EDC
Predicted State Qualifiers:
Grand Forks Red River
West Fargo
West Fargo Sheyenne
Fargo North
Darkhorse:
Devils Lake
Thoughts:
Grand Forks Red River ran the table in the EDC en route to the No. 1 seed in the playoff bracket. West Fargo High and West Fargo Sheyenne were right behind the RoughRiders tied for second with West Fargo High holding the tiebreaker. Fargo North was the only other team to finished with an overall winning record or a conference winning record (they achieved both). Devils Lake is the 5 seed and went .500 in conference play.
WDA
Predicted State Qualifiers:
Minot
Dickinson
Bismarck
Mandan
Darkhorse:
Jamestown
Williston
Thoughts:
Minot and Dickinson were a cut above in the regular season with Minot going 19-1 in conference play and Dickinson finishing 17-3. No. 3 Mandan finished 14-6 in conference play, while No. 4 Bismarck went 13-7. The West has depth, but here it is all about the bracket. Minot Dickinson are heavy favorites to win first round games, while Mandan is a smaller favorite in theirs. Bismarck has a slight edge over No. 5 Jamestown but that could be a coin flip game. Williston is a real good ball club, but at the 7 seed have their work cut out for them. They still have a path with a quarterfinal loss. The winner and loser of Bismarck vs. Jamestown had a real shot as well. There is a strong comfort level with Minot and Dickinson. After that, any combination of teams has a shot to get to state through the loser's bracket.
