Class A Rankings 12-14-14

[HShockeywatcher]

After some important games last week, there was a bit of movement this week but only one team dropped out of the rankings. The season has started with a lot of teams picking up a lot of wins against below average teams which makes many hard to compare. Every week there are more games to help smooth things out and some teams jump a number of spots because of this and this week is no different; will we have a new #1 next week?
I can't wait for the Holiday Tournaments!

1. [1] East Grand Forks (6-1)
The Green Wave took care of business with a shut out in the one game they had this week. There are many people who don't think EGF should be this high after their loss and this will be the week they finally either prove their ranking is right or that they're not the team they were last year. They play on the road a team who shut out Warroad earlier and then host Warroad. Big week for the Green Wave!
This week: Tues @ Bemidji, Fri vs Warroad

2. [2] Duluth Marshall (7-0)
The Hilltoppers pick up two road wins; a win in Rapids and a shut out. In many people's eyes, they are the top team right now and this week the team above them controls that, but 3 weeks from now that is entirely in their hands.
This week: Fri vs Lourdes

3. [4] Hermantown (5-2)
The Hawks didn't do something the 3 teams below them did this week; lose. They got two road wins over top 20 teams. This week they host a New Prague team who hasn't lost year.
This week: Sat vs New Prague

4. [6] Mahtomedi (5-1)
The Zephyrs picked up their first loss to Hill-Murray right after beating Breck on the road. They start a stretch now where 10 of their next 12 games are on the road. 5 of their next 6 shouldn't be much of a challenge until January when they play Marshall and St Thomas back to back on the road.
This week: Tues @ Chisago Lakes

5. [5] Breck (4-3)
The Mustangs lost a very close game to the team right above them this week and their lone game this week is a home game against a Holy Angels team who has picked it up. If they can get by the Stars, Breck's ranking the rest of the season will depend on what the teams 1-7 end up doing since they have only 3 games left against Top 20 teams, who are all outside the top 10.
This week: Sat vs Holy Angels

6. [3] Warroad (6-2)
The Warriors picked up two losses this week but both were to non-Class A teams so they can be overlooked in the long run much more than games this week. Not only are this week's game huge for section seeding but not losing this week would shoot Warroad up a few spots.
This week: Tues @ Thief River Falls, Fri @ East Grand Forks

7. [7] New Prague (6-0)
The Trojans have won every game on their schedule, but in that time have four 1-goal games. The point is to win, and in the beginning of the season figure things out, so it won't be held against them, but it isn't a good sign as they continue Wright County play and travel to Hermantown this week.
This week: Tues vs Waconia, Thurs vs Orono, Sat @ Hermantown

8. [9] St. Paul Academy (4-1)
The Spartans didn't play last week and slide up a spot because of losses ahead of them. Over this week and next, with their schedule, they may fall if teams behind them handle their business.
This week: Sat vs Owatonna

9. [10] Delano (5-1)
The Tigers may be a little high for now but their only loss is to Breck. They will likely pick up a couple wins this week, then start the Hilltopper Classic against East Grand Forks. Hopefully they end up with more than just that game against a MN team.
This week: Tues @ Litchfield, Fri vs Hutchinson

10. [19] Duluth Denfeld (5-2)
The Hunters have 1 real measuring stick on their schedule thus far and that is their close loss to Hermantown. In a week where a TRF team with a losing record loses to the Hawks by 6, that is good enough to let the Hunters jump quite far. Unfortunately, it likely won't be until next week if we see if that is good or not when they host Cathedral.
This week: Thurs @ Superior, Fri vs International Falls

11. [8] Thief River Falls (3-4)
The Prowlers may be much better than their ranking with only Class A losses to Breck and Hermantown. They also lost by 1 to a Bemidji team who shut out Warroad and scored 5 in the process. On paper, they might be favored for their Tuesday matchup; can they come out of this week with a winning record.
This week: Tues vs Warroad, Fri @ Crookston

12. [12] Alexandria (4-0-1)
The Cardinals picked up a close section win on the road and have a chance to pick up two more this week. The amazing thing with section 6A is that by the end of the season they've all played each other so many times you have a lot to guide you for seeding. The downside to that is a year like this one where you have very little to compare to the rest of the state.
This week: Tues @ Brainerd, Thurs @ Sartell, Sat vs Cathedral

13. [18] Fergus Falls (6-1)
The Otters jump quite a few spots this week, but that's what losing to Alexandria by a goal and beating Apollo will do for you. Can they win at home on Tuesday?
This week: Tues vs Cathedral, Sat @ Detroit Lakes

14. [14] Luverne (6-1)
The Cardinals continue to win and score goals as Chaz Smedsrud and Jaxon Nelson are in the Top 10 in goals, assists and points in the state. They'll likely pick up 3 more wins this week in preparation for what was supposed to be the big game of their season against Totino-Grace next week.
This week: Tues vs Windom Area, Fri @ Worthington, Sat vs Providence Acaedemy

15. [15] St. Cloud Cathedral (2-3)
The Crusaders beat Apollo and their game with Orono was postponed. Both of their wins are by 1 goal and all of their losses, while to top teams, are by 4 or more. With all section games this week, wins this week will put them atop the section and move them up at least a few more spots in the rankings.
This week: Tues @ Fergus Falls, Thurs vs Little Falls, Sat vs Alexandria

16. [17] Sartell-St. Stephen (6-0)
The Sabres stay undefeated after picking up easy wins. This week they play two section opponents who both have winning records.
This week: Tues vs Sauk Rapids-Rice, Thurs @ Alexandria

17. [-] Spring Lake Park (4-2)
The Panthers are 2-0 in the 2 Class A games they've played this season. Similar to Totino, they play a very heavy AA schedule with only 5 more Class A games guaranteed this season. They are coming off an 11-3 win over an Osseo team who beat Totino this week and they have scored at least 7 goals in each of their wins. They seem like the team to beat in section 5A. How will they do against a Hopkins team that only has one loss?
This week: Thurs vs Hopkins, Sat @ Armstrong/Cooper

18. [20] Blake (2-3)
The bears pick up a close win over a winless Orono team and are idle this week.
This week: Idle

19. [11] Orono (0-4)
The Spartans haven't won a game, but two of their losses are to top 3 teams so that doesn't help with their ranking.
This week: Tues vs Chanhassen, Thurs @ New Prague, Sat vs Kennedy

20. [13] St Cloud Apollo (1-2-2)
The Eagles went from undefeated to losing record in just 2 games. While they pushed themselves to the back of the 6A pack this week, it's a very tight pack. Despite the faults in their early season, they still have a tie to a Bemidji team who beat two of the Top 10 so far this season.
This week: Sat @ Lourdes


Teams to watch

St Paul Como Park (7-0)
The Cougars have 4 shut outs thus far and have only allowed 4 goals in 7 games. The next team on their schedule with a winning record is Minneapolis 11 games from now. Como Park likely won't crack the rankings this season unless a lot of teams stumble, but it'll be cool to see them do well.
This week: Tues vs Legacy Christian, Thurs @ Dodge County

Hutchinson (5-0-1)
It would be huge if they could come out of this week with a 0 in the loss column.
This week: Fri @ Delano

[elliott70]

Duluth Marshall has 1 game this week vs Rochester Lourdes.

[frozenponds]

Thanks for posting. Great read as always. I would slide Alex, Fergus and TRF in the top 10 in replace of SPA and Delano. If not for the win over GR, I think Warroad should be down a few spots. The WAR vs TRF game on Tue will determine if TRF deserves top 10 and if FF can take care of Cathedral. Not sure how Blake is top 20, not that it matters that far down the line.

[Froggy Richards]

Duluth Marshall has 1 games this week vs Rochester Lourdes.

Crazy how they lost two of their best players to Transfer and they seem to be better than last year.

[frozenponds]

[quote="Froggy Richards"][quote="elliott70"]Duluth Marshall has 1 games this week vs Rochester Lourdes.[/quote]

Crazy how they lost two of their best players to Transfer and they seem to be better than last year.[/quote]

Depends on the player(s). Sometimes a team is better off and becomes better. On the flip side, Fergus Fall had a player transfer back and has made a significant impact this year.

[HShockeywatcher]

Thanks for posting. Great read as always. I would slide Alex, Fergus and TRF in the top 10 in replace of SPA and Delano. If not for the win over GR, I think Warroad should be down a few spots. The WAR vs TRF game on Tue will determine if TRF deserves top 10 and if FF can take care of Cathedral. Not sure how Blake is top 20, not that it matters that far down the line.

At this point, a lot still stems from preseason rankings. And, as someone pointed out last week, (with a few exceptions) I don't knee jerk drop or raise someone in the rankings.

6A teams are tough, and will be all season, as they don't play too many teams outside 6A. Theoretically, Sartell could not lose a game this year and not crack the top 5. You basically need Cathedral to rebound, do well out of section and have them not be the best team in the section. An undefeated Sartell team may not even be seeded at state.

Convince me Blake shouldn't be ranked...
They lost to a TRF team you want to be Top 10 by 2 goals, lost to a Top 15 Delano team by 3 and beat Orono. I'm not willing to drop a team from the rankings who was the preseason #12 when their only losses are to teams I have ranked 11 or better. Heck, at this point, an argument could be made they're too low.

I also looked at a half dozen other teams to add to the bottom of the rankings and no one stood out. Everyone had some questionable losses along with very little plus Is there anyone someone thinks I'm missing?

Thanks

[hockey9011]

Thanks for posting. Great read as always. I would slide Alex, Fergus and TRF in the top 10 in replace of SPA and Delano. If not for the win over GR, I think Warroad should be down a few spots. The WAR vs TRF game on Tue will determine if TRF deserves top 10 and if FF can take care of Cathedral. Not sure how Blake is top 20, not that it matters that far down the line.

At this point, a lot still stems from preseason rankings. And, as someone pointed out last week, (with a few exceptions) I don't knee jerk drop or raise someone in the rankings.

6A teams are tough, and will be all season, as they don't play too many teams outside 6A. Theoretically, Sartell could not lose a game this year and not crack the top 5. You basically need Cathedral to rebound, do well out of section and have them not be the best team in the section. An undefeated Sartell team may not even be seeded at state.

Convince me Black shouldn't be ranked...
They lost to a TRF team you want to be Top 10 by 2 goals, lost to a Top 15 Delano team by 3 and beat Orono. I'm not willing to drop a team from the rankings who was the preseason #12 when their only losses are to teams I have ranked 11 or better. Heck, at this point, an argument could be made they're too low.

I also looked at a half dozen other teams to add to the bottom of the rankings and no one stood out. Everyone had some questionable losses along with very little plus Is there anyone someone thinks I'm missing?

Thanks

I don't think it is really that crazy to think that 6A couldnt slide in as the 5 seed at state if a team like Alex, Sartell, or FF continues to win a lot. I put them above both 5A and 3A. I don't think it would take more than a mild upset or two to consider them a possibility for the 5 seed

[elliott70]

I don't think it is really that crazy to think that 6A couldnt slide in as the 5 seed at state if a team like Alex, Sartell, or FF continues to win a lot. I put them above both 5A and 3A. I don't think it would take more than a mild upset or two to consider them a possibility for the 5 seed

If Sartell goes undefeated they will get a 4 maybe 3 seed.

[elliott70]

QRF top 20

1 Sartell-St. Stephen (6-0) 63.1
2 Duluth Marshall (7-0) 60.6
3 Alexandria (4-0-1) 58.4

4 South St. Paul (4-1) 56.0
5 Mahtomedi (5-1) 55.8
6 New Prague (6-0) 54.9

7 Fergus Falls (6-1) 53.8
8 St. Paul Academy (5-1) 51.3
9 Warroad (6-2) 50.6

10 Delano (5-1) 50.3
11 St. Paul Como Park (7-0) 49.4
12 Hermantown (5-2) 49.1

13 Luverne (6-1) 48.3
14 East Grand Forks (6-1) 47.3

T-15 Spring Lake Park (4-2) 45.3
T-15 Hutchinson (5-0-1) 45.3

17 Breck (4-3) 44.7
18 Northfield (4-2-1) 40.7
19 Sauk Rapids-Rice (2-1-1) 38.9
20 St. Paul Johnson (5-1-1) 38.3

[frozenponds]

[quote="At this point, a lot still stems from preseason rankings. And, as someone pointed out last week, (with a few exceptions) I don't knee jerk drop or raise someone in the rankings.

6A teams are tough, and will be all season, as they don't play too many teams outside 6A. Theoretically, Sartell could not lose a game this year and not crack the top 5. You basically need Cathedral to rebound, do well out of section and have them not be the best team in the section. An undefeated Sartell team may not even be seeded at state.

Convince me Black shouldn't be ranked...
They lost to a TRF team you want to be Top 10 by 2 goals, lost to a Top 15 Delano team by 3 and beat Orono. I'm not willing to drop a team from the rankings who was the preseason #12 when their only losses are to teams I have ranked 11 or better. Heck, at this point, an argument could be made they're too low.

I also looked at a half dozen other teams to add to the bottom of the rankings and no one stood out. Everyone had some questionable losses along with very little plus Is there anyone someone thinks I'm missing?

Thanks[/quote]

Not sure I can convince and not that I am trying (and I assume you mean Blake, not Black) but two wins vs teams that are combined 2-8 isn't real convincing. We might not know more until they play Minnetonka and later when they play Breck later in that same month unless they lose vs teams they should beat and also should go undefeated until the Tonka game.

Regarding the top 20, one could make an argument for KCC being a top 20 team but their schedule isn’t a good indicator other than a good game vs Warroad and losses against unknown out of state/country teams. We won’t know more about KCC until they play EGF unless they lose to PR and Crookston, teams they should beat if they consider themselves a top 4 Section 8 team.

Hibbing could be in the mix with good wins, close game vs Roseau and a respectable showing vs HM but the loss to Mound Westonka is a game they should of won to be top 20.

Regarding 6A, Sartell 5-3 win over Northern Lakes is interesting. They outshot them but looking at scores “lesser" teams have done vs Northern Lakes, I would of expected more in the line of a 5-6 goal difference like KCC and DL did when they won 8-0 and 9-0 respectively but than again, that is just one game and I know you aren’t knee jerking. Again, nice work and thanks for your time listing the top 20 and teams to watch each Sunday.

[pekyman]

I disagree with the top of these rankings and that most or many think that Marshall should be #1.

Lets Play Hockey:
1: EGF
2: Hermantown
3: Marshall

FTP
1: Hermantown
2: EGF
3: Marshall


Vs. Roseville
Marshall 4
Roseville 3
Shots 42-30 OT

Hermantown 4
Roseville 3
Shots 55-16 Herm OT

Game was all Hermantown 3-0 until Roseville pulled their goalie with just over 1 min left and somehow got 3 goals to tie it.

Game was just the opposite for Marshall. They needed 3 in the 3rd to tie and shots were much closer in that game.

Vs. Orono
Marshall 4
Orono 1
Shots 38-17 Marshall

Hermantown 7
Orono 2
Shots 33-17 Herm


Hermantown’s 2 Loses
1st game of year for Herm, 4th for Wayzata at Wayzata

Hermantown 3
Wayzata 4
Shots 24-23 Herm

Wayzata’s game winner came with just over a minute left in 3rd.
Great game, the Hawks skated right with Wayzata and I think anyone that was there would say that it could have gone either way.
Wayzata is a top 5 AA Team.

Vs. HOPKINS
Hermantown 1
Hopkins 2
Shots 56-27 Herm OT

Hopkins goalie stood on his head, simple as that. Herm was clearly the better team.

Neither Marshall nor EGF has played a team the caliber of Wayzata and even though it was a loss for Herm, it showed that this team is capable of playing with the top of AA.

EGF has not played a top AA team and lost to a ND Team 5-0 that would be Class A in Minnesota.
This is what FTP thinks.

Tweet from follow the puck:
“FYI... Based on enrollment numbers, Grand Forks Red River (ND) would be considered a class A team in Minnesota. EGF was beat 5-0 by GRRR.


The best Marshall has played is Grand Rapids which they won 4-2. Warroad has also beaten GR.
East is ranked ahead of Grand Rapids and they were manhandled by Wayzata 3-0 shots were 36-18 Wayzata.
Hermantown gave Wayzata a hell of a game and East did not.

At this point I would give EGF the respect of the defending champs and keep them at 1. Herm has done nothing to lose it's number 2 spot and Marshall should sit at 3.

The nice thing is that all the questions should be answered after the Marshall Holiday Tourney.
Herm’s first game is against Notre Dame Academy (Wis), the team that beat EGF in the championship 2-0 last year. Hopefully, they can get past them for a shot at Marshall then EGF

[hockey9011]

[quote="At this point, a lot still stems from preseason rankings. And, as someone pointed out last week, (with a few exceptions) I don't knee jerk drop or raise someone in the rankings.

6A teams are tough, and will be all season, as they don't play too many teams outside 6A. Theoretically, Sartell could not lose a game this year and not crack the top 5. You basically need Cathedral to rebound, do well out of section and have them not be the best team in the section. An undefeated Sartell team may not even be seeded at state.

Convince me Black shouldn't be ranked...
They lost to a TRF team you want to be Top 10 by 2 goals, lost to a Top 15 Delano team by 3 and beat Orono. I'm not willing to drop a team from the rankings who was the preseason #12 when their only losses are to teams I have ranked 11 or better. Heck, at this point, an argument could be made they're too low.

I also looked at a half dozen other teams to add to the bottom of the rankings and no one stood out. Everyone had some questionable losses along with very little plus Is there anyone someone thinks I'm missing?

Thanks

Not sure I can convince and not that I am trying (and I assume you mean Blake, not Black) but two wins vs teams that are combined 2-8 isn't real convincing. We might not know more until they play Minnetonka and later when they play Breck later in that same month unless they lose vs teams they should beat and also should go undefeated until the Tonka game.

Regarding the top 20, one could make an argument for KCC being a top 20 team but their schedule isn’t a good indicator other than a good game vs Warroad and losses against unknown out of state/country teams. We won’t know more about KCC until they play EGF unless they lose to PR and Crookston, teams they should beat if they consider themselves a top 4 Section 8 team.

Hibbing could be in the mix with good wins, close game vs Roseau and a respectable showing vs HM but the loss to Mound Westonka is a game they should of won to be top 20.

Regarding 6A, Sartell 5-3 win over Northern Lakes is interesting. They outshot them but looking at scores “lesser" teams have done vs Northern Lakes, I would of expected more in the line of a 5-6 goal difference like KCC and DL did when they won 8-0 and 9-0 respectively but than again, that is just one game and I know you aren’t knee jerking. Again, nice work and thanks for your time listing the top 20 and teams to watch each Sunday.[/quote]
Score of that game was 5-2 Sartell actually and they did start their backup goaltender but I get your point.. Very surprised at that score but I see it as more of an outlier than a pattern.. Sometimes better teams find it hard to play 100% when playing a team of a lower caliber than them

[frozenponds]

[/quote]
Score of that game was 5-2 Sartell actually and they did start their backup goaltender but I get your point.. Very surprised at that score but I see it as more of an outlier than a pattern.. Sometimes better teams find it hard to play 100% when playing a team of a lower caliber than them[/quote]

Thanks for the correction. The 3 probably came from the 3 goal difference thinking.

[OU812]

The nice thing is that all the questions should be answered after the Marshall Holiday Tourney.
Herm’s first game is against Notre Dame Academy (Wis), the team that beat EGF in the championship 2-0 last year. Hopefully, they can get past them for a shot at Marshall then EGF

In last year's Marshall Tournament, Notre Dame beat EGF in the semis, 2-0. In the finals ND played Mankato West, who thy beat by 1

[pekyman]

The nice thing is that all the questions should be answered after the Marshall Holiday Tourney.
Herm’s first game is against Notre Dame Academy (Wis), the team that beat EGF in the championship 2-0 last year. Hopefully, they can get past them for a shot at Marshall then EGF

In last year's Marshall Tournament, Notre Dame beat EGF in the semis, 2-0. In the finals ND played Mankato West, who thy beat by 1

You are correct, Thanks!

Marshall Hilltopper Holiday Tournament

Thursday, Dec. 26
Appleton (Wis.) 3, Duluth Marshall 2
Mankato West 6, Madison Edgewood (Wis.) 4
Notre Dame (Wis.) 5, Delano 1
East Grand Forks 2, Superior (Wis.) 1
Friday, Dec. 27
Consolation Semifinal: Duluth Marshall 8, Madison Edgewood (Wis.) 2
Consolation Semifinal: Superior (Wis.) 2, Delano 1
Semifinal: Mankato West 8, Appleton (Wis.) 2
Semifinal: Notre Dame (Wis.) 2, East Grand Forks 0
Saturday, Dec. 28
Seventh Place: Delano 7, Madison Edgewood (Wis.) 0
Consolation Championship: Superior (Wis.) 2, Duluth Marshall 1
Third Place: East Grand Forks 5, Appleton (Wis.) 1
Championship: Notre Dame (Wis.) 3, Mankato West 2

[HShockeywatcher]

1 Warroad
0 Thief River Falls

Despite TRF spending 10 minutes in the box (to Warroad's 4), their PK allowed no goals and they only allowed 1 goal the entire game. Shots 20-19


4 Orono
1 Chanhassen

Orono picked up their first win of the season (by the same score as Delano) over a Chanhassen team who beat Hopkins.


2 Bemidji
1 East Grand Forks

This is a Bemedji team who beat TRF 3-2 and Warroad 5-0 and tied Apollo 1-1.

[pekyman]

I disagree with the top of these rankings and that most or many think that Marshall should be #1.

Lets Play Hockey:
1: EGF
2: Hermantown
3: Marshall

FTP
1: Hermantown
2: EGF
3: Marshall


Vs. Roseville
Marshall 4
Roseville 3
Shots 42-30 OT

Hermantown 4
Roseville 3
Shots 55-16 Herm OT

Game was all Hermantown 3-0 until Roseville pulled their goalie with just over 1 min left and somehow got 3 goals to tie it.

Game was just the opposite for Marshall. They needed 3 in the 3rd to tie and shots were much closer in that game.

Vs. Orono
Marshall 4
Orono 1
Shots 38-17 Marshall

Hermantown 7
Orono 2
Shots 33-17 Herm


Hermantown’s 2 Loses
1st game of year for Herm, 4th for Wayzata at Wayzata

Hermantown 3
Wayzata 4
Shots 24-23 Herm

Wayzata’s game winner came with just over a minute left in 3rd.
Great game, the Hawks skated right with Wayzata and I think anyone that was there would say that it could have gone either way.
Wayzata is a top 5 AA Team.

Vs. HOPKINS
Hermantown 1
Hopkins 2
Shots 56-27 Herm OT

Hopkins goalie stood on his head, simple as that. Herm was clearly the better team.

Neither Marshall nor EGF has played a team the caliber of Wayzata and even though it was a loss for Herm, it showed that this team is capable of playing with the top of AA.

EGF has not played a top AA team and lost to a ND Team 5-0 that would be Class A in Minnesota.
This is what FTP thinks.

Tweet from follow the puck:
“FYI... Based on enrollment numbers, Grand Forks Red River (ND) would be considered a class A team in Minnesota. EGF was beat 5-0 by GRRR.


The best Marshall has played is Grand Rapids which they won 4-2. Warroad has also beaten GR.
East is ranked ahead of Grand Rapids and they were manhandled by Wayzata 3-0 shots were 36-18 Wayzata.
Hermantown gave Wayzata a hell of a game and East did not.

At this point I would give EGF the respect of the defending champs and keep them at 1. Herm has done nothing to lose it's number 2 spot and Marshall should sit at 3.

The nice thing is that all the questions should be answered after the Marshall Holiday Tourney.
Herm’s first game is against Notre Dame Academy (Wis), the team that beat EGF in the championship 2-0 last year. Hopefully, they can get past them for a shot at Marshall then EGF

On the Hopkins loss, Below is an excerpt from a Q&A with Hopkins goalie, Josh Kuehmichel posted on hockey hub:

Q: What has been your toughest game this season?

A: Playing Hermantown, for sure. They were the most physical, and they moved the puck incredibly as a team.


Q: But Hopkins won [2-1 on Dec. 6] and you had a great game. You made 54 saves.

A: I felt like I was keeping the team in the game. I kind of knew the whole game that I was on.


Q: You were stopping everything in the game. Could you see the Hermantown players getting frustrated?

A: Yeah, definitely. During the game, some of them were slamming their sticks on the ice and hitting their sticks on the boards when they went to the bench. That’s how I knew I was doing my job.

[pekyman]

1 Warroad
0 Thief River Falls

Despite TRF spending 10 minutes in the box (to Warroad's 4), their PK allowed no goals and they only allowed 1 goal the entire game. Shots 20-19


4 Orono
1 Chanhassen

Orono picked up their first win of the season (by the same score as Delano) over a Chanhassen team who beat Hopkins.


2 Bemidji
1 East Grand Forks

This is a Bemedji team who beat TRF 3-2 and Warroad 5-0 and tied Apollo 1-1.

Tweet from Follow the puck:
“FYI... Based on enrollment numbers, Grand Forks Red River (ND) would be considered a class A team in Minnesota. EGF was beat 5-0 by GRRR.

Regarding you last week poll question, in my book EGF has already been beaten by a Class A program and now by an unranked AA team. Also, Hermantown destroyed TRF 8-2.

[elliott70]

Regarding you last week poll question, in my book EGF has already been beaten by a Class A program and now by an unranked AA team. Also, Hermantown destroyed TRF 8-2.

By definition, Grand Forks Red River would be single A in MN. However, their school is as big or bigger than 3 of section 8AA schools and 2 of the section 7AA schools. Nearly as large as Moorhead and Duluth East. Grand Forks youth program is very large. If you don't believe any MN high school team would drive into GF and not be in a dog fight then you must not get outside of the 494-694 loop very often.

[HShockeywatcher]

elliot70, how many of the Bemidji games have you seen? Any thoughts on the 4 Class A teams they've played?

Tweet from Follow the puck:
“FYI... Based on enrollment numbers, Grand Forks Red River (ND) would be considered a class A team in Minnesota. EGF was beat 5-0 by GRRR.

Regarding you last week poll question, in my book EGF has already been beaten by a Class A program and now by an unranked AA team. Also, Hermantown destroyed TRF 8-2.

I get it, you want Hermantown to be multiple spots higher than they are...every year.

Using the same logic that you are using to bolster Hermantown's Wayzata loss because of who Wayzata has played, the Hopkins loss looks really bad.
But I'm not going to do that. Over-analyzing ONE game to make it more than it is isn't positive

I never said they're bad; if you think that you're not paying attention.
They were at #2 two weeks ago, fell to #4 last week after the Hopkins loss and hopped back up to #3 this week.

In all of what you wrote, you are downplaying the Grand Rapids win and completely ignored the Breck win. Those games happened and they are impressive.

TL;DR: Hermantown is good, probably really good. They are definitely a top 3 team in Class A and possibly the best or second best team. They, however, have a bad loss and less impressive wins than both of the teams currently ranked above them.

[Froggy Richards]

1 Warroad
0 Thief River Falls

Despite TRF spending 10 minutes in the box (to Warroad's 4), their PK allowed no goals and they only allowed 1 goal the entire game. Shots 20-19


4 Orono
1 Chanhassen

Orono picked up their first win of the season (by the same score as Delano) over a Chanhassen team who beat Hopkins.


2 Bemidji
1 East Grand Forks

This is a Bemedji team who beat TRF 3-2 and Warroad 5-0 and tied Apollo 1-1.

Tweet from Follow the puck:
“FYI... Based on enrollment numbers, Grand Forks Red River (ND) would be considered a class A team in Minnesota. EGF was beat 5-0 by GRRR.

Regarding you last week poll question, in my book EGF has already been beaten by a Class A program and now by an unranked AA team. Also, Hermantown destroyed TRF 8-2.

Until they play, it's all speculation. Last time they met, Hermantown looked like a Bantam team against them. If Hermantown wants respect, move up to AA. What's the point of playing AA in Peewee and Bantam only to drop down in HS? They get players from all over the area. Time to move up!

[CreaseMonkey]

Regarding you last week poll question, in my book EGF has already been beaten by a Class A program and now by an unranked AA team. Also, Hermantown destroyed TRF 8-2.

By definition, Grand Forks Red River would be single A in MN. However, their school is as big or bigger than 3 of section 8AA schools and 2 of the section 7AA schools. Nearly as large as Moorhead and Duluth East. Grand Forks youth program is very large. If you don't believe any MN high school team would drive into GF and not be in a dog fight then you must not get outside of the 494-694 loop very often.

GFRR has a deep squad this year, regardless of school size, and would give a lot of MN teams a run for their money. In the same way Marshall, EGF, Warroad, etc get dissed for not playing AA when they have a strong group coming through, GFRR is playing at that kind of level with their current lineup.

I also would not downplay what Bemidji is doing. They are still working to overcome their 1st few games, but they way they are starting to click, they are going to be a factor down the road for sure.

Ranking teams is fun, but this is not a year I would want to be putting money down based on anybody's opinion. Lots of variables happening with Single A teams, and nobody ranking is privy to all of that information.

Single A hockey teams are way more vulnerable to performance swings when it comes to players being sick or injured since they typically do not have the depth of AA teams, and I think that is playing out more this year than the last few. I have seen that swing occur mid game a few times this year. Nature of the beast...

I believe we are going to see quite a few teams seeded lower this year for that very reason, and if they get healthy, more than a few upsets of the higher seed at playoff time.

[pekyman]

Regarding you last week poll question, in my book EGF has already been beaten by a Class A program and now by an unranked AA team. Also, Hermantown destroyed TRF 8-2.

By definition, Grand Forks Red River would be single A in MN. However, their school is as big or bigger than 3 of section 8AA schools and 2 of the section 7AA schools. Nearly as large as Moorhead and Duluth East. Grand Forks youth program is very large. If you don't believe any MN high school team would drive into GF and not be in a dog fight then you must not get outside of the 494-694 loop very often.

Don't think that at all, just messing around with HSHW

[pekyman]

Regarding you last week poll question, in my book EGF has already been beaten by a Class A program and now by an unranked AA team. Also, Hermantown destroyed TRF 8-2.

By definition, Grand Forks Red River would be single A in MN. However, their school is as big or bigger than 3 of section 8AA schools and 2 of the section 7AA schools. Nearly as large as Moorhead and Duluth East. Grand Forks youth program is very large. If you don't believe any MN high school team would drive into GF and not be in a dog fight then you must not get outside of the 494-694 loop very often.

GFRR has a deep squad this year, regardless of school size, and would give a lot of MN teams a run for their money. In the same way Marshall, EGF, Warroad, etc get dissed for not playing AA when they have a strong group coming through, GFRR is playing at that kind of level with their current lineup.

I also would not downplay what Bemidji is doing. They are still working to overcome their 1st few games, but they way they are starting to click, they are going to be a factor down the road for sure.

Ranking teams is fun, but this is not a year I would want to be putting money down based on anybody's opinion. Lots of variables happening with Single A teams, and nobody ranking is privy to all of that information.

Single A hockey teams are way more vulnerable to performance swings when it comes to players being sick or injured since they typically do not have the depth of AA teams, and I think that is playing out more this year than the last few. I have seen that swing occur mid game a few times this year. Nature of the beast...

I believe we are going to see quite a few teams seeded lower this year for that very reason, and if they get healthy, more than a few upsets of the higher seed at playoff time.

No intention to downplay Bemidji. Herm plays them there on Jan 17, should be a battle.

Your spot on on the depth and swing comment.

[elliott70]

Regarding you last week poll question, in my book EGF has already been beaten by a Class A program and now by an unranked AA team. Also, Hermantown destroyed TRF 8-2.

By definition, Grand Forks Red River would be single A in MN. However, their school is as big or bigger than 3 of section 8AA schools and 2 of the section 7AA schools. Nearly as large as Moorhead and Duluth East. Grand Forks youth program is very large. If you don't believe any MN high school team would drive into GF and not be in a dog fight then you must not get outside of the 494-694 loop very often.

Don't think that at all, just messing around with HSHW

Well, that I like.