Class A Rankings 2-10-13

[stcloudfan]

I like Cathedral being above Hermantown that's for sure. Hermantown is a great team and a program I give the utmost respect to but would love to see Cathedral back at State and have Poganski showcase his talents for the state to see. Hard to argue their is a better junior in the state than him.

[HShockeywatcher]

There should likely be some consideration given to EGF now that they have beaten TRF. The only blemish on their season with Class A teams was TRF, who they recently beat. Having shut out Cathedral doesn't hurt either, although that was very early on in the season.

I think I just figured out why you want to have “early games to carry more weight”
It makes sense to me that games early in the season should carry more weight, really it does.
Earlier games, when teams are developing lines, testing goalies, skaters, etc are clearly a better indicator of the team that will show up in section playoffs.

I could go on but what is the point.
There is a reason that every legitimate poll has Herm back at #3.
Organizations/people that compile the ranking objectively analyze every teams entire season’s body of work.
With 95% of the season over, in my opinion, Hermantown takes #3 and is close to #2.
I don’t see another team below STAA and Breck that can match what Hermantown has done.
The polls agree.

Well, is your rational "posters suggested it"? If it is, you're spot on. As I've explained multiple times, despite the win streak TRF was on and who they'd beaten, posters suggested they couldn't be ranked ahead of Hermantown because of an early season win. So, I adjusted this week.

Your sarcasm is correct, and why I wasn't weighing the early games as much until many people were complaining. You then go on and use early games in your comparison; so which is it, should the early games be used or not?

"Every legitimate poll" had Hermantown #1 the last two seasons as well. I didn't. Early on in the season there were few comments that Hermantown was really good this season. I mentioned it and someone made a comment that people learned from what happened the last couple years. Apparently not.

Teams aren't ranked based on shots on goal and people who know much about the game of hockey (any sport for that matter) know that margin of victory in one game is not a strong indicator of much.

I can understand wanting your team to be as high as they can be, and even understand not thinking Lourdes should be so high (as they are likely one of the easiest to move around), but what is your rational for Hermantown ahead of Cathedral?
Neither of the two teams has lost a game since these two met and Cathedral won that game. Cathedral also has a win over Breck; depending on who makes it to state they could have a legitimate argument for the #2 seed at state.

I respect your opinion, although I disagree with it. It would be great if you could do the same. I say virtually every week that there is no right answer, the rankings are my opinion.

[Mailman]

That is the most uninformed post I've seen on this board, pertaining to public schools.

You obviously have spent very, very little time out of the metro area.

The *vast* majority of public schools throughout the state don't have anything close to the pool to "pull from", nor is there much they can do about it.


Believe it or not, Minnesota is composed of areas besides the TC and Duluth metro areas.

The spin you private schoolers put on to justify things is amazing.

My point isn't that a TC school doesn't pull from a "bigger pool" than an outstate school. That would be silly.

My point is simply that any given school, public or private, wherever it is located, has the same rules to follow. Schools like Denfeld and Marshall or Cathedral and Apollo should, given the rules as they are now, be on a similarly level playing field.

I am not saying that a school in the metro doesn't pull from a bigger pool than those outstate. Since discussion about classes started years ago, because of the breakdown of size of hockey schools, I suggested the bottom 64 be in Class A, not the top 64 in AA. It wouldn't be perfect, but it would take out many of the current 5A and 4A football schools.

Anyway, that is my point. Not at all what you are trying to spin it as.

No spin here pal. I only responded to what you typed.

[Looks easy from here]

Hermantown will be the # 1 seed in sec 5.

[HShockeywatcher]

Thoughts/comments about any teams in the rankings.

Where should East Grand Forks end up having now avenged the one Class A loss they had?
Where should Lourdes be ranked having not lost to any Class A teams currently below them?
What do people think of Cathedral?
Thoughts on Mahtomedi?

I'm not going to argue about it, but with the new transfer rules and open enrollment, private schools and public schools should have little difference as far as the pool "they pull from."
If public schools aren't doing everything they can to be attractive to students, they are doing a disservice to everyone involved.

This is asinine.

What part of it?
To the best of my knowledge, there were definite advantages private schools had before, but those are theoretically gone. Unless you believe private schools "are better" what is the difference?
Should public schools not be attractive to students?

I have been informed that something I would consider common sense along the lines of "relative to where they are located" should be added to my statements. I think it is redundant, but apparently not understood.
All I'm claiming is that simply being private in your given location shouldn't necessarily be an advantage over a school with the same location that is public.

It is not to say there aren't possible advantages to being located in the metro vs the range, for example. But those are location advantages, not inherent in private versus public. Just thought I'd clear that up as I was told it was misleading.