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Does anyone have a team they think is underachieving this year? A team they thought would be a lot further along than they are? I would have guessed Duluth East would be better this year. After last year I really thought they were headed in the right direction, but somehow they've gotten a little derailed. There's still some hockey to play. I'm pulling for them.

hockeygoof1 wrote:Does anyone have a team they think is underachieving this year? A team they thought would be a lot further along than they are? I would have guessed Duluth East would be better this year. After last year I really thought they were headed in the right direction, but somehow they've gotten a little derailed. There's still some hockey to play. I'm pulling for them.

I don't follow the high school boys as much as most do here, but I'm surprised that Edina is not doing better (and ranked higher) than they are, just based on their history of past glory. They may be down a little this year, but who knows, they could go on to win their section and then win another state championship, which wouldn't be all that surprising to me either....again based on all their consistent record of past success.

MNHockeyFan wrote:

hockeygoof1 wrote:Does anyone have a team they think is underachieving this year? A team they thought would be a lot further along than they are? I would have guessed Duluth East would be better this year. After last year I really thought they were headed in the right direction, but somehow they've gotten a little derailed. There's still some hockey to play. I'm pulling for them.

I don't follow the high school boys as much as most do here, but I'm surprised that Edina is not doing better (and ranked higher) than they are, just based on their history of past glory. They may be down a little this year, but who knows, they could go on to win their section and then win another state championship, which wouldn't be all that surprising to me either....again based on all their consistent record of past success.

In a way, they are a bit disappointing. It has been awhile since they were underdogs in sections and not a top five team, so that can be a bummer. But realistically, you can't expect to have that talent every year so I don't think this is a terrible year for a team whose two best players are undersized sophomores. Though, Phillips is struggling a bit compared to last year.
Lets see how the season finishes out, if they fall below .500 I might change my opinion.

The disappearance of BlueLightSpecial.

Sats81 wrote:The disappearance of BlueLightSpecial.

Looking for me!

Bluelightspecial-II wrote:

Sats81 wrote:The disappearance of BlueLightSpecial.

Looking for me!

I don't believe it's really you! Bring back the original! #Imposter

Wayzata has to be considered a disappointment. STA isn't as good as as previous few years.

The disappearance of Slammer. He could "easily" return though.

I am a little disappointed in my teams performance. Going into this season I thought that they would learn to play more as a team now that there is no clear cut superstar there anymore. I spoke with some people who mentioned that some aspects of the game would be better, and I have seen some flashes of good play. But they lack the good shooting that they need.
I would like to have seen more shots from the outside and people crashing the net for rebounds. There have been many opportunities for rebound shots but no one there to gather them up. Their PP was real good early on and they still move the puck real well while on the PP. No worries, I still support them and always will. Also as most people on here know MN sports, there is always next year

Oh for those who do not know that team is Holy Angels.

The other disappointing team would be Richfield Having worked at the arena for almost 20 years and known a lot of the players, it hurts. RIP

Grand Rapids? Lots of hype going into the season, probably hasn't performed the way they had hoped.

HM? I was worried about their scoring going into this year, and they're having a hard time putting up goals. Defense is stellar and Begley seems to be coming around. Can't seem to find that signature win or two yet this year, but have plenty of opportunities especially this week.

No offense to Karl but hands down has to be between Duluth East and Wayzata. East had most everybody back and no early departures. Several expected to have big years have fizzled.

Nuts&Bolts wrote:No offense to Karl but hands down has to be between Duluth East and Wayzata. East had most everybody back and no early departures. Several expected to have big years have fizzled.

Perhaps they just weren't that good last year and hit a nice streak of luck at end there?

I'm dissapointed WBL still hangs on to Sager.

I would point out that all of these "disappointments" still have a chance to redeem themselves. Season's not over yet!

BlueLineSpecial wrote:Grand Rapids? Lots of hype going into the season, probably hasn't performed the way they had hoped.

HM? I was worried about their scoring going into this year, and they're having a hard time putting up goals. Defense is stellar and Begley seems to be coming around. Can't seem to find that signature win or two yet this year, but have plenty of opportunities especially this week.

GR is trending up right now and 12-5-1 on the season with a very tough schedule. As a previous post noted, still a decent amount of season left. On Hill-Murray, barring a catastrophic upset in the semi-finals, they'll play Stillwater in the section final and I won't be shocked if it is an OT game.

Sats81 wrote:

Nuts&Bolts wrote:No offense to Karl but hands down has to be between Duluth East and Wayzata. East had most everybody back and no early departures. Several expected to have big years have fizzled.

Perhaps they just weren't that good last year and hit a nice streak of luck at end there?

I don't see Gunnar Howg coming back any time soon to save East like he did last year.

TheHockeyDJ wrote:

BlueLineSpecial wrote:Grand Rapids? Lots of hype going into the season, probably hasn't performed the way they had hoped.

HM? I was worried about their scoring going into this year, and they're having a hard time putting up goals. Defense is stellar and Begley seems to be coming around. Can't seem to find that signature win or two yet this year, but have plenty of opportunities especially this week.

GR is trending up right now and 12-5-1 on the season with a very tough schedule. As a previous post noted, still a decent amount of season left. On Hill-Murray, barring a catastrophic upset in the semi-finals, they'll play Stillwater in the section final and I won't be shocked if it is an OT game.

Aha! Where would a thread be without the spin doctor?!

A schedule is just that a schedule - NO CONTROL

The only thing the players can control is how they play and do they take care of business on a regular basis. Its not who you play but how you play that really makes the difference.

I would be the first to say that Rapids has been a up and down team when it comes to how they play. Dont cliam they are on a huge upswing when Hermantown dumped them 5-0 a few short games ago. The Edina win was a case a the puck going in the net fo rthem in one period. Did you watch the third? Edina dominated them. Rapids was not even consistent in the game.

No question they have the pieces of the puzzle to make some noise but do they have the gumption to put together say 6 games or 18 periods in a row at the end of the year to back up their hype?

We shall see

Grand Rapids is a disappointment? Yikes. They are a top 10 team and will have a shot at a state tournament trip. They will likely finish with a higher win total that the state teams of the mid 2000s. Just because a couple of fans pumped their tires doesn't mean that a 12-5-1 team that is a top 10 club and will be the 2 seed in their section is a disappointment. The community and fan base are behind this team and are enjoying the season.

Hard to say any team is a disappointment in mid-January anyway. The games that matter are played in late February and early March.

observer wrote:Wayzata has to be considered a disappointment. STA isn't as good as as previous few years.

Since STA moved to AA they have dropped. The teams that beat HT for 4 straight years would kill this years and last years Sta teams. Mahtomedi beat STA this year and last.
Breck is now the top class A team (per pagstat) and is private in a major metro area.
My prediction is they are getting more top players and will start to dominate class A like STA did.
This year is going to be tight, but after that, my money is on Breck.

So they must have read my post, tonight AHA beat TG 4 - 1 by crashing the net and smacking in a couple of rebounds.

BlueLineSpecial wrote:HM? I was worried about their scoring going into this year, and they're having a hard time putting up goals. Defense is stellar and Begley seems to be coming around. Can't seem to find that signature win or two yet this year, but have plenty of opportunities especially this week.

Pretty good 10 days for HM. Tied Edina and beat Tartan, STA & Blaine. The D and Begley are really good. This is a rare HM team. No flash or stars but really physical and hard working. They likely get Casey Staum back in a week or 2 which will make that D even better. Looking forward to that Stillwater game on Saturday.

boblee wrote:Grand Rapids is a disappointment? Yikes. They are a top 10 team and will have a shot at a state tournament trip. They will likely finish with a higher win total that the state teams of the mid 2000s. Just because a couple of fans pumped their tires doesn't mean that a 12-5-1 team that is a top 10 club and will be the 2 seed in their section is a disappointment. The community and fan base are behind this team and are enjoying the season.

Hard to say any team is a disappointment in mid-January anyway. The games that matter are played in late February and early March.

Word.

I think Duluth East gets this award so far. After finishing second at state last year they are barely a top 20 team now after returning all of their key players. They have several disappointing losses to subpar teams and have dropped all of their big rivalry games to date.

Wayzata and Maple Grove.

Maple Grove should/could receive this award in perpetuity. Huge youth hockey feeder program going on 10+ years, with all of the attributes you'd expect. And here they are again: mediocre.

Wayzata--see above.

stpaul wrote:

BlueLineSpecial wrote:HM? I was worried about their scoring going into this year, and they're having a hard time putting up goals. Defense is stellar and Begley seems to be coming around. Can't seem to find that signature win or two yet this year, but have plenty of opportunities especially this week.

Pretty good 10 days for HM. Tied Edina and beat Tartan, STA & Blaine. The D and Begley are really good. This is a rare HM team. No flash or stars but really physical and hard working. They likely get Casey Staum back in a week or 2 which will make that D even better. Looking forward to that Stillwater game on Saturday.

Well there's that signature win, over Blaine. The Stillwater game should be a lot of fun. Their schedule to this point has been pretty tepid. Their only big games have been the LN and HF, so it's been difficult for me to give them a lot of credit or validation for their high rankings. IMO they're the one team in the rankings that still have a lot to prove. With that said they're clearly a good team and it should be a fun matchup. I'll reserve predictions for another thread