Final Regular Season MBSLA Top 10

Not too much has changed in our final regular season Top 10 for the

2013 MBSLA season.  Hard to believe the regular season is over and we're heading into the playoffs this week.  It was a challenging season that saw every team play fewer games than scheduled due to weather cancellations.

Hudson finishes the season in the MBSLA undefeated and ranked #1.  Their only blemish on the season came to Verona, WI in a tournament played in Madison, WI.  They finish their season with a 9-4 win over Shakopee.  Duluth remains at #2 after picking up two wins this week against two Top 10 opponents, MontiQuios 11-7 and in OT against Northfield 8-7.  Duluth added Northfield after Hudson pulled out of their scheduled Saturday game and it almost cost them a perfect regular season.  Northfield played well at home and this end of the season overtime test may help prepare Duluth for the rigors of the playoffs to come.  St. Louis Park remains at #3 after beating Shakopee.  St. Paul moves up to #4 while Shattuck-St. Mary's drops to #5.  We just feel that St. Paul's strength of schedule warranted this move up (their only losses came to #1 Hudson and #3 St. Louis Park).  MontiQuois moves up to #6 based primarily on their better record.  Having seen them play, this is still a good team.  Northfield is at #7 but I see MontiQuois and Northfield as similar teams and probably are about even.  Four of Northfield's five losses have come against 4 of the top 5 ranked teams in the state.  This is a good team.  The first round match up between St. Paul and Northfield should be the best first round match up in the MBSLA.  Grand Rapids comes in at #8.  This is another team that is similar to MontiQuois and Northfield.  We put them in just below Northfield based on the strength of victories against common opponents.  Northfield's games against common opponents are just a little stronger.  To round out the Top 10 we move Fargo up to #9 and drop Shakopee to #10.  We almost replaced Shakopee with St. Cloud North at #10, but didn't see enough compelling reasons to do so.  As such, let's call St. Cloud North #10b.

The final Northern Lights Lacrosse regular season MBSLA Top 10:

RANK	TEAM	RECORD	PREV
1	Hudson	8-0	1
2	Duluth	11-0	2
3	St. Louis Park	9-2	3
4	St. Paul	5-4	5
5	Shattuck-St. Mary's	5-1	4
6	MontiQuois	6-3	8
7	Northfield	5-5	6
8	Grand Rapids	5-3	7
9	Fargo	4-3	10
10	Shakopee	5-5	9

MBSLA Top 10 May 20

There's quite a bit of shakeup in the MBSLA Top 10 after last week's action.  Some upsets and up and down performances affect some teams while at this point in the season we feel pretty good going with our gut and putting teams in the standings about where we think they should be regardless of who they beat or who they lost to.

Hudson stays at #1 after beating two more very good teams this week, St. Louis Park and a very good St. Paul team who keeps playing Hudson close but can't get over the top, dropping another one by a 9-7 score.  Duluth moves up one spot to #2, remaining undefeated at 9-0 after beating Grand Cities and Fargo last week.  That would have set up a showdown of the only two remaining undefeated teams in the MBSLA this Saturday to end the MBSLA season, a showdown of #1 versus #2 until Hudson pulled out of the game THIS MORNING.  This is a disappointing development as Duluth is ready to play but apparently Hudson doesn't want to.  Duluth was also willing to play on Hudson's home turf (almost 3 hours from home) and yet Hudson still doesn't want to play.  In what would likely have been the spotlight game of the week, Hudson decides to pull the plug.  C'mon Hudson!

Getting back to our rankings after that disappointing development, St. Louis Park moves up to #3 based on their upset of previously #2 ranked Shattuck-St. Mary's.  That, and we really feel that St. Louis Park is a top 3 team even though they dropped another game to Hudson.  Shattuck-St. Mary's drops to #4 after their loss to St. Louis Park.  St. Paul jumps all the way up to #5.  This is a good team.  All of their losses have been to either Hudson or St. Louis Park.  They've played Hudson closer than any other team so far this season, losing both games by only 2 goals, both 9-7 losses.  There's little doubt in my mind they are a top 5 team in the MBSLA.  Northfield climbs from #9 to #6, another big jump.  Again, this is as much gut feeling as results based, but Northfield's results have been pretty good as well.  Northfield pounded Waconia this week.  This is a Waconia team that just upset previously #5 ranked Grand Rapids.  As such, Grand Rapids drops to #7 this week.  Grand Rapids was all over the board this week, losing by one goal to upstart Proctor 12-11, beating previously #4 ranked Shakopee easily 11-5 and then dropping another 1 goal game to aforementioned Waconia 8-7 yesterday.  This is still a good team, but after last week, they should drop in the polls.  MontiQuois remains at #8 this week picking up two uneventful wins but doing nothing to cause them to drop in the poll.  Shakopee comes in a #9 this week after falling all the way down from #4.  Grand Rapids beat them decisively and they also lost big to Shattuck.  This years Shakopee team just doesn't seem quite as good as last years.  Rounding out the top 10 is Fargo.  Fargo won two and dropped another to #2 Duluth on a muddy (VERY muddy) track.

This week I think we need to mention a couple of honorable mention teams.  Becker has been playing well of late and sports a 5-3 record on the season.  Amazingly, Proctor in only their second season in existence with a very small base of students to work with, has shown remarkable improvement, as evidenced by their upset of #7 ranked Grand Rapids last week and 4-4 record.  Proctor truly is a success story worthy of mentioning.  St. Cloud North, with a victory over Becker early this season is still a player and have an inside track on a playoff berth in the West.

RANK	TEAM	RECORD	PREV
1	Hudson	7-0	1
2	Duluth	9-0	3
3	St. Louis Park	8-2	6
4	Shattuck-St. Mary's	5-1	2
5	St. Paul	5-4	7
6	Northfield	4-4	9
7	Grand Rapids	3-4	5
8	MontiQuois	4-2	8
9	Shakopee	4-3	4
10	Fargo	4-3	10

Honorable Mention:  Becker (5-3), Proctor (4-4), St. Cloud North (2-4)

Growth of Lacrosse in Duluth and Grand Rapids

More news coverage of Northern Minnesota lacrosse in the Duluth and Grand Rapids area. A nice piece about how the sport is growing in our area and what the future might hold.

MBSLA Top 10 May 13

There's some shakeup this week in the order of our Top 10 based on results of the past week's games.  We move Hudson to the top spot in this week's poll.  It's mostly just a gut feeling, but we've been a bit more impressed with Hudson's wins this year than Shattuck-St. Mary's, thus Shattuck's drop in the polls to #2 despite not losing a game yet this season.  Hudson feels like the best team in the MBSLA right now.  Duluth jumps one place to #3 after picking up a big 5-4 win over #5 Grand Rapids in a game that likely determined the top spot in the North Division.  Duluth remains undefeated on the season and this team has been generating a little excitement along the North Shore.  Shakopee drops two places to #4 after their loss to upstart Northfield.  Grand Rapids remains at #5 just one spot ahead of St. Louis Park despite their two losses.  We keep Grand Rapids ahead of St. Louis Park primarily based on their impressive head-to-head victory over the Orioles at the Grand Rapids Shootout.  St. Louis Park remains at #6 after picking up a big 6-5 win over St. Paul and a huge blowout win over Sibley.  The Orioles are a very good team and could easily end up in the championship game again this year.  St. Paul stays at #7, and this is a good team despite their three losses - all one or two goal losses to top teams in the state (St. Louis Park, Hudson).  MontiQuois finally picks up some wins and shows that they're still a competitive team.  They come in at #8, up a spot from last week, with wins over St. Cloud North, Becker and Wayzata and a close loss to St. Paul.  Northfield proves they're for real with a big win over Shakopee.  They move up a spot to #9 despite their 4 losses - all to Top 10 teams including the #1 and #2 teams in the MBSLA.  Fargo hangs in at #10 dropping two spots from #8 while not playing a game last week.

RANK	TEAM	RECORD	PREV
1	Hudson	5-0	3
2	Shattuck-St. Mary's	4-0	1
3	Duluth	7-0	4
4	Shakopee	3-1	2
5	Grand Rapids	2-2	5
6	St. Louis Park	7-1	6
7	St. Paul	4-3	7
8	MontiQuois	3-2	9
9	Northfield	2-4	10
10	Fargo	2-2	8

Coverage of Duluth's MBSLA North Victory over Grand Cities

Game Coverage of Big MBSLA North Battle

Northland News Center Channel 6 coverage of last nights big MBSLA North battle between Duluth and Grand Rapids.  Duluth jumped out to a 3-0 lead.  Grand Rapids battled back to tie it 3-3 before Duluth followed with two goals to take a 5-3 lead in the 4th.  Grand Rapids would add another to make it interesting before falling in a close one 5-4.

MBSLA Top 10 May 6

Not too much changes from last weeks Top 10, but there were some shifts based primarily on

results (that do not count on teams MBSLA records) from last weekends Grand Rapids Shootout Tournament.

Shattuck, Shakopee and Hudson all remain in the top 3 spaces (we anticipate changes here next week though! :-).  Duluth remains at #4 despite going undefeated and winning the Grand Rapids Shootout tournament with a 6-4 victory over Grand Rapids.  In the tournament, Duluth beat St. Cloud North twice, Fargo again and Brainerd again in addition to the Championship game victory.  Grand Rapids moves up to #5 with a big win over St. Louis Park in the tourney.  As a result of this, St. Louis Park drops to #6 behind Grand Rapids.  St. Paul moves up to #7 with a couple of nice wins against MontiQuois and big over Sibley.  Fargo moves up a spot due to MontiQuois' drop to #9 in the poll.  MontiQuois played their first two games of the season and lost both, however to good St. Louis Park and St. Paul teams.  St. cloud North drops out and Northfield moves into the Top 10 at #10 on the strength of their strong games against Shakopee and Shattuck.

RANK	TEAM	RECORD	PREV
1	Shattuck-St. Mary's	2-0	1
2	Shakopee	2-0	2
3	Hudson	2-0	3
4	Duluth	5-0	4
5	Grand Rapids	2-1	7
6	St. Louis Park	5-1	5
7	St. Paul	3-2	10
8	Fargo	2-2	9
9	MontiQuois	0-2	6
10	Northfield	1-3	NR

Northern Minnesota Teams Faring Well in Most Recent Coaches Poll

 North teams ranked #3, #4 and #6 in most recent coaches poll

MBSLA State Rankings | May 6, 2013

RANK	TEAM	2013 RECORD	PREV.
1.	Shattuck-St. Mary's Sabres | South	3-0	1
2.	Hudson Raiders | East	2-0	3
3.	Duluth Chargers | North	5-0	5
4.	Grand Rapids Indians | North	2-1	7
5.	St. Louis Park Orioles | East	5-1	4
6.	Fargo Warriors | North	2-2	NR
7.	Shakopee Sabers | South	2-0	2
8.	St. Paul Celts | East	3-2	8
9.	Northfield Raiders | South	1-3	NR
10.	St. Cloud North Knights | West	1-2	9

Watershed Weekend for Northern Minnesota Lacrosse!

For the first time in the history of the Grand Rapids Shootout, two northern Minnesota teams battled for the

Clearing fields for the tournament

Varsity championship when Duluth squared off against Grand Rapids on Sunday.  It was a watershed moment for northern Minnesota lacrosse and perhaps an indication that northern Minnesota lacrosse has taken a big step forward.

In it's 5th year, the Grand Rapids Shootout has grown into one of the top tournaments in the state of Minnesota.  Drawing teams from throughout the state, North Dakota and Canada, this weekend of lacrosse is remarkable, even more so this year with the late April snows and cold weather.  Tournament organizers went above and beyond to pull off the tournament this year, clearing 8 fields of snow a couple weeks prior to the event.  Heavy equipment and snow piles over 10 feet high were required to allow the tournament to go on.  A huge thank you and congratulations to all of the tournament organizers and volunteers who worked so hard to make this tournament happen.  Under very difficult circumstances, the tournament came off without a hitch and had to be the best yet!

Duluth and Grand Rapids battling for a ground ball

With teams from Varsity down to U13, there was something for everyone.  Northern Minnesota teams fared well.  In the Varsity Championship, Duluth won their first ever Grand Rapids Shootout with a 6-4 victory over Grand Rapids.  To get there, Grand Rapids defeated perennial power St. Louis Park 9-3, while Duluth beat St. Cloud North 8-4.  In the championship game, it wasn't easy for Duluth.  Grand Rapids jumped out to a quick 4-0 lead before Duluth even knew what hit them.  The Chargers however didn't panic and methodically chipped away at the Grand Rapids lead, rattling off 6 unanswered goals and helped along the way by several Grand Rapids penalties and a stellar Man Up unit.  It was exciting game and bodes well for lacrosse in northern Minnesota.

At every level, northern Minnesota teams fared well.  The U13 tournament, which included two teams from

James Holak of Duluth U13 moves upfield against Grand Rapids

Duluth and two from Grand Rapids, an exceptional showing of growth at the younger levels, grew tremendously from the previous year and featured some excellent lacrosse play.  The Fargo U13 team fielded one of the top teams in the tournament as another testament to the tremendous growth of the sport in the north.

Teams are already looking forward to next years Grand Rapids Shootout.  Looking forward to more growth for the game of lacrosse in northern Minnesota!

MBSLA Top 10 April 30

Finally, after a week with a few games and no snow, we have enough to base our first in-season MBSLA Top 10 poll on.  The biggest mover is Shattuck-St. Mary's who looks like a squad that will go undefeated again in 2013.  Until they're beat, we'll leave them at #1.  Shakopee barely stays at #2 with a narrow 7-6 victory over Northfield.  Is Northfield that much improved over last season to give Shakopee that much trouble in their first game?  With only one game played, we'll need to see more data.  Hudson moves up one spot on the strength of their solid victory over then #1 St. Louis Park and win over a pretty good St. Paul team.  We move Duluth up one spot on the strength of their 5-0 record and solid victories over St. Cloud North and Fargo.  We felt the St. Cloud game was a early match-up to watch, and Duluth finally beat St. Cloud North for the first time ever.  Duluth also beat a much improved Fargo team and had 3 shut-outs in their other 3 wins.  St. Louis Park drops to #5 with their loss to Hudson.  This is still a very good team and we drop them below Duluth simply because of their records at this point.  MontiQuois easily could have remained at their #3 spot, but we dropped them because they haven't played a game and we have no data to go on.  The other teams that moved up have shown that they can win already this year and we rewarded them for those victories.  Grand Rapids stays at #7 with a nice win over Fargo in OT and a loss to a good St. Louis Park team on a snow covered field.  St. Cloud North drops a couple spots on their loss to Duluth.  They beat Becker and their other loss shouldn't count since it was essentially their JV squad that played against Proctor.  Fargo drops one spot with their losses to two Top 10 teams, Duluth and Grand Rapids.  However, this team is good and deserves to be in the Top 10.  The coaches poll should start giving them a little love.  St. Paul stays in the Top 10 despite two close losses to two very good teams - Hudson and St. Louis Park.  Sibley hasn't played a game yet so we have no data to go on, but St. Paul has shown they are a pretty good team.  The game tomorrow night between St. Paul and Sibley should show us which team should be in the Top 10.

 

RANK	TEAM	RECORD	PREV
1	Shattuck-St. Mary's	2-0	10
2	Shakopee	1-0	2
3	Hudson	2-0	4
4	Duluth	5-0	5
5	St. Louis Park	4-1	1
6	MontiQuois	0-0	3
7	Grand Rapids	2-1	7
8	St. Cloud North	1-2	6
9	Fargo	2-2	8
10	St. Paul	1-2	9

MBSLA Coaches Poll April 29

MBSLA State Rankings | APRIL 29, 2013

RANK	TEAM	RECORD	PREV.
1.	Shattuck-St. Mary's Sabres | South	2-0	1
2.	Shakopee Sabers | South	1-0	2
3.	Hudson Raiders | East	1-0	4
4.	St. Louis Park Orioles | East	3-1	3
5.	Duluth Chargers | North	5-0	5
6.	MontiQuois MontiQuois | West	0-0	6
7.	Grand Rapids Indians | North	2-1	8
8.	St. Paul Celts | East	1-1	9
9.	St. Cloud North Knights | West	0-1	7
10.	Henry Sibley Warriors | East	0-0	10

Proctor Rails - 2013 Season Preview

Proctor Rails 2013 Season Preview


High School: Proctor, MN

Coaches:

Ben Blaeser - 1st year

Last Year's Record:

1-9

Key Returning Players:

Proctor returns their leading scorers junior midfielder/attack Frank Napoli and sophomore attack Luke Hannan.  The Rails also return their talented goalie junior Noah Schramm and much of their defense. 

Key Newcomers:

Proctor has several new and athletic players this season.  With an infusion of new players, Proctor hopes to get them up to speed and ready to play by the start of the season.

Team Strengths:

The Rails will be strong at attack with Napoli and Hannan returning and should be able to put some points on the board.  With Schramm, they are also strong at goalie.

Games to Watch:

Big games this season will be against local rivals Duluth and Grand Rapids.

Season Outlook:

With their two leading scorers returning and a talented goalie, Proctor is hoping to improve on last seasons 1-9 record.  If they can find some improvement on the defensive side in front of Schramm, the Rails may turn some heads in 2013.

MBSLA Pre-Season Top 10 Coaches Poll

The MNLaxHub has posted their MBSLA pre-season Top 10 coaches poll.  Very similar to our Top 10, but we would definitely include Fargo whereas MNLaxHub omits them.

MBSLA State Rankings | APRIL 11, 2012
PRESEASON

RANK	TEAM	2012 RECORD
1.	Shattuck-St. Mary's Sabres | South	7-0
2.	Shakopee Sabers | South	11-6
3.	St. Louis Park Orioles | East	11-5
4.	Hudson Raiders | East	10-2
5.	Duluth Chargers | North	8-4
6.	MontiQuois MontiQuois | West	13-3
7.	St. Cloud North Knights | West	11-2
8.	Grand Rapids Indians | North	8-7
9.	St. Paul Celts | East	5-8
10.	Henry Sibley Warriors | East	4-9

2013 MBSLA Season Gets Underway...sort of

The 2013 MBSLA season is underway!  Well, sort of.  Late season snow and abnormally cold temperatures have forced many more cancellations and postponements of games than games played.  But, a few teams have been able to play games.

Fargo Warriors (in white) vs. Hellgate Knights in Billings, MT

St. Louis Park began the season as the #1 ranked team in the MBSLA and didn't disappoint with an 11-4 win over Becker.  Duluth, the #5 ranked team in the state, started the season with a bang, defeating STMA at the Husky Stadium dome in St. Cloud 15-0 behind balanced scoring and stifling defense.  They completed the weekend with a scrimmage against St. Cloud North at the Husky Stadium dome on Sunday.  Proctor then played STMA and dropped a close one 9-7.

Three Northern Minnesota teams traveled out of state to find games.  Both Fargo and Grand Cities traveled to Billings to participate in a tournament there.  Fargo proved they're for real and deserve

their spot in the Top 10, going 4-0 in the tournament and defeating defending Montana State Champion Hellgate.  Grand Cities also played well and finished the tournament 2-2.  St. Louis Park participated in the Billings tournament as well.

Finally, Grand Rapids traveled to Omaha, Nebraska to play over the weekend.  No word on how they fared, but they got to play lacrosse and that puts them ahead of most of the MBSLA teams in the state.

Hopefully teams will get a chance to play this weekend after this latest round of snow storms passes though.  Pray for sunshine, warm weather and NO MORE SNOW!!!

Grand Cities Predators - 2013 Season Preview

Grand Cities Predators 2013 Season Preview

High School:  Grand Cities area (The Predators are made up of players from Grand Forks Red River and Grand Forks Central High Schools, East Grand Forks Senior High, and Warren-Alvarado-Olso High School, and South Middle School in Grand Forks)
 

Coaches:

Aaron Cabanaw – 2nd year

Cameron Willox – 2nd year

Brent Lindstrom – 2nd year

Kevin Bartholomew – 1st year

Last Year's Record: 5-12

Key Returning Players:

All of Grand Cities 2012 starters are returning this season led by Tanner Lindstrom (2012 Second Team All North Conference Attack and team scoring leader), Christian Hansen (2012 Second Team All North Conference Mid Fielder and team MVP) and Brady McDonald (2012 All North Conference Honorable Mention Defenseman). Other key contributors for the Predators include: Nick Gaasvig, Jake Dunham, Trey Deck, Christian Hogness, Pete Schirrick, Jake Young, and Tom Twedell. 

Key Losses:

Eric Melland, Corey Saiger, and Coach Kelly Hurt

Key Newcomers:

Coach Cabanaw says, "Nick Erickson and Matt Lunski will bring huge amounts of athletic ability to the club and depth to the midfield position and others like Jake Olson, have picked up the systems really quick and are already working into key positions."  With the addition of the athletic talent and the ability of the kids to pick up the necessary information quickly, Grand Cities is looking to hit the ground running the first game weekend in April.

Team Strength:

Coach Cabanaw says one word, "Confidence."  He continues, "With a majority of the team returning from their first year of competition last year, they know what is ahead of them and are preparing much harder heading into this season."  According to Cabanaw, a few players have changed positions from last year to better use their skills and talents to benefit the team and their success. Goaltending is settled this year with Junior Captain Jake Young and he is assisted by a defensive corps of Sophomore Captain and North Conference Honorable Mention Brady McDonald, Tom Twedell, and Gunner Bowman. Junior Captain Pete Schirrick and Connor Shea have picked up long poles to bolster the already strong defense.

Games to Watch:

 Coach Cabanaw believes, "The rivalry game which is always a game to see comes when we match up against Fargo. This year we host Fargo on May 18^th. Whether it’s during the regular season or in fall ball it always is a good game between the two teams." An important game comes when the Predators travel to Grand Rapids to open up Conference play on April 27^th.   This is also the first time they return to Grand Rapids since last year’s first round state tournament loss.  Grand Forks sees all of their home games as games to watch since these games present a great opportunity to showcase the game of lacrosse to a community that hasn’t had much exposure to the game.

Season Outlook:

With a year or more of competitive lacrosse under most kids belts Grand Cities is looking to build off the experience gained last year, and expect to make an appearance in the state tournament. Coach Cabanaw is excited about the opportunities several of his players have taken advantage of, "This past fall we had a few players that jumped at opportunities to play for other teams including Tanner Lindstrom, Christian Hansen, Nick Gaasvig and Tyler Lindstrom.  We hope that the success these boys had with teams outside the club can carry over when Grand Cities hit’s the field this spring." Coach Cabanaw is also excited about the opportunity to play outside during the weekend of April 13-14 when they head to Billings to take part in a lacrosse tournament there, "The Billings weekend will mark the first time we are able to get outside to play lacrosse. So far this season practices have been held indoors in a hockey arena. Although this isn’t the ideal situation to prepare for a season, the Predators have adjusted well to the circumstances and have done the work necessary to compete. Here’s to a great 2013 season and getting outside before playoffs start!"

Duluth Chargers - 2013 Season Preview

Duluth Chargers 2013 Season Preview

High School:  Duluth area
 

Coaches:

 

Scott Wishart - 2nd year

Alex Rogers - 2nd year

Last Year's Record: 7-4

Returning Starters/Key Returning Players:

 

The Chargers have 11 returning players from last years team.  Coach Wishart says, "Our senior Captain at goalie , TJ Vallie, our junior attack Captain, Brody Carlson, senior defensive Captain, Tanner Fritsinger and junior midfielder Cooper Carlson will all be huge components for this years teams success."

Key Losses:

 

The Chargers will feel the loss due to graduation of leading scorer Steven Halver as well as 1st team all-conference LSM Matt Mensinger.  The losses of midfielders Zach Galo and Tyler Kolquist to graduation will also be felt.

Key Newcomers:

The Chargers will regain their senior midfield captain, Beau Hughes who missed last season due to injury, and are looking forward to his addition to the field as an anchor for a young corps of midfielders.  The Chargers also have a very strong Sophomore class that they will be relying on to contribute tremendously this season. Coach Wishart is looking forward to having a couple of other players new to the varsity roster, "Freshman Bryce Holak, and Junior Kevin Marshall will be some fun players to work with during the season as they bring a mix of high talent and athleticism to the Chargers."


Team Strength:

 

Coach Wishart says,  "Our Strength this season will be our determination. We have a hard working bunch of kids who want to succeed and excel in lacrosse."

Sophomore Defenseman August Cadotte and Senior Goalie TJ Vallie

Games to Watch:
 

The rivalry games against Grand Rapids and St. Cloud will be games to watch this season.  Duluth may be battling Grand Rapids for supremacy in the North Division while St. Cloud North is no longer in the same division as the Chargers but figures to continue to be a rivalry game based on the two teams history.

Season Outlook:

The Chargers expect to be competing for the North Division title and a place in the MBSLA playoffs in 2013.  Coach Wishart says, "We are looking forward to a fun season with high expectations. We have a difficult schedule playing many of the top MBSLA teams throughout the state and are excited for spring to come and games to begin."

2013 MBSLA Preseason Top 10

The 2013 MBSLA lacrosse season is upon us with league games beginning this weekend,

assuming the predicted mid-week blizzard doesn't cancel all of them.  Again, this is a best effort and certainly not definitive.  To come up with our rankings, we looked at last years performance, the number of seniors lost, top scorers and players returning from last year and returning all-conference and all-state performers.  Please feel free to comment on the rankings and let us know why we're right or why we're wrong.

MBSLA Pre-season Top 10: 

1.  St. Louis Park - With last years defending champion Delano moving on to the MSHSL, last years runner-up naturally moves into the top spot in the rankings.  But, we're not just ranking St. Louis Park #1 this year because they finished 2nd in the state, this team has a lot of talent returning from a very good 2012 squad.  St. Louis Park always manages to come on strong at the end of the season, evidenced by their runner-up status the last two seasons and state championship 3 seasons ago.  The Orioles return a strong core of defensive players led by all-state defenseman senior Eric Speicher, all-conference senior goalie Will Harkema and 2nd team all-conference defenseman junior Daren Martin.  On offense, all-conference midfielder junior Carlos Siguenza and 2nd team all-conference selection, sophomore attack Matt Harkema lead the way.  The Orioles did lose some firepower with attack Max Sherno graduating, but Coach Reed always seems to find replacements and it's quite likely his team will once again be there in the end playing for another state championship.

2.  Shakopee - Like Hudson last year and Delano the year before, Shakopee is ready to make a big leap up the standings and challenge for a number 1 ranking.  Shakopee was a very good team last year and made it to the final four at the state tournament.  With one of the strongest groups of players returning from last season, Shakopee could make a run at a state title in 2013.  Shakopee will be led by all-state midfielder, junior Sean Surbaugh.  Along with Surbaugh, the teams second leading scorer, 1st team all-conference attack junior Bubba Kudes returns to give them a strong one-two punch on offense.  The Sabers also return 2nd team all-conference selections seniorLSM Ethan Callies and senior goalie Chaydon O'Fallon.  With experience at key positions will Shakopee be able to replace graduation losses on defense to compete for a state championship in 2013?

3.  MontiQuois - While MontiQuois lost a host of top players to graduation (six 1st or 2nd team all-conference selections), they return two of their top three scorers from 2012 in 1st team all-conference selection junior attack Oliver Winsor and 2nd team all-conference sophomore attack Brady Artwohl.  MontiQuois has a strong tradition and continues to develop new talent.  They will have a major rebuilding job on defense to replace the graduation losses of 1st team all-conference goalie Aaron Job, 2nd team all-conference defensemen Matt and Mike Munson and FO specialist 1st team all-conference Alex Folkerds.  If MontiQuois can do a good job rebuilding their defense, they will have a good shot to make it back to the final four again in 2013.

4.  Hudson -Hudson proved us right last season as we predicted they would make a big jump up the standings, and they did. With 4 of their top 5 scorers returning this season, we think Hudson will remain atop the standings and perhaps challenge for a state title.  While Hudson lost several all-conference selections to graduation including 1st teamers in midfielder Anthony Queener, defenseman Alec Vanasse, FO Spencer Knapp and 2nd team defenseman Connor O-Keefe, they return several standout performers at important positions.  Returning 1st team all-conference selections for Hudson include junior midfielder McKay Potter, junior goalie Jordan Madden and 2nd team all-conference attack senior Taren Motte.  They also return their leading scorer, senior attack Brandon Schwartz.  If Hudson can replace a couple of all-conference poles on the defensive side, they should consider themselves a contender for the MBSLA title

5.  Duluth -  This position could easily be interchangeable with St. Cloud North.  We're going to go out on a limb to predict that Duluth will finally get over on St. Cloud North and beat them in their head-to-head match ups this season.  Duluth is a young up and coming team.  While Duluth lost their leading scorer Steven Halver to graduation and also two of their starting midfielders, Tyler Kolquist and Zach Galo, we believe they'll find scoring from many more locations this season.  When Halver was bottled up last season, the Chargers found it difficult to put points on the board.  With second leading scorer, junior attack Brody Carlson returning along with a host of talented sophomores including attackmen Jesse Larson and Dan O' Connell and midfielders Beau Holappa, Xander Hasan and Zach Zierden along with senior attack Jimmy Bendas, junior midfielders Kevin Marshall and Aaron Kilpo and freshman midfielder Bryce Holak, Duluth shouldn't have too much trouble putting points on the board.  Add to this mix senior midfielder Beau Hughes, who missed the entire 2012 campaign with a knee injury, and we believe this team will be stronger than last year.  Even more promising for the Chargers is the return of their entire starting defense including 1st team all-conference goalie senior T.J. Vallie and 2nd team all-conference senior Tanner Fritsinger.  If the young players step up as we expect, Duluth may find themselves near the top of the standings come playoff time.

6.  St. Cloud North -  As we said above,St. Cloud North could easily be placed in the top 5 and the tilt against Duluth mid-season will go a long way in determining where St. Cloud will finish.  St. Cloud lost several important seniors from a talented 2012 team to graduation including leading scorer and 1st team all-conference selection attack Mike Whitson.  Also lost were all-american selection defenseman Tyler Minkel and 2nd team all-conference midfielder Ryan Bidinger.  St. Cloud returns two all-conference face-off specialists in Matt Worzala and Sam Wateland.  St. Cloud North has been the strongest team in the North for the past several years.  With a move to the West in 2013, it may be more difficult to secure the conference championship, but if they're able to replace significant graduation losses, particularly to their defense, they should remain near the top of the standings this season.

7.  Grand Rapids - Grand Rapids had a breakthrough season in 2012, finishing the season with a winning record for the first time in their clubs history.  While the team lost several important seniors to graduation, we think their younger players will step up, and Grand Rapids will challenge Duluth for supremacy in the North.  Grand Rapids lost their top two scorers from last season, all-conference attack Joey Keating and all-conference midfielder Brody Geisler, but return their next three scorers in senior attack Jackson Schwartz, senior midfielder Brad Sandeen and junior attack Christian Higginbotham.  Add to this mix several speedy young scorers in sophomore midfielders Nic Zerfas and Riley Jensen and junior midfielders Carl Kaase and Trevor Hopkins and experienced attackman senior Chase Hunter, and Grand Rapids should put points on the board.  Defense is where Grand Rapids needs to find replacements for graduated all-conference poles Zach Brist and Zach Grandia.  Fortunately for them, they have 2nd team all-conference goalie Grant Gunderson returning along with strong sophomore defenseman Logan Anderson to anchor the defense.  We see Grand Rapids steadily improving again this season with a good chance to make some noise and rise toward the top of the standings in 2013.

8.  Fargo - The trend toward North dominance continues with Fargo cracking the top 10 for the first time in their clubs history.  The North has several established teams in 2013 and Fargo looks to see a lot of improvement with an influx of new talent this season.  With the return of leading scorer and first team all-conference selection attack Carter Schulke, the offense has a strong anchor to rely on.  Fargo did lose 4 all-conference selections to graduation in midfielder Aaron Monson, attack Aaron Vanyo and defensemen Mike Kringlie and John Deelstra.  To offset these losses, Fargo was fortunate to have several new players with significant lacrosse experience move into the community with their families and join the team.  The Halverson Brothers, Alek  and Conner, arrived in Fargo from Texas bringing with them a lot of talent to the offensive side of the ball.  Alek a senior, put up big numbers last season in Texas at attack, and his younger brother Conner beings speed to the midfield position.  Tanner Brandt arrived from New York and will help anchor the defense.  With the additions of these new and experienced lacrosse players to the Warriors roster, we predict Fargo will make a jump into the top 10 in 2013.  Their improvement toward the end of the 2012 season also supports our prediction.

9.  St. Paul - St. Paul is perennially a strong team in the MBSLA.  With Rogers moving up to the MSHSL, the #9 slot should go to the Celts.  With their top three scorers returning this season including all-conference junior attack Jesse Rice and senior attackemen Eric Basch and Billy Tapio, the Celts should have no problem scoring in 2013.  Add to the mix all-conference defenseman senior Andy Brodnax and St. Paul may not only improve on last seasons 4-7 record and be in the top 10, but challenge for a spot in the top 5 as well. 

10.  Shattuck - St. Mary's - Shattuck - St. Mary's, once again an enigma, will most likely be the most talented team in the MBSLA in 2013.  Once again however, with a short season and no chance to play in the playoffs, we put them in the top 10, but don't really know where to rank them. We predict they'll be good again and most likely finish the season with an unblemished record.

Honorable Mention:  
Wayzata Club - We don't really know what to expect from this club team from a big school with a strong high school lacrosse tradition.  They could be very good, or not.
Grand Cities and Brainerd - two teams from the North that should be much improved over 2012.

Look for an updated Top 10 as the season progresses. 

Brainerd Warriors - 2013 Season Preview

Brainerd Warriors 2013 Season Preview

High School:  Brainerd

Coaches:

Tyler Brown - 4th year

Last Year's Record:  2-7

Returning Starters/Key Returning Players:

Ben Brodmarkle, Bodin Nichols, Kyler Walczak, and Kristian Haymaker return to lead the offense this year, while Goalie Jason Andrew and D-poles Jordan Schmaltz and Ryan Barnum will lead the defense.

Key Losses:

All Conference Defenseman John McGillis & All Conference Attack Mitch Howieson to graduation


Key Newcomers:

Coach Brown tells us, "We have a few young guns on our team that will look to make their mark in the North Conference this season."

Team Strength:

With a good core group of offensive players returning in 2013, the Warriors should be able to put the ball in the net.

Games to Watch:
 
Brainerd will host Fargo and Proctor on April 28th in two key North Conference battles. A home and away series with Grand Rapids has become almost tradition each year and will be a good test for Brainerd.

Season Outlook:

Coach Brown believes that, "With a solid mix of veteran players and new guys stepping in, we look to be a very competitive team this season. We have a lot of players that can play any position on the field, and we will use that to its fullest potential."

Grand Rapids - 2013 Season Preview

Grand Rapids 2013 Season Preview

High School:  Grand Rapids

Coaches:

Head Coach: Brad Gallop - 4th year
Asst Coach: Jon Richardson - 4th yr

Last Year's Record:   7-6

Returning Starters/Key Returning Players:

Grand Rapids returns 8 starters from last years team.

Key Losses:

Grand Rapids lost several important seniors to graduation from last years team including 1st team all-conference selections midfielder  Brody Geisler and defenseman Zach Brist as well as 2nd team all-conference selections attack Joey Keating and defenseman Zach Grandia.

Key Newcomers:

The varsity team will welcome 3 young up and coming sophomores that spent the previous summer playing lacrosse with the North Coast Jaxx travel team - midfielders Nick Zerfas and Riley Jensen and defenseman Logan Anderson.


Team Strength:

Grand Rapids will rely on strong Goaltending, midfield speed and a veteran attack to find success in 2013.

Games to Watch:

An early game against top ranked St. Louis Park will provide a glimpse of what we can expect from this years Grand Rapids team.  A mid-season battle against conference rival Duluth may determine the outcome of the North Division in 2013.

Season Outlook:

Grand Rapids graduated 5 seniors last year, but expect to be a stronger team, with a handful of seniors along with a core group of juniors and a very good addition of underclassmen that will add speed and goal scoring.   The first test will come out of state, as Grand Rapids opens the season on the road in Omaha, NE and Des Moines, IA April 12-13.  

Fargo Warriors - 2013 Season Preview

2013 Northern Minnesota Lacrosse Season Preview

This week we will be previewing each of the MBSLA teams that make up the North Division.  Some big changes at a few schools while others try to continue their winning ways or make improvements over last season.  We start our previews today with the Fargo Warriors.

Fargo Warriors 2013 Season Preview

High School: Fargo ND

Coaches:

Ben Fairbanks - Head Coach - 3 Years
Sam Morse - Assistant Coach - 2 Years
Chase Suiter - Assistant Coach - 1 Year

Last Year's Record:

6-6 Conference
11-10 Season 

Key Returning Players:

Fargo  returns 6 of their starting 10 from last year.  The Warriors return several key players from last season.  The attack position will be led by Carter Schulke who was the 2012 MBSLA Scoring Champion.  Returning veterans on defense include long poles Travis Bruse and Joe Noah along with goalie Danny Evenson.  The midfield is position is a led by All Conference Member Ben Noah along with Arik Foster and Mike Schlanser.

Key Losses:

The Warriors graduated a large senior class from the 2012 season, including 1st Team All Conference members Aaron Monson, and Mike Kringle, and Second Teamers Aaron Vanyo and John Deelstra.

Key Newcomers:

This season, the Warriors have had the good fortune to have several players move into the Fargo area that have lacrosse backgrounds and experience.  The Halverson Brothers, Alek  and Conner, arrived in Fargo from Texas bringing with them a lot of talent to the offensive side of the ball.  Alek a senior, put up big numbers last season at attack, and his younger brother Conner beings speed to the midfield position.  Arriving from New York is senior Tanner Brandt who will bring his hard nose style of play to the defensive side of the ball.  Other newcomers who will look to make a name for themselves this season are midfielder Blake McGovern, and LSM Chase Schulke, as well as an athletic group of freshman talent.

Team Strengths:

Veteran leadership at the Attack position will be a strength for the Warriors.  They will look to control the pace of the game with their Attack unit and limit their opponents scoring opportunities with their veteran long poles.  Veteran goal tending will also be a key factor for success in 2013.

Games to Watch:

Big games this season will be against conference opponents Duluth and Grand Rapids as the top remaining teams from the 2012 Northern Division.  Another game to watch will be against fellow North Dakota opponent Grand Cities.  Coach Fairbanks says, "Their team continues to improve every time we see them and we look forward to seeing the what 2013 holds for this rivalry."

Season Outlook:

Coach Fairbanks is looking to start the Fargo Warriors season with a bang as they travel to a Billings Montana tournament April 12-14.  Fairbanks says, "We're looking forward forward to fresh competition early in the season to help get our feet wet and set the pace for the season."  He continues, "This will be a good opportunity to provide experience for a number of rookie players and promote veteran leadership within the team. Once we have those elements established we feel that our team has the skilled players and dedication to improve on last years records and earn another berth into the state tournament."

Instructional Video of the Week: The Dodging Middie with Kyle Harrison

Some good advice from LXM Pro middie Kyle Harrison on dodging.

Instructional Video of the Week: One on One Goalie Play

One on one goalie play with Drew Adams