OT: MN High School Hockey Thread

[llamapalooza]

Dang you guys, I am en-route to LA at the moment and will miss the tournament for the first time since I can remember, like 94'. Pour one out for me at McGoverns.


I hope to god, Bemidji can give the cake a game but it'll be tough, I am a LN follower as I have an affiliation with the school as a coach of another sport but they really do have a tough game against HM. This is a tough draw but this will be an EXTREMELY competitive tournament for all 3 rounds, which is a great thing. Something we've all wanted for years. I hope Bemidji wins on Thursday and please, for those of us who would usually be $243.32 into a McGovern's tab on grape apes, keep us the effff updated.

KSTC actually has a paid stream ($5/day) on prep45.com that I'll be using to watch this year.

 

[gphr513]

Excited for the puck to drop tomorrow

 

[MuckOG]

KSTC actually has a paid stream ($5/day) on prep45.com that I'll be using to watch this year.

Gotta pay now? That was always free.

 

[Jesus comma Brodin]

KSTC actually has a paid stream ($5/day) on prep45.com that I'll be using to watch this year.

Gotta pay now? That was always free.

Ahh thank you for the info llama, never knew cause I have always been there.

It would be great if it were free, but for $5, I think I will give it a shot.

 

[Paul Bunyan]

DVR is set. I'm binge watching too much stuff already with the Six Nations and Cricket World Cup going on....argh.

 

[TaLoN]

Have the week off for this as I make sure I do every year!

 

[gphr513]

Won't be getting home until 9:15 or so both tomorrow and Thursday nights. So I'll be hoping for OT in the 6:00 game both nights, so I can see as much of the nightcaps as possible, haha.

 

[plock]

DVR is set. I'm binge watching too much stuff already with the Six Nations and Cricket World Cup going on....argh.

What's the word on Johnny Sexton?Ireland needs him to win the grand slam.

 

[Slick Willy*]

I have an idea for a new format for the state tournament. I don't want to change the one we have but what is your opinion on making the tournament like this:


Small schools play big schools from each section in one big, 16 team tournament:

1A vs 1AA
2A vs 2AA
3A vs 3AA
4A vs 4AA
5A vs 5AA
6A vs 6AA
7A vs 7AA
8A vs 8AA


And then it goes on from there? These first round games would all be televised and then it would go from there.


What do you think? I personally think it would give "small" schools more legitimacy in that, from the above situation you could possibly get, like, a 5A vs 1AA championship matchup, and so on.


I know this would never happen in a million years (in fact i"m expecting them to expand the tournament if anything, to AAA or even more, like basketball), but I am just throwing it out there for opinions.

I take it some people would like this idea.


I think I would.

 

[Paul Bunyan]

What's the word on Johnny Sexton?Ireland needs him to win the grand slam.

Supposedly a minor hamstring, should be fit for the match against Wales.

 

[Victorious Secret]

1A vs 1AA
2A vs 2AA
3A vs 3AA
4A vs 4AA
5A vs 5AA
6A vs 6AA
7A vs 7AA
8A vs 8AA

This would be absolutely horrible. Any win for A would be a major upset. There is a huge disparity between A and AA, and you'd see that immediately. Would be a terrible tournament.

 

[00xtremeninja]

well, I have only casually watched the tournament the past few years and don't know a ton about teams around the state. Here is what I would like to see though.

Class A. I am going to pull for Mahtomedi. #2 seed, haven’t seen them pop up in the tournament in recent memory. I think Breck and Hermantown will duke it out, with Hermantown hopefully making it through to face Mahtomedi and it will sadly once again not be Hermantown’s year as the little town that could Mahtomedi wins it all.

Class AA. Go Lakeville North. Hopefully Bemidji knocks off Edina (doubtful), Duluth knocks off St. Thomas (also doubtful) and Blaine takes it to Eden Prairie. Whoever plays, just let Lakeville win it all.

 

[Paul Bunyan]

well, I have only casually watched the tournament the past few years and don't know a ton about teams around the state. Here is what I would like to see though.

Class A. I am going to pull for Mahtomedi. #2 seed, haven’t seen them pop up in the tournament in recent memory. I think Breck and Hermantown will duke it out, with Hermantown hopefully making it through to face Mahtomedi and it will sadly once again not be Hermantown’s year as the little town that could Mahtomedi wins it all.

Class AA. Go Lakeville North. Hopefully Bemidji knocks off Edina (doubtful), Duluth knocks off St. Thomas (also doubtful) and Blaine takes it to Eden Prairie. Whoever plays, just let Lakeville win it all.

This could help:

Tourney Cheat Sheet

Sent it to a bunch of friends who are watching for the first time, and honestly, since I didn't grow up here it always helps despite rooting for teams from the North since my friends/family schools aren't in it.

 

[Slick Willy*]

There is a huge disparity between A and AA .

Since there are plenty of A schools (like Hermantown, Blake, Breck, Warroad) that would murder AA schools (take your pick - any number of AA schools would get murdered by the aforementioned teams) with all due respect I think your statement isn't correct in the least.

 

[00xtremeninja]

This could help:

Tourney Cheat Sheet

Sent it to a bunch of friends who are watching for the first time, and honestly, since I didn't grow up here it always helps despite rooting for teams from the North since my friends/family schools aren't in it.

that's a neat cheat sheet, thanks for the link

yeah, not being from Minnesota, it has taken me a while to understand what all the hype is around it, but I finally get it. This is on par with the high school football tournament down in Texas. It's been a lot of fun being able to watch with no love for one particular school over the other. While it is always fun to cheer against the private schools, or the rich kid schools, they play some damn fine hockey.

 

[Killerjug]

Since there are plenty of A schools (like Hermantown, Blake, Breck, Warroad) that would murder AA schools (take your pick - any number of AA schools would get murdered by the aforementioned teams) with all due respect I think your statement isn't correct in the least.

that is simply not true.

 

[gphr513]

This could help:

Tourney Cheat Sheet

Sent it to a bunch of friends who are watching for the first time, and honestly, since I didn't grow up here it always helps despite rooting for teams from the North since my friends/family schools aren't in it.

Nice cheat sheet. Good to know who to watch, especially for some of the A schools!

 

[Paul Bunyan]

that's a neat cheat sheet, thanks for the link

yeah, not being from Minnesota, it has taken me a while to understand what all the hype is around it, but I finally get it. This is on par with the high school football tournament down in Texas. It's been a lot of fun being able to watch with no love for one particular school over the other. While it is always fun to cheer against the private schools, or the rich kid schools, they play some damn fine hockey.

No worries. Yeah, it's like Indiana basketball or Florida/Texas football.

Biggest HS tournament in the country but it's that sort of passion, and that's with what 65-70% of our best HS age players playing USHL hockey (think that's what it was last year).

 

[MuckOG]

Since there are plenty of A schools (like Hermantown, Blake, Breck, Warroad) that would murder AA schools (take your pick - any number of AA schools would get murdered by the aforementioned teams) with all due respect I think your statement isn't correct in the least.

If you're talking regular season games, then sure...There are plenty of AA teams that the teams you listed can beat. But those AA teams generally don't make State. The AA teams that compete in the tournament would easily take care of Hermantown, Blake, Breck or Warroad....Bemidji would be the one exception.

 

[TJL48]

Since there are plenty of A schools (like Hermantown, Blake, Breck, Warroad) that would murder AA schools (take your pick - any number of AA schools would get murdered by the aforementioned teams) with all due respect I think your statement isn't correct in the least.

Warroad hasn't even made it out of it's section in 5 years. There is maybe a team in any given year that could maybe compete but there is a reason there is 2 classes.

 

[District 5]

This would be absolutely horrible. Any win for A would be a major upset. There is a huge disparity between A and AA, and you'd see that immediately. Would be a terrible tournament.

Although I agree that you would see more AA teams make the official tourney every year than the A teams, I think your selling the established "A" schools a little short. Now I'm not sure a format like this would work, but there are a handful of "A" teams around the state that can play with the big boys. (EGF-wins against Blaine, Roseau(twice), Bemidji... Mahtomedi- wins against cretin, STA) just to name a few

One thing I think you would see in a format like this would be the cinderella story. You used to see it all the time in the one class system. You don't see that very often in the modern tournaments, especially since they started to seed the tournament.

 

[gphr513]

Warroad hasn't even made it out of it's section in 5 years. There is maybe a team in any given year that could maybe compete but there is a reason there is 2 classes.

Yeah, I was going to say the same thing.

A couple of those Hermantown teams probably could have been respectable in the AA bracket. But I think you're right that it would be maybe one a year (if that) that could hang in the AA bracket. Even less often would you find one with a legit shot to win it.

 

[Slick Willy*]

Although I agree that you would see more AA teams make the official tourney every year than the A teams, I think your selling the established "A" schools a little short. Now I'm not sure a format like this would work, but there are a handful of "A" teams around the state that can play with the big boys. (EGF-wins against Blaine, Roseau(twice), Bemidji... Mahtomedi- wins against cretin, STA) just to name a few

One thing I think you would see in a format like this would be the cinderella story. You used to see it all the time in the one class system. You don't see that very often in the modern tournaments, especially since they started to seed the tournament.

That's why I think it would be cool.



It will never happen - and I agree that there are in general weaker teams in A compared to AA, but that's not to say there aren't extremely powerful teams in small schools (previously STA, Roseau is technically "small" school, Warroad and Blake and Breck and so on.)


Furthermore I expect to see AAA and possibly even AAAA some day down the road, because of revenue generated. They do it in basketball and football...no reason to stop at hockey.

 

[00xtremeninja]

so, I'm not about to drop five bucks each day to have a stream on and off while at work. is there radio coverage online of the tourney?

 

[gphr513]

Kinda sloppy early on in the Mahtomedi-New Ulm game.

New Ulm goalie looks solid, though.