2/3 Edina @ Eden Prairie
Moderators: Mitch Hawker, east hockey, karl(east)
2/3 Edina @ Eden Prairie
Game two of three for these teams. First one went to Edina in overtime at Braemar, now they will be in the EP Community Center. EP is coming off an exhilarating OT win over Hermantown. Who wins?
EP two out of three.
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eastside hockey
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MnMade-4-Life
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Doc Holliday
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standout4thlinejver
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hockey4ever
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Doc Holliday
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Doc Holliday
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Final: Edina 3, EP 0
I thought EP had a lot of control, but Girard seemed like he was in a zone and was seeing the puck well. He was the #1 star.
Either team can beat either on any given night; just a matter of who plays their game. But it looks like Edina does have EP's number, for some reason or another. Now Edina needs to be a team that has had their number over the past year +: Wayzata.
Doesn't take anything away from EP, in my opinion. They are as good as anybody and if they can come out of VI and will have just as good a chance to win it as anybody else. They're solid. This loss doesn't show me otherwise.
I thought EP had a lot of control, but Girard seemed like he was in a zone and was seeing the puck well. He was the #1 star.
Either team can beat either on any given night; just a matter of who plays their game. But it looks like Edina does have EP's number, for some reason or another. Now Edina needs to be a team that has had their number over the past year +: Wayzata.
Doesn't take anything away from EP, in my opinion. They are as good as anybody and if they can come out of VI and will have just as good a chance to win it as anybody else. They're solid. This loss doesn't show me otherwise.
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karl(east)
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No disagreements here. Edina continues to mix and match all their lines...we'll know in the end if that's the right thing to do or not, but I guess it was effective tonight. They got a great game from Girard and the defense played just well enough to give them a chance, and they pounced in the 3rd when they got that opportunity. They also stayed out of the box in the 3rd (before that fight) which was key. Frustrating night for EP since they controlled play for so long; it's something of a theme with them, but they're still one of, if not the most, complete team in the state.Doc Holliday wrote:Final: Edina 3, EP 0
I thought EP had a lot of control, but Girard seemed like he was in a zone and was seeing the puck well. He was the #1 star.
Either team can beat either on any given night; just a matter of who plays their game. But it looks like Edina does have EP's number, for some reason or another. Now Edina needs to be a team that has had their number over the past year +: Wayzata.
Doesn't take anything away from EP, in my opinion. They are as good as anybody and if they can come out of VI and will have just as good a chance to win it as anybody else. They're solid. This loss doesn't show me otherwise.
Both teams will miss players in their next games. EP can afford that since they play Buffalo, but how about Edina vs. Wayzata?
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karl(east)
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Doc Holliday
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According to the Strib, no fighting penalties were assessed.
Though the student sections enjoyed it, the game was marred by a display of after-the-whistle wrestling among several players with 37 seconds remaining. Eden Prairie's Jack McCartan was given a five-minute major and a game misconduct for leaving the bench during the incident.
No fighting majors were assessed.
"It's too bad, but stuff like that happens," Giles said. "All those kids are competitive ... and sometimes frustrations get to a certain level."
We'll see, I guess.
Though the student sections enjoyed it, the game was marred by a display of after-the-whistle wrestling among several players with 37 seconds remaining. Eden Prairie's Jack McCartan was given a five-minute major and a game misconduct for leaving the bench during the incident.
No fighting majors were assessed.
"It's too bad, but stuff like that happens," Giles said. "All those kids are competitive ... and sometimes frustrations get to a certain level."
We'll see, I guess.
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Doc Holliday
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Reading HockeyHub Q&A with the coaches, Lee Smith seems kind of bitter: Here
Q: What were some of the positives Eden Prairie is looking to take away from this game?
A: We had the puck for most of the game. They came out and got us early and we responded really well the last two periods. I don’t know if the right team won tonight but the team that was opportunistic, played hard and played smart, they did win.
Big contrast to the way Giles answered the ?'s. I don't know, to me, you just don't say stuff like that, even if you privately feel that way. You keep that amongst the team. Just seems to come off as bitter & making excuses. Just my opinion.
Q: What were some of the positives Eden Prairie is looking to take away from this game?
A: We had the puck for most of the game. They came out and got us early and we responded really well the last two periods. I don’t know if the right team won tonight but the team that was opportunistic, played hard and played smart, they did win.
Big contrast to the way Giles answered the ?'s. I don't know, to me, you just don't say stuff like that, even if you privately feel that way. You keep that amongst the team. Just seems to come off as bitter & making excuses. Just my opinion.
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MNHockeyFan
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Huh? He's saying Edina "was opportunistic, played hard and played smart" but they were not the "right team" to win? I'm sure before the next game he'll tell his own team "don't play hard and smart and don't be opportunistic with your chances; let's just try to have the puck for most of the game".Doc Holliday wrote:Q: What were some of the positives Eden Prairie is looking to take away from this game?
A: We had the puck for most of the game. They came out and got us early and we responded really well the last two periods. I don’t know if the right team won tonight but the team that was opportunistic, played hard and played smart, they did win.
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hockey4ever
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For EP it must have been a frustrating game to lose. I don't think they got the reward for their effort, primarily because Edina played a great game defensively and Girard was rock solid. I can only speculate and guess that Edina's game plan was to shut EP down and hope for a break or lucky bounce, which they got. Not the typical offensive game you expect from Edina but I'm guessing Giles knows he isn't likely to win if he trys to run and gun or open the game up. If that was their plan then great coaching and excellent execution by the players.
I also think one needs to take a look at how well Edina killed off all of their penalties. Granted Edina had some powerplays too but they were usually cut short by another penalty against them.
Also was much more impressed with K Rau this go around then I was the last time i saw him play. One of the strongest kids i've seen for that size in a long time.
He's got my vote to shine at the next lvl
Also was much more impressed with K Rau this go around then I was the last time i saw him play. One of the strongest kids i've seen for that size in a long time.
He's got my vote to shine at the next lvl
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Rich Clarke
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Lee Smith's comments
Doc is right, obviously. A smart coach NEVER is foolish enough to suggest publicly that the wrong team won. It not only comes off as bitter, but provides unnecessary incentive to his opponent for the next game--which in this case comes in two weeks.MNHockeyFan wrote:Huh? He's saying Edina "was opportunistic, played hard and played smart" but they were not the "right team" to win? I'm sure before the next game he'll tell his own team "don't play hard and smart and don't be opportunistic with your chances; let's just try to have the puck for most of the game".Doc Holliday wrote:Q: What were some of the positives Eden Prairie is looking to take away from this game?
A: We had the puck for most of the game. They came out and got us early and we responded really well the last two periods. I don’t know if the right team won tonight but the team that was opportunistic, played hard and played smart, they did win.
More important though, it comes off as clueless in this particular case. EP is not a team that has coasted through its schedule and just happened to have been snake bit this one night. Instead,it's a team that has repeatedly fallen to teams with less talent. It has impressed by beating Grand Rapids, Benilde, Maple Grove, Hill Murray, Burnsville, and Minnetonka, but shown its vulnerability in losses to Edina (twice), Eagan, Holy Angels, and Duluth East, while tying a Wayzata team mired in a slump. Such a record would be impressive for most teams in the state, but for a team with this talent and state championship expectations, the record proves that they are winning about 55% of their games against the types of teams they're likely to face in the playoffs. Given that they'll need to win five such games in a row beginning with the section six semifinals, they need to be much better than they've been to defy those odds.
Instead of suggesting to his team that it should have won, Coach Smith should recognize that his Eagles are currently far from the team they need to be. Good teams are finding it far too easy to shut down the Eagles' offense enough to win the close games. Edina, like Duluth East a few weeks ago, simply kept EP to the outside and forced low percentage shots. The Eagles responded by just shooting more, but not creating better shots. After the East game those present correctly observed that the one-sided shot total (in EP's favor) was highly misleading in that the shots were rarely dangerous, and that East's were the opposite. The same was true against Edina--Girard was confident and in position all night, but actually would have had to have made a mistake for EP to score. He certainly didn't have to stand on his head.
EP should be concerned. Edina has somehow beaten a lot of good teams, but it hasn't been because of superior defense. They came into the game giving up fifty goals in eighteen games, but have held EP to two goals in two games.
Lee Smith is blessed with another month to get his highly-talented team ready for the next level--his section six opponents can only hope that he continues to stay the course, and win games in his comments, if not on the ice.