1a predictions

[davey]

"Scout, changing the topic here, but in your scouts mind, do you think Leivermann has a chance to place D1"

bugsysback,

I think he will have to prove himself in Juniors first. I think he has the ability to possibly play at that level but most people do not understand what a jump it really is. Even for the Elite players that play really tough schedules it is a huge jump from highschool to the USHL. I would think he will be a NAHL player. In my opinion. Not that that is a bad thing by any means. He is definately a good player but will have to see how he does in Juniors first.

Someone really likes him. Stay tuned

davey,

I have no doubt that a lot of schools really like him. I just think that they will all want him to play at least a year of juniors before he gets any offers. That is all I was saying. I have no doubts that he has had many schools checking him out with the Elite year he had and the start he is having even though the competition is not good. A lot of kids get offers and then go to Juniors but I think with him they will want to see how he does in juniors before any great offers come. I hope he does get a chance to play where he wants![/quote]

So what would would you consider a great offer. WCHA, any league?

[Sioux Fan]

Corey is a good player and probably should play a year or two of juniors to get stronger and better and than be able to really contribute to a WCHA team. Barring injury he will make it. Great kid Great passion and I wish him all the good luck I can. I think guys should keep playing and get as good as they can get before they move on to college unless they are a high draft choice. Play competitive hockey as long as you can and something good might happen if you work hard and have enough ability.

Also kind of Like the two Bruggeman boys...Andrew is a tough kid and Tyler can stop the puck. He probably should have been one of our goalies this fall but still came to practice and made it hard on all of our shooters. He played a few games and was outstanding.

I think if they keep working and training and getting stronger they will have a good chance to keep playing.

I like em so much I almost put two nn's on the end.

[hockeystar56784]

Leivermann to the Mavericks

[goaler]

I reread the post and realized it was too harsh. I was irritated by the some the antics of West players, but that's nothing new to anybody who knows the team. It's who they are.

Calm down West fans and players. For your info, I am affiliated with a large, well-known Minnesota newspaper, and I've talked up your team to the prep writers. Cut me some slack. I'm on the desk, but the reporters listen to my take on southern teams. When the Scarlets make state, you might get some statewide ink to commemorate your trip to state. And yeah, it's a long drive from Austin, which is in fact where I live, but the taxes are a lot lower than Minneapolis so it makes up for the commute costs.

Davey, I wish you well. And West too, even though they don't play my style of hockey. 11-0 and still counting.

[davey]

Ok, this is for all of you who think I really am a West fan.

After watching West beat Faribault, I thought of a million things to write about the game on the long drive back from Mankato. But I kept reminding myself that I am an adult and these are just high school players, so I won't write most of what went through my mind at the game.

Let's just say, I was grinding my teeth throughout the game at the antics of some, not all, but some of the West players. Lieverman plays with an edge that is often barely legal. If I was reffing that game, he would have had a game misconduct in the second period. And the goalie, he can't even take a drink from the water bottle without making a big production out of it.

I've seen literally hundreds of Minnesota high school hockey games over nearly 30 years, and this team put my teeth on edge like no other I've seen. Let's just say the way they play wouldn't go over too well in Warroad or Hibbing or East Grand Forks, or Ft. Francis for that matter. I'd rather watch Austin play Winona and see hockey players who respect the game and don't think they are God's gift to it.

I wonder if the coach has control of that team? Or if it's the other way around.

There, does that convince some of you that I am not a West fan? And believe me, I do not have West envy. I'll stop short of saying they are disgrace to southern Minnesota hockey. They're probably not quite that bad. I was going to the game in Albert Lea, but forget it. I'll watch Austin and Winona instead.

Goaler, I saw you standing in the corner with your goalie kid. Pretty sure you are not from Austin...can you say BlueJays I saw you take great pleasure when Pavek scored the first goal to put West down 1-0. You have no idea what goes on in the game. Ask the the Faribault players taunting Leivermann what they said to him...probably even make you blush. Also, pretty sure Faribault shot high and they had a lot of success there didn't they.

[stud-lee]

goaler.

i really don't care if i get banned for this because i've heard you piss and moan enough. yes i'm a close follower of west and you can bet that they have respect for the game. and for your information, the west goalie didn't even have a water bottle tonight. and if he did how can you make a big fricken show out of getting a drink? you can deny it all you want but you my friend DO have west envy.

i have noticed that you have taken a particular interest in west's goaltender, why is this? did he beat your own son out for a team or 2? please enlighten us all with why tyler bruggeman is so overrated. currently on pointstreak he is tied for first in wins, and maybe it's because they have played a weaker schedule but he has a save percentage over 90% and tonight was the first time he has given up a goal in the big nine!! overrated? yeah i doubt it!!

And you can rip on leivermann all you want and say that he may not be d-1 material but to tell you the truth, your opinion doesn't matter, and obviously someone on the MSU coaching staff saw something that they like and they are willing to take a shot with him, and you know what? i am pretty certain that with his work ethic he will do great things for MSU just to tell the naysayers like you to piss off!!

by the way what would leivermann have gotten a misconduct for??

[davey]

I was just reporting what the guy keeping the score sheet announced. He said 13-20-21.

I counted 15 in the first period and I was standing right behind the net. As you can probably tell, I have an interest in how many shots get taken on the Waseca goalie, if you get my drift.

And also, they were not easy shots. Many, I mean many, were right in the slot. Waseca, as usual, turned the puck over dozens of times and East had many, many good scoring chances. Ok, they didn't put them away like West would have, but they whipped some pretty good shots on the Waseca goal.

The East goalie Eric Miller played well in the first two periods, but he got burned a couple of times in the third, and Waseca got the victory.

It was no classic, but it was a hard fought, entertaining and intense high school game. Pretty good stuff. Watch out for that East team in the next two years. They've got a lot of upside potential.

And you still want us to believe you are from Austin Mr.Goaler.

[GinosAreGood]

Ok, this is for all of you who think I really am a West fan.

There, does that convince some of you that I am not a West fan? And believe me, I do not have West envy. I'll stop short of saying they are disgrace to southern Minnesota hockey. They're probably not quite that bad. I was going to the game in Albert Lea, but forget it. I'll watch Austin and Winona instead.

I've never seen anybody go from hyping a team so much one day to absolutly hating them the next. It was nice to see someone from out of town who thought highly of west for once, but i guess it was only a matter of time before you joined the state bandwagon and began criticizing them. It's too bad you'll miss one of the best southern Minnesota hockey games on Tuesday.

Let's just say, I was grinding my teeth throughout the game at the antics of some, not all, but some of the West players. Lieverman plays with an edge that is often barely legal. If I was reffing that game, he would have had a game misconduct in the second period.

it's weird how that was the softest reffing show i've seen all season and leivermann had no penalties. The refs called EVERYTHING against BOTH teams the whole night. what was he doing that was "barely legal?".. Going balls out to the puck and working hard? Kids on both teams were jawing at eachother the whole game

[TheCaptain]

goaler.
by the way what would leivermann have gotten a misconduct for??

I think he celebrated his goal and he's not allowed to do that anymore according to this forum

[goaler]

West fans and players. I edited the post, so calm down. I realized it was too harsh.

I've given the team the benefit of the doubt. You saw how much grief I got from the non-West fans. There are just some antics that they pull that bug me. And I know some of you know it. It's irritating.

What I meant about Lieverman was that he got way too close to the ref about that non-goal in the second period. It was a bad call, but I thought he was wrong. He's obviously D1 material. That was an awesome move in the first period. But I thought he disrespected the ref on that play. That may not be important to some, but it is to me.

Davey, that was a crude comment, and I won't respond. I try to tell it straight on here, and I do apologize if I was too harsh. They're high school players. But instead of being defensive, maybe you should take it as constructive criticism. So long.

[hockeystar56784]

Make up your mind! Honestly like you bash West one day and then the next day you love them. They are a hard working team thats likes to talk a little. So it's their game to get in peoples head a little. Big deal!

[goaler]

you're right hockeystar. i agree with your post. And they got in my head last night ....

[davey]

West fans and players. I edited the post, so calm down. I realized it was too harsh.

I've given the team the benefit of the doubt. You saw how much grief I got from the non-West fans. There are just some antics that they pull that bug me. And I know some of you know it. It's irritating.

What I meant about Lieverman was that he got way too close to the ref about that non-goal in the second period. It was a bad call, but I thought he was wrong. He's obviously D1 material. That was an awesome move in the first period. But I thought he disrespected the ref on that play. That may not be important to some, but it is to me.

Davey, that was a crude comment, and I won't respond. I try to tell it straight on here, and I do apologize if I was too harsh. They're high school players. But instead of being defensive, maybe you should take it as constructive criticism. So long.

What constructive criticism were you talking about. Calling out Leivermann and the West goalie for stuff they never did. You say Leivermann plays with an edge that is almost not legal...Talk to any coach out there and they would love to have players play with the edge he does. Did he take any penalties last night? No. Still not sure why you would rather watch Winona at Austin. Oh that's right you can see how your Bluejays match up against them.

[SE MN Hockey]

La Crescent has co-head coaches and the new co-head coach is Andrew Klingsporn. Andy is a good coach and is doing a great job with the team. Hopefully other teams will give Andy a chance.

Andy is trying to line up La Crescent with some decent scrimmages and hopefully he will be successful. With a few good scrimmages under their belt, La Crescent could hang with any of the top section 1a teams.

What happened to the big arrogant headcase that always would wear suits to the games that took over a couple of years ago, isn't he the coach?

Anyways, looks like they are beating the teams that they should, but I don't think the can "hang" with the top 4 in in 1A. Plus, look at their schedule. Doesn't the coach control the Tournaments and Non-conference games?

Also, looking it the MSHSL website looks like they have many Seniors, how is the JV and whats the prognosis for future years.

Their JV is "WEAK" to say the least. Not much coming in Lancer land. They better win this year, they are looking at single digit wins the next couple of years, at best. The "melon" is the other co-coach. Rumor I heard is that he will not be back next year. Just a rumor?

Randy Groth is still a co-coach. Groth has struggled with talented teams over the last several seasons but hung on this year as a co-coach with Coach Klingsporn.

La Crescent Youth Hockey went to playing Minnesota in 2003 to help develop their program. Groth did not catch on and has kept games with Altoona and Sleepy Eye on the schedule rather than seeking better Minnesota competition and they have struggled because of it. It may have been that he could not get other games because of his reputation or more likely that he doesn't recognize the benefit of playing up rather than playing down. Groth set up the Worthington tournament last spring. Their was some activity to back out of that tournament and get in to a better one but I think the AD may have shot it down.

La Crescent will have some rebuilding after this season, but still has enough talent to suprise some teams next year. I maintain that La Crescent has the talent to play with the top section 1a teams this year. Hopefully the other SE Minnesota programs will help La Crescent develop over the next several years. They have a strong youth program and when Coach Klingsporn gets full control, they will go a long ways.

[goldy313]

They're awfully isolated in that corner of the state, their nearest opponents in Minnesota, outside Winona, is Red Wing at 88 miles away, Lourdes at 68 miles and Austin at 100 miles. La Crescent has also been locked into a Wisconsin conference which limits their schedule some. They finally moved to to a Minnesota conference in all othe sports but the Hiawatha Valley League doesn't play hockey so their hockey team is still in the West Central Conference. Now that the MSHSL moved them out of the largely metro 3A and back into the 1A they should have an easier time playing 1A opponents. Like I pointed out earlier they don't play anyone in 1A all season but do play a couple of 1AA teams; Winona and Dodge Cty so at best all you can do is compare scores between common oppoents which is a flawed system.

La Crescent beat Winona 5-2 last night and plays Dodge Cty on the 8th, Faribault has a 5-4 win over Winona and a 3-2 win over Dodge Cty, Albert Lea has a 5-3 win over Winona, Mankato East has a 9-1 loss to Winona, and Mankato West has a 10-4 win over Winona. I'm not saying they're a top team in 1A but they're also not a patsy.

[Jim9000]

What's their youth program like, I don't see them ranked at all in LPH. Where do they get there coaches from? Doesn't seem like a hockey hotbed. I thought in the past all their players came up though C hockey.

Looks like the HS is having a good year, but time will tell when playoffs come. Anyway, best of luck to them, have heard some wierd stories about their coach though.

[SE MN Hockey]

La Crescent is playing B hockey in district 8. This years seniors were the 1st Pee Wees to play district 8 B hockey. They suprised everyone and took 2nd in district losing 1-0 to Woodbury and taking 3rd in regionals. Association numbers are low so it is tough to field an A team, but probably will have A teams in 3-4 years.

Their coaches are mainly past players that played in the area. The program is relatively young. Just 5 years ago, most coaches had little or no hockey experience. Coach Klingsporn came from Rochester and played for the Mustangs and he is heavily involved in coach development and program development at the youth level as well as with the HS. This years PW B team is 6-1 (Klingsporn is the HS Co-Head Coach and also helps coach the PW team). This years bantam team has only 12 players and is struggling with a 1-6 record. Most Freshman are playing Varsity or JV so the bantam team is young.

I see La Crescent becoming similar to a Red Wing where they struggle competing at the A youth level but field good teams in High School. That transition is under way but may see a few rough times in the next couple years.

Groth is the co-coach you have heard stories about and he has indicated that this is his last season.

What's their youth program like, I don't see them ranked at all in LPH. Where do they get there coaches from? Doesn't seem like a hockey hotbed. I thought in the past all their players came up though C hockey.

Looks like the HS is having a good year, but time will tell when playoffs come. Anyway, best of luck to them, have heard some wierd stories about their coach though.

[Jim9000]

SE MN, sounds like you know alot about lacresent hockey.
Are you from there?
Where do their Youth and HS play spring and summer hockey?
Do the go to Rochester?, Showcase? I never see or hear of any of them.

[SE MN Hockey]

SE MN, sounds like you know alot about lacresent hockey.
Are you from there?
Where do their Youth and HS play spring and summer hockey?
Do the go to Rochester?, Showcase? I never see or hear of any of them.

How did you guess?

La Crescent has ice 10 months a year and we have been able to use our indoor rink like an out door rink. Depending on the coaches and parents, some kids are able get a lot of ice time. Few parents even know what is available in the cities or Rochester and few are willing to commit to travel. I think La Crescent will be able to develop players within our association taking advantage of the availability to get ample ice, playing more Minnesota teams, and our current volunteers with direction from Klingsporn.

As far as HS, Groth did very little in the summer the past several seasons. On ice practices for a couple weeks, no dry land, and no scrimmages. He does not have knowledge (or the connections) of the Minnesota opportunities to promote our kids.

Things are changing for the better now. Klingsporn is developing some connections and knows what is available for the kids. He helped Eriah Hayes get to the Topeka Roadrunners last year.

Klingsporn put on a great on ice and dry land program for the kids last summer and he set up a summer tournament in La Crescent. Teams included Red Wing, Farmington, Owattona, Onalaska Wi, and Austin. Our kids were looking better after those three weeks than they ever have.

La Crescent has several players that would be ranked in state this year if they had more exposure in Minnesota.

[Chalktalk]

They're awfully isolated in that corner of the state, their nearest opponents in Minnesota, outside Winona, is Red Wing at 88 miles away, Lourdes at 68 miles and Austin at 100 miles. La Crescent has also been locked into a Wisconsin conference which limits their schedule some. They finally moved to to a Minnesota conference in all othe sports but the Hiawatha Valley League doesn't play hockey so their hockey team is still in the West Central Conference. Now that the MSHSL moved them out of the largely metro 3A and back into the 1A they should have an easier time playing 1A opponents. Like I pointed out earlier they don't play anyone in 1A all season but do play a couple of 1AA teams; Winona and Dodge Cty so at best all you can do is compare scores between common oppoents which is a flawed system.

La Crescent beat Winona 5-2 last night and plays Dodge Cty on the 8th, Faribault has a 5-4 win over Winona and a 3-2 win over Dodge Cty, Albert Lea has a 5-3 win over Winona, Mankato East has a 9-1 loss to Winona, and Mankato West has a 10-4 win over Winona. I'm not saying they're a top team in 1A but they're also not a patsy.

Winona game was 3-2 in third. Winona outplayed them badly most of third. Winona tipped one into own net and empty net made it look worse than the game. Plus one of LaC's D went down and walked out on crutches. Not sure how bad. They are thin on the blueline and if he is out it could hurt. La Crescent might be an 8 seed in 1A, but not higher than that.

[Jim9000]

There must be some others down their that know hockey other than klingsporn, there's no way you would be doing as good as you are this year without some outher guidance at the lower levels. I have also heard of some average teams in the past with guys that probably didn't play MN hockey, since you just started.

10 months of ice, who uses it in the off-season, figure skaters?[/quote]

[EaglehockeyI]

pending the tuesday games it looks like this so far:
1. west (unbeaten)
2. lourdes (beat wingers and tigers)
3. red wing (good record with a tough schedule)
4. albert lea (coming on strong)
5. northfield (beat np)
6. new prague (good record and some impressive wins)
7. faribault (big-9 coaches will go with them over lacrescent)
8. lacrescent (should be 7 but are too much of an unknown)
9. lsh (best of the rest)
10.waseca (may drop if they keep losing)
11.east (surprising win over austin)
12.austin (they have waseca and east yet, so they could move up)

[SE MN Hockey]

There must be some others down their that know hockey other than klingsporn, there's no way you would be doing as good as you are this year without some outher guidance at the lower levels. I have also heard of some average teams in the past with guys that probably didn't play MN hockey, since you just started.

10 months of ice, who uses it in the off-season, figure skaters?

[/quote]

No, he is not. This group of seniors have had good coaching through out their youth years.

JP Piche' is the ex lancer high school coach (JP played for St. Thomas and Mankato State) and has been putting on a hockey school the last 15 years and is now a youth coach. He now coordinates the La Crescent Summer League. We have ex hockey players coaching at all levels of our youth hockey program now.

The ice is taken out for the months of May and June each year.

[SE MN Hockey]

They're awfully isolated in that corner of the state, their nearest opponents in Minnesota, outside Winona, is Red Wing at 88 miles away, Lourdes at 68 miles and Austin at 100 miles. La Crescent has also been locked into a Wisconsin conference which limits their schedule some. They finally moved to to a Minnesota conference in all othe sports but the Hiawatha Valley League doesn't play hockey so their hockey team is still in the West Central Conference. Now that the MSHSL moved them out of the largely metro 3A and back into the 1A they should have an easier time playing 1A opponents. Like I pointed out earlier they don't play anyone in 1A all season but do play a couple of 1AA teams; Winona and Dodge Cty so at best all you can do is compare scores between common oppoents which is a flawed system.

La Crescent beat Winona 5-2 last night and plays Dodge Cty on the 8th, Faribault has a 5-4 win over Winona and a 3-2 win over Dodge Cty, Albert Lea has a 5-3 win over Winona, Mankato East has a 9-1 loss to Winona, and Mankato West has a 10-4 win over Winona. I'm not saying they're a top team in 1A but they're also not a patsy.

Winona game was 3-2 in third. Winona outplayed them badly most of third. Winona tipped one into own net and empty net made it look worse than the game. Plus one of LaC's D went down and walked out on crutches. Not sure how bad. They are thin on the blueline and if he is out it could hurt. La Crescent might be an 8 seed in 1A, but not higher than that.

La Crescent had one goal called off in the second due to a penalty away from play. Senior defenseman Scott Loberg was injured with a cut to the back of the leg mid way through the third. Winona did have some chances in the third, but goalie Manuel Dotterwiech made some nice saves.

It sounds like Loberg will be out 10-14 days.

[LaCHockey1421]

Winona game was 3-2 in third. Winona outplayed them badly most of third. Winona tipped one into own net and empty net made it look worse than the game. Plus one of LaC's D went down and walked out on crutches. Not sure how bad. They are thin on the blueline and if he is out it could hurt. La Crescent might be an 8 seed in 1A, but not higher than that.

The Winona game was close all game but strong goal tending prevailed once again for the Lancers like it has for many games this season. The D that went down was one of the top D that La Crescent has, but it does not necessarily make them thin. The injury was a cut from a hockey skate on his leg, which luckily ended up missing any tendons and will only put him out for a couple weeks.