Post
by Section 3A HockeyScout » Mon Nov 01, 2010 8:52 am
Greetings Fellow 3A Followers,
With November before us in only 2 schools from Section 3A remaining in the MN High School Football Playoffs (Luverne, Dassel-Cokato & Marshall) many young men have shifted their focus to hockey. I thought this would be a good time to give my Preseason 3A Rankings.
I am avid HS Puck Follower and have got to watch the HS Game grow in Southwest MN over the past 15 years. I don’t really have a specific team that I follow I try to be as non-biased as possible. I plan to get out to as many 3A Games as possible I hope to be at a rink near you every Tuesday, Thursday, Friday & Saturday Night!
Please feel free to disagree with me or agree I hope to keep the talk positive as we move forward throughout the season.
Preseason 3A Rankings
1. New Ulm
2. Litchfield-Dassel-Cokato
3. Marshall
4. Hutchinson
5. Redwood Valley
6. Luverne
7. Sleepy Eye
8. Fairmont
9. Windom
10. Worthington
1. New Um Eagles
Head Coach: Erik Setterholm
2009-10 Record: (16-11-1)
State Trips: 1992, 2010
Key Returning Players: Kaleb Juntunen 35 pts., Brody Peterson 34 pts. , Adam Loose 31 pts. , Zach Hoffman 28 pts., Blake Burgau (16-11-1) 3.04 GAA
Season Preview: The Eagles finally broke through to the state tournament last year after years of being right on the doorstep. This year the eagles should be heavy preseason favorites in Section 3A. They return plenty of offensive firepower especially in their top line of Juntunen-Peterson-Loose. New Ulm will have 3 solid lines to throw at some of the less deep teams in 3A. They also return an all around terrific athlete at the blue line in Zach Hoffman. My biggest reason for ranking the Eagles number one though is in the net Blake Burgau returns for his senior campaign after playing every second for the Eagles last year. Burgau has the potential to be outstanding and is going to be tough to beat all season long. This is New Ulm’s section to lose I look for a very big year out of the Eagles.
2. L-D-C Dragons
Head Coach: Chris Olson
2009-10 Record: (16-10-1)
State Trips: 1996, 2008
Key Returning Players: Andy Haataja 36 pts., Quinn Impola 31 pts. , Eric Kivisto 26 pts.
Season Preview: The Dragons fell one game short of a state tournament bid last season. In order for L-D-C to get back to the section title game this year they will rely heavily on their defense. The Dragons return 4 of their top 5 defensemen from last year. Headlining that group is Quinn Impola a do it all defenseman for the L-D-C. He will log a lot of minutes for a very experienced defensive group. The Dragons will have to replace their All-State Honorable Mention goal-scoring machine Nate Adams. They will lean heavily on Andy Haataja and Eric Kivisto to lead a veteran group of forwards. The big question mark heading into the season will be goaltending where they will need someone to step up. The Dragons should be tough in their defensive zone and should have enough firepower to win Section 3A. It will come down to how well they answer the question mark in the net as the season progresses.
3. Marshall Tigers
Head Coach: Kori Pearson
2009-10 Record: (13-13-0)
State Trips: None
Key Returning Players: Brian Willett 25 pts. , CJ Haukom 24 pts. , Aaron Antony 22 pts. , Ethan VanderZiel 10 pts.
Season Preview: They are expecting big things in Marshall this year. It is becoming now or never for the Marshall Tigers Hockey program a perennial contender to get to State over the last 10 years is seeing its talent dry up in the youth ranks. This Veteran group could be the last shot for quite some time. The Tigers will have a very balanced attack they are lead up front by Seniors Brian Willett, CJ Haukom and Aaron Antony. On the Blue line they will be lead by two year Senior Captain Ethan VanderZiel who leads a strong group of deep defenseman. The biggest question will be how well the Tigers adjust to not having All-Sate honorable mention goaltender Mitch Campion in the net. They will lean on Andy Noble to fill those big shoes early on. The Tigers will be a very deep and experienced team who is use to playing good competition and big games. If they can adjust to life after Campion well this could be the year of the Tiger in Section 3A.
4. Hutchinson Tigers
Head Coach: Matt Telecky
2009-10 Record: (11-14-1)
State Trips: 1995, 1997, 2000, 2009
Key Returning Players: Trace Adams 15 pts., Mitch McLain 15 pts. , Logan Hahn 13 pts.
Season Preview: The Tigers of Hutchinson appear to be in a year of transition. Starting with the fact that the Tigers will now compete in the Wright County Conference instead of the Missota of previous years. Looking at the Tigers their strengths will be in their defense where they return 3 regulars from last year in Mitch McLain, Logan Hahn and Max Cowger. The big question mark for Hutchinson is who is going to score goals the forwards will lean heavily on Trace Adams after that it will be a year of developing younger players and defining roles. Jordan Johnson looks to take over in the nets, which is no small order as he is replacing a 4-year starter in Zak Swenson. There are a ton of question marks facing this team, however, Hutchinson hockey is proven a product in Section 3A look for them to develop as the season goes along and be a team no one wants to face come playoff time.
5. Redwood Valley Cardinals
Head Coach: Nathan Sunderman
2009-10 Record: (17-6-1)
State Trips: None
Key Returning Players: Eric Hanson 38 pts., Mike Welch 24 pts. , Jordan Skeie 13 pts.
Season Preview: It is the beginning of a new era in Redwood Valley as the Cardinals have a new coach in Nathan Sunderman. Redwood has made big strides in the last year 6 years and are two time defending Southwest Conference champions. However, this year’s version has many holes to fill due to graduation and transfers. Up front the Cardinals will look for Eric Hanson and Mike Welch to lead the way again they are 2/3 of one of the best lines in southwest Minnesota last year. Unfortunately for Redwood Eric Miller has transferred to Warroad and they need to find a new net minder as John Rebstock who played every minute for the Cardinals the last 3 years has graduated. On defense the cardinals will have to answer plenty of questions as well as they graduated four players who played a regular shift for them. There are plenty of questions that need to be answered in Redwood Valley but that doesn’t mean that the two time defending Southwest Conference champions should be taken lightly by anyone.
6. Luverne Cardinals
Co-Head Coaches: Tony Sandbulte & Derrick Brown
2009-10 Record: (11-13-1)
State Trips: None
Key Returning Players: Connor Fitzer 42 pts., Zach Dingmann 32 pts. , Sklyer Sweir 24 pts., Cody Christensen 20 pts.
Season Preview: Luverne looks to continue their success from last year after finishing the 2009-10 season on an 11-4-0 run, including two victories in the Section 3A Playoffs that earned them a bid to the Section Semi-Finals. The Cardinals only lose one player off of last year’s team and return plenty of firepower up front. The line of Fitzer-Dingmann-Sweir was a tough as any in 3A last year and they look to have continued success as seniors. Luverne will hope for the continued maturation of Austin Maxwell on the Blue Line as he played big minutes as a freshman for them last year. The big thing holding Luverne back from truly making the next big step is their goaltending. If the Cardinals can’t get better play in the net then they did last year don’t look for anything big here. If they can get some solid goaltending though Luverne could become dangerous.
7. Sleepy Eye Indians
Head Coach: Robert Tauer
2009-10 Record: (3-22-0)
State Trips: None
Key Returning Players: Tyler Braulick 25 pts., Jordan Hillesheim 14 pts. , Robert Regan 4.57 GAA.
Season Preview: Sleepy Eye is looking to make some big strides forward this year. After years of taking a beating the Indians are hoping that those young kids have grown out of that habit and look to have successful senior campaigns. Sleepy Eye has a new Coach in Robert Tauer and the Indians are looking to gain momentum off of last years playoff victory. They will be lead up Front Tyler Braulick who has been playing for varsity hockey for a long time now look for him to put up big numbers in his senior campaign. What makes Sleepy Eye so dangerous this year is Robert Regan in the nets. He is use to taking a lot of shots and has the potential to get hot and steal a game. This is not Sleepy Eye of the past look for this program to make big strides and be a competitive bunch all season long.
8. Fairmont Cardinals
Head Coach: Bryan Wilken
2009-10 Record: (6-16-0)
State Trips: None
Key Returning Players: Ross Wilken 19 pts., Luke Sanderfeld 17 pts. , Cody Jacobsen 15 pts.
Season Preview: Fairmont is looking to continue on some of the small successes they experienced last year. They were able to host a playoff game for the first time in many years. However, those good feelings were put to an end when Sleepy Eye defeated them 3-1. The Cardinals bring back a lot of experienced forwards from last year team lead by the coach’s son Ross Wilken. They also return all of their defenseman from last year. The big question mark ill be replacing Ryan Rivers in the nets who played the majority of the time. Fairmont has a big group of Seniors returning this year and if they can get some solid goaltending and confidence early in the season Fairmont could make some big waves in the lower half of Section 3A.
9. Windom Eagles
Head Coach: Steve Clark
2009-10 Record: (8-14-1)
State Trips: None
Key Returning Players: Adam Eisenmenger 26 pts., Mitchell Baumhoefner 20 pts.
Season Preview: The Windom Eagles are in a rebuilding mode this season. They lost the majority of their forwards, defenseman, and goaltender to graduation. The Eagles will need big years out of Eisenmenger and Baumhoefner up front. They will need some players of a decent “B” Bantam team last year to step up and fill holes in their depth. They will also need to find a new steady presence in the net. There are many questions that need to be answered for Windom but Coach Clark always finds a way to put a competitive bunch out on the ice. This year that task seems to be larger but again one should never count these guys out.
10.Worthington Trojans
Head Coach: Pat Christopherson
2009-10 Record: (3-18-0)
State Trips: None
Key Returning Players: Ethan Stofferan 12 pts.
Season Preview: The Trojans have plenty of new faces this year after graduating 12 seniors last year. One of those new faces includes coach Pat Christopherson. He will have plenty of holes to fill this winter. As Worthington returns only one player who was in double digits last season. They also graduated all of their defenseman and both of their goaltenders from last year. It looks like it could be a difficult first year for Coach Christopherson in Worthington.
Once the season gets going I will have a Power Ranking out every Sunday. Hopefully you guys enjoy a non-biased insight to Section 3A.
Look for me next Sunday as I will give my Preseason All Section 3A Team Honors.
Until then debate and discuss!