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karl(east) wrote: ↑Wed Feb 27, 2019 11:48 pm . . .

What a performance by the Raiders, and congratulations on ending one of the great streaks of section dominance in HS hockey to earn their first Class A Tourney berth. I'm not sure how running two lines will hold up over three days in St. Paul, but if anyone can make it work, this team can. They should get seeded, perhaps #4 or #5 barring dramatic upsets elsewhere. Real credit to Coach Clafton, who seems to really take the Mike Randolph philosophy of a regular season as a 25-game experimentation period ahead of sections . . .

mnmouth wrote: ↑Thu Feb 28, 2019 6:47 am

karl(east) wrote: ↑Wed Feb 27, 2019 11:48 pm . . .

What a performance by the Raiders, and congratulations on ending one of the great streaks of section dominance in HS hockey to earn their first Class A Tourney berth. I'm not sure how running two lines will hold up over three days in St. Paul, but if anyone can make it work, this team can. They should get seeded, perhaps #4 or #5 barring dramatic upsets elsewhere. Real credit to Coach Clafton, who seems to really take the Mike Randolph philosophy of a regular season as a 25-game experimentation period ahead of sections . . .

First off, there's no bigger Raiders' fan around than my 81 year-old dad, who's a 1955 Greenway graduate. He's still off the wall buzzing this morning - not sure he slept last night. Have to figure out a way to get the old man to the X next Wednesday if he wants to go.

Also, if Greenway can win their quarterfinal, they'll have Thursday off to rest. I know, just like the other quarterfinal winners, but it may be enough to get the Raiders through a tough semifinal matchup. If they hit the ice on Saturday with a shot at a state title, two lines, with a bench player spot here and there, could be enough.

elliott70 wrote: ↑Thu Feb 28, 2019 6:52 am

mnmouth wrote: ↑Thu Feb 28, 2019 6:47 am

karl(east) wrote: ↑Wed Feb 27, 2019 11:48 pm . . .

What a performance by the Raiders, and congratulations on ending one of the great streaks of section dominance in HS hockey to earn their first Class A Tourney berth. I'm not sure how running two lines will hold up over three days in St. Paul, but if anyone can make it work, this team can. They should get seeded, perhaps #4 or #5 barring dramatic upsets elsewhere. Real credit to Coach Clafton, who seems to really take the Mike Randolph philosophy of a regular season as a 25-game experimentation period ahead of sections . . .

First off, there's no bigger Raiders' fan around than my 81 year-old dad, who's a 1955 Greenway graduate. He's still off the wall buzzing this morning - not sure he slept last night. Have to figure out a way to get the old man to the X next Wednesday if he wants to go.

Also, if Greenway can win their quarterfinal, they'll have Thursday off to rest. I know, just like the other quarterfinal winners, but it may be enough to get the Raiders through a tough semifinal matchup. If they hit the ice on Saturday with a shot at a state title, two lines, with a bench player spot here and there, could be enough.

Well, we will be cheering, unless they are matched up against East Grand or Warroad, but wouldn't that be great...
State championship between Warroad and Greenway.

karl(east) wrote: ↑Wed Feb 27, 2019 11:48 pm What a night at Amsoil. Given last season's result I figured Greenway had a shot if they stuck around, but having seen this sort of game so many times before, I thought the Hawks would find some way to pull it out. Casadonte and friends had other ideas.

The Raiders won this game because their star players outplayed Hermantown's. Ben Troumbly, not Blake Biondi, was the best player on the ice tonight. He and Lawson are a dynamic duo and really got rolling in the second period, and had a number of excellent chances both then and in the first overtime. Pierce, meanwhile, was pretty quiet out of a few solid hits, and while Biondi scored a goal on an impressive individual effort and certainly had his dangerous moments, he also seemed to wander in and out of this game in ways that I hadn't seen him do before, including on the GWG when a stronger backecheck could have made a difference. He's an awesome player and he'll learn, but tonight the Raiders had a bit more tenacity.

Also, I found it a bit odd that Elliott Peterson was back on D for large portions of this game. He's played there before and did a solid job, but it seemed to sap Hermnatown's forward depth. That was already this team's weakness, in my opinion. Greenway seemed pretty comfortable when the Hawks' top line wasn't out there; their second line could just hold serve, and then Troumbly and Lawson could do their thing.

Lots of great defensive play in this one, too. Gotz was a rock for the Hawks, shutting down rushes time and again; Peterson was solid, too, as were Lantz and Miller for Greenway, and Elich is the unsung hero of this one for his rush that set up Lawson's game-winner. Great goaltending, as well; hard not to feel for Manahan, who had an incredible sequence in the first overtime to keep the game going.

What a performance by the Raiders, and congratulations on ending one of the great streaks of section dominance in HS hockey to earn their first Class A Tourney berth. I'm not sure how running two lines will hold up over three days in St. Paul, but if anyone can make it work, this team can. They should get seeded, perhaps #4 or #5 barring dramatic upsets elsewhere. Real credit to Coach Clafton, who seems to really take the Mike Randolph philosophy of a regular season as a 25-game experimentation period ahead of sections. He had some good lines in his postgame comments that got into the piece I did for the Hub.

Something about these Amsoil finals just gives us hockey at its best. Hoping for more of the same tomorrow night.

HawkAA wrote: ↑Thu Feb 28, 2019 8:53 am

karl(east) wrote: ↑Wed Feb 27, 2019 11:48 pm What a night at Amsoil. Given last season's result I figured Greenway had a shot if they stuck around, but having seen this sort of game so many times before, I thought the Hawks would find some way to pull it out. Casadonte and friends had other ideas.

The Raiders won this game because their star players outplayed Hermantown's. Ben Troumbly, not Blake Biondi, was the best player on the ice tonight. He and Lawson are a dynamic duo and really got rolling in the second period, and had a number of excellent chances both then and in the first overtime. Pierce, meanwhile, was pretty quiet out of a few solid hits, and while Biondi scored a goal on an impressive individual effort and certainly had his dangerous moments, he also seemed to wander in and out of this game in ways that I hadn't seen him do before, including on the GWG when a stronger backecheck could have made a difference. He's an awesome player and he'll learn, but tonight the Raiders had a bit more tenacity.

Also, I found it a bit odd that Elliott Peterson was back on D for large portions of this game. He's played there before and did a solid job, but it seemed to sap Hermnatown's forward depth. That was already this team's weakness, in my opinion. Greenway seemed pretty comfortable when the Hawks' top line wasn't out there; their second line could just hold serve, and then Troumbly and Lawson could do their thing.

Lots of great defensive play in this one, too. Gotz was a rock for the Hawks, shutting down rushes time and again; Peterson was solid, too, as were Lantz and Miller for Greenway, and Elich is the unsung hero of this one for his rush that set up Lawson's game-winner. Great goaltending, as well; hard not to feel for Manahan, who had an incredible sequence in the first overtime to keep the game going.

What a performance by the Raiders, and congratulations on ending one of the great streaks of section dominance in HS hockey to earn their first Class A Tourney berth. I'm not sure how running two lines will hold up over three days in St. Paul, but if anyone can make it work, this team can. They should get seeded, perhaps #4 or #5 barring dramatic upsets elsewhere. Real credit to Coach Clafton, who seems to really take the Mike Randolph philosophy of a regular season as a 25-game experimentation period ahead of sections. He had some good lines in his postgame comments that got into the piece I did for the Hub.

Something about these Amsoil finals just gives us hockey at its best. Hoping for more of the same tomorrow night.

Hermantown Defense NEVER pinch, EVER. Clafton did a great job breaking out high creating multiple (like 15) odd man rushes..why Htown didnt start pinching is beyond me, it would have shut GW down in a lot of ways. Htown always plays the same game...works most of the time but last night, State last year, Section Finals last year and state 2017 if an opponent watches some Htown tape it's easy to see. Back checking is what lost this game for Hermantown but in #27 defense, they were exhausted, anytime #1 line was on ice GW controlled the puck in Hermantown zone 3rd period and both overtimes. Greenway had the WILL to win this game and deserved the win. Hermantown outshot GW but GW had better chances in my opinion. Multiple times GW goalie popped out a rebound laying infront of open net and no Htown player was there. I hope for the sake of our program we go AA, we need a shot in the arm. I think the program has gotten complacent and going AA would give us the energy to become better. Congrats to GW...Congrats to Htown for a wonderful season. Hopefully #27 stays around next yr, so much fun to watch! Kudos to Manahan, he kept the game going longer than it should have. Now let's root for a Hounds win tonight!

HawkAA wrote: ↑Thu Feb 28, 2019 8:53 am

karl(east) wrote: ↑Wed Feb 27, 2019 11:48 pm What a night at Amsoil. Given last season's result I figured Greenway had a shot if they stuck around, but having seen this sort of game so many times before, I thought the Hawks would find some way to pull it out. Casadonte and friends had other ideas.

The Raiders won this game because their star players outplayed Hermantown's. Ben Troumbly, not Blake Biondi, was the best player on the ice tonight. He and Lawson are a dynamic duo and really got rolling in the second period, and had a number of excellent chances both then and in the first overtime. Pierce, meanwhile, was pretty quiet out of a few solid hits, and while Biondi scored a goal on an impressive individual effort and certainly had his dangerous moments, he also seemed to wander in and out of this game in ways that I hadn't seen him do before, including on the GWG when a stronger backecheck could have made a difference. He's an awesome player and he'll learn, but tonight the Raiders had a bit more tenacity.

Also, I found it a bit odd that Elliott Peterson was back on D for large portions of this game. He's played there before and did a solid job, but it seemed to sap Hermnatown's forward depth. That was already this team's weakness, in my opinion. Greenway seemed pretty comfortable when the Hawks' top line wasn't out there; their second line could just hold serve, and then Troumbly and Lawson could do their thing.

Lots of great defensive play in this one, too. Gotz was a rock for the Hawks, shutting down rushes time and again; Peterson was solid, too, as were Lantz and Miller for Greenway, and Elich is the unsung hero of this one for his rush that set up Lawson's game-winner. Great goaltending, as well; hard not to feel for Manahan, who had an incredible sequence in the first overtime to keep the game going.

What a performance by the Raiders, and congratulations on ending one of the great streaks of section dominance in HS hockey to earn their first Class A Tourney berth. I'm not sure how running two lines will hold up over three days in St. Paul, but if anyone can make it work, this team can. They should get seeded, perhaps #4 or #5 barring dramatic upsets elsewhere. Real credit to Coach Clafton, who seems to really take the Mike Randolph philosophy of a regular season as a 25-game experimentation period ahead of sections. He had some good lines in his postgame comments that got into the piece I did for the Hub.

Something about these Amsoil finals just gives us hockey at its best. Hoping for more of the same tomorrow night.

Hermantown Defense NEVER pinch, EVER. Clafton did a great job breaking out high creating multiple (like 15) odd man rushes..why Htown didnt start pinching is beyond me, it would have shut GW down in a lot of ways. Htown always plays the same game...works most of the time but last night, State last year, Section Finals last year and state 2017 if an opponent watches some Htown tape it's easy to see. Back checking is what lost this game for Hermantown but in #27 defense, they were exhausted, anytime #1 line was on ice GW controlled the puck in Hermantown zone 3rd period and both overtimes. Greenway had the WILL to win this game and deserved the win. Hermantown outshot GW but GW had better chances in my opinion. Multiple times GW goalie popped out a rebound laying infront of open net and no Htown player was there. I hope for the sake of our program we go AA, we need a shot in the arm. I think the program has gotten complacent and going AA would give us the energy to become better. Congrats to GW...Congrats to Htown for a wonderful season. Hopefully #27 stays around next yr, so much fun to watch! Kudos to Manahan, he kept the game going longer than it should have. Now let's root for a Hounds win tonight!

greenwayraider wrote: ↑Thu Feb 28, 2019 11:04 am Greenway will probably be a #5 seed. They've lost to everyone Mahtomedi, Cathedral, EGF, Orono and Delano. The only top ten they have beaten is Alexandria. I dont see them being seeded above them based on the season records. Maybe a 4 seed if Warroad wins. That would set up a Warroad/ Greenway QF. That would stink.

elliott70 wrote: ↑Thu Feb 28, 2019 11:21 am

greenwayraider wrote: ↑Thu Feb 28, 2019 11:04 am Greenway will probably be a #5 seed. They've lost to everyone Mahtomedi, Cathedral, EGF, Orono and Delano. The only top ten they have beaten is Alexandria. I dont see them being seeded above them based on the season records. Maybe a 4 seed if Warroad wins. That would set up a Warroad/ Greenway QF. That would stink.

Warroad and Alex will not be there....
Seeding will be
Mahtomedi
St Cloud Cath
East Grand Forks
Orono
Greenway

not seeded
North Branch
New Ulm
MN River

BSUBeaver wrote: ↑Thu Feb 28, 2019 11:27 am

elliott70 wrote: ↑Thu Feb 28, 2019 11:21 am

greenwayraider wrote: ↑Thu Feb 28, 2019 11:04 am Greenway will probably be a #5 seed. They've lost to everyone Mahtomedi, Cathedral, EGF, Orono and Delano. The only top ten they have beaten is Alexandria. I dont see them being seeded above them based on the season records. Maybe a 4 seed if Warroad wins. That would set up a Warroad/ Greenway QF. That would stink.

Warroad and Alex will not be there....
Seeding will be
Mahtomedi
St Cloud Cath
East Grand Forks
Orono
Greenway

not seeded
North Branch
New Ulm
MN River

Alexandria will be there!

WestMetro wrote: ↑Thu Feb 28, 2019 11:31 am Elliott

Orono vs Greenway would be a nice Section 7 vs metro matchup , and I would take Green in that game, but Warroad just beat EGF recently , right?

Also, TG beat Maht in head to head a month ago, dont quite undertand why LPH flipped those two in the final week of the season

greenwayraider wrote: ↑Thu Feb 28, 2019 12:07 pm No matter who Greenway plays I'm begging you, elliott, please pick Greenway's opponent just like you picked Denfeld and Hermantown.

WestMetro wrote: ↑Thu Feb 28, 2019 10:48 am Its incredible to look at these three A class section finals coming up, based on the final LPH rankings with Htown eliminated.

Maht vs Totino, now 1 vs 2 in the state
Alex vs SCC, now 3 vs 4 "
EGF vs Warroad now 5 vs 6 "

The other question is where Greenway will ultimately be seeded at the X. The hockey gods would not like it if Greenway was paired against Warroad in the quarterfinal round.

elliott70 wrote: ↑Thu Feb 28, 2019 12:18 pm I did have Greenway ranked #9 at the end of the regular season.
So I hope that does not work against them.