Class A Rankings 12-21-14

[HShockeywatcher]

We are down to 3 undefeated teams in Class A, all of whom are on different paths. There is a change atop the rankings this week, but your opinion is as good as the next. Right now the top 4 teams have a combined 0 losses to Class A teams; any of them has a solid case to be #1.
Luckily for us, and the folks in Duluth, we have a holiday tournament with the top 3 teams in MN along with top teams from WI next weekend with the potential for 1 and 2 to play, along with one of them playing 3.
Beyond 6, there are about 11 teams who could have a very good case made for being Top 10 teams right now, so with very little overlap between them putting them in an order is tough. In a week with only 4 of the following teams mentioned playing each other there won't be much movement, but next week is going to be a big week for many of the following teams.

Enjoy!

1. [2] Duluth Marshall (8-0)
The Hilltoppers' game this week isn't the most convincing of being the top team but they haven't lost yet and have beaten some good team. Their next 4 games will be huge to either solidify their ranking or drop them down a few notches.
This week: Tues vs Benilde-St Margaret's

2. [3] Hermantown (6-2)
The Hawks have played 4 Class A teams this season and have 4 convincing wins in that time. The Hilltopper Classic is their opportunity to jump up a spot and stay their all season.
This week: Tues @ Eveleth-Gilbert

3. [1] East Grand Forks (6-2)
The Green Wave took lost a close one to a very good Bemidji team and then solidified their spot atop the section with a convincing win over Warroad. They very well may be the top team in Class A this year, but this is not the same EGF team who allowed 1 or fewer goals 19 times in the regular season last year. They will sit idle this week.
This week: Idle

4. [4] Mahtomedi (6-1)
The Zephyrs had one game this week and they shut out their opponent. This week they play a team who took both Marshall and Hermantown to overtime. They only play one of the teams ranked above them the remainder of the season, so every game definitely matter so much at this point.
This week: Tues vs Roseville

5. [5] Breck (5-3)
The Mustangs had lost and won every other game for the first 7 games of the season and stopped that streak beating Holy Angels for their second win in a row. With 3 losses to teams currently ranked above them, climbing the ranks any more will only happen if teams above them falter.
This week: Idle

6. [6] Warroad (7-3)
The Warriors win a close game on the road over Thief River Falls but follow that up coming up short against East Grand Forks. They are off this week and have what should be an easy tournament at home before their trip to St Cloud to make 5 games in 6 days.
This week: Idle

7. [11] Thief River Falls (4-5)
The Prowlers are 1 of 3 ranked teams with a losing record and the highest by far. Their 1 goal loss to Bemidji doesn't seem that bad as East Grand Forks loses to them by 1 as well. Losing to Warroad by 1 jumps them up to right behind the Warriors. They are idle this week and their ranking will be tested early in their home holiday tournament.
This week: Idle

8. [12] Alexandria (7-0-1)
The Cardinals picked up 3 wins this week, including giving Sartell their first loss, and are now one of 3 undefeated teams in the state. They are idle this week before playing Thief River Falls to start their holiday off.
This week: Idle

9. [8] St. Paul Academy (6-1)
The Spartans' lone loss is to a very good Mahtomedi team, but they are missing any noteworthy victories outside of Luverne, who is also very difficult to assess. They should pick up another win this week and they will have the opportunity to meet up with Denfeld and/or Bemidji in Duluth next week.
This week: Tues @ Chisago Lakes Area

10. [10] Duluth Denfeld (5-2)
The Hunters went into Superior and beat the Spartans by 5 goals! They have allowed 1 goal in 5 of their last 6 games; can they keep that alive as they host the Crusaders this week?
This week: Tues vs Cathedral

11. [9] Delano (7-1)
The Tigers have no impressive wins on their schedule, a couple a little too close for comfort and a 5 goal loss to Breck, but they are winning their games. They are off this week and will play 3 games against very good teams next week.
This week: Idle

12. [18] Blake (2-3)
The Bears' 1 goal win over Orono is what gets them to make a big jump this week, but that won't be enough to keep them up if they can't start winning.
This week: Cretin-Derham Hall

13. [19] Orono (3-4)
The Spartans started this week with no wins and picked up 3 wins this week, 1 of them being over previously undefeated New Prague. They sit idle this week before playing Hopkins next week to start their holiday tournament.
This week: Idle

14. [7] New Prague (7-2)
The Trojans started the week undefeated and picked up 2 losses. The Hermantown loss was expected, but getting shut out at home to Orono isn't good. Their four 1 goal wins finally caught up with them.
This week: Tues vs Albert Lea

15. [15] St. Cloud Cathedral (4-4)
The Crusaders started the season with 3 losses and followed that up with 4 wins and are coming off a close loss to an undefeated Alexandria team. A win in Duluth this week would be great to take them into the holiday tournament with a winning record.
This week: Tues @ Duluth Denfeld

16. [14] Luverne (6-1)
The Cardinals continue to win and Chaz Smedsrud continues to assist in the process as he now leads the state in points and assists. Totino-Grace seems to be on the uptick, so a win this week followed by Totino's continued success (and SPA's) will be what gets Luverne to do more than flounder in the 12-18 range. Teams in this area having bad holiday tournaments would also help them out.
This week: Tues vs Totino-Grace

17. [13] Fergus Falls (6-2-1)
The Otters pick up another section loss and tie Detroit Lakes this week. They are off this week and will likely pick up 3 more wins next week; their ranking will be tied to Alex and Cathedral's until there's a reason for it to not be.
This week: Idle

18. [20] St Cloud Apollo (2-2-2)
The Eagles have tied both Alexandria and Bemedji and have 1 and 2 goal losses to Cathedral and Fergus Falls. They have quality opponents left on their schedule and enough 6A opponents that any seed going into the postseason is still possible.
This week: Idle

19. [17] Spring Lake Park (5-3)
The Panthers lose to a Hopkins team who beat Hermantown and follow that up with a road win. They will likely meet up with Luverne next week so that will be a nice game for comparison as Totino-Grace is the only potentially ranked Class A team remaining on their schedule.
This week: Tues vs Princeton

20. [-] Kittson Central (4-3)
The Bearcats are led by 3 seniors who have more points than the rest of the team combined. They started the season with 2 losses to non-MN teams and in their 5 games since have a 2 goal road loss to Warroad and allowed 3 goals in the other 3 wins. The issue with their schedule is that they have only 2 more opponents of note, EGF and TRF, and the rest teams they should win if their loss to Warroad is any indication of their ability. They are another team who will rise as teams ahead of them fall if they keep winning. Two road games this week
This week: Mon @ Crookston, Tues @ Park Rapids


Teams to watch

St Paul Como Park (9-0)
The Cougars pick up a close win over a team they had previously shut out. They are idle this week before playing 3 teams with a combined 4 wins in the Richfield invite, so we expect them to have 3 more wins going into the new year.
This week: Idle

[16] Sartell-St. Stephen (7-1)
The Sabres play their first quality opponent of the season and get beat by 5 on the road. They have a good holiday tournament followed by a game with Bemidji, so if they have this many losses in the middle of January, they will be much higher.
This week: Idle

Totino-Grace (3-5)
The Eagles have won their last 2 after not the best start for their record. Their only 2 Class A losses (and games) are to EGF and TRF though, so a win this week in Luverne would be huge for their ranking going forward.
This week: Tues @ Luverne

[hockey9011]

St. Cloud apollo actually played Lourdes this saturday and won 2-0

[ted2you]

Ooops

[ted2you]

Polls are fun but the tournament in Duluth could be the defining of the top of this year's class. Problem is that it may not help at all. It is possible that they not play each other at all. If I read the schedule correctly, EGF starts with Delano, assuming they win a game they should be heavily favored to win, they have a clear path to remain in the winners bracket Hermantown faces what is traditionally strong Notre Dame team. Marshall is also in that bracket and if both teams do not advance or lose they don't match up. If Hermantown loses to them, and Marshall advances to the second round, and were to lose to Notre Dame Academy and EGF advances to the final against Notre Dame Academy a tournament with the 3 best Minnesota A teams would fail to meet each other in an 8 team tournament and a chance to unwind these rankings would be wasted. Normally, I would say, "who cares, its just a meaningless holiday tournament." But this year it is a golden opportunity for EGF. Assuming EGF is clearly the best team in Section 8 and most likely representative to St. Paul, and they won this tournament it would be almost impossible for them not to have the top seed at State. For either Marshall or Hermantown a win would make a statement as well. But they appear destined to meet in the sections and this tournament will mean less to them. All said, no disrespect to the Wisconsin teams, I hope to see the top MN teams play each other. I wish I had the time to go to this tournament, it should have some outstanding hockey, but beware, there remains a good chance that it leaves as many questions as answers.

[HShockeywatcher]

Monday, Dec. 29
1. Superior (Wis.) vs. Mankato West, 1 p.m.
2. Delano vs. East Grand Forks, 3:15 p.m.
3. Duluth Marshall vs. Edgewood (Wis.), 5:45 p.m.
4. Hermantown vs. Notre Dame Academy (Wis.), 8 p.m.

Problem is that it may not help at all. It is possible that they not play each other at all.

You are correct. The ideal situation would be that Superior, EGF, DM and Hermantown win their first round games so there is a Marshall/Hermantown game and East Grand Forks is guaranteed to play one of the other two. However, it is very possible that won't happen. It is also very interesting how 4 of the 5 presumably best teams in this tournament are on one side of the bracket.

That being said, it is impossible that we wouldn't come out of the tournament with head to head games OR common opponents for comparison. At this point, none of Marshall, Hermantown, East Grand Forks, Mahtomedi or Alexandria have lost to any Class A teams and the only common opponents they have are similar quality wins.

[frozenponds]

So KCC cracks the top 20. I have different thoughts after the loss to Fort which looks worse when Red Lake Falls recently tied the Fort. KCC did handle RLF nicely though. The Crookston game tonight will be good. Crookston doesn't have the best record but if that first line is rolling and the goalie is on, could be a 3-4 goal win for Crookston. Crookston has the tougher scheduler of the "lessers" among the battle of the 4-7 spot for Section 8, could be a factor come playoff time.

[HShockeywatcher]

Has anyone seen Detroit Lakes? They have gone to OT with Fergus Falls twice, lost in Warroad by 1 and 3 of their remaining 5 games were shut outs with 1 GA against in the other 2. Despite this, they have zero votes from LPH rankings, making them not one of the 28 teams mentioned.

So KCC cracks the top 20. I have different thoughts after the loss to Fort which looks worse when Red Lake Falls recently tied the Fort. KCC did handle RLF nicely though. The Crookston game tonight will be good. Crookston doesn't have the best record but if that first line is rolling and the goalie is on, could be a 3-4 goal win for Crookston. Crookston has the tougher scheduler of the "lessers" among the battle of the 4-7 spot for Section 8, could be a factor come playoff time.

The Fort Frances game was the first of the season and they later beat Red Lake Falls. It could have been a bad first game, I don't know.
Someone mentioned them last week and after they continue to handle their lesser opponents, it's hard to not at least mention them. It looks like they'll be battling Detroit Lakes for the 4 seed in the section.

[12thgraders]

Has anyone seen Detroit Lakes? They have gone to OT with Fergus Falls twice, lost in Warroad by 1 and 3 of their remaining 5 games were shut outs with 1 GA against in the other 2. Despite this, they have zero votes from LPH rankings, making them not one of the 28 teams mentioned.

Outside of the two games vs Fergus Falls, and that close loss to Warroad, who has DL played that they should get some love? Yes, they did have three home shutouts in a row, Northern Lakes, Prairie Center, and Park Rapids, not murderers row. Let's see how they do next week at the TRF tourney, they get Fort Francis, Alex and TRF, they play those games close, or even steal one against 8A foe TRF and then the Lakers should be in the conversation. Having played so close to Warroad, a good game against TRF could say more about Warroad and TRF than DL. Then there is that Warroad win against Grand Rapids...? Until DL can schedule and even play close to EGF, Warroad, and TRF on a consistent basis and win a game here and there, they are close to the bottom of the section than the top.

So KCC cracks the top 20. I have different thoughts after the loss to Fort which looks worse when Red Lake Falls recently tied the Fort. KCC did handle RLF nicely though. The Crookston game tonight will be good. Crookston doesn't have the best record but if that first line is rolling and the goalie is on, could be a 3-4 goal win for Crookston. Crookston has the tougher scheduler of the "lessers" among the battle of the 4-7 spot for Section 8, could be a factor come playoff time.

The Fort Frances game was the first of the season and they later beat Red Lake Falls. It could have been a bad first game, I don't know.
Someone mentioned them last week and after they continue to handle their lesser opponents, it's hard to not at least mention them. It looks like they'll be battling Detroit Lakes for the 4 seed in the section.

KCC got started late, their 9 man football team went fairly deep into the state playoffs and if you compare the football roster to the hockey roster, pretty much the same kids. Tomorrow night in Crookston and then the next night in Park Rapids will be a huge opportunity for KCC to make their Section 8A statement. Until KCC plays DL late in January, KCC could make their claim to #4 in the section. The common opponent so far is Warroad who beat DL 3-2 and KCC 3-1. With wins in their next two, the next poll KCC can boost it's cause and the one after that DL will present the TRF tournament as their evidence of contender or pretender.

No Midstate or Northwest conference team can hang with a Mariucci conference team that isn't named Crookston.

[hockey9011]

KCC loses to Crookston 6-3.

[12thgraders]

KCC loses to Crookston 6-3.

Yup. Saw that. Crookston stakes it's claim for #4 in the section and will settle with DL on 13 Jan in Crookston. Crookston sees a much tougher schedule than KCC or DL. Common opponent so far is Warroad, Crookston lost 4-1 in Crookston. The Pirates are a scrappy bunch that make life miserable for the Top 3 in 8A when they play. A bounce or two in their favor and they could steal one.

[HShockeywatcher]

6 Luverne
5 Totino-Grace

Jaxon Nelson with 4 goals, Chaz Smedsurd with 2 goals and a combined 11 points between the two of them.
Totino, on the other hand, only had 1 player score more than once.

[CherryPicker99]

6 Luverne
5 Totino-Grace

Chaz Smedsurd with 4 goals, Jaxon Nelson with 2 goals and a combined 11 points between the two of them.
Totino, on the other hand, only had 1 player score more than once.

You have those players backwards. Nelson had 4 goals and Smedsrud had 2. Fun game to watch!

[frozenponds]

Park Rapids 4
KCC 3

Looks like KCC had trouble keeping wrap on Brand. Nice player, fun to watch.

[pekyman]

Big win for your team 4-2 over Wayzata HSHW! Congrats!

[12thgraders]

Park Rapids 4
KCC 3

Looks like KCC had trouble keeping wrap on Brand. Nice player, fun to watch.

Uffda! KCC is digging a deep hole for the second half to keep a #4-#5 section seeding.

[HShockeywatcher]

11 SPA
0 Chisago Lakes

7 CDH
1 Blake
Looks like CDH would be around 6 or 7 if they were a Class A team.

3 DM
2 BSM
Marshall picks up another win against a quality opponent.

6 Spring Lake Park
1 Princeton
The Panthers are definitely the front runner in 5A. How should they be ranked against the rest of the state?

4 Cathedral
1 Denfeld
Quality win for Cathedral.

3 Mahtomedi
2 Roseville
All of Duluth Marshall, Hermantown and Mahtomedi have beaten Roseville in OT now.

Park Rapids 4
KCC 3

Looks like KCC had trouble keeping wrap on Brand. Nice player, fun to watch.

Looks like I might have jinxed them