I’m not going to re-do full rankings since I’d like to stick with what I’ve done so far, but here’s a run-through of the remaining 20 AA teams.
1. Hill-Murray
-Rolled to victory; would be the 1-seed at state if Wayzata wins, but the #2 if EP wins, in my mind.
2. Eden Prairie
-All is going according to plan so far. 6AA final should be excellent.
3. Wayzata
-Impressive win over Benilde gets them over the hump and into the section finals. The past two years we’ve seen a West Metro program that’s taken some flak put it together and win it all; is this year Wayzata’s turn?
4. Maple Grove
-Took care of business; now for the harder tests.
5. Edina
-Got a present with the PL upset of AHA; now they face a much tougher test in order to win the section for a 5th year in a row.
6. Duluth East
-Marched past ER, setting up a huge final with Grand Rapids; at the moment the 7AA champion would be the odd team out when it comes to state seeding, but one upset could change that.
7. Grand Rapids
-Took care of Cloquet and now get their shot at East for a trip back to the X.
8. Burnsville
-Strong win over Jefferson gets them back on track. Almost the opposite situation of last season, when Burnsville was the team that came on strong towards the end of the year but in the end fell to Jefferson as expected.
9. Apple Valley
-Shook off a tough Cretin team and will get their chance to defend their 3AA title.
10. Eagan
-Time for them to prove their worth as a top team in the state.
11. Bemidji
-Dare we believe that someone will upset the order of 8AA?
12. Moorhead
-Scraped by Roseau despite internal issues. This program usually knows what to do in tough section games, but can that continue against a new section final opponent?
13. Blaine
-The odds on yet another section final appearance for the Bengals are quite good.
14. White Bear Lake
-Trying to get their shot at Hill, but first they have to deal with a tough Stillwater team.
15. Lakeville South
-Look to be rolling towards a state tourney berth.
16. Centennial
-Could prove very dangerous for Maple Grove. We’ll see if they can get over their recent struggles in sections.
17. Roseville
-Got by NSP; now they take their shot at Hill.
18. Stillwater
-Brought down WBL near the end of the season; can they do it again?
19. Osseo
-Struggled in their two games against Blaine this year, but crazier things have happened.
20. Lakeville North
-The odds don’t look good, but they can hope for a mental edge from last season, if nothing else.
After the crazy year, the lack of upsets so far is a mild surprise, but it has set the stage for some great finals. Should be an excellent week.
AA Rankings Without Eliminated Teams
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