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LowLight21 wrote:Woodbury's two Bantam B1 teams are balanced.

Is that new this year? They haven't been in the past. Did they go from 3 to 2 so they made them balanced? Black looked good in Edina.

Last season was the first year Woodbury went with one upper B1 and two balanced B1. District 8 didn't allow that configuration this season, so they went back to two balanced teams.

Kind of funny that Wayzata and OMGHA thought they had to stack a team this year. The lower B1 teams seem to be holding their own against the top couple of teams and have beat some good teams. Is it that important to win a B level championship? Goaltending appears to be the biggest advantage to stacking a team. This could hurt those goaltenders by playing so many non competitive games.

If Minnesota Hockey moves forward with the A/AA pilot program for the 2012-2013 season, you'll see the stacked teams move into the A ranks, and the B1 level should become more competitive. At least that's my hope.

Is it that important to win a B level championship? Goaltending appears to be the biggest advantage to stacking a team. This could hurt those goaltenders by playing so many non competitive games.[/quote]

The answer SHOULD be no...but...most B1 teams are last seasons A players and (my opinion) is that they (associations) feel pressure to allow these "upper" teams to help feed the ego's of the players and families that didn't make the A team as a first year.

I think you are right on, most of the games are not as competitive as they should be for the goalies and players and it does have an impact on development.

I've said it before elsewhere on this forum, but when you have enough kids to field 7, 8, or 9 Bantam teams, how would you prefer this be handled? Minnetonka's very strong this year, and they have just 5 Bantam teams and one B1 team. That's their 16th thru 30th best skaters on the B1 team. Why shouldn't Wayzata and OMG also be able to field a B1 team with their 16th thru 30th best skaters?

oldschoolpuckster wrote:Is it that important to win a B level championship? Goaltending appears to be the biggest advantage to stacking a team. This could hurt those goaltenders by playing so many non competitive games.

The answer SHOULD be no...but...most B1 teams are last seasons A players and (my opinion) is that they (associations) feel pressure to allow these "upper" teams to help feed the ego's of the players and families that didn't make the A team as a first year.

I think you are right on, most of the games are not as competitive as they should be for the goalies and players and it does have an impact on development.[/quote]

Go back and look at last year's post-state tournament discussion. Many were on the "it's better for development" side of the argument when it came to OMG stacking their B1 team and winning a state tournament. OMG and Wayzata have two of the largest organizations in the state and have no need to do it - except if you buy into the development argument, which I do not.

They have every right to build a team with skaters 16-30, but what long term advantage is there? If there is not a big drop off in talent, why not create more balanced teams to improve the competition for skaters 16-30 and goalies 3-4?

So the answer is they want to improve their chances to win the B championship. That's fine, but I doubt any will officially admit it.

Just checking through Edina schedule and looks like they handled Burnsville well in goals and shots. I was actually in attendance for Minnetonka's game against Edina White. I saw some good talent on Minnetonka; I have them 4th right behind White. although Edina impresses me with their own depth of forwards. All 3 lines are huge factors. Minnetonka has some solid, big d-man. Two good teams.. but I believe when that Edina team shows up focused and ready to go, they're by far few of the most deadliest B1 teams in the state

I would agree with your take on Edina White. They might be going through a mid-season slump but I would not want to play them come playoff time!! It looks like the game against B'ville was the first game of the year...might not be a good indicator. Excited to see the rematch score. I talked to a friend who has a kid on the team (B'ville) and it sounds like they play OMG Crimson, Wayzata Blue, Edina White and Edina Green this month and play in the Woodbury Toournament. Should be some great games to watch for and see how they all stack up!

Just heard the game with Burnsville and OMG Crimson was a 5-5 tie. OMG scored in the last min. with the goalie pulled to tie it up. Sounded like two great teams in a back and forth battle. He said both goalies were not having their best games...so much for helping the rankings. Anxious to see the result from the Wayzata game this weekend.

Wayzata Blue 4-2 over Bville. No details.