VERY Early MBSLA Predictions

I just recently took a look at the new MBSLA hierarchy of teams.  With the departure of perennial powerhouse Delano along with a likely new contender Cretin-Derham Hall to the MSHSL, the rankings as I see them became a bit clearer.  Tartan, another up and coming team and North St. Paul also made the jump to the MSHSL this year.

Looking at the remaining contenders, I think two teams stand out to me:  St. Louis Park and Shakopee, with MontiQuois and Hudson close behind.  Both St. Louis Park and Shakopee return several key players and all-conference selections this year.  While MontiQuois and Hudson both lost many seniors, they return a few key players as well.  However, I do see them as a notch behind St. Louis Park and Shakopee.  Interestingly, if Delano had stayed in the MBSLA, I would have put them 4th behind St. Louis Park, Shakopee and MontiQuois based on their significant losses to graduation from their State Championship team.

Following the top 4, I see northern teams making a run, including a St. Cloud North team that had some significant losses to graduation and a very young, up and coming Duluth team that could make some noise this season.  Another northern team, Grand Rapids, while losing several seniors, but returning some good young players, should be tough as well.

Stay tuned as we get closer to the season start for a complete and more detailed MBSLA Top 10.

St. Cloud North - 2012 Northern Minnesota Lacrosse Season Preview

High School: St. Cloud North (Sartell, Sauk Rapids, St. Cloud Apollo)


Coaches:  Head Coach- Tyler Safranek, 3 years at St. Cloud North


Last Year's Record: 5-3


Returning Starters/Key Returning Players: junior attackman Andrew Lindmeier, senior attackman Michael Whitson, defenseman Tyler Minkel, FOGO Christian Murray


Key Losses:  Goalie Alex Hoalupczak


Big Games/Games to See:  Knights vs. Duluth on April 15 for what might determine the North Conference championship (note:  Knights defeated Duluth by one goal)


Season Outlook: With several key returning players for the Knights, they clearly are the favorite to win the North Conference title again in 2012.

St. Cloud North Picks up Big North Conference Win

Duluth's Steven Halver scoring to close the gap to one goal

In a game played on a day more suited for waterfowl, St. Cloud North came up with a big North Conference win over Duluth-Superior by a 9-8 score.  It was a game dominated by St. Cloud North in the first half and Duluth-Superior in the second half.  St. Cloud North clearly dominated at the faceoff X in the first half and for the most part, throughout the game.  The young Duluth-Superior squad made some adjustments at halftime and came out firing in the second half to erase the deficit to one goal with about 2:00 minutes remaining.  St. Cloud North controlled the ball most of the remaining 2 minutes and Duluth fell at home on the UMD campus by a goal.  It was a hard fought game in horrendous conditions with driving rain, wind and 43 degree temperatures.  Next up for Duluth-Superior is a road trip where they will take on Fargo and Grand Cities.  St. Cloud North will face defending MBSLA state champion MontiQuois next Monday.

This Week in the MBSLA

It was a busy week in the MBSLA North. There were also a couple of other big games in the MBSLA that might provide a glimpse into the relative strength of a couple of teams.

Delano versus St. Louis Park

In the MBSLA North Brainerd knocked off Grand Rapids 8-5 on Thursday April, 28.  Also on Thursday in the MBSLA Delano proved they're for real in 2011 knocking off last years state champion St. Louis Park 12-10.

On Saturday Grand Rapids lost to a very good MontiQuois team 19-0.  The previous day, MontiQuois showed how good they can be with a solid 7-1 victory over St. Paul.  Also on Saturday, in their first game of the season (their earlier games against Tartan and St. Paul North were canceled), Duluth-Superior knocked off White Bear Lake 7-2.  Brainerd also played White Bear Lake on Saturday, beating them 8-5.  In the final game of the night, Duluth beat Brainerd 9-1.  With this win over a good Brainerd team, Duluth takes its first step towards cementing themselves as the favorite in the MBSLA North.  Tomorrows Duluth/St. Cloud North game will be the next telling game in the MBSLA North.  Also Saturday Fargo lost to North St. Paul 17-9..

There are more MBSLA North games on tap tomorrow including Grand Rapids taking on St. Cloud North at 11:00 a.m., Duluth taking on St. Cloud North at 3:00 p.m. and Brainerd taking on St. Cloud North at 5:30 p.m. in games that could help determine who will be the MBSLA North favorite.  We anticipate St. Cloud North being fairly tired after their game against Brainerd.  Other Sunday games include Fargo against St. Louis Park and Tartan.  Also in the MBSLA, the game pitting state runner-up Orono against Delano should be a good one.

2011 Northern Minnesota Lacrosse Season Preview: St. Cloud North

High School: St. Cloud North (Sartell, Sauk Rapids, St. Cloud Apollo)

Coaches:
Head Coach- Tyler Safranek, 2 years at St. Cloud North
Defensive Coach- Tyler Farrell, 2 years at St. Cloud North
Offensive Coach- Cody Otte, 2 years at St.Cloud North

Last Year's Record: 7-7

Returning Starters/Key Returning Players: 8 returning starters including all 3 starting attack from last season and goalkeeper Alex Halupczok

Key Losses:  Brandon Gabbert Defensive Captain

Big Games/Games to See:  Knights vs. Duluth on May 1st

Season Outlook:  St. Cloud North will be looking at their overall team defense and explosive attackmen to lead them through the season in 2011.  The Knights are presently 1-0 in the MBSLA North with a win over Fargo and 1-2 overall with their losses coming to two of the top MBSLA programs in the state - Delano and St. Paul.  Coach Safranek believes, "We have a much deeper roster this year with plenty of athletes.  It's now up to myself and the rest of the coaching staff to find ways to utilize our talents and find ways to get our newcomers up to speed quickly."  How well the Knights coaches can do that will play a big factor in the success of their 2011 season.  Coach Safranek has this to say about his team in 2011, "So far, we've seen dramatic improvement all the way around.  I like to think we are kind of like the Duke of the MBSLA: we may lay a few eggs at the start of the season, but once we find our rhythm and nail down the fundamentals we can play with anyone.  To say that I'm excited to see what this team is capable of is an understatement!"  With a playoff appearance last season and a tough 1-0 first round playoff loss to previously undefeated St. Paul to open the playoffs, St. Cloud looks to be a favorite in the MBSLA North with hopes of making it back to the dance and advancing past the first round in 2011.

MBSLA Pre-season Top 10

This evaluation is our best attempt at an MBSLA pre-season Top 10 ranking. We looked at last years performance, the number of seniors lost, top scorers returning from last year and returning all-state performers to come up with our rankings. This is a "best effort" and certainly not definitive. I would encourage comments and discussion on this blog regarding these rankings. Please feel free to comment!

MBSLA Pre-season Top 10:

1.  St. Louis Park - Defending MBSLA State Champion St. Louis Park clearly deserves to be the pre-season #1.  The Orioles return their top four scorers from last year including all-state performers senior Max Bergeron and senior Art Elmer, plus junior all-state D/LSM Sean Berens.  They also return sophomore goalie Will Harkema.  St. Louis Park is clearly loaded for another run at the MBSLA state title.

2.  St. Paul - Despite losing leading scorer and All-State performer Kieren Gallagher, the Celts return their #2 and #3 scorers in senior Jimmy Paenkhay and senior Jimmy Francomb.  They also return the 5,6, and 7 scorers on the team Tony Alexander, Alex Bernish and Alexander Berger.  Losing 3 all-state selections including goalie Keenan Lilyquist will hurt the Celts.  If they can't find replacements for these high level performers, we could see the Celts falling down the standings in a big way.

3.  Delano - We have a feeling Delano will make a big jump up the standings in 2011.  Looking at their young roster, they'll be returning their top 4 scorers in junior Drake Hunter, junior Chase Willette, senior Colton Homberger, and junior Jack Prinsen as well as junior goalie James Tilbury.  After a solid 2010 season, we're expecting big things from this young Rage team.

4.  Orono -  Losing all-state performer and leading scorer Bo Maki will hurt Orono in 2011.  They'll also be losing #2 scorer David Stephenson and #4 scorer Alex Schroeder.  Returning will be #3 scorer senior Derek Alford and sophomore Alex Cross who scored 10 goals in 2010.  They'll have some big shoes to fill and will need others to step up if they want another shot at the MBSLA title.  On the plus side, Orono returns all-state honorable mention goalie, senior Wesley Kavanagh.  If St. Paul falters and Orono finds some capable replacements, they could easily find themselves jumping up to the #2 slot in 2011.

5.  MontiQuois - MontiQuois returns all-state performer senior Evan Hesse to a squad that finished last season 8-4.  They also return junior goalie Aaron Job.  Losing leading scorer Ben Brion and #3 scorer Cameron Christiansen will hurt.  Will they have enough players like senior Tom Bales to move up and replace that scoring, or will they drop in the top 10 once the games start?

6.  Shattuck-St. Mary's - Not much is known about this team, but they had solid wins last season including a 10-7 win over eventual state champion St. Louis Park and finished the season 6-0.  It remains to be seen who is returning and what to expect from them in 2011.  An April 25 game against St. Louis Park should tell us something about this team.  This team could make some real noise in the playoffs if their season didn't end so early along with the end of their school year.  Regardless of their participation in the playoffs, this team deserves to be ranked.

7.  Duluth - Duluth makes a jump into the top 10 for 2011.  With a very solid core of seniors returning in 2011, the Chargers hope to make a big splash in the MBSLA and a push into the playoffs.  Seniors Matt Jeanetta, Jack Maddy, Dan Padden, Zach Thompson and Ian Wieczorek will provide the offensive firepower while all-conference defenseman senior Nate Pratt will anchor a strong line of d-poles.  Throw in strong goalie play from senior Tyler Olson and you have the recipe for a strong MBSLA contender in 2011. 

8.  Hastings - Hastings loses quite a bit of scoring from their 2010 squad that won 7 games with the departure of #1, 3, 4 and 6 scorers through graduation.  Their hopes rest with the return of #2 scorer senior Andy Riveness and #5 scorer senior Corey Latuff along with junior goalie Leo Martineau.

9.  St. Cloud North -  St. Cloud North gamely battled undefeated St. Paul last year in the first round of the MBSLA playoffs, losing by a 1-0 score.  This is a young team that should be returning many of their top performers from last season.  If they can show the improvement in 2011 that they showed at the end of last season, this team will compete for a playoff spot out of the North division.

10.  White Bear Lake -  White Bear Lake had a very young and talented team last season.  Being a club team at a school with an MSHSL team, it's hard to gauge how many of those young, talented club players will be moving up to the varsity squad.  Because of this, ranking this team is difficult.  However, if top scorers like sophomore Seth King, senior Alexander Bocchi and sophomore Ryan Geary return along with senior goalie Matt Kinne, White Bear Lake will be a tough team to beat in 2011.

Honorable Mention (any of these teams can make a good argument for a spot among the top 10):

• Tartan - Tartan is a team that could improve over last season depending on the number of top scorers returning for 2011.
• Henry-Sibley - Henry-Sibley won 6 games last season and is looking to improve on that in 2011 and move into a spot in the top 10.
• Brainerd - Brainerd posted a solid 4 win season in 2010 which is very good for a first year team in the MBSLA.  They return top scorer and all-conference performer senior Zach Brown along with a host of strong seniors in 2011.  Look for Brainerd, with the toughest opening schedule in the MBSLA with back-to-back games against state champion St. Louis Park and state runner-up Orono to tell us a lot about themselves based on their performance in these two games.  Brainerd is hoping to make a playoff push in 2011.

*note - Buffalo was removed from the rankings because they have moved to the MSHSL for 2011 along with St. Cloud South.

Early Season Northern Lacrosse Games to Watch

A quick review of team schedules (no information yet on Grand Rapids' schedule) reveals a few games to pay attention to in the early northern lacrosse season.

April 9 - Brainerd vs. St. Louis Park - in only its second season of varsity play, the Brainerd Warriors lacrosse team is jumping into the 2011 lacrosse season with both feet.  In a very early season test, Brainerd will take on the defending MBSLA state champion St. Louis Park Orioles.  How Brainerd comes out of this early season match-up should tell Northern lacrosse observers an awful lot about the scrappy Warriors.

April 18 - Brainerd vs. Orono - did we say the Warriors were scrappy?  Scrappy, crazy, confident, maybe all three as they travel to Orono to take on the state runners-up Orono Spartans in their second game of the season.  That's the toughest opening schedule in the MBSLA.  Brainerd had a very solid first varsity season winning 4 games and playing competitively in the majority of their games.  They return a strong senior laden squad led by all-conference attackman Zach Brown.  How they fare in their first two games will tell us something about this team and how they'll compete in the MBSLA North Division.

April 22 - Fargo vs. Brainerd - the new Fargo lacrosse team opens their season against a good Brainerd team.  This match-up should tell us something about where the Fargo program is at in their first season of MBSLA play.

April 25 - St. Cloud North vs. St. Paul - St. Cloud North, with the second best North Division record among the remaining teams, has a score to settle with St. Paul after dropping a quarterfinal game last season in the state playoffs against the Celts by a 1-0 score. The Knights should provide a good glimpse of what they can achieve in 2011 if they can come away with a win against a tough St. Paul team that finished the regular season last year with an undefeated 10-0 record. 

April 30 - Duluth vs. White Bear Lake - the Duluth Chargers first real test of the season may come against a White Bear Lake team that made the state tournament playoffs last season.  Duluth returns a strong senior laden team that finished second to St. Cloud South last season in the MBSLA North, with South being their only conference loss of the season.  Led by the likes of all-conference d-pole Nate Pratt and a host of solid senior scorers in Ian Wieczorek, Zach Thompson, Matt Jeanetta, Jack Maddy and Dan Padden, the Chargers may be the pre-season favorite in the MBSLA North.

April 30 - Duluth vs. Brainerd - In the second game of the day, Duluth takes on a Brainerd team that should be much improved in their second MBSLA season in what could be a battle for supremacy in the MBSLA North.

May 1 - Duluth vs. St. Cloud North -  This game pitting the top two remaining teams could decide who wins the MBSLA North Division and should be a good battle between two established northern lacrosse programs.

Practices begin next week for some northern lacrosse teams.  Looking forward to seeing how these games play out in the MBSLA North.

Practice Begins March 21 for St. Cloud North High School; Game Schedule

Practices start the week of March 21 for St. Cloud North High School and April 4 for middle school.
High school captains practices will be held starting March 7th.  Varsity and Middle Schedule below:

St. Cloud North Varsity Schedule

4/18/11                White Bear Lake 5:30 pm @ ORE - Scrimmage
4/21/11                Delano 6:00 pm @ Delano
4/23/11                Fargo 3:00 pm @ Fargo
4/25/11                St Paul 5:30 pm @ ORE
5/1/11                  Grand Rapids 11:00 am @ ORE
                             Duluth 3:00 pm @ ORE
5/2/11                  Brainerd 5:30 pm @ Brainerd
5/7 and 5/8          Grand Rapids Tournament
5/12/11                Brainerd 5:30 pm @ ORE
5/19/11                Monticello 5:30 pm @ ORE
5/22/11                Fargo 4:00 pm @ ORE

MIDDLE SCHOOL SCHEDULE

APRIL 23  at St Cloud (Apollo H.S.)
APRIL 30  at St Cloud (Apollo H.S.)
MAY 7  at St Michael
MAY 14  at Duluth
MAY 21  at White Bear Lake
May 22  at White Bear Lake

 

Northern Lacrosse Nuts and Bolts

The facts about Northern Minnesota lacrosse:

High School teams in Northern Minnesota:

MBSLA teams:  MBSLA high school teams listed below participate in the North Division

Brainerd Warriors - location:  Brainerd, MN

Duluth-Superior Chargers - location: Duluth, MN.  Comprised of kids from Duluth area schools.

Fargo High School - location:  Fargo, ND

Grand Rapids Thunderhawks - location:  Grand Rapids, MN

St. Cloud North Knights - location:  St. Cloud, MN.  Comprised of kids from Sartell, Sauk Rapids, Apollo and other surrounding area high schools

MSHSL teams: 

St. Cloud South Tigers - location:  St. Cloud, MN.  The only MSHSL team presently located in the north.

Girls Lacrosse in the North:

Two active girls teams participate in lacrosse in Northern Minnesota.  In Duluth, the Knighthawks girls lacrosse team has been active in Duluth for several years.  The Knighthawks include players ages 13 and up, from all area high schools and middle schools.  In 2010, the team finished fourth place in the Northcentral Schoolgirls Lacrosse Association with a 4-3 record.  Girls lacrosse is also being played in Grand Rapids.  The Grand Rapids team also participates in the Northcentral Schoolgirls Lacrosse Association.  Here's a video of the Grand Rapids Girls Lacrosse team in action.  For more information about either team, go to the team contact page on the NSLA website.

Youth Programs and Lacrosse Associations:

Duluth YMCA Youth Lacrosse League - In 2011, this league will be expanding to include 4 teams at the 3/4 and 5/6 grade levels.  Practices will be held on Tuesdays throughout the summer (first week in June until last week in July) with games every Thursday.  The Y league is hoping to recruit more kids at the 3rd through 6th grade levels to allow for the formation of teams at both age levels and a more competitive and fun league.  In addition, a travel team will be formed at both the 3/4 and 5/6 grade levels to participate in a couple of tournaments later in the summer.  UMD Bulldog lacrosse players and coaches provide the coaching and instruction for this league, making it a very attractive league for kids just getting started.


Grand Rapids Lacrosse Association - Will have a 5/6 grade team play in the MBSLA spring league in 2011


Fargo Lacrosse Club - Fargo offers a youth spring lacrosse league for kids ages 9-14.


College Lacrosse Teams:

University of Minnesota - Duluth Bulldogs - MCLA Division I:  The UMD Bulldogs lacrosse team is one of the most successful college lacrosse teams in the Midwest.  Currently ranked #9 in the nation (MCLA pre-season top 10 - 1. Michigan, 2. Arizona State, 3. Chapman, 4. Colorado State, 5. Florida State, 6. Brigham Young, 7. Colorado, 8. Oregon, 9. Minnesota-Duluth, 10. Simon Fraser), this team plays, and quite often beats, the big boys.  Last year, the Bulldogs were one game away from the MCLA Final Four, finishing the season #5 in the nation.  The Michigan Wolverines were last seasons MCLA National Champion.  Though competing as a club team, UMD operates as a "virtual varsity" squad with top-notch coaches and players.  On an equal playing field, UMD would give most NCAA teams a run for their money.

St. Cloud State - MCLA Division I


Minnesota State Moorhead - MCLA Division II


Events:


Fargo Tournament - 2011 Fargo Ambush Tournament, May 14 & 15, 2011.  Each team is guaranteed 3 games.  Age divisions for boys are high school varsity, high school JV, high school 9/10, 7/8, 5/6 and 3/4.  There is a single division for girls high school varsity.  Contact Tournament Director, Matt Noah, matt@fargolacrosse.org if you have any questions.   

Grand Rapids Tournament - Grand Rapids Lax Shootout is scheduled for May 7 & 8, 2011.  This tournament will include varsity, JV, middle school and girls teams.  For more information about this tournament contact lacrosse@mchsi.com


Future of Lacrosse in Northern Minnesota:


At the present time, there are only 5 MBSLA teams in Northern Minnesota and one MSHSL team.  Where and how could lacrosse grow at the high school level in Northern Minnesota?  Here are some possibilities:

Duluth-Superior Chargers - This team will most likely eventually be composed of students from the two Duluth high schools - Duluth East and Duluth Denfeld.

A team on the Iron Range is a distinct possibility in the near future.  This team could be composed of Virginia-Eveleth-Mt. Iron and other Iron Range schools

Other possible northern teams could include a North Shore team composed of a combination of Two Harbors/Silver Bay/Grand Marais.  Some other combination teams similar to some of the hockey combinations could include - Cloquet/Esko/Carlton, Hermantown/Proctor/Marshall, and Mora/Hinckley/Finlayson.  Other teams located in the larger communities of Bemidji, International Falls, Thief River Falls, Grand Forks/East Grand Forks area, Moorhead, Fergus Falls/Alexandria, and a Northern Wisconsin team composed of Superior/Ashland are also possibilities.

Of the most likely teams, two solid Northern Divisions could be formed:

Northeast Division, composed of - Duluth, Grand Rapids, Cloquet/Esko/Carlton, Hermantown/Proctor/Marshall, Iron Range, International Falls and Superior.

Northwest Division, composed of Brainerd, St. Cloud North, Fargo, Bemidji, Grand Forks/East Grand Forks, Thief River Falls and Moorhead.

The North Shore, Mora/Hinckley,  and Fergus Falls/Alexandria may be a little further out based on their respective school sizes, proximity to other schools and distance between schools.