Daily Dish 5.19
Every night has been crazy. We talked about it on the latest podcast. It has been such a fun year of lacrosse and I love the way teams have developed and we have so many solid teams across the state now. Sure, there are your top tier programs, but, there are a LOT more “really good” teams than ever before.
Eden Prairie 9 vs STMA 8: This game was closer than I thought it would be, but then again, EP loves close games. I believe it was 9-6 late and STMA got two to make it a one goal game, but, still, STMA had a lead at halftime. STMA is a team that has been so hit or miss for the last 10 years I feel like. While Moorhead is the favorite in section 8, I feel like STMA still has a chance to win the section as after Moorhead and maybe elk river, there isn’t a ton of depth. If they play a couple good games at the right time, it could be an opportunity. Eden Prairie just continues to grind. We know they are well coached and have athletes. I don’t know if the firepower is there to WIN section 2 this year, but, it’s not a team I’d want to face in the playoffs. They have played everyone tough.
Edina 8 v Wayzata 7: Wayzata has been up and down this year, but, one thing is for certain…. They grind it out on defense. Extremely well coached on that side of the ball, I have a lot of respect for Coach Carlson. It sounds like maybe Edina didnt have their best night and were uncharacteristically sloppy and undisciplined, so, maybe that kept the game closer than it should have been, but, I think some of that has to do with Wayzata and the way they play. They only lose one senior to graduation. so, the Trojans could be a team to watch out for. Edina, I still think is a top 5 team, capable of winning section 6, and maybe making a run at state. They have been getting the job done, even when its close, and gave BSM the best game yet.
Valley 11 v Eagan 10: Another team that loves close games, the Eagan Wildcats. They are a team that can look completely different within the same game. They have a couple guys that can absolutely shoot the crap out of the ball. They have a great FaceOff guy. They are physical. I feel like they are better than their record shows. I will be interested to see where they land in the section playoffs but section 3 is wide open in my opinion. The Valley, like Edina, has just been grinding their way to an amazing season. There are times it hasn’t been perfect, but, their defense will bend but not break. They have a couple lock down poles, a solid goalie, a strong face-off guy and a few players on offense that can win matchups at any moment. Even if they fall behind in games, they have proven to be able to claw their way back and win. Gritty team.
Chanhassen 5 v Buffalo 3: This was a surprising score… I didnt think it was going to be a shootout because they defenses on both teams are solid, but, with the talented attackmen on both teams I thought there would be more. The story of this game was the goaltending… both goalies stepped up and turned this one into a defensive battle. Buffalo has a big win vs Tonka and a close loss against Chan. Maybe they are heating up at the right time? Chan, has hit a mid-season lull with their loss to BSM and now an underwhelming performance here, but, I am not worried about them one bit. A strong defense, good face off guy and a couple elite scorers, they should have a chance in every single game.
Prior Lake 12 vs Rosemount 11 (OT): A classic back and forth battle between long time SSC/Section 3&6 Rivals. I think no matter the year, no matter the teams, these two teams always play eachother hard. Tip of the cap to PL for grinding their way back after going down 3 goals in the mid 4th quarter. I think PL is finally catching stride. Maybe not the PL team of last year, but, still very talented and well coached. Rosemount has been solid and is a couple goals away from being 10-1. Two of their losses are in OT. Two are two-goal losses. I feel like they will be able to draw on a bunch of those games come playoffs in a tough section 6.
