2006-2007 ND High School Hockey

[UNDhockey22]

No one cares about the west in ND HS Hockey. Every team in the east with the exception of Shanley and Wahpeton, are 5 times as good as any team in the west. They get lucky if there 1 seed beats the east 4 seed at state. they should start Class B hockey out there.

I try to let ridiculous statements made on this message board go in one ear and right out the other but this, however, really bugs me. The East is in fact better than the West as far as the quality of teams goes. But to say no one cares about the West is ridiculous. And if that statement was anywhere close to true, I would be very concerned. I think everyone on this message board wants to see the advancement of hockey in North Dakota. In ten years I would love to see a team like Williston beat a team like Bloomington Jefferson. That may not be very realistic, but is that not the ultimate goal? To advance the quality of hockey in the entire state, not just the East? These are exactly the types of statements that divide the state into halves, those in favor of the East and those in favor of the West. If no one cared about the West then I don't see how it would be possible for the development of these players to improve to the point to where they can compete on a consistent basis with teams that have traditionally been elite in North Dakota high school hockey.

When in Minnesota high school hockey do you see a team win back to back state championships? If you look at the history of the tournement it is a rare occurance. Looking beyond personal achievement and ties to your alma mater or current school, I think this should be the goal for North Dakota high school hockey. A state championship in Minnesota is far more coveted than one in North Dakota. Why? Because the competition is so high throughout the entire state.

[Siouxmama]

No one cares about the west in ND HS Hockey. Every team in the east with the exception of Shanley and Wahpeton, are 5 times as good as any team in the west. They get lucky if there 1 seed beats the east 4 seed at state. they should start Class B hockey out there.

Speak for yourself when it comes to likes and dislikes of hockey east and west. If you're not a fan of hockey west, don't read about it. There are more people on this board that are interested, than not.

Nice comment for a someone who just joined this board.

[Chewey]

Speak for yourself when it comes to likes and dislikes of hockey east and west. If you're not a fan of hockey west, don't read about it. There are more people on this board that are interested, than not.

Nice comment for a someone who just joined this board.

During the last 13 years, the west has had some teams, particularly Minot, that have been as good as the East. Some of those teams have choked badly and I don't know what it is out there. It is not a lack of talent, in my opinion, year in and year out. When I was in high school in the early to mid 80's, we competed very well with the East every year. The west competed very well with the East for years after that. I do not know what has happened since.

The recent response just sounds like some juvenile, idiotic banter that some East ND centric types have, particularly younger ones who may have recently graduated from high school. The reason why Minot's program used to be strong was because Dean Blais was there from 1976 or so to 1980 or 81 and Bruce Olson was there then too. In Bismarck, the program was strong because they had coach Peluso. The west needs more of those types out there. If I were on the school board in Minot, I'd be trying to lure Bruce Olson or some like-minded coach out there. There is no question that Minot's 2005 team was the best in the state but choked per usual....at least per usual since 1993. Some do have a good point in that the west has not been out of the consolation round since 1992 but I do not think that it is because of a lack of talent, at least in Minot's case.

[ndm49]

During the last 13 years, the west has had some teams, particularly Minot, that have been as good as the East. Some of those teams have choked badly and I don't know what it is out there. It is not a lack of talent, in my opinion, year in and year out. When I was in high school in the early to mid 80's, we competed very well with the East every year. The west competed very well with the East for years after that. I do not know what has happened since.

The recent response just sounds like some juvenile, idiotic banter that some East ND centric types have, particularly younger ones who may have recently graduated from high school. The reason why Minot's program used to be strong was because Dean Blais was there from 1976 or so to 1980 or 81 and Bruce Olson was there then too. In Bismarck, the program was strong because they had coach Peluso. The west needs more of those types out there. If I were on the school board in Minot, I'd be trying to lure Bruce Olson or some like-minded coach out there. There is no question that Minot's 2005 team was the best in the state but choked per usual....at least per usual since 1993. Some do have a good point in that the west has not been out of the consolation round since 1992 but I do not think that it is because of a lack of talent, at least in Minot's case.

Bismarck Century beat Fargo North in the first round in 2001.

[Chewey]

Bismarck Century beat Fargo North in the first round in 2001.

I did not know about that. I'm glad I was wrong in that respect. I still think playing more games against Canadian teams like we used to do would benefit hockey in the west a lot. To a certain extent, playing new programs like Dickinson, Mandan, etc. has dummed down the quality of hockey out there. Bottineau is a joke and it used to have a very good program and the best ice sheet in the state. I still remember in 1984 when Fargo North went there expecting to blow them out in the playoffs and got their a$$es kicked. That was when Bottineau had David Vad, Brice Bergeron and Gary Belbeck. Vad was an extremely gifted player who was a lot like Lee Brodeur from Grafton. I think that there should be a mandatory number of games between west and east teams and I think the schedule should be expanded to allow the teams to play the Canadian teams. That used to be a pretty good trade off. The East would play Section 8 teams and the West, particularly Minot, would play teams from Sask. and Man.

[Stiouxy]

Just a random thought but i've been going to the minnesota state tournament for many years now and the chants that the student sections come up with are hilarious and very entertaining. Why dont we ever see that sort of thing from student sections in ND?

[Siouxmama]

Just a random thought but i've been going to the minnesota state tournament for many years now and the chants that the student sections come up with are hilarious and very entertaining. Why dont we ever see that sort of thing from student sections in ND?

Don't know.

But, here's another thought/question.

I have been to the ND state tourney and have noticed that the 2 hometown student sections have been very poor. RR has had a better one than central, but why the poor turnout?

[proudsioux]

I think it is because of a couple things

1) travel, GF is on the other side of the state for west teams

2) not very big accomplishment making state hockey

3) most west teams think why go, just to get beat in the first round.

i think the best is RR. they are more vocal at times then UND student crowd is sometimes. I cant beleive they swear to. the bs cheer.

[Matt]

I try to let ridiculous statements made on this message board go in one ear and right out the other but this, however, really bugs me. The East is in fact better than the West as far as the quality of teams goes. But to say no one cares about the West is ridiculous. And if that statement was anywhere close to true, I would be very concerned. I think everyone on this message board wants to see the advancement of hockey in North Dakota. In ten years I would love to see a team like Williston beat a team like Bloomington Jefferson. That may not be very realistic, but is that not the ultimate goal? To advance the quality of hockey in the entire state, not just the East? These are exactly the types of statements that divide the state into halves, those in favor of the East and those in favor of the West. If no one cared about the West then I don't see how it would be possible for the development of these players to improve to the point to where they can compete on a consistent basis with teams that have traditionally been elite in North Dakota high school hockey.

When in Minnesota high school hockey do you see a team win back to back state championships? If you look at the history of the tournement it is a rare occurance. Looking beyond personal achievement and ties to your alma mater or current school, I think this should be the goal for North Dakota high school hockey. A state championship in Minnesota is far more coveted than one in North Dakota. Why? Because the competition is so high throughout the entire state.

Not more coveted, just much harder to attain. Simply makingthe state tourney in MN is something most players in MN will never achieve.

[bogeyboge50]

Alrite! im not a hockey know it all and i dont even play the game of hockey but i love it! but why is anyone saying central is maybe having there worst team. If you look at it the new USA Hockey rules are killing the high school game! central is probably one of the most if not the most physicallist teams in the state of north dakota! central just played south to a hard game the score didnt show but i was there in the front of the student section and i thought central played a complete game till the last 3 mins! Central has the players to get it done and remember they always play better towards the end and like sumone said the good teams they will learn alot in Roseau i believe! and will be ready against RR! so watch out

[GFRR11]

I don't see how you wouldn't think RedRiver is down this year, I mean they lost alot of talent. Marc Mihulka and Jake Brown to name a few.

[FPatriots]

It is true that the Fargo Patriots provided a nice outlet for some kids to play hockey. Some of the kids who played, may in fact, have not played hockey had it not been for that club. However, the group was formed in opposition to the other Fargo Youth Hockey programs. I am well aware of this as I was asked to do a review of any research literature that would show the negative aspects of kids being cut or being put on a B team as opposed to an A team. One of the founders of the Patriots asked for this research review. They wanted a total B program and initially, some did not want checking as part of their program. The early relations between the Patriots and Fargo Youth Hockey were extremely negative. In fact, there was a lot of hostility between the organizations. My recollection is that the club was started in the late 70s or early 80s. I can get an exact start date for the group in a day or two. I have talked with many of the parents on both sides of that development back in the early days and there was a lot of conflict.

There were a number of talented players who played for the Patriots such as Mr Hockey Cory McClean who left as a peewee or bantam. One of the problems with the Patriots is that some parents put kids in the program that belonged in a better developmental situation. That ended up hurting hockey in Fargo from the high level competitive standpoint. Many Patriot parents were just as competitive as Flyer and Raider parents and in fact felt their players were as competitive (if only they were not in a B system). For a year or two a Patriot All Star team played Raider teams at least at the Squirt level. The Patriot organization was conflicted in many ways and people who did not understand hockey development got their kids in their low level program when they should have been in a better one. If you just wanted to have fun, were concerned about costs, and did not want to travel much it was a cool place to play. But from a strictly competitive developmental standpoint Patriot hockey hurt high level development in Fargo. That may be a bad thing, or a good thing or neutral depending on your standpoint but when talking about who could have the best team Patriots hurt mainstream clubs by draining off some of the talent and not developing them as effectively as they should have been developed.

[GRAFTONhockey]

It is sadness that I first report the death of Jason Stadstad, former Grand Forks Central hockey player. Stadstad passed away Sunday.

[RighteousOne]

It is sadness that I first report the death of Jason Stadstad, former Grand Forks Central hockey player. Stadstad passed away Sunday.

that is very sad news my hopes and prayers go to his family

[Siouxmama]

It is sadness that I first report the death of Jason Stadstad, former Grand Forks Central hockey player. Stadstad passed away Sunday.

Very sad indeed. Hope you don't mind, but I put this into it's own thread.

[NDstatehockey]

I like cheese and crackers too!

[UofMGrad]

Very sad indeed. Hope you don't mind, but I put this into it's own thread.

Tough news. Best of luck to his family in these rough times.

[Hey_Go_Sioux]

Tough news. Best of luck to his family in these rough times.

I was very sad to hear this news. I knew Jason, not very well but I was nonetheless touched by his courage an will in life.

[Hey_Go_Sioux]

Normally I would be biased as I played for RR last year, as much of you know but, when this stupid of a post gets posted I have to step in.

South beats GFC 4-1 at Central and GFRR beats WF in GF 4-3? Not anywhere close to the best team? WHo is the best team? Thoughts please.

The best team in the state right now is no one. South and Red River are extremely even. Between goalies Deichert is the better of the two. Offensively, I honestly think RR has the edge I could be wrong but they can roll three lines that score. What does everyone else think?

[UNDhockey22]

The best team in the state right now is no one. South and Red River are extremely even. Between goalies Deichert is the better of the two. Offensively, I honestly think RR has the edge I could be wrong but they can roll three lines that score. What does everyone else think?

At this point in the season the only team I believe is going to be in the top two in the east is Fargo South. After this weak or next week depending on who Red River plays that may change. Besides an impressive 9-0 win over Crookston, I have not seen enough out of Red River. Yes, I am well aware they are undefeated. It's that 3-2 game against WF and the 5-4 against East Grand that worry me a little bit. And after a 5-1 over White Bear Lake I am very impressed with Fargo South. Right now I believe the top 4 teams in the East are South, RR or Grafton, DL or North.

[soohockey15]

At this point in the season the only team I believe is going to be in the top two in the east is Fargo South. After this weak or next week depending on who Red River plays that may change. Besides an impressive 9-0 win over Crookston, I have not seen enough out of Red River. Yes, I am well aware they are undefeated. It's that 3-2 game against WF and the 5-4 against East Grand that worry me a little bit. And after a 5-1 over White Bear Lake I am very impressed with Fargo South. Right now I believe the top 4 teams in the East are South, RR or Grafton, DL or North.

I'm not sure how you can say that South is a definative top 2, while you think Red River isn't. Red River has had some close games, but wasn't South tied with Central late in the game? Are you just not taking this in to account?

[UNDhockey22]

I'm not sure how you can say that South is a definative top 2, while you think Red River isn't. Red River has had some close games, but wasn't South tied with Central late in the game? Are you just not taking this in to account?

The only thing I'm taking into account right now is the scores of the games. I am not able to attend all these games obviously so I go by what the final score states. In any sense, a game is three full periods long. Not one period, not two periods, not two periods and 8 minutes. If Wahpeton is tied with Grafton for two periods and five minutes into the third, but then Grafton scores ten goals in the remainder of the game, they still won 10-0. Good for Central that they were able to hang on for that long, but it was only a matter of time until South pulled away, which they did. South made a statement with decisive wins over White Bear Lake (5-1), Grafton (6-2), and Fargo North (9-3).

[dumndummer]

Don't know.

But, here's another thought/question.

I have been to the ND state tourney and have noticed that the 2 hometown student sections have been very poor. RR has had a better one than central, but why the poor turnout?

the chants you hear in minnesota state tournament are usually between public and private schools, who hate each other because of recruiting and such. north dakota does not have any private schools that recruit so no hatred. shanley doesnt count

[RighteousOne]

I think people underestimate some of the teams in the east and go in over confident is what i think

[Matt]

the chants you hear in minnesota state tournament are usually between public and private schools, who hate each other because of recruiting and such. north dakota does not have any private schools that recruit so no hatred. shanley doesnt count

I always love that one