AA

[Mnnstar]

I'll help Kniven get something going here.
1. Edina defending champions though they will be vulnerable this year more than most. Their recruiting efforts have helped a lot.
2. Andover two solid lines questions in goal.
3. Forest Lake will go undefeated in conference should have a maximum of 3 losses.
4. Blake can they score enough to cover the deficiencies on the back end?
5. Brainerd they made the championship based on senior goaltending.
6. Minnetonka pretty solid top to bottom
7. Wayzata no superstars but play well together
8. NWC La Rose. Bourgoise, and Skelton,
9. BSM a year away
10. EP shut Langseth down and you shut down EP.
State tournament qualifiers
Edina
Andover
Lourdes
Tonka
Brainerd
Eagan
Stillwater
Centennial
Notice 3 state teams are not in my top 10.

[jg2112]

I'll only argue with one thing raised by Mnnstar and it pertains to Blake. Assuming Wethington, Delianedis and Burton play together, that's the best F line in the state (followed closely by the top Andover line). These three had 153 points last year and it would not be surprising if they eclipsed 200 on the aggregate this time around. Throw the 3 superstar freshmen into this group of forwards and I think Blake will be unstoppable offensively.

Also, I don't think they have defensive issues. In fact, while I think Tonka has the best top 3 D around, Blake probably has the deepest D corps in the state. Two returning D1 commits, two very, very solid returning players who played a lot last year, and two sophomore D1 commits (Minnesota and Harvard) who moved to the school.

[bodyup88]

Mnnstar,
Lourdes is still a Class A program. Do you want to insert Farmington in 1AA instead?

[j4241]

I'd also correct the implied slight on Andover about forward depth. They have some very talented young forwards - I'd put their likely third line against any teams' in the state.

Minnetoka "solid top to bottom" ignores some potential depth/scoring issues at forward. They also finished the regular season last year below .500 - I think they have some things to prove in spite of their playoff run.

Also, FLake got thumped by Blake and Edina last year. Are they really a top 3 team?

Brainerd at 5 seems high.

[massalsa]

Great to have sotagirlshockey.com back this season. They are excellent and worth a follow on twitter or thru the website.

Finally some MNHS girls hockey love somewhere for us to read...

https://sotagirlshockey.com/2019/11/06/ ... a-edition/

[massalsa]

1a. Hornet
1b. Andover
3. Blake
4. Skipper
5. Trojan
6. NWC
7. Forest Lake
8. Eagles (Eden Prairie)
9. Brainerd
10. Maple Grove

Honorable Mention: Breck would be 3b. in this poll. They are going to be pretty good and despite their goalie being gone will destroy the field in "A".

[kniven]

I'll help Kniven get something going here.
1. Edina defending champions though they will be vulnerable this year more than most. Their recruiting efforts have helped a lot.
2. Andover two solid lines questions in goal.
3. Forest Lake will go undefeated in conference should have a maximum of 3 losses.
4. Blake can they score enough to cover the deficiencies on the back end?
5. Brainerd they made the championship based on senior goaltending.
6. Minnetonka pretty solid top to bottom
7. Wayzata no superstars but play well together
8. NWC La Rose. Bourgoise, and Skelton,
9. BSM a year away
10. EP shut Langseth down and you shut down EP.
State tournament qualifiers
Edina
Andover
Lourdes
Tonka
Brainerd
Eagan
Stillwater
Centennial
Notice 3 state teams are not in my top 10.

I like it . Minnesota girls high school hockey is awesome!

[j4241]

Total agree on Sota! We are lucky to have him/her - funny, well written, informed. Great reporting!

Tomorrow night will be a great data point about whether you’re right on Edina/Andover. Edina returned 72 regular season goals, and added Connor (my take is top-line good but not blow-you-away good). Andover returned 107. Edina’s leading returning scorer had 7 assists on the season. That’s a player who depended on Keuhl and Bowlby’s elite play making, with a lot of net front goals off of their plays. I tend to discount that part of their returning goal total a bit. Andover’s offense returns a lot more, and will be meaningfully better than last year. Sota also neglected to mention two very talented freshman - Goettl and Boerger - who will both be depth contributors as freshman. This year is Andover’s to lose.

Blake returns 83 goals, and adds Winters and Kasica. Plus, Wethington will be playing a bigger offensive role and will take a BIG step forward (I could see 2x last year’s point total), as will all three (of the top) freshman. Winters will replace more of Maddie’s offense from the back-end than you might think, and the defense is deeper. Haag is healthy, and will almost certainly improve the team’s .887 save percentage from last year. Blake needs to prove they are in Andover’s league, but they should certainly be in Edina’s.

[j4241]

Here’s an angle on the top teams that I just noticed - discipline in play. Blake and Andover have both taken significantly more penalties than their opponents. Edina has taken significantly fewer. I’ve seen a few games of each team, both streamed and in person, and it appears Edina is a more disciplined team even as they play a tight, physical game. Blake and Andover both have a tendency to take silly, undisciplined penalties. I have a feeling that could be a factor in both the (state semifinal/section 6 final), and in the state championship game, depending on who is there. Bad penalties have been an overlooked factor in both of Blake’s losses to Edina the last two years.

[kniven]

I do miss AA. But it’s difficult to compete at that level with a u12b and a u10b team making up our youth program.