STEELE SPORTS

After the Owatonna girls hockey team finished a perfect 12-0 in-conference and won the Big Nine Conference outright, the Huskies received the No. 6 seed in the Section 1AA playoffs.
As an avid sports fan who has seen many leagues’ playoff models over the years, my initial instinct was to assume that the league had a system in place that considers several variables, including conference records, head-to-head games and strength of schedule.
While these specific aspects are considered, their value in the selection process is not pre-determined.
Instead, the method of seeding teams is left entirely in the hands of the head coaches in each section.
According to Owatonna head coach Tony Cloud, coaches from each of the section’s eight teams meet before the end of the regular season to make arguments for a certain seed before casting votes to determine who gets placed where.
“My argument was before the Northfield game, and I made a point to say that if we beat Northfield, we would have a case for a higher seed. So, I’m more surprised by the decisions of the teams that it was close against – Farmington, Dodge Center and the two Rochester schools – I’m baffled that they didn’t put us higher,” said Cloud.
According to Cloud, the team’s all vote and then every team’s highest seeding vote and lowest seeding vote are eliminated, resulting in the average of the team’s remaining five seedings being the determining factor.
However, despite the chaos of the system, Cloud said that he is still in favor of it as he feels that the selection process is usually quite fair.
Cloud also said that despite where the Huskies were ranked, he felt as if his team had something to prove, and that he knew that they would be competitive against any team they had to face.
“I think there is a bit of a chip on our shoulder when you know what you can do and you see teams ahead of you that you think you can beat. But the biggest thing for us is to just go out and prove people wrong. We’re okay being the underdogs and we’re fine with people underestimating us.”
Cloud’s squad used its added motivation to beat No. 3 Farmington 3-2 in the opening round of the Section 1AA playoffs, proving to Cloud and his team that the initial seeding was nothing more than a number.
However, just three days later, Owatonna got to take a crack at No. 2 Northfield in the semifinal game where the Huskies were beaten 4-1 by the Raiders.
Owatonna scored first and looked primed for another upset before Northfield settled in and scored four unanswered goals.
Looking back at the seeding scenario, arguments about whether Owatonna should have been ranked higher can be made on both sides of the issue.
Personally, I would have liked to see them ranked higher, but it was a pleasure to watch the Huskies battle it out in other teams’ barns looking to shake up the section playoffs.