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East with the winner. Wow. What an unbelievable game.

Logan Anderson with the gwg

Andover was so close and I congratulate them on a great season and a great final. Wow.

It has to feel so good for East. This is 3 straight heart thumping finals.

Great game! East dominated play but couldn't buy a goal. Shots were 2-1 East. Never panicked, stayed with their game and showed incredible poise. Winning a game like that should help them heading into State. Andover goalie was phenomenal. Hats off to him.

Schotzy wrote:Game over. East wins in OT

Andover was back on their heels literally the entire last 25 minutes of the game. Duluth East buzz saw with Andover at their mercy. Going to the big show!!! AA playoffs are like nothing in this world section and state $&:#+£~\

O-townClown wrote:Thanks for the updates

Glad to do it. Fun stuff. I'm old but still get fired up for these games.

I would not be surprised at all to see Andover in this game and winning it next season. That was a young, talented team coming from the Northern suburbs. Cloquet, East and Elk River right on their heels, but I think it will be Andover’s to lose.

Congrats to East. Now go and represent 7AA. Make all us fans proud.

kniven wrote:

Schotzy wrote:Game over. East wins in OT

Andover was back on their heels literally the entire last 25 minutes of the game. Duluth East buzz saw with Andover at their mercy. Going to the big show!!! AA playoffs are like nothing in this world section and state $&:#+£~\

Kinda of agree Kniven but with a different angle. East controls almost every game they play. They keep the puck in the offensive zone like few can.

The difference tonight was Andover didn't whiz all over themselves. They stayed patient and played solid defense and got some big time goal tending. They also made good on their scoring chances and forced Klieve to make some very good saves as well.

Lots of funky bounces in the game that seemed to bounce Andover's way a few more times than East's way. Or the puck bounced just out of an East player's reach especially in the Andover end. It was not looking good for East as Andover's top line had many odd man rushes pretty much the whole game. Credit the Hounds with grinding away constantly because they had to grind due to Andover having a man in an East player's face all over the ice. Not a lot of the flow for East that we saw in the Marshall game. Andover executed a nice game plan even though heavily outshot.

Whew. That never gets old.

This is definitely the most Jekyll and Hyde East team I've ever seen. They looked incredible in the first few minutes, and completely dominant through much of the 3rd and OT, but then they also go and have half the game where the defense looks like Swiss cheese and all the top forwards are trying to do it all themselves and it is a total mess. Funnily enough, I think this was their poorest performance I've ever seen in a section final, win or lose. But it's a win, so who am I to complain?

Of course, Andover had a lot to do with that. Their speed and smooth breakouts were giving me Lakeville South flashbacks. They generated odd-man rush after odd-man rush in the middle stages of the game, and had East panicking. And Fritsinger was superb with his 50 saves, despite the knock he took early on. None of East's goals were pretty, but hey, they're line drives in the box score. Andover certainly has a very bright future.

That's three times in the past eight years East has scored a game-tying goal in a section final with under two minutes left. I believe this was also the first time all season they were down by two goals. On a night when a lot of things went wrong, credit to the kids who kept working and the guy behind the bench who got them to deny losing yet again. Also, it's clear there's a lot of respect between Randolph and Manney, as they shared some long moments before and after the game. Manney is a class act, and certainly has some bright days to look forward to with his Huskies.

But for now...it's good to be back after that two-year absence. East can't have these sorts of lapses against an Edina or a Minnetonka or they'll get steamrolled, but when they're on, they're a ton of fun to watch. With the Big Four all advancing--three of them in somewhat dicey fashion--we should be in for a great Tourney.

Typical. The legitimate Las Vegas odds that they do this exact same thing year after year are so exceedingly small. They cheat, it's a home game, and they get to practice there.

karl(east) wrote:With the Big Four all advancing--three of them in somewhat dicey fashion--we should be in for a great Tourney.

To me, that's the big thing. As an impartial fan, who loves to go to the State Tournament in person year after year, with no real dog in the race, having the best teams from each section represented is what I want to see. Based on the results to date, this tournament is shaping up to be one for the ages, and I can't wait.

Bayside Tigers wrote:Typical. The legitimate Las Vegas odds that they do this exact same thing year after year are so exceedingly small. They cheat, it's a home game, and they get to practice there.

Take it easy Screetch. They gave Rapids their two year run and spotted Andover two tonight. What more do you want? You seem very ungrateful!

Bayside Tigers wrote:Typical. The legitimate Las Vegas odds that they do this exact same thing year after year are so exceedingly small. They cheat, it's a home game, and they get to practice there.

They cheat. That is a riot. Move on.

Bayside Tigers wrote:Typical. The legitimate Las Vegas odds that they do this exact same thing year after year are so exceedingly small. They cheat, it's a home game, and they get to practice there.

This is what, the second post of you complaining about east?

This is section 7 , which represents the north iirc.where is Andover, again?

Oh well East fans. I guess we're not going far in the tourney because tonka , Edina, sta and a few others have home ice advantage at the X....

Anyone have the attendance from last night?

karl(east) wrote:That's three times in the past eight years East has scored a game-tying goal in a section final with under two minutes left.

Do these Hounds where horseshoes in their skates?

Edina smells Tonka and East weakness, gives them confidence for St Paul or makes them overconfident?

Tonka and East looking over shoulder after realizing good luck got them there, increases jitters for St Paul or makes them more battle hardened ?

STA challenged more than they should have been, but they go into St Paul knowing they have the best goalie against the other 3 ?

BodyShots wrote:

karl(east) wrote:That's three times in the past eight years East has scored a game-tying goal in a section final with under two minutes left.

Do these Hounds where horseshoes in their skates?

No they have well rested legs from sleeping in their own bed and making the 10 minute drive to the rink. Seems to be a pattern of late third period and OT success that comes with a home ice advantage.

Welcome to the northern version of the pit of misery Dover, dilly dilly!

MWS coach wrote:

BodyShots wrote:

karl(east) wrote:That's three times in the past eight years East has scored a game-tying goal in a section final with under two minutes left.

Do these Hounds where horseshoes in their skates?

No they have well rested legs from sleeping in their own bed and making the 10 minute drive to the rink. Seems to be a pattern of late third period and OT success that comes with a home ice advantage.

Welcome to the northern version of the pit of misery Dover, dilly dilly!

Whose beds did the Andover kids sleep in? I agree though, that two hour ride on a charter bus has to be death on well-conditioned 16-18 year old kids. It's a wonder they were even able to walk to the locker room without assistance.

WestMetro wrote:Edina smells Tonka and East weakness, gives them confidence for St Paul or makes them overconfident?

Tonka and East looking over shoulder after realizing good luck got them there, increases jitters for St Paul or makes them more battle hardened ?

STA challenged more than they should have been, but they go into St Paul knowing they have the best goalie against the other 3 ?

I think Edina will be fine. They seem like a crew that not only wants to beat you, they want to destroy you. If things don't go their way & they get frustrated, I can see it going the wrong direction, but I think the biggest team Edina has to worry about is Edina.

I give credit to East & Tonka for both finding a way to get past a hot goaltender; something Edina couldn't do last year against Wayzata. I think they'll both be fine more so than any looking over their shoulders.

I think STA is fine as well. The closer low scoring game was probably more expected than a blowout. If they're going to beat the other 3 teams, it will be in low scoring, defensive affairs.

Jeffy95 wrote:

MWS coach wrote:

BodyShots wrote: Do these Hounds where horseshoes in their skates?

No they have well rested legs from sleeping in their own bed and making the 10 minute drive to the rink. Seems to be a pattern of late third period and OT success that comes with a home ice advantage.

Welcome to the northern version of the pit of misery Dover, dilly dilly!

Whose beds did the Andover kids sleep in? I agree though, that two hour ride on a charter bus has to be death on well-conditioned 16-18 year old kids. It's a wonder they were even able to walk to the locker room without assistance.

Thats simply not the point. As much as Amsoil is a great facility, the fact remains that for DE, DM & Cloquet, geographically, Amsoil is not a neutral site. Not saying that’s why DE or Cloquet have won 7AA titles, but to imply it didn’t or doesn’t help...is putting your head in the sand. And all the teams that reach State stay in a hotel Thursday night or earlier, including all the metro teams, .so Xcel is truly a neutral site. And if Hermantown ever grows a set of BALLS & opts up to AA, they will have the same relative advantage as the other 3 Duluth area schools. Just don’t hold your breath on that one

Where else would they have the Section 7 playoffs if not Amsoil?

jeffpv wrote:Where else would they have the Section 7 playoffs if not Amsoil?

Rotate Final between SCSU & Hibbing On non school day Saturday, play semifinals at Amsoil 2pm & 4pm.

hockey59 wrote:

Jeffy95 wrote:

MWS coach wrote: No they have well rested legs from sleeping in their own bed and making the 10 minute drive to the rink. Seems to be a pattern of late third period and OT success that comes with a home ice advantage.

Welcome to the northern version of the pit of misery Dover, dilly dilly!

Whose beds did the Andover kids sleep in? I agree though, that two hour ride on a charter bus has to be death on well-conditioned 16-18 year old kids. It's a wonder they were even able to walk to the locker room without assistance.

Thats simply not the point. As much as Amsoil is a great facility, the fact remains that for DE, DM & Cloquet, geographically, Amsoil is not a neutral site. Not saying that’s why DE or Cloquet have won 7AA titles, but to imply it didn’t or doesn’t help...is putting your head in the sand. And all the teams that reach State stay in a hotel Thursday night or earlier, including all the metro teams, .so Xcel is truly a neutral site. And if Hermantown ever grows a set of BALLS & opts up to AA, they will have the same relative advantage as the other 3 Duluth area schools. Just don’t hold your breath on that one

I think it's way overblown and a convenient excuse. Justin Morneau was asked about the advantage of playing in the Dome once. He said the home field advantage is sleeping in your own bed. I agree with him. Every kid does that for Sections.

East is the better team. They won the game. Not a huge surprise.