Daily Dish 4.22
Well, if you wanted excitement in the 2023 season. You got it! I guess Friday’s are for the hunter as we had a myriad of “eye catching” scores last night.
Armstrong 17 v Blake 2
Let’s start with the one that maybe wasn’t an “upset” based on rankings, but, more so the final score that was interesting. Armstrong beat Blake 17-2. This pops for two reasons…
1) Armstrong scored 20 last week against Totino Grace, back down to earth with 8 GF against Blaine and now a 17 goal performance. Nate Albrecht is a beast but there are a handful of other guys racking up points as well.
2) When is the last time Blake lost a game by that margin? A team that is notoriously in the top 25ish teams in the state and well coached, this is a surprising margin of defeat. Maybe there were some injuries or just one of those days that went from bad to worse.
Not sure what this says, but, I think it says more about Armstrong being a team that may find its way into the top 10 soon this year. This may be a year for them to try and have a shot to upset the likes of BSM or Maple Grove in sections.
Wayzata 9 v Buffalo 2
The trojans were pretty middle of the pack in 2021 and 2022, after being a state tournament team in 2019. They just didn’t seem to have the firepower they did in year’s past and went through some lean graduation classes. However, last year they finished the season on a high note winning 5 of their last 7 games. Close losses against Shakopee, Mahtomedi and Minnetonka last year - seems like the defense was strong coming in and now the offense has turned a new leaf. This is a massive win for Wayzata in the lake conference against a buffalo team that was scoring double digits every game last year. Looks like Wayzata now is knocking on the door in section 5 making that section a heck of a lot more interesting than I originally thought. Wayzata, MG, Armstrong and BSM. All teams off to great starts.
Unfortunately for P-Mac and DTA nation I think buffalo’s time in the top 10 has run out. I think there is talent there but they may need to reconfigure roles and find a way to get the ball to their top guys on offense. Early reports saying they are having a hard time getting the ball settled on offense. Doesn't surprise me after seeing how many midfielders they graduated last year. Elite attackmen are only as good as the possessions they get - I do expect Buffalo to figure things out and be a solid team, but, they may not be as high as we thought this year.
Mahtomedi 8 - Centennial 7
I don’t know if this was an “upset” but Centennial was a state semi-finalist last year and Mahtomedi was section runner up. Based on that, sure, I guess. Mahtomedi is a team I expected to be a lot better this year and Centennial was dealing with the graduation of 3 superstars.
Game reports say snow played a factor in the game. Maht had tons of blown opportunities and got cocky after going up 3-0 - being carelsss with the ball. Allowing Centennial to climb back into the game. Owen Tacheny is a beast at the x and helped to win the game for them. Couple of scrappy goals from centennial depth players aided the comeback, but fell short with the ball in a centennial players stick with 30 seconds left in the game. Phenomenal play by Trent Kramer in goal for centennial kept the game close. Between Mahtomedi being reckless with the ball and Trent playing lights out…. it’s the only reason it stayed close for Centennial. Brol had a couple, but was keyed on by Mahtomedi defensively and got slid too early, limiting his production. Centennial also got into foul trouble with body checks that were either a tad late or on a defenseless player.
Despite all of that, still a quality win for Mahtomedi to open the season and they should be a factor in the section 4 playoffs.
Edina 11 - Rosemount 9
A game that P-Mac talked about on the podcast, saying Edina was primed for the “upset.” While it’s hard to call this an upset, Edina was a section 6 runner up in 2021, however Rosemount is #6 in the latest poll and Edina is unranked so we will technically call this an upset. HUGE win for the hornets to start their 2023 season not only to prove they are “back” but this one has some section seeding implications as well for a tough section 6 playoffs. Edina will be a team to watch, there have been rumblings of them supposedly being a lot better this year and so far after one game, sounds like the rumors are true
