It's Monday - Quick Notes

I just have some quick thoughts on some things.

Roseau - I dropped Roseau way down in the rankings. Even though I like what the Rams have in Shane Omdahl and Adam Knochenmus, they do not seem to have the stifling defense they normally do this year. They are not blowing out opponents they should be and their schedule/wins has been against mostly Class A teams. Roseau has lost to Moorhead at Roseau Memorial Arena this year and last by a total goal count of 11-2 in favor of Moorhead. Last year, Warroad beat Roseau 3-2 in Roseau. This year, Warroad won 5-2 in Roseau. Roseau went 15-10-3 last year. I do not think this team is better than last year's.

Even Apple Valley (10-7-0) defeated Grand Forks River in Grand Forks and Roseau could only manage a tie against them. I kicked Apple Valley out of the top 20 this week because of two straight losses to GOOD Class AA teams. I probably should have left Apple Valley or put someone else in Roseau's spot. Roseau is 2-2-0 against Class AA teams. The Rams are 9-1-0 against Class A teams, the loss to Warroad. They are 2-0-1 against North Dakota teams. Roseau can prove themselves this week when they face Warroad again in Warroad on Monday, at Brainerd/Pillager/Pierz on Friday, and St. Cloud Tech on Saturday.

Burnsville - The Blaze are HOT! Pun intended. They are 8-1-1 since December 29th. They lost to #2AA Wayzata by one goal and they tied #5AA Bloomington Jefferson 2-2. On the other side of it, Burnsville had not beaten anybody in the top 20 until this past week. They defeated, then, #18AA Apple Valley 3-1 and fried, then, #7AA Eagan 8-2. They have #3AA Eden Prairie on Thursday.

Duluth Marshall - Why is Duluth Marshall still in your top 20 with a losing record? The Hilltoppers are a hard team to figure out this year. I would have kicked them out of the top 20 this week UNTIL they defeated Thief River Falls 3-2 in overtime on Saturday. They've defeated Hibbing/Chisholm and took Hermantown to overtime this year. Six of Duluth Marshall's 10 losses have come to Class AA teams. Five of the six have winning records. They have shown glimpses that they can compete and I think they are a Section 7A threat.

Prior Lake - I am really intrigued by the success that the Lakers are having this year simply because Joe Pankratz (former Jefferson Jaguar, former Gopher) took over as head coach. They are 12-6-0 this season. No, they are not ready to take on the Jeffersons, the Eden Prairies, or most of the Lake Conference teams. However, the Lakers are learning to win. This is something new to their boys varsity hockey program. In their last three years, Prior lake's records were 8-17-1 ('08-'09), 6-18-1 ('07-'08), 9-16-1 ('06-'07). Coach has been a winner during his hockey life and he may have brought that winning tradition to Prior Lake with him.

Just so everyone understands . . .

I am NOT from Bloomington nor am I a big fan of Jefferson. As I've stated before on here, if I was held to the ground and had to choose a team, it would be Cloquet/Esko/Carlton. When I started to get into Minnesota high school hockey in the early 90's (I was in my early 20's), Jamie Langenbrunner was making a name for himself and the Lumberjacks. Also, I have family that lived in the Barnum area at the time and Cloquet used to be a regular shopping and meal spot for us. Back then, when Cloquet did not make the state tournament, I usually cheered on the team from Section 7, both AA and A.

By the way, Langenbrunner threw his weight around on the ice back then. He was an extremely physical player, fantastic on the fore-check. I really enjoyed that part of his game.

Yes, I was at the historic five-overtime state tournament semifinal game between Apple Valley and Duluth East and I was sitting in the Duluth East area cheering on Dave Spehar and the Hounds. That has to be my best hockey moment ever. A Section 8AA final back around that time was probably my second best game. It was between Elk River (Woody Glines), who was in Section 8 back then, and Moorhead (Ryan Kraft and Matt Cullen). There was another very good player from Elk River that I am having trouble recalling. It was a four overtime classic at the National Hockey Center. Puck after puck rang off posts and crossbars. Moorhead ended up winning it. The Spuds finished 2nd in the state that year.

Today, I am more neutral. I just like seeing great high school teams compete and I like seeing programs improve that have been down for years.

Class A Parity

There really has been too much parity in Class A this year. Teams like Chisago Lakes Area, Delano/Rockford, Detroit Lakes, Duluth Denfeld, Fergus Falls, Holy Family Catholic, Hutchinson, New Ulm, Orono, Park Rapids Area, Providence Academy, Rogers, Sauk Rapids-Rice, Spring Lake Park, and Willmar all have winning records and have the potential to do damage in their respective Sections yet they all have lost games that make you scratch your head. Most all of those teams mentioned have pretty much beaten up on each other this season.

Then you have teams like Albert Lea, East Grand Forks, Northfield, Red Wing, and Duluth Marshall that all have losing records but are one of the better teams in their Section and have beaten some of those better teams above them.

And, finally, you have those teams with great looking records but they do not beat anyone with a winning record. Redwood Valley is 15-2-0. Their two losses were to St. Paul Academy (5-13-0) and Windom Area (6-10-1) very early in the season and they were both by one goal. Still, it is hard to know how good they are when they do not even face the tougher teams in their own Section 3A during the season like New Ulm (40 miles away), Hutchinson (62 miles away), or even Litchfield/Dassel-Cakato (72 miles away). Most of their own conference games are further away than Litchfield/DC. Redwood Valley was supposed to go far with their 18-5-1 regular season last season but they lost to Litchfield/DC (9-16-0 at the time) in the first round. North Branch is 10-6-3 this season. After a 4-15-0 record last year, North Branch has definitely improved. It is a good beginning under the reign of new head coach Randy Gendreau. However, they only have one win against a team with a winning record (Moose Lake) this season. Moose Lake Area (13-5-0) has defeated one team with a winning record (Northern Lakes (9-8-0)). Moose Lake was 19-4-1 going into last year's playoffs. They lost in the first round to Sauk Rapids-Rice (8-17-0) 4-1. Duluth Central is 12-5-1 this season. They, like North Branch, are vastly improved over last year's team. However, they too have only defeated one team with a winning record (Northern Lakes).

Edina, Jefferson, Edina, Jefferson - Who is the #1 seed in Section 2AA?

If you did not get a chance to read my reasons why Edina should be the #1 seed in Section 2AA, please read it here.

I am feeling a bit better. If I keep taking the Ibuprofen and the Vitamin C, it slowly gets better. I still have the heat up to almost 80 and I have a blanket wrapped around my head.

Sundays and Mondays are normally catchup days but there are many games going on this Monday instead of Tuesday due to, I believe, State Caucus Night. In any case, I will try to be all caught up in the next four days.

I really do hate to ask but, if you have the means, I'd appreciate your financial support. I have bills to pay and this site is my main means of income right now. Jobs are scarce in Sioux Falls and I'd like to get moved back to Minnesota to work on better possibilities for the site or at least a better opportunity for another job. Again, thank you.

The regular season is coming to its conclusion. Including this week, there are only four weeks left! Playoffs are right around the corner!