SportsDoc

Life's not always fair! Yes, someone will get screwed. They won't lose an arm or leg. But, yes someone who is a very good senior hockey player will not be a Mr. Hockey finalist. You think that's never happened in some other sport or some other state before?

Simply not true. The East expects to win every first round game and so the attendance at all Thursday games is West fans and East parents (and students if it gets them out of school). The largest part of East fans work Thursday and show up at 6:30 Friday. If the almighty dollar were the reason, they'd put #1 West late Thursday because it would probably be their biggest Thursday draw. Having said that, I don't know why that process does not rotate on odd and even years. Might require someone at HS Activities to cut and paste a bracket ... too much work!

Don't know Mr. Hockey finalists. I do know Jundt is one as he was West Sr. of year and that makes him a finalist automatically along with East Sr. of year and two at larges.

Well, I'd take Haugenoe, but let's look at the stats. Both have 92% save percentage. Haugenoe has 1.53 gaa, Hillman's is 2.06. Records: Hillman's is 9-8. Haugenoe is 10-4-1. You might try to say Haugenoe played on a better team, but I don't think so. I think those two teams are dead even. They played twice and each won on the road 3-1, I believe. Williston did have a better overall West season, and I think it was because, in great part, Haugenoe played better in important games than Hillman. It may be too strong to say Hillman is worse than Haugenoe, but it's also too strong to say he's better. Stats just don't back it up. They're both good, and they'll both need to stand on their heads to win on Thursday, or just to keep their games close. If they both lose, we can settle this on Friday, head to head!

As to how first round will go. I live in the West (Williston, 25 years), but I was born in GF and graduated HS in St. Paul before coming to UND for college. I have seen the differences in quality of teams over the years. My thought has been that Minot has, a couple of times, had the talent to win at State, but were not disciplined enough to accomplish it. This includes last year where I thought, talent wise they could win, but predicted GFC would knock them off in first round, which they did. This year, I thought both Minot and Williston could win a first rounder, but with Williston's injuries that will not happen. I still think with Minot's new coaches they will win Thursday. They are quite talented and very physical. Their downfall is stupid penalties, a carryover from the old regime. If they stay out of the box unnecessarilly and get decent goaltending, they will win. So, here goes: Grafton will beat Williston 6-1. Williston is now a MASH unit. It could actually be worse than 6-1 if it snowballs. Jundt, Engberg and Rehak are for real on the blue line, though, and Rehak is only a sophomore. South will beat Devils Lake 4-1. Devils Lake's defense just does not allow a lot of scoring chances. Red River will beat Bismarck 5-0. I am not as high in Hillman as others. I think he is good, but over rated. I have seen him in important games be very average, plus he is small, so he does not cover a lot of net. It might actually be to his advantage to be the underdog and see a lot of rubber. But he is not the best goalie in the West, just the most hyped. Minot over GFC 3-1. It will be physical, and Minot will score on the power play twice. See you all Thursday!

West capsules: Minot (#1) Big physical team. Skate three lines and use three full sets of D-men. Much better disciplined this year under Burckard. Like to fly a winger out and get along pass to him. Get lots of icings due to this. Do still take a couple foolish penalties each game. Could win a first rounder. Williston (#2) Three good offensive Defensemen who like to rush the puck and jump into the play. Only use four D-men regularly. Best goalie in the West. Have been using three lines all year. One good checking line and two speedy scoring lines. Have had the injury bug hit them recently. Appear to have lost three forwards for state. One shoulder surgery (biggest physical forward), one broken arm (leading scorer) and one knee (fastest skater). Will probably be forced to skate short up front. That spells doom against the East. Too bad, with full lineup, this was a scary team! Grafton caught a break, here. Devils Lake (#3) This is the hardest working team in the West. They skate hard every shift and outwork their opponents. Not a lot of scoring power up front, but a great and solid defensive group of defensmen (what else would you expect feom an Al Henry team?). Goalie runs hot and cold. This is a very young team. Won't make noise this year, but look out for the next two years with all these sophomores. Even moving to the East, with Henry behind the bench, this team will need to be reckoned with! Bismarck (#4) This team is an enigma. Best scoring line in the West. Not much offensive depth past the first line. Non descript defense that you just don't get excited about. Good goalie in Hillman. Like Minot, prone to taking the foolish penalty from their better players. Can't see them winning on Thursday. Because of Williston's injuries, only Minot has a shot to advance on Thursday. Hope that helps you "Easterners" figure things out. "Never argue with an idiot. He'll drag you down to his level and beat you with experience."