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UMD 2017 Season Thread

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  • Re: UMD 2017 Season Thread

    Originally posted by joecct View Post
    Both times UMD won, Duluth-East lost in the AA finals.
    Duluth East, Hermantown and Grand Rapids, with a sprinkling of help from the Iron Range teams, produce lots of talent year in and year out that forms the nucleus for UMD. High school hockey is a real strong tradition in that part of the state that goes all the way back to the 1950's.

    But for some reason that has not been the case on the girls's side at these schools. If and when that should change the Minnesota Duluth women's team would get a big boost, helping them more consistently contend for first in the WCHA and a spot in the NCAA tournament. Unfortunately for them that does not appear to be happening any time soon. Such a big contrast between the boys and the girls, and for me, having grown up in Duluth, it's always been a bit of a mystery.
    Minnesota Golden Gopher Hockey

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    • Re: UMD 2017 Season Thread

      Originally posted by D2D View Post
      Duluth East, Hermantown and Grand Rapids, with a sprinkling of help from the Iron Range teams, produce lots of talent year in and year out that forms the nucleus for UMD. High school hockey is a real strong tradition in that part of the state that goes all the way back to the 1950's.

      But for some reason that has not been the case on the girls's side at these schools. If and when that should change the Minnesota Duluth women's team would get a big boost, helping them more consistently contend for first in the WCHA and a spot in the NCAA tournament. Unfortunately for them that does not appear to be happening any time soon. Such a big contrast between the boys and the girls, and for me, having grown up in Duluth, it's always been a bit of a mystery.
      There are a lot of factors working against hockey now. For one you are not going to become elite playing pick up games when the local pond is frozen. The kids playing at the D-I level have parents who made a very substantial investment in the equipment, training and ice time to get the kid to that point. Loss of mining jobs hits them hard too. The fact that there is no real career path for girls reduces interest in pursuing the sport that hard. Boys can dream of a long career in the AHL (WHAT? Thats where most of them end up) but except for the very best of the very best there really is only real life after college. Then there is the tradition. They need adults to bring their kids and reminisce about old rivalries and great players from the past so that kids want to be part of that.
      Last edited by ne7minder; 04-08-2018, 02:04 PM.

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      • Re: UMD 2017 Season Thread

        Originally posted by D2D View Post
        Duluth East, Hermantown and Grand Rapids, with a sprinkling of help from the Iron Range teams, produce lots of talent year in and year out that forms the nucleus for UMD. High school hockey is a real strong tradition in that part of the state that goes all the way back to the 1950's.

        But for some reason that has not been the case on the girls's side at these schools.
        Even on the boys' side, HS hockey in northern MN is nothing like it was when we were young. They still produce a few good players, but in terms of teams, there just isn't the quality that there once was. When I was in school, Eveleth and Virginia never made it to State, because they couldn't past teams like Falls, Hibbing, Rapids, and Greenway. Look at the players on '80 Olympic team: Baker - Rapids; Harrington - Virginia; Schneider - Babbitt; Pavelich - Eveleth. Throw in Broten, Christian, and Verchota, and it would be hard to imagine finding the same percentage of talent in the North 40 years later. Enrollments on the Range dropped, and hockey in the rest of the state improved. Now even when one of those schools has a decent team, they don't see the type of competition in conference that they once did.

        On the girls' side, participation is even lower. Hibbing and Rapids were factors 15-20 years ago, but now, they don't have the type of competition that Cities schools do. Hockey has become more like football, where it is hard to compete with superior numbers.
        "... And lose, and start again at your beginnings
        And never breathe a word about your loss;" -- Rudyard Kipling

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        • Re: UMD 2017 Season Thread

          Originally posted by ARM View Post
          Even on the boys' side, HS hockey in northern MN is nothing like it was when we were young. They still produce a few good players, but in terms of teams, there just isn't the quality that there once was. When I was in school, Eveleth and Virginia never made it to State, because they couldn't past teams like Falls, Hibbing, Rapids, and Greenway. Look at the players on '80 Olympic team: Baker - Rapids; Harrington - Virginia; Schneider - Babbitt; Pavelich - Eveleth. Throw in Broten, Christian, and Verchota, and it would be hard to imagine finding the same percentage of talent in the North 40 years later. Enrollments on the Range dropped, and hockey in the rest of the state improved. Now even when one of those schools has a decent team, they don't see the type of competition in conference that they once did.
          Totally agree with most of this, especially your point about the depth of talent in the north is down compared to what it once was. But recent results in the boy's high school hockey tournament show there is still excellence to be found "up north", particularly in and around Duluth and the Range. Looking at just Section 7 the past four years:

          Class A - 2 Championships, 1 Runner-ups, 1 3rd Place (all Hermantown, a small suburb of Duluth)
          Class AA - 1 Championship, 2 Runner-ups, 1 3rd Place (Grand Rapids, Duluth East twice, and Grand Rapids)

          In addition, all four UMD players that made the Frozen Four All Tournament team were from this region: Cloquet, Hermantown, Grand Rapids and Hibbing.

          My main point was that the girls in the same part of the State (that potentially would feed UMD, like the boys do) have not come remotely close to what their boys teams have done recently. In fact, no girls team from this area has won a state title since the turn of the century, and you have to go back to 2008 in Class AA when Grand Rapids/Greenway reached the final and 2005 in Class A when Hibbing/Chisholm reached the championship game (each lost).

          For whatever reason the girls teams in the NW part of the State have fared much better, but only in Class A where Warroad and East Grand Forks have made regular trips to the final, and have often done well. But girls hockey in the NE has really struggled, and one can only hope that some day this will change.
          Last edited by D2D; 04-09-2018, 12:27 AM.
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          • Re: UMD 2017 Season Thread

            Originally posted by ARM View Post
            Look at the players on '80 Olympic team: Baker - Rapids; Harrington - Virginia; Schneider - Babbitt; Pavelich - Eveleth. Throw in Broten, Christian, and Verchota...
            Man, those were the days, watching WCHA hockey in Duluth in the 70s. The '80 Olympic game was like watching a roster of players who we had either cheered (UMD's Pavelich and Harrington) or jeered (Bulldog opponents) at the Duluth Arena - so many familiar faces. I always liked watching Mark Pavelich play at UMD.

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            • Re: UMD 2017 Season Thread

              Originally posted by ZedLeppelin View Post
              Man, those were the days, watching WCHA hockey in Duluth in the 70s. The '80 Olympic game was like watching a roster of players who we had either cheered (UMD's Pavelich and Harrington) or jeered (Bulldog opponents) at the Duluth Arena - so many familiar faces. I always liked watching Mark Pavelich play at UMD.
              Yes, indeed they were. My now ex brother-in-law had season tickets to the Bulldogs back then and when his wife didn't want to go to the games I would go with him. Unfortunately, the game that I remember the most was the 1981 championship in Duluth between the Gophers and the Badgers. It did not go well.

              I went to more high school games than college back then in both Eveleth and Virginia. Sadly, again, the game I remember the most was the 1982 game at the Eveleth Hippodrome when Hibbing seniors Pat Micheletti and future UMD coach Scott Sandelin put a dagger in the hearts of the local fans that prevented the Golden Bears from finally returning to the State Tournament. Michelletti scored the winning goal in overtime, if I remember correctly. Too bad the goalie couldn't use "The Big Stick" that was just outside the arena. It was very somber the next day in the town breakfast nook that the Eveleth hockey faithful frequented.
              Last edited by bluffrinkrat; 04-09-2018, 11:58 AM. Reason: The Hipp's metal benches were never so quiet.
              "Everything that rises must converge." Pierre Teilhard de Chardin

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              • Re: UMD 2017 Season Thread

                Which other schools permit this, and will it start a trend for college hockey?

                BEER AND WINE TO NOW BE SOLD AT BULLDOG HOME HOCKEY GAMES
                https://umdbulldogs.com/news/2018/7/...key-games.aspx
                Minnesota Golden Gopher Hockey

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                • Re: UMD 2017 Season Thread

                  Originally posted by D2D View Post
                  Which other schools permit this, and will it start a trend for college hockey?

                  BEER AND WINE TO NOW BE SOLD AT BULLDOG HOME HOCKEY GAMES
                  https://umdbulldogs.com/news/2018/7/...key-games.aspx
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