Happy New Year!
The battle of the top 2 happened and the top 2 spots are theirs to lose.
It still looks like there are a clear top 10 teams, but Mahtomedi might be falling and there are another 5-7 teams looking to make a push into the top 10. There are many games over the next couple weeks that should help sort things out.
It looks like I'm going to be sticking with the every other week pattern, so the next list will be in two weeks.
Who is worth mentioning that I'm missing out on?
1. [2] Hermantown (8-1-1)
The Hawks settled any debate there was left to be settled about who's #1. They outshot Delano by a lot and beat them. They also allowed 1 goal combined in their other 3 games over the last 2 weeks. Will Greenway or Cathedral give them any trouble this week?
2. [1] Delano/Rockford (8-1-1)
Going into the holiday tournament, the Tigers looked like they may be one of the top teams in the state and now there may be some good questions surrounding them. The defense seems inconsistent; they allowed 11 goals total to Cloquet and Roseville and allowed 3 to lesser teams earlier, but also only allowed 4 to a good Hermantown team who outshot them by almost a 3:1 margin. The firepower is there, though, as Hermantown has been the only team all year to keep Delano under 5 goals all year. With the exception of a couple good teams, the rest of their schedule is Wright County play.
3. [4] Breck (6-3-1)
The Mustangs lost to St Michael-Albertville by 2 goals a week and a half ago and then tied them after OT and win a shootout to win the Schwan's Cup Silver Division. They get the nod over SPA for this week playing more difficult opponents, but they play SPA this week so there will be no doubt in the next rankings.
4. [3] St. Paul Academy (7-1-0)
Games won by margins of 5, 6, and 7 goals over unranked teams don't really tell us much, but playing Lourdes and Breck this week will be a good test.
5. [5] St. Cloud Cathedral (9-1-2)
The 5 wins over the last 2 weeks was expected, although how close a couple of the games were wasn't expected. The Crusaders still have quite a good remaining schedule. Can they give Hermantown a good test this week?
6. [9] East Grand Forks (6-1-1)
While everyone else was playing in holiday tournaments, the Green Wave had a week off from games. There are only a few of their remaining games against top teams, but their lack of multiple losses and the beginning of their season is a good sign. It looks as though no one is going to challenge them for representing 8A at state.
7. [10] Alexandria (5-3-3)
The Cardinals hop ahead of Greenway and Hibbing because of 5-4 OT wins over both teams. Adding the shutout over Virginia, it's really hard to ask for much more out of a team playing 3 games in 3 days on the road in 3 different rinks.
8. [8] Greenway (9-2-1)
The Raiders avenged the previous loss to Hibbing, then went to OT with Alexandria, New Ulm and Rosemount going 1-1-1 in those games. Clearly able to play with almost anyone they get on the ice with, Greenway is quite inconsistent as 8 of their 12 games have been decided by 1 goal or less.
9. [7] Hibbing/Chisholm (7-4-0)
The Bluejackets are 1-3 in their last 4 games, but losses to Cloquet, Greenway and Alexandria aren't a huge deal. The next couple weeks they should pick up a few more wins.
10. [6] Mahtomedi (4-5-0)
The losses to Buffalo and Cretin don't look good, but they rebounded nicely shutting out Jefferson. The next two weeks have Totino, Hill, Blake and St Thomas.
11. [14] Minnehaha Academy (10-1-0)
The Redhawks have now beaten every team they've played this year. They previously were shutout by Chaska, but beat them by 2 to win the Schwan's Cup Open Division.
12. [12] Sartell (7-1-3)
The Sabres are 4-0-1 in their last 5 games. The Northfield tie is surprising but more with how Northfield is doing anything anything else. With 3 games this week and 2 next week, there will be a lot to learn about them; can they keep their 1 loss over the next 2 weeks?
13. [-] Northfield (6-3-2)
This seems like the perfect place for Northfield after they tied Sartell and beat Lourdes. Losing close games to St Cloud and Cathedral is also a good sign. They are the favorite to represent 1A at state.
14. [15] Princeton (6-1-1)
The Tigers got crushed by Chaska, but followed that up with a shutout then a tie with Mankato East, beating them in a shootout.
15. [-] St Paul Johnson (8-1-1)
The Governors lost their first game to Minneapolis then shut out 5 of their next 7 opponents and followed that up with wins over Eagan and Woodbury, winning the South St Paul tournament. They haven't had the greatest measuring sticks in Class A yet, but they do play Fergus Falls, SPA, Minnehaha Academy, Greenway and Virginia this season. It'd be naive to expect them to get by their loaded section, although they are one who does technically still control their own destiny for a good seed in sections.
Teams to watch
[13] Rochester Lourdes (5-6-0)
The Eagles played 3 teams from out of MN in Rochester so there isn't much to be learned. They have won/lost every other game this season, if that trend holds up they'll beat SPA this week...
Mankato East (7-3-1)
Losing to Northfield in OT and tying Princeton to "lose" in a shootout are the biggest Class A blemishes for the Cougars this season. Without another game with Northfield or a game with Lourdes this season, they are a top 3 seed if they win the rest of their section games but anything higher is out of their control.
Blake (7-3-0)
The Bears just won the Bronze Cup picking up wins over Holy Angels, Chanhassen and Minneapolis, so their best win is over TRF and they have a 1 goal loss to Orono. They play Mahtomedi and SPA over the next 2 weeks; can they win 1 or both of those games?
Sections
1A
1 Northfield (13)
2 Mankato East
3 Lourdes
2A
1 Delano (2)
2 Breck (3)
3 Orono
4 New Prague
5 Blake
3A
1 Luverne
2 Litchfield
4A
1 St Paul Academy (4)
2 Mahtomedi (10)
3 Minnehaha Academy (11)
4 St Paul Johnson (15)
5 Totino-Grace
5A
1 Princeton (14)
2 Monticello
3 North Branch
4 Pine City
6A
1 Cathedral (5)
2 Sartell (12)
3 Alexandria (7)
4 Fergus Falls
5 Little Falls
7A
1 Hermantown (1)
2 Greenway ( 8 )
3 Hibbing (9)
8A
East Grand Forks (6)
If all top seeds won...
1. Hermantown
2. Delano
3. SPA
4. Cathedral
5. EGF
Northfield
Luverne
Princeton
It is hard to imagine anything a 1A, 3A or 5A team could do to be ranked unfortunately.
Class A Rankings 1-1-17
Moderators: Mitch Hawker, east hockey, karl(east)
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Thegoldenjet
- Posts: 110
- Joined: Wed Jun 14, 2006 1:03 pm
I haven't seen enough of everything to say it confidently, but with what I do have to go off of I would be willing to make a case for Minnehaha in the top ten. They looked very good this weekend, open division.. yeah I know, but I watched them play and, I just sensed some intangible top ten aspect to their play, words here won't quite cover it and I haven't seen the teams they would displace play. Just sayin, I saw moxy, unanimous top ten, I donno, imho, yeah probably.
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HShockeywatcher
- Posts: 6848
- Joined: Thu Aug 31, 2006 10:21 pm
At least 3 for sure; it really depends how they beat Breck, or at least that's how things have always been for me in the past. That being said, it would need to be really convincing to hop the former #1 who lost to the former #2 (and was preseason #1) by 1 goal. SPA's schedule is not very forgiving. They beat Mahtomedi in OT, beat Cathedral by 2, play Breck twice and play in Coleraine toward the end of the season. I'm curious whether they'd be a top 2 seed at state if they won the rest of their games...goldy313 wrote:If SPA wins their games this week I would put them at #2, there is no shame in losing to Eau Claire Memorial, they are a good team year in and year out. They would be a top 5 A tesm in Minnesota.
In my eyes, on paper, Delano and Hermantown are quite close.
What if Orono beats Delano and Breck this week too???
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HShockeywatcher
- Posts: 6848
- Joined: Thu Aug 31, 2006 10:21 pm
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HShockeywatcher
- Posts: 6848
- Joined: Thu Aug 31, 2006 10:21 pm
Thoughts on St Paul Johnson? They have played a significant portion of their schedule against AA teams, with Minneapolis and South St Paul their top Class A opponents, both in their first 3 games of the season.
http://www.mnhockeyhub.com/schedule/tea ... son=317781
How bout Minnehaha Academy? They have wins against every team they've played, although their schedule hasn't been the toughest. Unless they win or keep it close, tonight's game with Breck won't help much.
http://www.mnhockeyhub.com/schedule/tea ... son=317781
Orono? Early losses to Luverne and Monticello, along with a win over Blake, and recent 1 and 2 goal losses to Delano and Breck with few notable games otherwise.
http://www.mnhockeyhub.com/schedule/tea ... son=317781
http://www.mnhockeyhub.com/schedule/tea ... son=317781
How bout Minnehaha Academy? They have wins against every team they've played, although their schedule hasn't been the toughest. Unless they win or keep it close, tonight's game with Breck won't help much.
http://www.mnhockeyhub.com/schedule/tea ... son=317781
Orono? Early losses to Luverne and Monticello, along with a win over Blake, and recent 1 and 2 goal losses to Delano and Breck with few notable games otherwise.
http://www.mnhockeyhub.com/schedule/tea ... son=317781
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HShockeywatcher
- Posts: 6848
- Joined: Thu Aug 31, 2006 10:21 pm
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HShockeywatcher
- Posts: 6848
- Joined: Thu Aug 31, 2006 10:21 pm