think hardly convincing.

It will be interesting to see who is in net against Brainerd. From what I have seen, Gabe Holum has looked the most solid, so I wonder if he will start again tomorrow.

Posted: **Wed Dec 30, 2015 1:21 am**

Immigrant Fan wrote:Does anyone know why Alex Adams was not playing?

Game misconduct during ER game for taking out Taiyo Larson along the boards. Micah Miller should have been out too as he was kicked out for throwing punches during ER game.

Posted: **Wed Dec 30, 2015 7:56 am**

TheHockeyDJ wrote:Starting off with a nice 5-2 win over Forest Lake tonight. They get Brainerd at home tomorrow at 3:00. FL has a nice player in Dougherty? and the goaltending was pretty good for them too. GR came out playing angry the first period and it showed with an early goal maybe a minute or two in. 2nd period was ok, then they poured it on in the 3rd. Knowing the history between these two, for whatever reason it is always a battle. GR won close games the last two years, this year the higher end talent showed with Hain getting a goal and two for Gunnar Harris. It's a good win, obviously a loss here would have been devastating for seedings. Forest Lake will be a tough out in the quarterfinals. The play pretty good team defense and everyone on their team skates hard. Brainerd will be another tough game I think much like tonight. Aus seems to have put his stamp on them. They certainly played Bemidji much tougher than I expected.

Lack of good defense will kill this team. Been proven time and again in the losses. They will be lucky to get to a section semi final game. Its East and Elk River for all the marbles. Beat your chest all you want to DJ rolling cupcakes.

Posted: **Wed Dec 30, 2015 8:31 am**

I'm really curious to see how much Rapids has improved/not improved since the last game I saw (Bemidji). Brainerd moves the puck well, is physical and sends in three forecheckers. This really puts the pressure on the defensemen. However, this makes them vulnerable to odd man rushes the other way. Hibbing had so many odd man rushes in the first period I lost track but they couldn't finish. Also, sounds like Rapids has some discipline problems on their hands. Must be that green blood line. :)

Posted: **Wed Dec 30, 2015 9:47 am**

greenway1969 wrote:I'm really curious to see how much Rapids has improved/not improved since the last game I saw (Bemidji). Brainerd moves the puck well, is physical and sends in three forecheckers. This really puts the pressure on the defensemen. However, this makes them vulnerable to odd man rushes the other way. Hibbing had so many odd man rushes in the first period I lost track but they couldn't finish. Also, sounds like Rapids has some discipline problems on their hands. Must be that green blood line.

They'll have Adams and Miller back this afternoon. I was really encouraged by the fast start. I haven't seen them come out with that intensity at puck drop in a long time. They'll be fine going into sections. Elk River and East have been awful themselves on the back end and East doesn't appear to have a Howg to bail them out of a game. Cloquet is proving to be in the mix as much as anyone else having already beat Northwoods pups.

Posted: **Wed Dec 30, 2015 10:02 am**

northwoods oldtimer wrote:
TheHockeyDJ wrote:Starting off with a nice 5-2 win over Forest Lake tonight. They get Brainerd at home tomorrow at 3:00. FL has a nice player in Dougherty? and the goaltending was pretty good for them too. GR came out playing angry the first period and it showed with an early goal maybe a minute or two in. 2nd period was ok, then they poured it on in the 3rd. Knowing the history between these two, for whatever reason it is always a battle. GR won close games the last two years, this year the higher end talent showed with Hain getting a goal and two for Gunnar Harris. It's a good win, obviously a loss here would have been devastating for seedings. Forest Lake will be a tough out in the quarterfinals. The play pretty good team defense and everyone on their team skates hard. Brainerd will be another tough game I think much like tonight. Aus seems to have put his stamp on them. They certainly played Bemidji much tougher than I expected.

They better figure something out, I can't remember Rapids defensemen ever struggling this much.
Hey Greenie, care to enlighten us on the problems?

Lack of good defense will kill this team. Been proven time and again in the losses. They will be lucky to get to a section semi final game. Its East and Elk River for all the marbles. Beat your chest all you want to DJ rolling cupcakes.

Posted: **Wed Dec 30, 2015 10:05 am**

Regarding current Rapids team...my humble read on them, and I hate saying it but, they have all the hallmarks of a team that gets knocked out in the quarters. The talent is there but they seem to think that will get them where they need to be instead of work. Mistake. Newspaper clippings and rankings mean squat unless you put in the work and team first. Too many guys take the night off and that could kill them. There is still time for them to change that mentality but time will tell.

Posted: **Wed Dec 30, 2015 10:42 am**

grandindian wrote:Regarding current Rapids team...my humble read on them, and I hate saying it but, they have all the hallmarks of a team that gets knocked out in the quarters. The talent is there but they seem to think that will get them where they need to be instead of work. Mistake. Newspaper clippings and rankings mean squat unless you put in the work and team first. Too many guys take the night off and that could kill them. There is still time for them to change that mentality but time will tell.

Careful what you say about the press when it comes to Rapids. It gets ugly

Posted: **Wed Dec 30, 2015 10:57 am**

TheHockeyDJ wrote:
greenway1969 wrote:I'm really curious to see how much Rapids has improved/not improved since the last game I saw (Bemidji). Brainerd moves the puck well, is physical and sends in three forecheckers. This really puts the pressure on the defensemen. However, this makes them vulnerable to odd man rushes the other way. Hibbing had so many odd man rushes in the first period I lost track but they couldn't finish. Also, sounds like Rapids has some discipline problems on their hands. Must be that green blood line.
They'll have Adams and Miller back this afternoon. I was really encouraged by the fast start. I haven't seen them come out with that intensity at puck drop in a long time. They'll be fine going into sections. Elk River and East have been awful themselves on the back end and East doesn't appear to have a Howg to bail them out of a game. Cloquet is proving to be in the mix as much as anyone else having already beat Northwoods pups.

Elks haven't been awful on the back end.

Posted: **Wed Dec 30, 2015 12:07 pm**

alcloseshaver wrote:
TheHockeyDJ wrote:
greenway1969 wrote:I'm really curious to see how much Rapids has improved/not improved since the last game I saw (Bemidji). Brainerd moves the puck well, is physical and sends in three forecheckers. This really puts the pressure on the defensemen. However, this makes them vulnerable to odd man rushes the other way. Hibbing had so many odd man rushes in the first period I lost track but they couldn't finish. Also, sounds like Rapids has some discipline problems on their hands. Must be that green blood line.
They'll have Adams and Miller back this afternoon. I was really encouraged by the fast start. I haven't seen them come out with that intensity at puck drop in a long time. They'll be fine going into sections. Elk River and East have been awful themselves on the back end and East doesn't appear to have a Howg to bail them out of a game. Cloquet is proving to be in the mix as much as anyone else having already beat Northwoods pups.
Elks haven't been awful on the back end.

True statement.

Posted: **Wed Dec 30, 2015 1:44 pm**

I enjoy the posts by HockeyDJ and I don't think calling him names is deserved. He is passionate about his Indians (oops, I mean Thunderhawks) and has some hometown bias. So what? He doesn't disparage or make negative comments about players and coaches and I find this refreshing. It's getting harder for me to write annoying posts about Rapids because he keeps rooting for my Raiders.

Posted: **Wed Dec 30, 2015 2:01 pm**

greenway1969 wrote:I enjoy the posts by HockeyDJ and I don't think calling him names is deserved. He is passionate about his Indians (oops, I mean Thunderhawks) and has some hometown bias. So what? He doesn't disparage or make negative comments about players and coaches and I find this refreshing. It's getting harder for me to write annoying posts about Rapids because he keeps rooting for my Raiders.

Thanks, I have a lot of respect for the other 7AA teams. I was kind of surprised after just writing a brief summary on GR/FL and complimenting Forest Lake and Brainerd I get absolutely attacked. 7AA is proving a lot of entertainment, even St. Francis with their win over STMA is a very interesting 8 seed.

Posted: **Thu Dec 31, 2015 12:05 am**

DJ, Thanks for taking the brunt of the abuse, so the rest of the GR fans can comment in relative peace.

I understand some commenters being annoyed with the strong Rapids presence on the board, but I think it is pretty cool that one team has so many ...enthusiastic...fans. I am sure a number of other teams wish they had more supporters on-board than 1.

One comment about Rapids though. It seems we hear every year about Rapids having so much potential. It also seems in recent years there has been a frequent tone that the potential was not reached. Eventually, it will be logical to conclude if the potential is never reached, then that is the same as not actually having that potential. The Rapids kids need to ask themselves what their intentions are this year - do they want to strive to meet the team potential? Or do they want to hack around out there and try to score goals out of the chaos that takes over many of their minutes on the ice.

Posted: **Thu Dec 31, 2015 10:41 am**

Defense was definetly a concern before the season. In May Klatt was on KOZY after he was hired and said from his perspective watching GR last year that no one knew how to play in their own end of the ice and that was putting it lightly. He also said in recent years no one on that team was in true "hockey shape". I suppose with things being that bad it was going to take some time. I do hope Holum gets the start next week. The East game is the big game circled on the calendar, but they also have Andover next Saturday at home. The positives they have going for them is Holum is a solid goalie and they are not having trouble scoring. Mattson needs to play like he did yesterday, those were two elite scorer goals like we've seen from an Avery Peterson or Patrick White.

Posted: **Thu Dec 31, 2015 10:57 am**

As for seedings at this point:

1. Elk River - Clear 1 right now. 3 7AA games left: Andover (2), at East Jan 30
2. Grand Rapids - Gotta beat East/Andover next week to keep chasing ER for the 1 seed.
3. Cloquet - This is a tough pick. Losses to Andover and FL. Beat East/Marshall/Bemidji, and Notre Dame (WI).
4. Andover - Beat CEC and FL. At ER and GR next week.
5. Duluth East - An ugly December with two key 7AA loses. Gotta do more than beat Maple Grove to go higher. The get a chance vs Blaine Sat at Heritage.
6. Forest Lake - Nice win at CEC, outclassed by GR. They get East at home Jan 21 and could throw a huge wrench into seedings with a win there.
7. Duluth Marshall - Have beat East but otherwise been below average rest of the year.
8. St. Francis - Beat STMA on the road, otherwise nothing stands out. Probably still a team that gets beat by 5-6 goals in the quarters.

Posted: **Thu Dec 31, 2015 11:12 am**

This is it in a nutshell for now, good analysis DJ. Will be interesting if GR beats East and East beats ER.

Posted: **Thu Dec 31, 2015 11:29 am**

TheHockeyDJ wrote:As for seedings at this point:

1. Elk River - Clear 1 right now. 3 7AA games left: Andover (2), at East Jan 30
2. Grand Rapids - Gotta beat East/Andover next week to keep chasing ER for the 1 seed.
3. Cloquet - This is a tough pick. Losses to Andover and FL. Beat East/Marshall/Bemidji, and Notre Dame (WI).
4. Andover - Beat CEC and FL. At ER and GR next week.
5. Duluth East - An ugly December with two key 7AA loses. Gotta do more than beat Maple Grove to go higher. The get a chance vs Blaine Sat at Heritage.
6. Forest Lake - Nice win at CEC, outclassed by GR. They get East at home Jan 21 and could throw a huge wrench into seedings with a win there.
7. Duluth Marshall - Have beat East but otherwise been below average rest of the year.
8. St. Francis - Beat STMA on the road, otherwise nothing stands out. Probably still a team that gets beat by 5-6 goals in the quarters.

East would still be above Andover with the Wayzata win and win over Andover . But rest looks right and what about Cambridge

Posted: **Thu Dec 31, 2015 1:18 pm**

TheHockeyDJ wrote:As for seedings at this point:

1. Elk River - Clear 1 right now. 3 7AA games left: Andover (2), at East Jan 30
2. Grand Rapids - Gotta beat East/Andover next week to keep chasing ER for the 1 seed.
3. Cloquet - This is a tough pick. Losses to Andover and FL. Beat East/Marshall/Bemidji, and Notre Dame (WI).
4. Andover - Beat CEC and FL. At ER and GR next week.
5. Duluth East - An ugly December with two key 7AA loses. Gotta do more than beat Maple Grove to go higher. The get a chance vs Blaine Sat at Heritage.
6. Forest Lake - Nice win at CEC, outclassed by GR. They get East at home Jan 21 and could throw a huge wrench into seedings with a win there.
7. Duluth Marshall - Have beat East but otherwise been below average rest of the year.
8. St. Francis - Beat STMA on the road, otherwise nothing stands out. Probably still a team that gets beat by 5-6 goals in the quarters.

Agreed with these.

Posted: **Fri Jan 01, 2016 8:41 am**

Immigrant Fan wrote:DJ, Thanks for taking the brunt of the abuse, so the rest of the GR fans can comment in relative peace.

I understand some commenters being annoyed with the strong Rapids presence on the board, but I think it is pretty cool that one team has so many ...enthusiastic...fans. I am sure a number of other teams wish they had more supporters on-board than 1.

One comment about Rapids though. It seems we hear every year about Rapids having so much potential. It also seems in recent years there has been a frequent tone that the potential was not reached. Eventually, it will be logical to conclude if the potential is never reached, then that is the same as not actually having that potential. The Rapids kids need to ask themselves what their intentions are this year - do they want to strive to meet the team potential? Or do they want to hack around out there and try to score goals out of the chaos that takes over many of their minutes on the ice.

Very good take on some of the issues with this team. I've been around the rink enough the last few years to witness alot of what goes on. You have a bunch of spoiled kids who need to buy into a team concept and parents who love to stir the pot. The coaching staff has their work cut out for them!

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