Class A Rankings 1-29-17

[HShockeywatcher]

Well, things beyond the top 10 have gotten interesting and there are really 10 or so teams that could fill those last 5 spots depending on how you weight different aspects of their schedule.
Hermantown looks like they may be the best team in the state and there are another 5 teams who look like they could all win or lose on any given day.
Sections, 4A, 2A and 6A look like the section tournaments are going to be quite exciting.

Enjoy!

1. [1] Hermantown (15-1-1)
The Hawks crushed WBL and STMA on the road and continued to define what it is to be one of the top teams in the state. 8 games to go and 5 are on the road. Cloquet and Mahtomedi this week are probably the last that have a chance of challenging Hermantown this season.

2. [2] Delano/Rockford (16-2-1)
The Tigers took care of business against Cathedral. The first game with Orono was a 1 goal road win; can they win it more handily the second time around? They are the top team going into their section, but they still need to beat Breck again to get to state.

3. [3] Breck (14-3-2)
The Mustangs beat SPA again and just beat Cathedral by 2 (EN goal). They play Mahtomedi next and it's not a game they should overlook. With 6 games to go, they should be favored in every game and go into section with Delano their only Class A blemish.

4. [4] St. Paul Academy (15-3-0)
In the last 2 weeks, the Spartans have beaten both Johnson and Minnehaha and lost to Breck again, following those up with a 6-4 win over St Louis Park, the second time they've allowed 4 goals all season. Definitely the top seed in their section and likely the 3 seed at state, SPA has only lost to Breck and a good Eau Claire team this season.

5. [6] St. Cloud Cathedral (14-4-2)
Coming off a close loss to Breck, the Crusaders' season is now more defined by losses than wins as they have now lost to the #1, #2, #3 and #4 teams, with ties to EGF and Alexandria. 4 of their last 5 are on the road; can they finish winning them all?

6. [5] Mahtomedi (11-8-0)
Despite the 8 losses, the Zephyrs only have one Class A loss this season which is the opening game of the season to SPA in OT. Having lost to HM by 1, beaten STA and hung in their with Stillwater, Mahtomedi seems like the possible dark horse of Class A this year. In their next 5 games they play Hermantown, Breck and Cathedral; I wouldn't count them out of any of those games.

7. [7] East Grand Forks (10-6-2)
The Green Wave beat TRF by 3 so they have basically solidified the top spot in 8A and despite the 6 losses, 4 of those have come against ND teams, so there are few MN blemishes on their schedule.

8. [8] Totino-Grace (9-8-1)
The Eagles are 7-2-1 in their last 10 games, with close losses coming to Maple Grove and Mahtomedi and tying a solid Armstrong/Cooper team. They have played 3 Class A games and their lone remaining game is against Breck to close out the season. It'll be interesting to see how they end up seeded in a 4A section with a lot of surging teams.

9. [9] Sartell (13-5-3)
The Sabres' only Class A loss in the last 10 days is to Cathedral. Having beaten Alex, LF and FF, they are likely to be the 2 seed in 6A, but it doesn't seem too realistic they'd make it past Cathedral. 4 games remaining and 3 of them are home games against LF, FF and Alex.

10. [10] Alexandria (13-5-3)
Alexandria beat Bemidji yesterday and things are looking up for them as long as they can avoid Fergus Falls in sections. Fergus Falls seems to have the Cardinals' number this season, which likely means Alexandria won't be the 1 seed, but anything is still possible at this point beyond that. It's hard to see them falling to 4 after beating Little Falls, who has beaten Fergus Falls twice, and tying Cathedral. Or they could beat Sartell in their last meeting and end up the 2 seed.

11. [12] Hibbing/Chisholm (13-7-0)
The Bluejackets picked up 3 wins after 3 losses. Their remaining 5 games are all sections opponents, so any seed is theirs to take. Can they win the next 4 going into their meeting with Hermantown?

12. [-] Orono (12-7-0)
The Spartans had 2 losses early in the year against teams that weren't ranked and dropped them from being ranked. Since then they have taken care of business with most teams they should and played some good teams really close. They lost to Delano by 1, to Breck by 2 and scored 3 goals while losing to Holy Family by 3. The loss to Minnepolis is surprising, but shouldn't hold them back if they can finish strong; their remaining 6 games are all on the road.

13. [14] Northfield (12-3-2)
The Raiders have own 6 in a row; how will they do against the Rochester schools next week?

14. [15] Little Falls (14-5)
The Fliers beat Fergus Falls twice and their next 3 games are against Cathedral, Alexandria and Sartell, all teams they've previously lost to.

15. [-] Fergus Falls (14-7-1)
The Otters are 8-2 in the last 10 games, beating Warroad, Johnson and Alexandria since their last loss, but also have some questionable losses on their record. They've been shut out by Cathedral and Sartell, beat Alexandria twice and lost to Little Falls twice.



Teams to watch

[11] Greenway (12-5-1)
The Raiders have had 10 of their 17 games decided by 1 goal or less and now have a loss to International Falls. They aren't trending in the right direction right now.

St Paul Johnson (10-2-2)

Minnehaha Academy (14-4-0)

Blake (10-8-0)

[HShockeywatcher]

PageStat up to yesterday for comparison

1 4 HERMANTOWN
2 17 BRECK
3 19 ST PAUL ACADEMY
4 21 DELANO
5 35 EAST GRAND FORKS
6 36 MAHTOMEDI
7 37 ST CLOUD CATHEDRAL
8 40 ORONO
9 46 HIBBING
10 47 ST PAUL JOHNSON
11 51 MINNEHAHA ACADEMY
12 53 ALEXANDRIA
13 56 SARTELL
14 59 TOTINO GRACE
15 61 GREENWAY
16 66 BLAKE
17 67 FERGUS FALLS
18 68 MINNEAPOLIS
19 69 WARROAD
20 71 ROCHESTER LOURDES
21 74 LUVERNE
22 75 MONTICELLO
23 76 NORTHFIELD
24 78 MOUND WESTONKA
25 79 THIEF RIVER FALLS
26 81 MANKATO WEST
27 82 LITTLE FALLS

[HShockeywatcher]

Tuesday Games

6 Hermantown
0 Virginia

7 Breck
1 Mahtomedi

6 Delano
1 Orono

4 SPA
3 Blake

4 Sartell
0 Little Falls

[TTpuckster]

Tuesday Games

6 Hermantown
0 Virginia

7 Breck
1 Mahtomedi

6 Delano
1 Orono

4 SPA
3 Blake

4 Sartell
0 Little Falls

And:

5 EGF
2 Crox