Cinco de Mayo Super Slate
As the world celebrates Mexico’s victory over the French at the Battle of Puebla, the state of MN gives us TWENTY games on the friday night slate. Here are some of the most interesting ones:
Moorhead v Elk River/Zimmerman: Moorhead heading into game 2 of the back to back in a key section 8 matchup. Elk River is probably the most likely contender to Moorhead in section 8 and has been hot/cold this year. I am very curious how this game goes. This most certainly gives the winner a strangle hold on the 1 seed in section 8 - which, given the outstretched geography of the teams in that section, is a HUGE advantage to get home games in the playoffs. I expect Moorhead to win, but, tough turnaround after a hard fought game with St. Cloud.
Eastridge v Moundsview: Both teams on the come up that are coming off their biggest wins of the season. Both teams are on the younger end, MV is loaded with sophomores and ER is loaded with freshman and 8th graders. This should be a GREAT game of two teams looking to add another quality win for themselves this season to set up a future run to state
Mankato v Lakeville North: Mankato has been slowing trending up and almost beat LN last year. North is most certainly a different animal this season, but, Mankato is the type of team that will give you 48 minutes of all out effort and intensity. I do expect LN to win the game, but, I think Mankato could make this closer game than most people think.
Chanhassen v Maple Grove: Huge game for Maple Grove to prove where they belong amongst the state’s best. They have had a great season thus far and have a lot of good pieces on their team. Chan looks like an absolute machine that even when they don’t play their best, they can pull away later in the game. Chanhassen has a huge advantage at the face of X but Maple Grove has two great D-Poles who can maybe keep Bush/Van Holland in check. Biggest storylines in this game are: Can MG get possessions if they can’t win face-offs? Can Chan score with their secondary guys if MG shuts down their two elite attackmen? Chan’s defense is also one of the tops in the state so, I would not be surprised if this game was low scoring.
Eagan v Armstrong: Two teams that love to run and gun. Could this be the highest scoring game in MN High School Lacrosse history? Probably not. I think that still belongs to 2013 section final between Eagan and Eastview where the Lightning prevailed 19-18 behind Ryan McNamara’s 12 goal performance. Armstrong has a big advantage in goal in this game, so, I am curious if Eagan will be able to put enough goals on the board agains the high scoring Falcons.
White Bear Lake v Stillwater: WBL is coming off of a heartbreaking loss in OT where they saw a 4 goal 4th quarter lead diminish to the Woodbury Royals. They should be extremely motivated to turn around and get back at it. Stillwater has looked pretty solid after their opening day loss to BSM, but, they aren’t dominating teams by any means. Can WBL beat the freshman Phenom Stillwater goalie? That will be the question.
