AA Rankings for 1/16/22

The Latest 400 or so Topics

Moderators: Mitch Hawker, east hockey, karl(east)

Post Reply
karl(east)
Posts: 6462
Joined: Tue Jul 17, 2007 9:03 pm
Contact:

AA Rankings for 1/16/22

Post by karl(east) » Sun Jan 16, 2022 8:05 am

For once, the top here is pretty stable, though there was some interesting movement beyond that, and even when there wasn’t, certain tiers of teams are getting a bit more defined. After a two-week relative lull of quality AA games, we’ve got a pretty nice slate up this week.

1. Cretin-Derham Hall (13-3) LW: 1
-For the first time all year, a number one sticks! The Raiders left few doubts in a 5-1 takedown of a quality Stillwater team, and they put up video game numbers in their subsequent games. They’re in conference play for the next couple weeks, which shouldn’t be anything but wins; White Bear this week may be the only one with a real chance of giving them any sort of game.
This week: Tues vs. White Bear Lake, Thurs vs. Forest Lake

2. Andover (13-2-1) LW: 2
-Easy mushing for the Huskies against very beatable conference foes. (You’ll see that’s a theme this week.) The first of two meetings with Centennial on Saturday will be a big part of their ranking fate over the final month of their season.
This week: Thurs at Spring Lake Park, Sat at #7 Centennial

3. Benilde-St. Margaret’s (9-4) LW: 3
-The Red Knights needed overtime to get by Chaska, but they got the job done and hold their position. St. Thomas this week is their last opponent currently in the top 20, so if they win that one, they’ll probably be hard to dislodge from the top five for the rest of the season. If they don’t, they’re right back among the pack, and may get buffeted around a lot as others win and lose.
This week: Tues vs. #11 St. Thomas Academy, Sat vs. St. Louis Park

4. Hill-Murray (11-3) LW: 4
-The Pioneers needed overtime to get by pesky Mahtomedi, but the bigger bombshell this past week was the loss of their starting goaltender. They’ve got another Erickson in reserve and are a strong enough team that it doesn’t drop them or anything here, but it is a factor worth watching. The week ahead is an interesting one, as they face what appears to be the next-best team in their section and make a road trip north.
This week: Tues vs. Stillwater, Sat at #9 Grand Rapids

5. Roseau (13-2) LW: 5
-Add the Rams to the list of teams who didn’t have much trouble against weaker competition. I’m very curious to see what they can make of a Wayzata defense, and East Grand isn’t a total free pass, either.
This week: Tues at East Grand Forks, Sat vs. #10 Wayzata

6. Edina (10-5) LW: 10
-The good Hornets showed up against St. Thomas, avenging a Hockey for Life loss with a running-time performance and underscoring the point I’ve been making for a few weeks now: when this team is on, they’re near unbeatable, but they need to prove they can be more regularly. Taking care of business this week would be a step in that direction. With other teams losing, they climb on back up to reflect their potential.
This week: Thurs at Minnetonka, Sat vs. St. Michael-Albertville

7. Centennial (11-2) LW: 6
-The Cougars’ two games this past week did nothing to tell us whether last week’s aggressive jump up the rankings had any justification behind it. This week’s, on the other hand, should: first up is an Elk River team that has shown it can skate with some decent teams, and next comes a true test of their mettle against Andover.
This week: Thurs at Elk River, Sat vs. #2 Andover

8. Moorhead (12-5) LW: 9
-The Spuds polished off East Grand Forks with little trouble and had a steady, if not remarkable, win over Sartell. That pushes their win streak to eight, and after a North Dakota date, they make their way east for a big battle with Grand Rapids.
This week: Tues at Fargo Davies (ND), Fri at #9 Grand Rapids, Sat at Duluth East

9. Grand Rapids (12-3) LW: 11
-The Thunderhawks flattened a couple of conference opponents. It’s been a while since they played a front-line team, and that will change this coming week when they invite Moorhead and Hill-Murray into IRA. How well do they hold up against some top ten foes?
This week: Tues at Cloquet, Fri vs. #8 Moorhead, Sat vs. #4 Hill-Murray

10. Wayzata (9-5-1) LW: 13
-The Trojans restored some order after a mini rough patch, taking down a Rogers team that beat them over the holidays and notching a shutout of St. Michael-Albertville. They’ve got a fascinating road trip on their plate this week, with two games that feature a clash between northern style and star power against the metro’s most consistent, grinding machine.
This week: Fri at #5 Roseau, Sat at Warroad

11. St. Thomas Academy (10-6) LW: 12
-The Cadets crumpled in their Edina rematch, a reversion that underscores their inconsistency and my reluctance to put them in the top 10 despite some pretty good wins on the record. They can clearly beat those quality opponents, and managed to rise this week in spite of the loss as I reappraise the records of teams like Maple Grove and Lakeville South. That said, the flaws are not hard to see. They get another shot at a big win at Benilde this coming week.
This week: Tues at #3 Benilde-St. Margaret’s, Sat at Blake

12. Maple Grove (9-5-1) LW: 7
-The Crimson are a bit of a paradox right now. They have some pretty good wins and no terrible losses, but are clearly trending in the wrong direction and are not living up to the talent level flowing through the program. For now, all they can do is try to beat a Blaine team that tied them the first time around.
This week: Thurs at Blaine, Sat vs. Osseo

13. Lakeville South (9-3) LW: 8
-The Cougars took a tumble against Rosemount, which costs them their spot in the top ten. They have a lot of good wins but no really great ones, and now have a blemish on the record as well. A big week against 2AA powers Prior Lake and Eden Prairie will be telling as to their direction.
This week: Tues vs. Prior Lake, Wed vs. #15 Eden Prairie, Sat vs. Burnsville

14. Rogers (10-6-1) LW: 15
-Beating Maple Grove was a breakthrough win for this program, which now controls its own destiny for the top seed in 5AA. They also lost to Wayzata early this week after beating them earlier, so they aren’t rising to some new plane, but they are very much in the thick of things, and in 2022, that is more than enough. They now need to avoid a potential trap game against Champlin.
This week: Thurs at Champlin Park, Sat vs. Spring Lake Park

15. Eden Prairie (9-6) LW: 14
-No drama in two wins for the Eagles this past week. The week ahead, however, does give them a chance to do something: first is a state championship rematch against a South team coming off a bad loss, and a win over Minnetonka this week would probably seal up the top seed in 2AA.
This week: Wed at #13 Lakeville South, Sat vs. Minnetonka

The Next Ten

Lakeville North (10-2)
-The Panthers have rattled off 9 in a row now, including decent wins over Prior Lake and Chaska, and are playing their way into contention. They’ve have a busy final five weeks of the regular season, with four 3-game weeks; the one ahead includes them giving Gentry its best AA opponent of the season.

Rosemount (8-5)
-The Irish, fresh off a win over Lakeville South, are looking more and more relevant. Delano is their only questionable loss, and they’ve got the Andover win to their name, too. Eagan and Apple Valley should both be wins this week.

Stillwater (10-4)
-The Ponies didn’t muster a whole lot against Cretin, but otherwise took care of business against two lesser opponents. A big clash with Hill-Murray is up next, followed by games with Irondale and Forest Lake.

Minnetonka (8-5-1)
-Handled Buffalo in their only action this past week. They now head back into the Lake gauntlet against Edina and Eden Prairie.

Blaine (8-3-3)
-The Bengals have been consistent lately, which is more than can be said for most teams in this part of the rankings. Maple Grove now looms; they tied them the first time around and the Crimson haven’t exactly been stellar lately, so it may be a chance to make a statement.

Chaska (8-5)
-Not much shame in an overtime loss to Benilde for the Hawks, who continue to lurk here. They are now into their conference schedule, which looks good for them on paper, though an okay Orono team and rival Chanhassen this week both have some potential to liven things up.

Hastings (13-2-1)
-The Raiders have now won nine in a row, and are winning by margins that suggests there may be something to all of this. There a couple of okay tests left on the schedule, but none of them are this week, as they deal with two Rochesters.

Eastview (9-5)
-Beating White Bear Lake was good, though laying an egg against crosstown rival Apple Valley was…something. Add the Lightning to the list of teams that can beat good opposition on any given night, but need to find some consistency to climb higher.

Prior Lake (7-7)
-Flattened a couple of lower-tier conference opponents to climb back to .500. Maybe I’m a sucker, but I’m going to have more faith on teams that have real talent and have struggled against tougher schedules than teams who have coasted against weaker ones. We’ll see what they can do with Lakeville South before their Hockey Day adventure.

Champlin Park (7-6-1)
-Took care of business this past week and deserve some credit for some earlier quality results. They can really muck up 5AA by doing something against Rogers this week.

A midseason section tour:

1AA
13 Lakeville South
16 Lakeville North
22 Hastings
Rochester Mayo
-Functionally, nothing has changed here, but that hides the fact that North and Hastings are both charging pretty hard right now while some questions have arisen around South, so this may yet make for an interesting section. The Lakeville rematch is next week.

2AA
15 Eden Prairie
24 Prior Lake
19 Minnetonka
21 Chaska
-Eden Prairie’s win over Prior Lake probably keeps the Lakers from getting the top seed. If Minnetonka sweeps the Lake battles with Eden Prairie, the Skippers could yet probably jump to the top; otherwise, I don’t see anyone dislodging the Eagles. With a split, Minnetonka would at least have a case for the 2-seed, especially if Prior Lake continues to lose games they should win. Chaska is probably set at the 4-seed.

3AA
11 St. Thomas Academy
1 Cretin-Derham Hall
17 Rosemount
23 Eastview
-This remains a rough one to try to sort with any logic, with the top team in the state not the top seed in their section and the projected 4-seed owning a win over the projected 1-seed. If St. Thomas doesn’t turn it on, Cretin could yet have a case for the top seed, and if Eastview goes on any sort of run, they could climb some here, especially if they can avenge the Rosemount loss. That’s not till February, so this one could remain murky for a while.

4AA
4 Hill-Murray
18 Stillwater
White Bear Lake
Gentry Academy
-Not much of note happening here; Hill and Stillwater do play this week, and a Hill win will seal up the top seed. With a split with a Holy Angels team that to lost to Woodbury, Gentry could be on the road in the quarterfinals; that said, Woodbury just lost the first of its meetings with East Ridge, so that’s all very speculative at this point and I’ll stick with a more conventional order here.

5AA
14 Rogers
12 Maple Grove
7 Centennial
25 Champlin Park
-This is another messy one. Rogers is on top right now with a win over Maple Grove and zero section losses; they’ve got Champlin this week and Centennial at season’s end. I’m keeping Maple Grove ahead of Centennial since they split and the Cougars have that Champlin loss; the Crimson have no section games of note remaining. If Rogers wins those two games, this is set; a Centennial win over Rogers probably vaults them to the top. And if Champlin beats Rogers, well, I’ll worry about that when we come to it.

6AA
3 Benilde-St. Margaret’s
6 Edina
10 Wayzata
Holy Angels
-The big three here are trapped in a transitive property loop of death, so I’ve got them in ranking order at the moment. The two remaining Edina-Wayzata meetings could change that; two Edina wins could boost the Hornets to the top, while a split probably keeps things in this order, and a Wayzata sweep gets the Trojans to #2, and perhaps even #1 depending on overall body of work. There’s a lot left to decide here. Blake and Holy Angels’ meeting this week should settle home ice in the quarterfinals in the 4/5 game.

7AA
2 Andover
9 Grand Rapids
20 Blaine
Forest Lake
-Not much happening here, and with no games among the relevant teams until February, don’t expect that to change by the next time we do one of these check-ins, either. It all runs through Andover, who has games left with Grand Rapids and Blaine.

8AA
5 Roseau
8 Moorhead
Elk River
Buffalo
-The news here is that 4-win Buffalo is somehow in line for the 4-seed thanks to victories over Moorhead and St. Michael-Albertville. They’ll need to beat Sartell and take the rematch against STMA to stay there, but it shows how messy the middle tier of this section is. Elk River looks pretty safely lodged as the 3-seed, and the two great powers will meet again in the season’s final week.

East Side Pioneer Guy
Posts: 1348
Joined: Sun Jan 31, 2010 6:43 pm

Re: AA Rankings for 1/16/22

Post by East Side Pioneer Guy » Sun Jan 16, 2022 8:45 am

What's the story on Hill's goalie?
Hockey Is For Everyone

northwoods oldtimer
Posts: 2679
Joined: Thu Dec 21, 2006 1:01 pm

Re: AA Rankings for 1/16/22

Post by northwoods oldtimer » Sun Jan 16, 2022 9:04 am

Andover ain't no 'Randover' looks like their program is here to stay for long while. Unlike the "fair housing" north sucktion 7AA will be all metro for a decade plus with the stupid shenanigans of nit wit northern policy. Is what it is :P :oops: #-o

GO RAMS!!!

Sparlimb
Posts: 2491
Joined: Tue Feb 05, 2002 7:11 am

Re: AA Rankings for 1/16/22

Post by Sparlimb » Sun Jan 16, 2022 9:19 am

East Side Pioneer Guy wrote:
Sun Jan 16, 2022 8:45 am
What's the story on Hill's goalie?
Issue outside of hockey. I don't know the exact details, but I've been told he won't be back.


On an aside... I noticed that Moorhead is on the road for the next month. They have one home game left on their schedule (against HM) and that is Feb 19th. Everything until then is away from home. Interesting scheduling.

Sparlimb
Posts: 2491
Joined: Tue Feb 05, 2002 7:11 am

Re: AA Rankings for 1/16/22

Post by Sparlimb » Sun Jan 16, 2022 9:20 am

northwoods oldtimer wrote:
Sun Jan 16, 2022 9:04 am
Andover ain't no 'Randover' looks like their program is here to stay for long while. Unlike the "fair housing" north sucktion 7AA will be all metro for a decade plus with the stupid shenanigans of nit wit northern policy. Is what it is :P :oops: #-o

GO RAMS!!!
Let's just see what Grand Rapids can do with them. I'm curious to see whether Andover is all that or not.

BlueLineSpecial
Posts: 1130
Joined: Mon Feb 28, 2011 7:42 am
Location: RIGHT BEHIND YOU!!!!

Re: AA Rankings for 1/16/22

Post by BlueLineSpecial » Sun Jan 16, 2022 9:46 am

Sparlimb wrote:
Sun Jan 16, 2022 9:19 am
East Side Pioneer Guy wrote:
Sun Jan 16, 2022 8:45 am
What's the story on Hill's goalie?
Issue outside of hockey. I don't know the exact details, but I've been told he won't be back.


On an aside... I noticed that Moorhead is on the road for the next month. They have one home game left on their schedule (against HM) and that is Feb 19th. Everything until then is away from home. Interesting scheduling.
That is odd.

Separately, is there a rule in MN HS hockey for how many home/road games you're required to play each year? Hill, for example, will only play 9 home games this year. I'd be quite surprised if someone can find a team with fewer home games.

So much for all that Aldrich home cookin come playoff time. HM hardly plays there :lol: 8)
The City of Hill Murray is beautiful this time of year

East Side Pioneer Guy
Posts: 1348
Joined: Sun Jan 31, 2010 6:43 pm

Re: AA Rankings for 1/16/22

Post by East Side Pioneer Guy » Sun Jan 16, 2022 10:47 am

BlueLineSpecial wrote:
Sun Jan 16, 2022 9:46 am
Sparlimb wrote:
Sun Jan 16, 2022 9:19 am
East Side Pioneer Guy wrote:
Sun Jan 16, 2022 8:45 am
What's the story on Hill's goalie?
Issue outside of hockey. I don't know the exact details, but I've been told he won't be back.


On an aside... I noticed that Moorhead is on the road for the next month. They have one home game left on their schedule (against HM) and that is Feb 19th. Everything until then is away from home. Interesting scheduling.
That is odd.

Separately, is there a rule in MN HS hockey for how many home/road games you're required to play each year? Hill, for example, will only play 9 home games this year. I'd be quite surprised if someone can find a team with fewer home games.

So much for all that Aldrich home cookin come playoff time. HM hardly plays there :lol: 8)
Hill got into this odd situation a few seasons ago, where one season will have a lot of home games and the following season is light on home games.

Hill only has two games at Aldrich in February. Gentry and WBL both have one there.

There was an election year where the Republican National Convention was held at the Houston Astrodome. If memory serves, the Astros were on the road for over 30 days.
Hockey Is For Everyone

O-townClown
Posts: 4357
Joined: Wed Oct 10, 2007 12:22 pm
Location: Typical homeboy from the O-Town

Re: AA Rankings for 1/16/22

Post by O-townClown » Sun Jan 16, 2022 1:00 pm

East Side Pioneer Guy wrote:
Sun Jan 16, 2022 10:47 am
There was an election year where the Republican National Convention was held at the Houston Astrodome. If memory serves, the Astros were on the road for over 30 days.
https://hashtagbasketball.com/chicago-b ... -road-trip
Be kind. Rewind.

thefatcat
Posts: 370
Joined: Mon Sep 03, 2012 11:16 pm

Re: AA Rankings for 1/16/22

Post by thefatcat » Sun Jan 16, 2022 2:27 pm

Sparlimb wrote:
Sun Jan 16, 2022 9:19 am
East Side Pioneer Guy wrote:
Sun Jan 16, 2022 8:45 am
What's the story on Hill's goalie?
Issue outside of hockey. I don't know the exact details, but I've been told he won't be back.


On an aside... I noticed that Moorhead is on the road for the next month. They have one home game left on their schedule (against HM) and that is Feb 19th. Everything until then is away from home. Interesting scheduling.
He made a poor decision while texting with a female underclassman, sounds like he's headed to the BCHL now.

Post Reply