2009 Seeding

The seeding this year was pretty clear cut as far as the RVL was concerned. We took Final Standings and considered "Head to Head" competition in the case of ties.

Most important, THE SEASON COUNTS ! We've not seeded on the basis of a "perceived power ranking" based on past years results, etc. The final seeding was arrived at based on this years performance as reflected in the FINAL STANDINGS.

A bit of the difficulty came when "blending" the NWL teams and deciding who goes to the A-AA and who is in the B brackets . It is our contention that all of the teams in the Blue Division of the RVL should be in the A-AA competition. They all play a relatively tough schedule and upsets have taken place all year. In fact, we've commented on the "parity" that has developed within both divisions.

Historically we've typically taken 3 teams from the NWL for competition in the A-AA State Tournament Class. This year that wasn't so clear with Menagha and Fergus Falls playing only 9 games and each ending with 5-4 records with the possibility of an extra 1/2 loss being assigned to each for failing to get their 10th game in. We did see however, a "separation" between Menagha and Fergus Falls based on the games they played and the scores and consequently seeded Menagha 16th in the A-AA group. This was a difficult call, but aided by the fact that some of the Directors felt Menagha belonged as high as 9 and others felt that possibly they belonged in the BC Class. We stuck with our past history and awarded 3 teams from the NWL berths in the A-AA Class.

That would leave 3 slots open and in some respects there was a clear distinction with three teams achieving 9 wins in the Red Division. True, New Hope had a very good season and finished at 8 - 7, playing only 15 games. Perhaps, playing a 16 game schedule would have allowed them to get that 9th win also, but it didn't happen.

All in all, it should be an exciting State Tournament for all participants. Play HARD, Play CLEAN and most of all HAVE FUN!! 

Final Tournament Seedings
AA-A Brackets

Team

Comments
1 Hanska Bullheads Another Great Season at 13 - 2 to take the Blue Division
2 St. Peter Saints Confirmed last years AA runner finish with a 12-3 season
3 Alexandria Classic Clippers Clearly dominated NWL at  9 - 1 outscoring opposition by 105 to 21
4 Prior Lake Mariners Big improvement over last year with 11- 4 mark
5 Braemar Bees Tied Prior Lake  at 11 - 4, but lost to Prior Lake 2 - 1 in "Head to Head" Competition
6 Shakopee Chiefs Great Comeback Season at 10- 5
7 Waconia Islanders Tied Shakopee at 10 - 5, but lost tp Shakopee 3 - 1 in "Head to Head" Competition 
8 Perham Silver Pirates Very successful season - Lost to Alexandria twice 7- 1 and 4 - 1
9 Eden Prairie Lion's Tap Good season at 9 - 6
10 Belle Plaine Gray Tigers Finished at 7 - 8 with wins over Northfield and Union Hill 
11 Northfield Millers Tied with BP at 7 - 8 but lost to BP 4 - 0 in "Head to Head"
12 Union Hill Pitbulls Tied with BP and Northfield at 7 - 8, but lost to both in "Head to Head"
13 St. Louis Park Cardinals Good season at 9 - 6 to win Red Division Crown
14 Veseli Vulcans Finished at 9 - 7. Lost to St Louis Park 6 -5, Beat Jordan Millers 2 -1
15 Jordan Millers Tied with Veseli at 9 - 7, but lost to Vulcans 2 - 1 in "Head to Head" 
16 Menagha-Sebeka Relics Played only 9 games to finish at 5 - 4, Lost to Alex (twice), Perham (twice). Beat Urbank soundly 13 - 3 and 13 - 2. Narrowly made the AA cutoff
B-C Brackets
1 Slayton Barnstormers Know very little about them, Coming into League next year, appear to be good. Could seed them 28, but why risk knocking  off the top seed in the B class in the first round?
2 New Hope Bandits Great season at 8 - 7. One more win would have led to AA Berth
3 Bloomington Eagles Finished at 6 - 9. Lost 3 games to Blue Division Teams by 1 run
4 Fergus Falls Ancients Tied with Menagha at 5 - 4., Lost to Menagha (Head to Head), Squeaked out 2 wins over Urbank 5 - 3 and 14 - 12
5 LeCenter Braves Finished at 5 - 10 to tie Grays, Ranked 5 on strength of win over Shakopee. Failed to play "Head to Head" game with Edina
6 Edina Grays Tied LeCenter at 5 - 10. Failed to make up "Head to Head" game with Le Center
7 Webster Wildcats Finished at 4 - 11
8 Minneapolis Bombers Tied Webster at 4 - 11, but lost to Webster in "Head to Head"
9 Jordan Alers Finished at 2 - 14
10 Urbank Goldtimers Finished at 1 - 9 
11 Brainerd Bobcats Tied Urbank at 1 - 9 Lost the "Head to Head" with Urbank
12 Shoreview Seafoam Hawks Showed up for all games to finish at 1 - 14 and as I understand it....HAD FUN !!

Tournament Format
AA Classification

The First Round of the A-AA Class will be determine 8 winning teams who will advance to the AA bracket and play 3 additional games to determine a Champion along with 2nd  thru 8th place finishers.

A Classification

The 8 losing teams from the 1st Round of the A-AA Classification will  play a conventional 8 team tournament with a Champion and 2nd thru 8th place finishers being determined.

B Classification

The B/C Bracket gets interesting! The 6 winners from the first qualification round of play will advance to the B Classification. The 2 losing teams in the first round with the BEST SEASON RECORD will join these 6 first round winning teams to form a conventional 8 team B Classification tournament with a B Champion along with 2nd thru 8th place finishers being determined . 

C Classification

The Four remaining first round losing teams will play a series of 3 games to determine a C Class Champion.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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