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Grand Rapids Hockey Offseason News
-Sam Rendle, Tony Palkki, and John Skrbec have been named captains for the
2008-2009 season.
-J.R. Mackey has been awarded the 2007-2008 Grand Rapids Hobey Baker Award.
-Corey Kosak was named Player's Choice team MVP for the 2007-2008 season.
-Sam Sparen was named Player's Choice team Most Determined Player for the
2007-2008 season.
-Pat Rendle has been named Grand Rapids High School Athletic Director as Wayne
Pender is set to resign at the end of the school year.
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Do you have a question or idea for a blog? If you do, please send an
email to Tim.
3/4/2008-Tim from the Top-"Girls to Boys"
My girl's AA bracket ended up tallying
92/150. Not too bad. I happened to have both of the AA teams correctly in the
championship, but I had Grand Rapids/Greenway beating Eden Prairie. In A, I had
Alexandria over Blake in the finals, and instead they beat Breck. Breck happened
to be the team that defeated Blake in sections. Congrats to the Grand
Rapids/Greenway girls on a great season. Congrats to Emily Erickson, Molly
Arola, Kayla Clafton, and Jessica Havel on their All-Tournament team selection.
Congrats to Emily Erickson on first team all-state. Congrats to Molly Arola,
Dana Gallop, Heather Horgen, Kayla Clafton, and Jessica Havel on various
all-state honorable mention awards. Finally, congrats to the Lightning for
playing in their first state title game and for their greatest season ever
(25-4-2).
The boys A state tournament starts tomorrow and my sectional
brackets did not fare to well. I will hope to do better with my state brackets.
In the first game Wednesday, #2 Duluth Marshall will play Mankato West. I had
neither of the two teams in the state tournament, but I will take Duluth
Marshall to advance here. In game number two, #3 Warroad vs. Litchfield.
Again, I had neither team in the state tournament. Litchfield is making their
first trip to state. I will take Warroad in this game. Game three
features #1 St. Thomas Academy vs. Little Falls. It will be the third straight
year at state for both teams. I had both teams advancing to state and I will
take St. Thomas to advance. Game four is probably the most interesting
matchup of the day. #4 St. Cloud Cathedral will face off with Blake. I did not
have either of these teams heading south either. I look for St. Cloud
Cathedral to advance, but I wouldn't be surprised if Blake moved on.
I would like to show my displeasure for the seedings at
state. I don't know how St. Thomas is #1 over Duluth Marshall when the
Hilltoppers beat the Cadets 8-2 earlier in the year. Also, I like St. Cloud
Cathedral to move on, but Blake has had a great year and probably should have
been the #4 seed.
2/16/2008-Tim from the Top-"Last of the Sections"
Eden Prairie, Centennial, and Elk River
advances to the state tournament yesterday. Eden Prairie will play Elk River in
the state quarterfinals. My bracket had Eden Prairie advancing, but I chose
Bemidji over Elk River. Centennial will play Grand/Rapids Greenway in the state
quarterfinals. I had Blaine winning that section and they went out early.
Section 1AA Final: 1. Farmington vs. 2. Rochester Mayo. The
winner of this game earns the right to play Eagan in the state quarterfinals.
Mayo won this section last year and Farmington participated in the Class A state
tournament. This could be one of the best section final games on Saturday.
Bracket prediction: Rochester Mayo over Farmington
Section 4AA Final: 2. Stillwater vs. 5. Cretin-Derham Hall.
Cretin has been one of the great stories of this tournament thus far. The good
news is, they haven't beaten the team I chose to win the section yet. CDH does
make me a little nervous. Kelly Wild and Brittany Carlson are great players.
Kaylee Keys and goalie Lea Jondahl will have to provide help if the Raiders are
going to pull off another upset.
Bracket prediction: Stillwater advances to St. Paul
Section 6AA Final: 1. Hopkins vs. 2. Benilde-St. Margaret's.
This is my favorite matchup on Saturday. Hopkins is having a wonderful year, but
BSM went to state last year and is peaking at the right time. Kate Bacon and
Ashley Duffy are outstanding players and I look for them to get the job done.
Bracket prediction: BSM heads back to state
2/15/2008-Tim from the Top-"Ticket Number Two"
The Grand Rapids/Greenway Lightning
have become the second team in the state to punch their tourney ticket. For the
second straight year, Molly Arola scored the game winning goal for the
Lightning. I was lucky enough to attend this one. It was only the second playoff
game I have seen this year. The other one was the 8AA quarterfinal between
Moorhead and Brainerd. On Thursday, the Lightning dominated the whole game and
to the liking of my bracket, won the game 4-1. My bracket will have three games
on the agenda for tonight.
2AA Final: 1. Eden Prairie vs. 2. Edina . I have not missed a
single game in the 2AA bracket. I have predicted every winner and I plan to have
this one correct. Eden Prairie has the best record in the state at 25-1-1, but
in one of the top two sections depth-wise in the state, Edina is very good. It
is a great argument between 7AA and 2AA this year; who has the deeper, tougher
section? I don't know the answer, but I would love to see the two sections meet
in the state finals.
Bracket prediction: Eden Prairie holds on to down Edina.
5AA Final: 1. Centennial vs. 7. Coon Rapids. Well, Blaine
won't win this one. I had Blaine and Centennial in the final with Blaine
advancing. Coon Rapids played spoiler by beating the Bengals in the first round.
The Coon Rapids girls went on to beat Mounds View to advance to the final.
Centennial still has not lost since the Christmas season, but had a dogfight
with Andover in the semis. I look for Centennial to advance, but it was be a
great story if Coon Rapids can get to St. Paul.
8AA Final: Monique Weber vs. Sarah Erickson...Oops, I mean 1.
Elk River vs. 3. Bemidji. Both Sarah Erickson (B) and Monique Weber (ER) were
Ms. Hockey candidates. Sarah Erickson was announced as a Finalist, yesterday. I
would love to see Sarah Erickson down at the X in a week.
Bracket prediction: Sarah Erickson leads Bemidji to state.
2/14/2008-Tim from the Top-"Northern Stars and Lightning"
With all the section finals complete,
my bracket is looking wonderful. Including play-in games, I have notched 61 of a
possible 73 points. All of my section champions remain except for Blaine in 5AA.
The 5AA final is between Centennial and Coon Rapids. I have successfully willed
Eagan into the state tournament already. Things are looking up.
The section 7AA final: Grand Rapids/Greenway vs. Duluth. GRG
will be participating in their third straight section final. They are also
looking to defend last year's title. This is the first trip to the section final
or the full Duluth co-op. Grand Rapids/Greenway beat Duluth 5-0 at the DECC over
Christmas Break. Duluth was able to tie GRG in Grand Rapids in the third game of
the year, but the Lightning outshot them badly.
Bracket prediction: Grand Rapids/Greenway over Duluth for the 7AA Title.
2/13/2008-Tim from the Top-"The Last of the Semi-Finals"
I was 2/2 in section 1AA semi-finals,
2/2 in section 2AA semi-finals, 1/2 in section 4AA semi-finals, and 2/2 in
section 8AA semi-finals. Today we will crown out first section champion and cut
two other sections down to two teams.
Section 5AA Semi-Finals: 1. Centennial vs. 4. Andover and 6.
Moundsview vs. 7. Coon Rapids. I see Centennial having no problem with with
Andover. The Cougars have not lost since Moorhead beat them in the Centennial
Holiday Tournament. I did not predict Moundsview or Coon Rapids advancing to the
semi-final. I would like to see Coon Rapids move on.
Bracket prediction: Centennial advances to the section final.
Section 6AA Semi-Finals: 1. Hopkins vs. 5. North Metro and 2.
BSM vs. 3. Wayzata. Hopkins is one of the top teams remaining in the state, but
North Metro played for the state title last season. BSM was defeated by North
Metro in the state semis last year. Could they meet in the section finals?
Wayzata is a great team almost every year. Any of these four teams could win the
section crown.
Bracket prediction: Hopkins and BSM will compete for the 6AA title.
3AA Title Game: 1. Eagan vs. 3. Hastings. My bracket did not
have Hastings in the final, it had Eastview. Hastings beat Rosemount 4-0 in the
quarters and upset Eastview 2-1 in the semis. Eagan has two Ms. Goalie
candidates and that should be the difference in the title game. Danielle Welch,
however, will have something to say about that. The Ms. Hockey finalist will
have to have a big night to give the Raiders the title.
Bracket prediction: Eagan will be the first state entrant
2/12/2008-Tim from the Top-"Semi-Final Set One"
I was 2/2 yesterday and both games were
played in 8AA. Bemidji topped North Wright County 6-1 behind a four goal night
from Ms. Hockey finalist Sarah Erickson. The Moorhead Spuds slipped past
Brainerd 6-3 as Ashley Stenerson stole the show. Stenerson, only a sophomore,
scored three times and added two assists in the Spud's victory over the
Warriors.
Sections 1AA, 2AA, 4AA, and 8AA will all play their section
semi-final games Tuesday night. Section 3AA and 7AA have already played their
semi-finals and sections 5AA and 6AA will play their section semi-finals on
Wednesday.
In section 1AA, the top four seeds have advanced to the
semi-finals in Owatonna. In the first matchup, 1. Farmington will faceoff
against 4. Lakeville South. In the second game, 2. Rochester Mayo will do battle
with Lakeville North.
Bracket prediction: Farmington and Rochester Mayo advance to the finals.
Section 2AA will play their semi-final games at the
Bloomington Ice Gardens tonight. I find this the most intriguing set of
semi-final games in the entire state. 1. Eden Prairie will take on 4. Minnetonka
tonight. Eden Prairie is 24-1-1, but Minnetonka has played great hockey down the
stretch. 2. Edina will take on 3. Holy Angels in game number two. This matchup
is easily the best to this point. Lauren Smith of Holy Angles is just 3 points
shy of a 100 point season. Edina and Holy Angels matchup very well and it should
be a great game.
Bracket prediction: Eden Prairie and Edina square off in the final.
Section 4AA poses a bit of a problem, I only have three of
the teams in. 5. Cretin-Derham Hall upset White Bear Lake and will take on 1.
Roseville in semi-final number one at Aldrich Arena. 2. Stillwater will take on
3. Hill-Murray in the Pioneers home building in game two.
Bracket prediction: Stillwater will play for the section 4AA final.
Alexandria is the host of the section 8AA finals tonight. The
first game features two teams that played last night, Bemidji and Moorhead. It
will be a battle of star players as Sarah Erickson squares off with Ashley
Stenerson. In game number two, Monique Weber and the Elk River Elks will try to
prove their number one seed against St. Cloud Tech.
Bracket prediction: Elk River and Bemidji play for the St. Paul bid.
2/11/2008-Tim from the Top-"Bracket Buster"
I began to take my lumps on Saturday.
With 16 games on the agenda, it was bound to happen. Two section finals were set
on Saturday. In 3AA, Eagan edged Burnsville and Hastings snuck past Eastview to
set up Wednesday's section final between Eagan and Hastings for this year's
first state participant. In 7AA, Grand Rapids/Greenway gained revenge from one
of their three regular season losses. The Lightning disposed of
Proctor/Hermantown/Marshall 5-1 to advance to play Duluth in Thursday's section
final. Duluth defeated Cloquet 4-2 Saturday. Out of those two games I only had
Eagan and GRG advancing to play on them. I missed out on four points by picking
Eastview and Cloquet to advance to the finals.
The two biggest upsets came in 5AA. Centennial and Andover
advanced easily, but bother #3 Irondale and # 2 Blaine went down. Moundsview
beat Irondale and Coon Rapids beat Blaine. Both games needed overtime to decide
a winner. Blaine was my pick to win the section and take the consolation trophy
at state. In 8AA, both Elk River and St. Cloud Tech advanced easily. Bemidji vs.
N. Wright County and Moorhead vs. Brainerd were postponed and will be played
today. As seen in an earlier blog, I am taking Bemidji and Moorhead. Section 4AA
featured another upset. Cretin Derham Hall got past White Bear Lake in overtime.
Roseville advanced easily to face Cretin. I had WBL in the section finals. High
seeds Hopkins, BSM, and Wayzata all advanced in 6AA play. North Metro upset
number 4 seeded Buffalo.
I have accumulated 31 of a possibly 38 points through
Saturday. There are just two one point games on Monday.
2/9/2008-Tim from the Top-"Still Perfect"
My bracket stayed perfect yesterday as
I went 10/10. That puts me at 18/18 in total with 14 first round games
remaining. Farmington, Rochester Mayo, Lakeville North and Lakeville South all
advanced in 1AA. In 2AA, Eden Prairie, Edina, Holy Angels and Minnetonka all
moved on. In 4AA, Hill-Murray and Stillwater both won big to move into the
semi-finals. There are 14 quarterfinals today and the two semi-finals of section
7AA and section 3AA will be played today also.
Section 4AA. 1. Roseville vs. 8. St. Paul Blades and 4. White
Bear Lake vs. Cretin-Derham Hall. Roseville has been one of the top teams all
season long and they finished the regular season 20-3-2. St. Paul Blades
defeated Tartan 4-3 to get into the quarterfinals. Cretin-Derham Hall has one of
the top players in the state, Kelly Wild. White Bear Lake, however, have been
one of the hottest teams in the state in the last month. They may be another
team peaking at the right time.
Bracket predictions: Roseville over St. Paul Blades
White Bear Lake over Cretin-Derham Hall
Section 5AA: 1. Centennial vs. 9. Spring Lake Park, 4.
Andover vs. 5. Anoka, 3. Irondale vs. 6. Mounds View, 2. Blaine vs. 7. Coon
Rapids. Centennial hasn't lost since the Christmas season, proving thy are for
real. Spring Lake Park upset Champlin Park in the play-in game. Andover and
Anoka seem to be the most evenly matched game in this section and it should be a
thriller. Irondale was a top seven team the entire first half, but they have
tailed off dramatically since then. Mounds View has been an up and down team,
but has played some good teams very close this year. Blaine, in my opinion, is
one of the most underrated teams in the state. Lauren Zrust is a great player
and if they can get some goaltending they could be very scary. Coon Rapids will
have their hands full against them.
Bracket predictions: Centennial, Andover, Irondale, Blaine advance
Section 6AA: 1. Hopkins vs. 8. Rogers, 4. Buffalo vs. 5.
North Metro, 3. Wayzata vs. 6. Maple Grove, 2. Benilde-St. Margaret's vs. 7.
Armstrong. Hopkins is a very solid team. They are another team that finished the
regular season with 20 wins. Rogers won their play-in game to set the matchup
with Hopkins. Buffalo will have home ice advantage against North Metro, which
could prove to be huge. North Metro played in the state championship game last
year and cannot be counted out. Wayzata puts a great girls hockey team on the
ice year in and year out, this year is no exception. Benilde-St. Margaret's
seems to have put things together with Kate Bacon and Ashley Duffy leading the
way with Emma Schields-Nordness helping out a lot along the way. Armstrong is a
very young team and seems to be a likely factor in the future, not this year.
Bracket predictions: Hopkins, North Metro, Wayzata, Benilde-St.
Margaret's
Section 8AA: 1. Elk River vs. 8. River Lakes, 4. St. Cloud
Tech vs. St. Cloud Icebreakers, 3. Bemidji vs. 6. North Wright County, 2.
Moorhead vs. 7. Brainerd. With the weather threatening in Northeastern
Minnesota, I am not sure all these games will get played today. It sounds like
Moorhead and Brainerd will be postponed until Monday. My picks will come out
nonetheless. Elk River has had a great season and look to duplicate their state
championship from 2004. River Lakes beat Sartell in the play-in game. St. Cloud
Tech has played very well against top notch teams this year and could be a
threat in the section. St. Cloud Icebreakers have a Ms. Hockey Finalist in Anne
Schepler. Can St. Cloud Tech shut her down? That remains to be seen. Bemidji can
be summed up in one word, Sarah Erickson. Arguably the most dominating player in
the state of Minnesota. She is committed to the Gophers for next season and
helped team USA win a gold medal earlier this winter. The Lumberjacks will go as
far as Erickson takes them. North Wright County is not anything special this
year and will need to play great to beat Bemidji. Moorhead beat Bemidji late in
the year to grab the 2 seed in the section. Ashley Stenerson is a top sophomore
forward and she will need to lead her team down the stretch. Brainerd will look
to trek to Moorhead and upset the Spuds.
Bracket predictions: Elk River, St. Cloud Tech, Bemidji, and Moorhead
advance
Section 3AA Semi-Finals: 1. Eagan vs. 4. Burnsville, 2.
Eastview vs. 3. Hastings. Eagan shutout Woodbury 3-0 in the quarterfinal matchup
while Burnsville beat Apple Valley 3-1. The Blaze of Burnsville are looking for
a return trip to state, but Eagan has two Ms. Goalie candidates looking to crush
that dream. Eastview snuck by Park 2-1 in the quarters and Hastings put away
Rosemount 4-0. Eastview will have to play better to beat a surging Hastings
team.
Bracket predictions: Eagan and Eastview advance to the final
Section 7AA Semi-Finals: 1. Grand Rapids/Greenway vs. 4.
Proctor Hermantown/Marshall, 2. Duluth vs. 3. Cloquet. This section, along with
section 2AA have the best semi-final matchups. GR/G is looking to revenge their
late season home loss to PHM. Both teams were in the semi-finals last season.
GR/G beat Cambridge 5-3 in the semi-final last year and 7-1 in this year's
quarterfinals. Last year PHM lost to Cloquet in the semi-finals. The Mirage
defeated Forest Lake 1-0 in the quarterfinals this year. GR/G loves to score and
play higher scoring games. PHM tries to keep it low scoring and they will look
to steal one again. I see GR/G getting their revenge and staying hot with a 5-2
win. Duluth and Cloquet might be the most interesting game in the entire state
today. Duluth is led by Gina Dodge and goaltender Laura Bellamy. Cloquet is led
by Montana Vichorek and Sadie Lundquist. These two teams know each other so well
that it may be a negative thing. Will Duluth focus too much on Lundquist? Will
Cloquet focus too much on Dodge? I see Lundquist and company getting the job
done and creating a Grand Rapids/Greenway matchup with Cloquet for the 3rd
straight year in the section finals. I like Cloquet to win a tight one, 3-2.
Bracket predictions: Grand Rapids/Greenway and Cloquet-Esko-Carlton
section final.
2/8/2008-Tim from the Top-"Bracketology"
I went 4/4 last night to push my bracket to 8/8 thus far.
GRG defeated Chisago Lakes 7-1, PHM defeated Forest Lake 1-0, Cloquet was
victorious 6-1 over St. Francis, and Duluth beat Cambridge 5-0. My Single A
bracket sits at 7/8 as Simley fell to defeat in my only loss thus far. 1AA, 2AA
and half of 4AA will get their playoff season started tonight.
Section 1AA game #1: 1. Farmington vs. 8. Winona. Despite the
fact that Farmington was defeated by Holy Angels 10-1 late in the year and
Winona is coming off of a 4-2 win over Rochester Century in the playoff game,
Farmington has far too much fire power.
Bracket prediction: Farmington over Winona
Section 1AA game #2: 4. Lakeville South vs. 5. Owatonna. This
is the most intriguing game of the 1AA quarterfinals. Lakeville South is the
favorite and is the four seed in the section. Don't be surprised, however, if
Owatonna pulls off the "upset."
Bracket prediction: Lakeville South over Owatonna
Section 1AA game #3: 3. Lakeville North vs. 6. Dodge County.
Dodge Country is having a relatively difficult season. Lakeville North had a
very valid argument for the number two seed. I don't see much of a chance for an
upset in this one, but that's why they play the games.
Bracket prediction: Lakeville North over Dodge County
Section 1AA game #4: 2. Rochester Mayo vs. 7. Rochester John
Marshall. Rochester Mayo is the defending section 1AA champions and probably the
section favorite this year despite their number 2 seed. John Marshall will put
up a dog fight in the cross town rivalry, but it won't be enough.
Bracket prediction: Rochester Mayo over Rochester John Marshall
Section 2AA game #1: 1. Eden Prairie vs. 8. Bloomington
Jefferson. Eden Prairie posted the AA's best record with a 23-1-1 mark in the
regular season. Enough said.
Bracket prediction: Eden Prairie over Bloomington Jefferson
Section 2AA game #2: 4. Minnetonka vs. 5. Chaska. Although
Chaska has had a nice season, Minnetonka has had a very nice season. The
Skippers have played good hockey down the stretch and look poised to make a move
into the semi-finals.
Bracket prediction: Minnetonka over Chaska
Section 2AA game #3: 3. Holy Angels vs. 6. Shakopee. Lauren
Smith has 95 points and leads the state. I expect her to come very close to
putting it into triple digits in this game. Shakopee will have no answer for
Smith and company.
Bracket prediction: Holy Angels over Shakopee
Section 2AA game #4: 2. Edina vs. Prior Lake. Edina has been
one of the best teams in the state all season and they finished off their
regular season by crushing Duluth 6-1. They also had a five goal first period
against top ten team, Hopkins in the second half. Edina, along with Eden Prairie
and Holy Angles are legitimate state championship contenders.
Bracket prediction: Edina over Prior Lake
Section 4AA game #1: 3. Hill-Murray vs. 6. North St. Paul.
Hill-Murray had a bit of a slump around Christmas, but have brought their game
back up and may be peaking at the right time. North St. Paul could battle with
Hill-Murray, but the Pioneers have too much young talent to lose this game.
Bracket prediction: Hill-Murray over North St. Paul
Section 4AA game #2: 2. Stillwater vs. 7. Minneapolis Novas.
The Stillwater Ponies were 20-3-2 in the regular season and have been a top 5
team all year. Along with Roseville, this section has two very real state
championship contenders. I look for Stillwater to put this game into running
time.
Bracket prediction: Stillwater over Minneapolis Novas
2/7/2008-Tim from the Top-"Playoffs!?!"
The girl's
state playoffs are underway statewide and I have my brackets all filled out. The
first set of quarterfinal games occurred yesterday in the AA circuit. The
section 3AA quarterfinal games all went in my favor last night. 1. Eagan beat 8.
Woodbury, 3-0. 4. Burnsville snuck by 5. Apple Valley, 3-1. 3. Hastings advanced
with a convincing 4-0 win over 6. Rosemount. Finally, 2. Eastview survived a
scare from 7. Park (Cottage Grove) and won 2-1.
There are interesting possible matchups all along the way and
I will keep everyone caught up on how it affects my extremely important bracket.
Section 7AA is the only section that has their quarterfinals tonight, so I will
focus on those four games today. Tomorrow sections 1AA and 2AA will play all
four quarterfinal games and section 4AA will play two. The rest of the sections
will play their quarterfinals on Saturday.
Section 7AA matchup #1: 1. Grand Rapids/Greenway vs. 8.
Chisago Lakes. GRG headed south earlier in the season and handled Chisago Lakes
just fine in their own building, winning 8-1. Yes, GRG has struggled with health
and flow late in the season, but their is no reason to worry. The 20-3-2
Lightning will be in full stride tonight against Chisago Lakes.
Bracket prediction: Grand Rapids/Greenway over Chisago Lakes
Section 7AA matchup #2: 4.
Proctor/Hermantown/Marshall vs. 5. Forest Lake. The PHM Mirage had the best
season in their history going 19-4-2 in the regular season. The Forest Lake
squad started the season 7-0, but have since gone 3-13-1. Although Forest Lake
is limping into the playoffs I think PHM can smell a rematch with Grand
Rapids/Greenway, a team the Mirage beat 2-1 in Grand Rapids late in the season.
Bracket prediction: Proctor/Hermantown/Marshall over Forest Lake
Section 7AA matchup #2: 3. Cloquet-Esko-Carlton vs.
#6 St. Francis. Cloquet was one of the hottest teams in the state in the second
half of the season before sputtering out in Bemidji and losing 5-1 to close out
the season. I don't see St. Francis posing much of a threat here. The
Lumberjacks are eager to get back to their winning ways.
Bracket prediction: Cloquet-Esko-Carlton over St. Francis
Section 7AA matchup #4: 2. Duluth vs. 7.
Cambridge-Isanti. Cambridge found their way into the section semi-finals last
year before losing to Grand Rapids/Greenway. Duluth has had a great season and
they finished with a record of 15-5-4 and the #1 ranking in the area according
to the Duluth News Tribune. Duluth has the best goaltender in the area in Laura
Bellamy. She will get the Duluth squad into the semi-finals.
Bracket prediction: Duluth over Cambridge-Isanti
1/10/2008-Tim from the Top-"The Climb Continues"
The Grand Rapids/Greenway Lightning
continue to set firsts and bests as a program this season. The Lightning have
moved into the #2 spot in the state rankings this week. The #2 ranking is the
highest the program has ever received. Not only are the Lightning ranked #2,
they are on a program best 15 game winning streak and 16 game unbeaten streak.
The Lightning's only loss of the season came in game number two against the
current #1 Roseville Raiders. I know a lot of the accolades go to the big time
scorers and the solid defenders, but let's talk about the goalie. Junior
goaltender Jessica Havel has a career record of 29-3-1. Last year, Havel split
time with Sara Hammann, but this year she has played in every minute of every
games and done fantastic. It all starts with goaltending and Jessica Havel is
the goaltender coaches would love to build a team around.
The Grand Rapids Thunderhawks will take on the Duluth East
Greyhounds tonight in Grand Rapids. What a game this one should be. Last season
Grand Rapids nipped Duluth East in overtime of the section finals. It was the
first time Grand Rapids had beaten Duluth East in the section 7AA playoffs. It
was also only the second win for Rapids over East in this decade. I believe that
win gave Grand Rapids a lot of confidence. I would be very surprised to see a
5-2 or 6-2 by East like we have seen the last couple regular seasons. The
Thunderhawks played outstanding Tuesday night against a pretty good Hermantown
squad. The task is now to stay consistent and make another late season push.
Predictions: Grand Rapids 3, Duluth East 2
(Thursday)
Grand Rapids/Greenway 5, Crookston 2 (Friday)
Grand Rapids/Greenway 5, Roseau 2 (Saturday)
1/8/2008-Tim from the Top-"Tough Angles"
Wednesday night FSN will air one of the
best rivalries in the state: Warroad @ Roseau. Roseau is the defending state
champions and currently are ranked #1 and are undefeated. Warroad won section 8A
last season. This game will be played in Roseau, which is a very low sitting
building. It will be very interesting to see how FSN runs their cameras and what
angles they attempt in that arena.
Following that game (9:30 pm or so) FSN will air the Grand
Rapids/Greenway vs. Blaine girls hockey game. This game was actually played on
December 29th as the championship game of the Abra Auto Tournament in Edina. I
was at the game and I believe FSN did a great job. They had many cameras set up
at all different angles and locations. The play by play announcers set up about
one of the goals and had plenty of notes. It was a great hockey game and it will
be a great chance to see some of the state's top players such as Lauren Zrust
(Blaine-11th Grade), Emily Erickson (GRG, 12th grade), Molly Arola (GRG, 11th
grade), Jessica Havel (GRG, 11th grade), Dana Gallop (GRG, 10th grade), Molly
Illikainen (GRG, 8th grade). The FSN crew also did some pregame interviews with
the head coaches. Tune in tomorrow night!
1/7/2008-Tim from the Top-"Lightning, Lightning"
Not only are the Grand Rapids/Greenway
Lightning off to the best start in their history, they are having one of the
greatest seasons imaginable. The Lightning started to season 1-1-1 by beating
White Bear Lake, losing to Roseville, and tying Duluth. Since that game against
Duluth, the Lightning have reeled off 15 straight wins. That is the longest
winning streak in the state, both A and AA. (Blake is 16-0-3, but only on a one
game winning streak) By no means does GRG play a cupcake schedule either. In the
last LPH polls, 22 of the 25 games the Lightning will play will be against
ranked opponents. The Lightning haven't been just winning games, they have been
blowing top twenty teams out. The offense is lead by the state's second leading
scorer and future BSU Beaver, Emily Erickson. Dana Gallop, Molly Arola, and
Molly Illikainen are not only having great season, but are amongst the top
forwards statewide. It isn't just the offense winning games, but the defense is
helping out dramatically. Heather Horgen, Kayla Clafton, JoHanna Kohorst, Morgan
Illikainen, and Laura Gaffney have been fantastic at the blue line for GRG.
Lastly, but most importantly Jessica Havel has been fabulous in goal all season
long. Her GAA has been under 2.00 and her save percentage has been over 90% all
season long. The junior goaltender is 29-3-1 in her career for the Lightning.
GRG will be tested this weekend in Greenway when top 5 class A teams Roseau and
Crookston roll into town. Crookston and Roseau tied 5-5 last week. Predictions
and more blogs to come throughout the week.
12/18/2007-Tim from the Top-"My Fox Hockey"
I have had a lot of questions lately
about My Fox Hockey's live streaming. It is live video and audio. They have a
guy who does a very good job with the play by play and the camera work is
average and gets the job done. I have watched some of the first few games they
have had and the stream has had some problems. At times it has gotten extremely
glitch-like, it has frozen, or it has simply gone black. My Fox Hockey say that
they have been working hard and most of the kinks, or all of them, should be
fixed by Wednesday's games. At the very least, they should produce quality
audio. I do expect these six games to be fantastic, however. If you can't make
the trip to Edina, check it out online.
Tonight the 9-1-1 #8 Grand Rapids/Greenway Lightning will
take on one of their biggest rivals, the Hibbing/Chisholm Bluejackets. Hibbing
isn't as good as they have been in the past, but the games between these two
teams are typically outstanding. The Lightning defeated Hibbing for the first
time last year. It was a game at the Hibbing Memorial Building and it was a
defensive struggle. Hannah Johnson tipped in the game winning goal late in the
game to lead GRG to the 2-1 victory. The Lightning also won at home in their
last regular season game of the year. I expect GRG to keep the ball rolling
tonight. My sleeper pick to have a great game tonight is Molly Illikainen.
Prediction: Grand Rapids/Greenway 5, Hibbing 1
12/17/2007-Tim from the Top-"Learning Time"
It is time to figure out how good teams
are. It is that time of year. Holiday tournaments, rivalry games, and section
seeding implication games. The Grand Rapids Thunderhawks have started out 3-2-1.
At this time last year, they were also 3-2-1. Grand Rapids proceeded to go 1-2
in the Edina Classic. The Grand Rapids/Greenway Lightning have been a top 10
team all year and have a 9-1-1 record after eleven games. At this point last
season, the Lightning had a record of 7-4.
The Grand Rapids boys will have their toughest test of the
year Wednesday in game one of the Edina Classic. The Thunderhawks will play
Edina at 8:30 p.m. Last year Edina won this game, but lost the big one. Grand
Rapids beat Edina 3-1 in the state quarterfinals. The #1 ranked Edina Hornets
(6-0-0) will present a huge measuring stick for Grand Rapids. Thursday Grand
Rapids will play a very good Eden Prairie team and they will finish the week by
playing section rival Elk River Friday. Grand Rapids has beaten Elk River in
their last three meetings. After this week it will become more clear how good
this team can really be.
The Grand Rapids/Greenway Lightning will face one of their
biggest rivals, Hibbing on Tuesday and then travel on Thursday for what may be
their biggest regular season game as a co-op. GRG will travel to the DECC and
face a Duluth team that will likely be 9-0-3 by Thursday. Duluth played in Grand
Rapids exactly a month ago Thursday and snuck out with a tie in a game where GRG
dominated in the shot column. Laura Bellamy of Duluth played outstanding in goal
to keep the game tied. This game has huge implications in the race for the #1
seed in section 7AA. The following Thursday-Saturday the Lightning will travel
and play in the Edina tournament. Their first round matchup is with
Cretin-Derham Hall. A possible semi-final opponent would be Benilde-St.
Margaret's. BSM beat GRG 2-0 in the state quarterfinals last year, but the
Lightning got revenge with a 3-2 road win over BSM earlier this year. There is
no question that the next five games will tell us all a lot about the Lightning.
12/12/2007-Tim from the Top-"Winning Ways"
The Grand Rapids Thunderhawks remained
unbeaten all-time vs. Brainerd with a 6-2 win @ the Teepee last night. Robb Roy
is off to a very fast start for Grand Rapids. He has 5 goals and 8 assists for
13 points in only five games. Sam Rendle is also off to a tremendous start. The
blue liner has 4 goals and 3 assists for 7 points in 5 games. A.J. Underwood
picked up the win in his first start as a Thunderhawks. Underwood is believed to
be the only goalie to record a win for Grand Rapids and Greenway in his high
school career.
The Grand Rapids/Greenway Lightning keep on winning. Last
week's wins over #20 Bemidji (7-5) and Silver Bay (4-3) have the Lightning off
to a 9-1-1 start this season. Emily Erickson and Molly Arola are pacing the
Lightning offensive attack with 17 combined goals. Jessica Havel has been very
good in net for the Lightning all season long. The Lightning will travel to
Chisago Lakes and Cambridge-Isanti this weekend.
The Roseau Rams are becoming a two gender powerhouse. The
Rams came down to Moorhead in pairs on Tuesday night, did their work, and went
home. The Roseau girls continued its fine season with a 4-2 win over the Spuds
in the matinee. The game was not as close as the score would indicate. Aaron
Ness lead his troops to a 7-2 blowout in the night cap. Ness scored three times
and the Gopher Recruit helped lead the #1 team in the state to yet another
victory. The afore mentioned Moorhead boys team will travel to Grand Rapids
Friday and then Duluth East on Saturday.
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