Section 2AA Playoff Preview
My pick: Burnsville Blaze
There is no doubt that the Edina Hornets are a force that few teams are able to tame. But, if teams haven't figured it out already, the Hornets are top heavy in scoring goals. If you take a look at the stats below, their top three goal scorers are responsible for 65% of their teams offensive output. Compare it to the Burnsville Blaze. The Blaze offense is spread out. They average the same amount of goals and allow the same amount as Edina. The Edina defense allows 2.6 shots less per game than Burnsville. Edina's goaltending appears to be stronger than the Blaze. Edina defeated Burnsville 4-3 in overtime at Burnsville on 12/7/07. Edina outshot Burnsville 34-22. Guess who scored for Edina in that game? Three guesses. Marshall Everson, Anders Lee, and Zach Budish all scored a goal in that game.
If any team in Section 2AA wants to advance to the state tournament by defeating the high-powered Hornets, those three amazing scorers need to be stopped. Of the two losses for Edina this year, Marshall scored the only goal against Benilde-St. Margaret's and Zach Budish scored the only goal of the top three in their loss on Saturday to Minnetonka.
It will not be just a two horse race however. Academy of Holy Angels and Bloomington Jefferson cannot be overlooked.
Jefferson's possesses strong defense and goaltending. Goal scoring is a question mark though. They averaged almost two goals less than Edina, Burnsville, or Holy Angels. The Jaguars face Shakopee first and will be depending on their defense if they make it to the semifinals against Edina. Jefferson has not faced Edina this season. They did face Burnsville where they lost both games by one goal, one in overtime.
Academy of Holy Angels is a mystery to me. The Stars are averaging almost five goals a game thanks in part to Danny Mattson who has scored 30 goals, the 2nd most goals in the Section behind Everson. The weakness, when comparing the top four seeds, seems to be the Stars giving up goals. They have given up an average of 2.5 goals a game. Yet, they only gave up almost 23 shots per game, 2nd best in that category in the Section. The Stars have not faced any of the top three teams in the Section. They have only faced Shakopee and Prior Lake twice each going 4-0 in all four contests.
The pressure is all on Edina and their top three. They are expected to be at the Xcel in March. If one of the other 2AA teams can figure out a way to stop Edina's top goal producers, they will take their place at state. In my opinion, Burnsville has the tools to get that job done. If they face each other in the 2AA finals and hold Edina's top three to one goal, the Blaze should come out on top and make it to the dance. Don't overlook Prior Lake and Bloomington Jefferson though to get there. The Hornets will be hard to beat and trying to stop the Hat 'Trick'y Trio' will be no easy task.
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