AA Rankings for 12/14/25

[karl(east)]

The top three, at least, are pretty clear right now. After that? Good luck.

1. Moorhead (7-0)
-Obliterated Alexandria and Grant Rapids to keep the beat going. They’ve got 47 goals in 7 games, a ridiculous pace against reasonably good competition. They’ve got Andover on Friday, which is of course a decent team, but the real intrigue will be on Saturday, which is probably the juiciest game of the regular season: the Spuds’ elite offense versus the very stingy Skippers.
This week: Fri vs. Andover, Sat vs. #2 Minnetonka

2. Minnetonka (7-0-2)
-The Skippers handled Prior Lake without much trouble before Wayzata pushed them to the brink in an overtime, very Lake Conference-y clash. There’s a lot to like about how they’re playing, especially down a few players; they’ve allowed just eight goals in nine games. That defense gets the ultimate test on Saturday, and the Skippers get a chance to prove they’ve arrived.
This week: Thurs vs. Chanhassen, Sat at #1 Moorhead

3. St. Thomas Academy (7-1)
-A stomping of Hill-Murray proves the Cadets clearly belong in our mid-December top three, in a class with Moorhead and Minnetonka ahead of everyone else. They’ve got two more quality opponents this week, but based on recent results, they should be able to keep beating this drum.
This week: Tues vs. Mahtomedi, Sat at #12 Maple Grove

4. Edina (3-2)
-The Hornets enjoyed a week off and slide up as a result of attrition with everyone else. They head into their annual holiday tournament as the clear favorite in the field, but all three other teams are interesting for one reason or another.
This week: Edina Holiday Classic—Thurs vs. Grand Rapids, Fri vs. Elk River, Sat vs. #13 Eden Prairie

5. Hill Murray (3-1-2)
-A lopsided loss to St. Thomas drops the Pioneers a spot, but with no one else really emerging, they hang on to a top five placement that I don’t feel great about at all. Up this week: the annual war with archrival White Bear, which is hard to predict right now given the Bears’ variability in the early going.
This week: Thurs at Hastings, Sat at White Bear Lake

6. Stillwater (7-1)
-This was not on my preseason prediction list, but after a quality win over Blaine, the Ponies are riding high, taking care of business and putting some heat on Hill in 4AA. They’ve got another shot at a quality win when they visit Shakopee on Saturday.
This week: Thurs vs. Mounds View, Sat at #9 Shakopee

7. Rogers (5-4)
-This is a “trust the eyes, not the record” ranking. The Royals got a quality win over Maple Grove and seem to be hitting their stride, going 4-1 in their past four (including three wins over ranked teams), with the lone loss coming by one goal to Hill. By the standards of their schedule the week ahead is an easier one, though Rock Ridge has enough talent to cause some trouble.
This week: Thurs vs. Champlin Park, Sat at Rock Ridge

8. Holy Angels (5-1)
-Not much to report after the Stars blasted past Dodge County and Breck. They spend the coming week in St. Louis Park, and the Benilde game kicks off one of their tougher stretches of games this season.
This week: Tues at St. Louis Park, Fri at Benilde-St. Margaret’s

9. Shakopee (6-2)
-The Sabers had a little of everything in their past week: a troubling loss to Eden Prairie, a convincing performance against Lakeville South, and a narrow escape against Holy Family. In short: I’m not sure what to make of this group right now, but they have enough quality wins that we can be somewhat forgiving. The Stillwater game this week will help tell us what direction they’re moving.
This week: Thurs vs. Eastview, Sat vs. #6 Stillwater

10. Rosemount (7-3)
-The Irish were building in the right direction with solid wins over Lakeville South and Grand Rapids, but crumbled a bit against Hermantown; none of their losses are bad, though, and they’re starting to flash some potential. Just one game this coming week.
This week: Thurs vs. Prior Lake

11. Cretin-Derham Hall (5-2)
-The Raiders won both of their games this past week but did not inspire much confidence, as they beat East Ridge by one and needed overtime to get past Woodbury. At this point, their resume is just thinner than the South Suburban teams I put ahead of them. Just one game this week before we start getting into some legitimate AA tests for this group.
This week: Thurs vs. Forest Lake

12. Maple Grove (5-2)
-The Crimson fell to Rogers, handing them a second loss after a spate of quality wins early. They’re clearly respectable, but could use another quality result in the near future. The tough schedule just keeps rolling with games against Hermantown and St. Thomas this coming week.
This week: Fri vs. Hermantown, Sat vs. #3 St. Thomas Academy

13. Eden Prairie (3-2-1)
-The Eagles are a tough case right now, as they’ve beaten Maple Grove and Shakopee but lost to Chanhassen and tied Prior Lake. This ranking splits the difference, but what we do know is that their young top line is for real, and they can cause some problems. The Edina Holiday Classic will be a chance to showcase their talents, with the Elk Rive game being an interesting one for ranking purposes.
This week: Edina Holiday Classic—Thurs vs. Elk River, Fri vs. Grand Rapids, Sat vs. #4 Edina

14. Blaine (5-1-1)
-The Bengals took their first loss of the season against Stillwater, which is hardly a bad result, and I’m not awed by anyone else in this zone at the moment. Chanhassen is an interesting game this week, and they’ve got East Ridge outdoors on Saturday, too.
This week: Tues vs. Chanhassen, Thurs at Robbinsdale Armstrong/Cooper, Sat vs. East Ridge (in Hastings)

15. Wayzata (3-4-1)
-The Trojans are being true to their nature, hanging in there and giving good teams some very tough games, but they have yet to secure that confidence-inspiring win, and tying Benilde opens the door to some seeding adventures in 6AA. They get a limping White Bear squad this week.
This week: Thurs vs. White Bear Lake

The Next Ten

15. Benilde-St. Margaret’s (2-1-1)
-A tie with Wayzata is a good result for the Red Knights, who have otherwise held to form so far. If they can do something against Holy Angels this week, they should grab a top 15 spot.

Elk River (3-0)
-The Elks are officially in the intriguing team category after an 8-3 win over Andover. Their visit to
Edina this week will tell us a lot more.

Chanhassen (2-2-1)
-By record alone there is a case to put this team in the top 15. I’m not quite there yet myself, but I get the argument. Blaine and Minnetonka this week should settle that argument.

White Bear Lake (3-2-1)
-The early win over Rogers and tie against Minnetonka are beginning to look like distant memories after the Bears lost to Roseville. Games with Wayzata and Hill this week will give us a sense of who the real Bears are.

Duluth Marshall (7-0-1)
-Is the schedule weak as can be? Sure is. Are they undefeated, and did they just tie Hermantown, a two-class top ten team? Indeed they did. Did they also just go to overtime with Rochester Lourdes? Yup. The Hilltoppers have some talent, but will remain a relative mystery compared to the AA field all season. Brainerd is their lone opponent this coming week.

Andover (1-4-2)
-The Huskies got a decent win over Rock Ridge but got thumped by Elk River. They need to get healthy, but they also need to win some games. Centennial provides an important section test this week, and they’ve got the Moorhead experience coming up on Friday, too.

Rock Ridge (3-4)
-Fell to Andover, which isn’t a bad result, but keeps them puttering along in the 20s. They’ve got two Wisconsin teams this week before a Saturday battle with Rogers.

Lakeville South (1-4)
-The Cougars’ record is ugly, but all the losses are to top ten teams. They’ve got a big section week ahead of them as they face rival North and New Prague.

Prior Lake (3-1-2)
-Couldn’t do much against Minnetonka, but they’re hardly alone in that; the tie against Farmington isn’t terrible either, seeing as the Tigers are undefeated. We’ll see what they can make of Rosemount this coming week.

Farmington (5-0-1)
-Let’s give some love to the undefeated Tigers, who tied Prior Lake this past week and have a good section win over Lakeville North to their name, too. With Rochester Century/John Marshall and Apple Valley/Burnsville up this week, they have a real shot of keeping it going.

And now, the first of the bi-weekly check-ins on each section, which will run starting now through the end of the season:

1AA
23 Lakeville South
25 Farmington
New Prague
Lakeville North
-Farmington is team making an early move here, pulling off a win over Lakeville North to climb into the conversation. New Prague also tied North, which threatens to leave the Panthers with a lower seed than usual. The one-win Cougars are still the favorites until someone does something against them, which both North and New Prague have a chance to do this coming week.

2AAA
2 Minnetonka
9 Shakopee
13 Eden Prairie
18 Chanhassen
24 Prior Lake
-The Skippers are the clear frontrunner right now, and after that, it’s a pile-up of four teams that are all 1-1, 1-1-1, or 0-0-1 against each other. I’m punting and going in ranking order for now, with some hope that it will sort itself out over time. Holy Family lurks as a pretty tough 6-seed (or higher, if they get on a roll), too. There aren’t any section games of note over the next two weeks.

3AA
3 St. Thomas Academy
10 Rosemount
11 Cretin-Derham Hall
Eagan
-It’s all very speculative with no notable games played yet, but the Cadets are looking like the favorite in this one, with Rosemount and Cretin currently jockeying for the next position. There’s a very large gap after that, and I’m giving Eagan the temporary 4-seed position after a win over Eastview and a couple of other decent results. The annual St. Thomas-Cretin battle is on December 27.

4AA
5 Hill-Murray
6 Stillwater
19 White Bear Lake
Gentry Academy
-No games of note within the section yet here either, so Hill and Stillwater float to the top on the basis of their ranking. White Bear’s loss to Roseville could cause them some seeding trouble, though with the Raiders losing to the two Woodbury schools already, it’s not too disruptive yet. Gentry lurks as a respectable team, too.

5AA
12 Maple Grove
14 Blaine
21 Andover
Centennial
-This one is straightforward enough for the time being: Maple Grove got an important early win over Andover, while Blaine and Andover have tied, and Blaine’s body of work is stronger than Andover’s for now. Centennial and Totino both have claims to the 4-seed right now, but I’ve gone with the Cougars since they have a nice win over White Bear. The Andover-Centennial game this coming week will be the next piece of the puzzle.

6AA
4 Edina
7 Rogers
8 Holy Angels
15 Wayzata
16 Benilde-St. Margaret’s
-Edina has an early win over Benilde, while Rogers has one over Wayzata; since Wayzata and Benilde tied, we can safely put the Hornets and Royals ahead of the Trojans and Red Knights for now. Holy Angels yet to play any section games, but that changes this week when they visit Benilde. There’s a long way to go in this one.

7AA
20 Duluth Marshall
22 Rock Ridge
Duluth East
Grand Rapids
-Not much to write home about here so far. Marshall’s tie with Hermantown is the best single result for anyone in the section, so that plus their zero in the loss column has the Hilltoppers in the mid-December top slot. East and Grand Rapids skated to a tie and both have just two wins; I’m giving East the slight nudge for now since the Hounds have been somewhat more competitive in losses to good teams. Forest Lake is also around, having put together a good record against weak competition, and plays Rapids on December 27.

8AA
1 Moorhead
17 Elk River
St. Cloud
Bemidji
-Number one is as easy as it gets, and the Elks are at least looking interesting as a 2-seed. After that, it gets weird. STMA has that Rogers win, but the only other team they’ve been able to beat is Hopkins; I like Bemidji, but they lost 4-0 to St. Cloud in their opener. St. Cloud has been alright, so I’ll go with them as the 3-seed ahead of Bemidji for now, but there’s a long, long way to go here.

[SEC Scotty]

Thanks Karl!

[East Side Pioneer Guy]

After that disaster at Gene Aldrich Arena yesterday, I'd say Hill is putting pressure on Hill more so than Stillwater is. I had to apologize to my grandson for taking him to see that game. After both intermissions STA was ready to get on the ice well before the appointed time. And why not? They were like, "I like another serving of that!" I think they'd have been fine foregoing the intermission and just keep playing. They had a full stride on Hill the entire game, no zip at all. Hopefully this is due to the underclass heavy lineup.

[SpreadOut!]

Karl, as always, does great work. My only beef with the rankings this week is Edina’s very high ranking seems based on what could be versus what has been so far this season. Also, Cretin and Holy Angels definitely deserve to be ranked, but Cretin has looked shaky against inferior teams and, versus the only quality opponent they’ve played so far this year—STA—Holy Angels did nothing. They may look good on paper and certainly will mop up on weak teams, but Holy Angels may be a nothingburger this year in games that matter.

[SpreadOut!]

Also, as I’ve complained in previous posts, 7AA is hot garbage this year. 1AA and 7AA are the jokes of the state. Think how much better 1AA would be this year if Rosemount was in it and Lakeville South didn’t get a free pass to state every year. In 7AA, until Hermantown mans up and finally moves up (which I’m told they likely never will), the section will be weak.

[SEC Scotty]

After that disaster at Gene Aldrich Arena yesterday, I'd say Hill is putting pressure on Hill more so than Stillwater is. I had to apologize to my grandson for taking him to see that game. After both intermissions STA was ready to get on the ice well before the appointed time. And why not? They were like, "I like another serving of that!" I think they'd have been fine foregoing the intermission and just keep playing. They had a full stride on Hill the entire game, no zip at all. Hopefully this is due to the underclass heavy lineup.

I think with the underclass heavy lineup (especially on D) this probably should be expected. This is probably be the closet thing to down year that you will get at Hill Murray with the way they reload every year.
Nice new scoreboards with penalty times on both ends and shots on the east end. Finally. City pay for those?

[north_bear]

Also, as I’ve complained in previous posts, 7AA is hot garbage this year. 1AA and 7AA are the jokes of the state. Think how much better 1AA would be this year if Rosemount was in it and Lakeville South didn’t get a free pass to state every year. In 7AA, until Hermantown mans up and finally moves up (which I’m told they likely never will), the section will be weak.

Keep crying about it