| Here are my picks for the Sections. Most are the same as my pre-season picks. You can find my preseason picks on each of the Section Season Standings pages. I went into more detail with those than I did with my post-season picks. I simply ran out of time. WISHING THE BEST OF SKILL AND PUCK LUCK to all of the Minnesota boys high school teams in the 2012 playoffs!! MAKE MINNESOTA HOCKEY HISTORY! |
| SECTION 1AA |
| Lakeville South over Lakeville North |
| WHY Lakeville South: Justin Kloos and Alex Harvey, more depth, better defense, revenge Lakeville North: Blake Winiecki and Evan Peterson but no Charlie Lindgren Lakeville teams are at a higher level than the Rochester teams. HEAD-TO-HEAD 1/7: Lakeville North 4, Lakeville South 3 at Hasse Arena (Shots: 31-26 South) 2/9: Lakeville South, 4, Lakeville North 2 at Ames Arena (Shots: 21-21) |
| SECTION 2AA |
| Burnsville over Edina |
| WHY Burnsville: Deeper scoring, goaltender Chris Mallon playing well down the stretch Edina: Sophomore Hurley and freshman Malmquist, good goaltending, better defense Edina is not a team that scores a lot of goals but their game is defense. Willie Benjamin is pretty good in goal too. Edina is 2-3-0 when neither Hurley or Malmquist score a goal, 18-2-0 when one or both score. Edina 0-3-0 when they allow opponents more than 3 goals in a game, 2-5-0 when they allow 3 or more, 18-0-0 when they allow 2 or less goals. HEAD-TO-HEAD 1/10: Edina 3, Burnsville 2 at Burnsville Ice Center (Shots: 35-34 Edina) - Hurley and Malmquist (GWG) both scored |
| SECTION 3AA |
| Eagan over Cretin-Derham Hall |
| WHY Eagan: Deepest scoring in the state with 10 players over 20 points in the regular season Cretin-Derham Hall: Luke Dietsch and a little more depth than the rest in 3AA Eastview's Scott Nelson and Hastings' Nate Flynn have the ability to take over a game and lead their team to the championship game but Eagan is too deep and too strong to be upset. If Apple Valley gets to the final, it will be because of their good defense and being able to scrape up a couple of goals. HEAD-TO-HEAD None |
| SECTION 4AA |
| Hill-Murray over White Bear Lake |
| WHY Hill-Murray: Deeper scoring, three players with over 20-goals during the regular season White Bear Lake: Returning Section champs, rivalry, more scoring than Roseville White Bear Lake, Roseville, Mounds View, and Stillwater have been too inconsistent this season. Yet, all four have the potential and the goaltending to come up with an upset. HEAD-TO-HEAD 12/22: Hill-Murray 7, White Bear Lake 2 at Aldrich Arena (Shots: 28-26 Hill-Murray) |
| SECTION 5AA |
| Maple Grove over Centennial |
| WHY Maple Grove: Solid team at offense, defense, and goaltending but defense stands out Centennial: I like them outlasting Blaine in what could be a multiple-overtime semifinal Maple Grove is heads above Centennial and Blaine. I don't think there is anything stopping the Crimson from getting to the X this year except themselves. If they don't get over-confident and play hard like they have all year, they should be in. HEAD-TO-HEAD 12/17: Maple Grove 4, Centennial 2 at Maple Grove Community Center (Shots: 36-23 MG) 2/4: Maple Grove 3, Centennial 0 at Centennial Sports Arena (Shots: 29-26 MG) |
| SECTION 6AA |
| Benilde-St. Margaret's over Minnetonka |
| WHY Benilde-St. Margaret's: Depth, Junior Grant Besse (Wisconsin), senior leadership, luck Minnetonka: Depth, Junior Vinni Lettieri (Minnesota), senior leadership I DO think these teams are pretty even. I have to go with Benilde-St. Margaret's because I picked them as my pre-season pick and I think they'll get there for Jabs. Either team will be a top four team at the state tournament. HEAD-TO-HEAD 1/12: Minnetonka 5, Benilde-St. Margaret's 3 at Pagel Activity Center (Shots: 36-34 Tonka) |
| SECTION 7AA |
| Duluth East over Grand Rapids |
| WHY Duluth East: Deep team, goaltender Dylan Parker had best AA save percentage, good D Grand Rapids: Good depth, goaltending solid Elk River will not upset Duluth East even with Anders Franke stopping 50 shots and Grand Rapids will be too overwhelming for Andover and Cloquet/Esko/Carlton. Chase Perry is the wrench that could ruin a Grand Rapids' run to the title game. Grand Rapids needs to stay out of the penalty box. It should be the Hounds and the Halloween Machine in a rematch from last year that East won 2-1 in overtime. I don't think it will be as close this time around. HEAD-TO-HEAD 01/12: Duluth East 4, Grand Rapids 3 at IRA Civic Center (Shots: 33-27 Duluth East) - Paige Skoog was in goal for Duluth East, Hunter Shepard for Grand Rapids |
| SECTION 8AA |
| Moorhead over Brainerd/Pillager/Pierz |
| WHY Moorhead: Michael Bitzer Brainerd/P/P: Scoring depth It comes down to Michael Bitzer, the frontrunner for the Frank Brimsek Award. I think the other three top teams in 8AA, Bemidji, Brainerd/Pillager/Pierz, and Roseau have better offenses than Moorhead but the Spuds have the best goaltender in the state. Look at the two games between Moorhead and Brainerd/P/P this season. Total shots in those two games combined were 68-41 in favor of Brainerd. Bitzer was the difference. HEAD-TO-HEAD 1/10: Moorhead 4, Brainerd/Pillager/Pierz 1 at Moorhead Sports Center (Shots: 35-21 BPP) 2/14: Moorhead 4, Brainerd/Pillager/Pierz 0 at Brainerd Area CC (Shots: 33-20 BPP) |
| SECTION 1A |
| Rochester Lourdes over New Prague |
| HEAD-TO-HEAD 12/06: Rochester Lourdes 5, New Prague 3 at Graham Arena (Shots: 21-15 RL) 2/11: Rochester Lourdes 2, New Prague 1 at New Prague CC (Shots: 25-23 RL) |
| SECTION 2A |
| Breck School over Delano/Rockford |
| HEAD-TO-HEAD 12/10: Breck School 4, Delano/Rockford 2 at Delano Sports Arena (Shots: 37-30 Breck) |
| SECTION 3A |
| Luverne over New Ulm |
| HEAD-TO-HEAD None |
| SECTION 4A |
| Totino-Grace over St. Thomas Academy |
| HEAD-TO-HEAD 1/31: St. Thomas Academy 1, Totino-Grace 0 at Parade Ice Garden (Shots: 28-24 STA) |
| SECTION 5A |
| Hermantown over St. Cloud Cathedral |
| HEAD-TO-HEAD 1/13: Hermantown 2, St. Cloud Cathedral 1 at Hermantown Arena (Shots: 34-27 H-Town) |
| SECTION 6A |
| Little Falls over Alexandria |
| HEAD-TO-HEAD 12/15: Alexandria 4, Little Falls 3 OT at Runestone Comm Center (Shots: 52-28 LF) 1/31: Little Falls 4, Alexandria 0 at Exchange Arena (Shots: 39-7 LF) |
| SECTION 7A |
| Duluth Marshall over Hibbing/Chisholm |
| HEAD-TO-HEAD 11/29: Duluth Marshall 5, Hibbing/Chisholm 2 at MARS Lakeview (Shots: 31-24 DM) |
| SECTION 8A |
| Warroad over Thief River Falls |
| HEAD-TO-HEAD 12/20: Thief River Falls 3, Warroad 2 OT at The Gardens Arena (Shots: 25-15 TRF) 1/19: Thief River Falls 2, Warroad 1 OT at Ralph Engelstad Arena (Shots: 23-18 TRF) |
