Minnesota High School Tournament Wrap-Up
Edina won the Class AA title. The Breck School, as expected, is bringing the small school Class A title back to their sleepy little town of Minneapolis.
Here's a few final thoughts on the end of the season...
-If you were to compare Class A-sized schools, who should feel prouder of their accomplishment: Breck for winning their second straight title, or Hill-Murray for their epic overtime loss against Minnetonka?
-For all the complaints about how bad the first two days of the tournament were, the MSHSL got what they wanted when they decided to start seeding teams, with some fantastic semifinals on Friday. I feel like all I've done is complain about tournament so far, but the Mahtomedi-Hermantown game and Minnetonka-Hill-Murray were everything that's great about high school hockey.
-I'm not surprised Edina won the state tournament this year. I maybe underestimated them to start the season, as a lot of people did, but they were extremely impressive every time I saw them this year. It's high school hockey, so you can't really pick the types of players you have available--hold your private school recruiting jokes, please--but Edina changed from being a one-line, fairly soft team last year, to a team with three or four solid lines that came out and played tough, in-your-face style of hockey.
-Minnetonka was a ridiculously talented team, but I felt like they were never able to make the whole better than the sum of their parts. They had a lot of kids that could skate and shoot better than anybody, but they had very few puck movers, and that luck of puck movement caught up to them in the tournament.
-Breck didn't quite have a cakewalk through the tournament. I felt like they really kept the semifinal game against Warroad closer than it should have been by putting some mini-breakaways right into the Warroad goalie's stomach, and taking some dumb penalties to keep the game close. The final against Hermantown was legitimately close--Hermantown is an extremely well-coached team--but it was only a matter of time for a team like Breck with that type of depth before they were able to break through.
-The state of Minnesota got their first chance to meet Apple Valley freshman Hudson Fasching. I have a feeling that won't be the last time we're hearing from him. He could be a special player.
-I don't know that the state tournament did a lot to move anyone's draft stock. Some might say the opening day loss might hurt Bjugstad a little, but I doubt it. I was impressed with Adam Krause's play. I thought he was borderline to get drafted, and this probably helped. Maybe Hill-Murray's Chris Casto will get a longer look too.
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For now, Breck belongs in Class A
Maybe things will change in the future, but how can anybody claim that Breck blatantly needs to go to Class AA when they can barely get by Class A’s Warroad and Hermantown? I know it is emotional for a lot of people, but due to the closeness of the semifinal & final games, it simply makes no sense to me. Regardless of your thoughts about both the Mustangs keeping it close with Warroad and the inevitability of their win over Hermantown, they were dominated by Class A’s Hermantown yesterday and rather fortunate to win! Think about it; they barely won Class A. How can a team that barely wins Class A be labeled an obvious Class AA team. The logic isn’t there. …And next year they lose 12 seniors. …You are crabby about the state tournament! :)
Guy at HockeyBias dot com
Breck has made seven appearances in the Class A tournament. They have won the title four times and finished third once. They are 13-3 all-time in championship bracket games. Their 16-4 all-time record is the best winning percentage anyone has compiled in Class A. They have outscored opponents 93-48 in the state tournament.
No, I don’t believe for one second they belong in Class A anymore. Too bad they don’t have the guts to move up.
bciskie
So, next year, w/o 12 Seniors that are Repeat champs, the remaining players would be an appropriate team at the AA level? Give it a rest…
Guy at HockeyBias dot com
by guy@hockeybias on Mar 14, 2010 11:21 AM PDT reply actions
Ummmm yeah
After they get done RECRUITING and handing out “academic” scholarships they will be very good again. Grow a pair and play with the big boys like Hill-Murray, and all the other Private schools who realize their built in advantages and play AA.
The MSHSL should recognize that while open enrollment and the right for parents to choose where to send there child to school is a great thing. The system is being abused for the purpose of athletic success. This in turn gives that school free advertising by being on TV at the tournaments and allows its brand to be on display.
Not Satisfied with Mediocrity.
Private school player attribute that is rarely mentioned...
The private school kids are in small classes that are well-run by teachers that don’t have to ‘baby sit’ t some difficult children in class rooms loaded with 28-34 kids. As a result, the kids & teacher can focus on the curriculum and developing skills to deal with a workload that is unlike that at a typical public school. The workload is hard and the kids learn what it takes to grind out a great deal of homework and projects to prepare them for college. The private schools (Breck and Blake for sure) put much more emphasis on teaching the kids to be all that they can be than they do on sports achievements. If you look at Breck literature you will see a lot of kudos going to outstanding scholarly achievements and scant references to the sports successes they have had. A lot of these kids are successful enough to be accepted by top colleges. I think that this sort of environment breeds a type of thinking that the students take with them to the fields and rinks and it is definitely part of the reason that the private school teams often due very well.
Guy at HockeyBias dot com
by guy@hockeybias on Mar 14, 2010 11:31 AM PDT reply actions
Hill-Murray, a AA school, loses only five seniors this year, but they lose 11 next year. Does that mean they get to drop down to Class A for 2011-2012?
That’s a ridiculous argument. Hill-Murray, Benilde-St. Margaret’s, and Holy Angels are prideful institutions just as boastful about their academics as Breck is. These are pretty much all wonderful schools who do great things for most of the kids who attend there (no one is perfect but it shouldn’t take away from the work these schools do).
But the fact that they’re great schools doesn’t mean they should be allowed to play against Class A programs who they have already proven they can own. The numbers over the years are quite overwhelming, and I’m pretty sure Breck isn’t going 12-15 next year, even with all the seniors they lose.

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