AA Rankings for 12/10/17

Post by **karl(east)** » Sun Dec 10, 2017 9:37 am

Another week in, the rankings are fairly stable at the top, but there’s a little bit of sorting starting to take place beyond that. The top seven teams are all from different sections, which is about as diverse as it gets, but it’s still awfully early. Your rankings:

1. Edina (4-0)
-Well, this one’s easy: the undefeated Hornets had a week off to gear up for their annual Holiday Classic. The field is probably the weakest it’s been in years, with the other three; Thursday could be a bloodbath, and we’ll see what Elk River and Eden Prairie can muster against the Hornets.
This week: Edina Holiday Classic—Thurs vs. Grand Rapids, Fri vs. #12 Elk River, Sat vs. #9 Eden Prairie

2. Minnetonka (4-0-1)
-The Skippers had no trouble with St. Louis Park, and responded to get the win after coughing up a three-goal lead against Duluth Marshall. Saturday’s big tilt at Moorhead will either solidify them in this spot or leave us with a convoluted chase pack behind Edina.
This week: Thurs at Chanhassen, Sat at #5 Moorhead

3. Duluth East (3-0-1)
-Took care of business against Bemidji and Andover, displaying some offensive firepower in the latter. Just one game this week, but it could set the tone for the 7AA race.
This week: Thurs at Cloquet

4. St. Thomas Academy (4-1)
-The Cadets picked up a second solid top ten win as they handled Holy Family. They continue a private school metro tour this week with a game against Benilde, which should be a straightforward win, though the Red Knights have shown a few flashes this season.
This week: Tues at Benilde-St. Margaret’s

5. Moorhead (4-1)
-Matched Duluth East’s 3-0 scoreline over Bemidji; the defense has been strong in their three straight 8AA wins, though these offenses aren’t exactly the one they faced in St. Thomas in the Opener. A busy week includes a section final rematch, a tough A team, and a top five battle.
This week: Tues vs. Roseau, Thurs at East Grand Forks, Sat vs. #2 Minnetonka

6. Centennial (4-0)
-A 3-goal win over Elk River suggests the Cougars do belong up here in this top tier. They play their first section game of any significance on Thursday.
This week: Thurs vs. Blaine, Sat vs. Osseo

7. White Bear Lake (3-0-2)
-This week wasn’t quite as showy as the previous one for the Bears as they got by Forest Lake and then tied Cretin, but it keeps them undefeated and continues a quality run of play. More conference action this coming week, which should mean wins.
This week: Thurs at Mounds View, Sat vs. East Ridge

8. Cretin-Derham Hall (2-0-1)
-A strong tie with White Bear suggests that win over Eden Prairie was no fluke for the Raiders. They’ve got a busy week ahead, and the Wayzata game not only offers another proving ground, but a chance to secure a higher seed in the section.
This week: Tues vs. Blake, Thurs at Forest Lake, Sat vs. #11 Wayzata

9. Eden Prairie (2-1)
-The Eagles bounced back from their season-opening loss with a nice win over Hermantown and a victory over Brainerd as well, and with Cretin continuing to look good, I’ll slide them back up into the top ten. There are going to be some growing pains here, and they head into Braemar with something to prove this week.
This week: Edina Holiday Classic—Thurs vs. #12 Elk River, Fri vs. Grand Rapids, Sat vs. #1 Edina

10. Holy Family (3-2-1)
-The Fire didn’t generate a whole lot of punch against St. Thomas, and as a result hold steady toward the back end of the top ten. A capable Class A opponent awaits this week.
This week: Sat at Delano

11. Wayzata (1-2-1)
-The Trojans are coming off an off week, but things ramp up now with two private school section rivals. A sweep and they’ll be in command of a top two seed in 6AA.
This week: Thurs vs. Benilde-St. Margaret’s, Sat at #8 Cretin-Derham Hall

12. Elk River (4-1)
-The loss to Centennial suggests the Elks don’t quite belong in the top tier yet. They have a few more chances this week to build their credentials against some quality teams, with the Edina Classic opener against Eden Prairie perhaps being the most interesting of the bunch.
This week: Edina Holiday Classic—Thurs vs. #9 Eden Prairie, Fri vs. #1 Edina, Sat vs. Grand Rapids

13. Maple Grove (3-1-2)
-The Crimson drop a little due to a tie with Armstrong/Cooper, but we won’t make too big of a deal out of that quite yet. Just one game this week, but it’s an important section contest.
This week: Sat vs. Blaine

14. Duluth Marshall (5-1)
-A reasonably good showing against Minnetonka has the Hilltoppers making their AA top 15 debut. They still need more tests against serious competition, but they can certainly score on anyone. They rekindle an old rivalry this week, and while it doesn’t have any section implications, a win would be their first over Hermantown in quite some time.
This week: Tues vs. Hermantown, Sat vs. St. Louis Park

15. Lakeville South (4-1)
-The Cougars pitched a couple of shutouts this past week, including a win over a decent Farmington team, and are reclaiming frontrunner status in 1AA. They have a three-game week, but should be favored in all of them.
This week: Tues vs. Apple Valley, Thurs at St. Louis Park, Sat at Rosemount

The Next Ten

Stillwater (2-0)
-The rebuild for the Ponies is looking more like a reload, as they knocked off Cloquet in their opener and collected a comfortable win over Mounds View. They don’t face their next serious test until after Christmas.

Cloquet (4-2)
-It’s been feast or famine for the Lumberjacks, as they’ve mustered just one goal in losses to White Bear Lake and Stillwater, and have 35 goals in their four wins. The Duluth East game this week, as it so often is, will be their chance to prove they’re a contender.

Lakeville North (1-2-1)
-Dropped from the rankings after an upset loss to Benilde, but recovered with a quality win over Eastview. The offense isn’t exactly setting the world on fire right now, with 7 goals in 4 games. Conference games with Burnsville and Apple Valley are up this week.

Eastview (4-2)
-Lost a narrow decision to Lakeville North, showing they should stay relevant in the South Suburban all season long. A couple of mid-level conference opponents await them this week in Eagan and Burnsville.

Hill-Murray (2-1-2)
-It was a tie-filled week for the Pioneers, as they played to even results with Mahtomedi and Blaine; both of those results basically confirm their spot in this neighborhood of the rankings. They have two easy ones this week before perhaps their biggest regular season week right after that one.

Blaine (2-1-1)
-Bounced back from last week’s loss to Irondale with a big win over Spring Lake Park and a respectable tie at Hill-Murray. The week ahead is a huge one, with visits to Centennial and Maple Grove, so we’ll see how much of a factor the Bengals look to be in 5AA.

St. Michael-Albertville (4-0)
-Collecting some wins early, including decent ones over Benilde and Breck. This week’s collision with Holy Family will be a good measuring stick.

Brainerd (2-2)
-The Warriors are beating teams they should beat and have lost to teams you’d expect them to lose to. Just one game this week, and it comes against Sartell.

Chaska (3-0)
-With wins over improving Holy Angels and Breck, the Hawks are at least looking decent early on. Sartell could provide a decent Class A opponent this week; otherwise, their first major AA game will come against Minnetonka the following week.

Benilde-St. Margaret’s (3-3)
-The Red Knights have done a little of everything early on, including suffering some ugly losses, but wins over Hermantown and Lakeville North show they could be a factor in 6AA as time goes on. The tough early schedule continues as they face St. Thomas and Wayzata this week.

Enjoy the week. The first section summary, FYI, will come next week, and every two weeks after that.

WestMetro · Post by **WestMetro** » Sun Dec 10, 2017 12:59 pm

Excellent as usual!

Got the feeling Chaska is going to continue to refine / improve depth , and upset someone during last two weeks of Dec when their schedule is tougher

S/O to Doug Hagen at FTP for seeing CDH as top 10 material 2 months before all other pundits

kniven · Post by **kniven** » Sun Dec 10, 2017 2:06 pm

All I want for Christmas is a season split with Duluth East and a top 4 seed in the section 7AA playoffs.

BodyShots · Post by **BodyShots** » Sun Dec 10, 2017 8:15 pm

kniven wrote:All I want for Christmas is a season split with Duluth East and a top 4 seed in the section 7AA playoffs.

Based on your postings over the last year, I think it will be a lump of coal for you Kniven.

kniven · Post by **kniven** » Sun Dec 10, 2017 8:45 pm

BodyShots wrote:
kniven wrote:All I want for Christmas is a season split with Duluth East and a top 4 seed in the section 7AA playoffs.
Based on your postings over the last year, I think it will be a lump of coal for you Kniven.

Your probably right. It’s been an up and down and up crazy year that’s for sure.

ryguyMN · Post by **ryguyMN** » Mon Dec 11, 2017 11:03 am

The Edina/Eden Prairie tilt on Saturday at the Holiday Classic should be interesting. These tend to be close games, no matter where each team is in the rankings. Over the last three years, the regular season contests have typically been one or two goal differences.

Results:

2016-17:
EP, 6-1 (Edina Holiday Classic)
Edina, 4-2 (Schwan's Cup)
EP, 5-3
EP, 4-3

2015-16:
EP, 6-4 (Edina Holiday Classic)
Edina, 4-3
Edina, 4-3

2014-15:
Edina, 4-3 (Edina Holiday Classic)
Edina, 5-0
Edina, 3-0

elliott70 · Post by **elliott70** » Mon Dec 11, 2017 12:31 pm

"5. Moorhead (4-1)
-Matched Duluth East’s 3-0 scoreline over Bemidji"

Similar games. Moorhead looked a bit stronger.
Duluth East scored two goals against one of the better goalies in the state and a third in the open net.

ryguyMN · Post by **ryguyMN** » Mon Dec 11, 2017 1:52 pm

Minnetonka I'm not completely sold on. With Duluth Marshall's comeback to make last Saturday's game competitive, combined with the near upset to Lakeville North over Thanksgiving, the Skippers have difficulty winning decisively against the lower tier of the top 20.

WarmUpTheBus · Post by **WarmUpTheBus** » Mon Dec 11, 2017 2:54 pm

WestMetro wrote:Excellent as usual!

Got the feeling Chaska is going to continue to refine / improve depth , and upset someone during last two weeks of Dec when their schedule is tougher

S/O to Doug Hagen at FTP for seeing CDH as top 10 material 2 months before all other pundits

I also like Chaska. 4 D1 recruits but the team is very young. I think they will be top 15 before season's end.

GoldenBear · Post by **GoldenBear** » Mon Dec 11, 2017 3:03 pm

I think Chaska has a chance to go really deep in sections if they can have pp's. The 4 D1's on the pp could be the difference in a game they don't quite have the talent to win 5 on 5. Minnetonka and EP stay out of the box or else.... GB

HockeyonFire · Post by **HockeyonFire** » Mon Dec 11, 2017 6:09 pm

WarmUpTheBus wrote:
WestMetro wrote:Excellent as usual!

Got the feeling Chaska is going to continue to refine / improve depth , and upset someone during last two weeks of Dec when their schedule is tougher

S/O to Doug Hagen at FTP for seeing CDH as top 10 material 2 months before all other pundits
I also like Chaska. 4 D1 recruits but the team is very young. I think they will be top 15 before season's end.

Let’s talk about Chaska when they have a good schedule...They remain outside of EP, Tonka and HF because of the horrendous schedule. Tonka will beat them soundly on Dec. 22. They have the Holiday tourney which they were lucky to get into (MG not entering in), two games against BsM and one at Orono. That’s their 7 game schedule.

GoldenBear · Post by **GoldenBear** » Mon Dec 11, 2017 6:46 pm

Fire. Wouldn't critique--throw stones too much if I was a fire fan. One section final in 10 years and bashing an Orono team you just tied. Just saying be careful. Wouldn't bash them quite yet GB

GoldenBear · Post by **GoldenBear** » Mon Dec 11, 2017 6:49 pm

PS. Would take Snuggy in a one game event over Noel and Smitty in a second if Snuggy has 60 percent of the talent. GB

GoldenBear · Post by **GoldenBear** » Mon Dec 11, 2017 7:01 pm

As for my team Wayzata. It's a joirney to late Feb. it's Edina's year but the goal is to not face them in semis. Then as Thur say: So your saying I have a chance ? Being quiet on Trojan squad as I've seen them play twice. Didn't make trip up north. Good squad Pat has. GB

mulefarm · Post by **mulefarm** » Mon Dec 11, 2017 7:12 pm

GoldenBear wrote:Fire. Wouldn't critique--throw stones too much if I was a fire fan. One section final in 10 years and bashing an Orono team you just tied. Just saying be careful. Wouldn't bash them quite yet GB

Wouldn't brag about the Holy Family schedule or criticize, maybe 10 class a teams?

HappyHockeyFan · Post by **HappyHockeyFan** » Mon Dec 11, 2017 7:13 pm

And I will pile on here a little too, I was at the Holy Family/St Thomas game last Saturday and except for 7-8 minutes in the second period I wasn't that impressed with the Fire. They got a lot of ground to make up if the they want to compete with the Tommies. Just Sayin.

WestMetro · Post by **WestMetro** » Tue Dec 12, 2017 3:10 pm

GB, an interesting Trojan game this weekend over at Cretin.