LPH Rankings-AA

[boblee]

Good to see GRG pop into the top 15.

[hockeyrube7]

Cloquet took a bit of a hit lately.

[ghshockeyfan]

2/1/07

Girls hockey

Minnesota AP Polls

By Let’s Play Hockey

CLASS AA

1. Eden Prairie (7)

2. Edina

3. Roseville

4. Benilde-St. Margaret’s

5. Holy Angels

6. Bemidji

7. Centennial

8. Wayzata

9. Stillwater

10. Coon Rapids

11. Eagan

12. Blaine

13. Grand Rapids-Greenway

14. Cloquet-Esko-Carlton

15. Irondale

[ghshockeyfan]

HOCKEY • GIRLS

ASSOCIATED PRESS POLLS

• Provided by Let's Play Hockey newspaper. First-place votes are in parentheses.

• Class 2A: 1. Eden Prairie (7), 2. Edina, 3. Benilde-St. Margaret's, 4. Holy Angels, 5. Roseville, 6. Wayzata, 7. Bemidji, 8. Centennial, 9. Stillwater, 10. Coon Rapids, 11. Grand Rapids/Greenway, 12. Eagan, 13. Cloquet/Esko/Carlton, 14. Blaine, 15. Hopkins.

[hotdog]

Interesting to see section 6 AA now has the 1, 2, and 3 teams in state. Section 6 sounds like the real state tourney! Much like the NFL Super Bowl was played 2 or 3 weeks before the big event!

It used to be section 2AA was stacked like this and then for 1 year is was 3AA... probably never this bad... but stacked nonetheless..

[MNHockeyFan]

Interesting to see section 6 AA now has the 1, 2, and 3 teams in state. Section 6 sounds like the real state tourney! Much like the NFL Super Bowl was played 2 or 3 weeks before the big event!

It used to be section 2AA was stacked like this and then for 1 year is was 3AA... probably never this bad... but stacked nonetheless..

And if they alligned the sections just on the basis of geography, Holy Angels would also be in Section 6AA as they are right next door to Edina and very close to BSM - certainly a lot closer than Prior Lake. If Blake were class AA they would probably be in there as well if they were grouped just based on location.

[xk1]

AHA is even closer to Bloomington, BV, Eagan, Mpls and the part of St Paul that CDH is in.

[ghshockeyfan]

HOCKEY • GIRLS

ASSOCIATED PRESS POLLS

• Provided by Let's Play Hockey newspaper. First-place votes are in parentheses.

• Class 2A: 1. Eden Prairie (7), 2. Edina, 3. Benilde-St. Margaret's, 4. Holy Angels, 5. Roseville, 6. Centennial, 7. Bemidji, 8. Stillwater, 9. Coon Rapids, 10. Wayzata, 11. Grand Rapids/Greenway, 12. Cloquet/Esko/Carlton, 13. Burnsville, 14. Eagan, 15. Irondale.

[MNHockeyFan]

HOCKEY • GIRLS

ASSOCIATED PRESS POLLS

• Provided by Let's Play Hockey newspaper. First-place votes are in parentheses.

• Class 2A: 1. Eden Prairie (7), 2. Edina, 3. Benilde-St. Margaret's, 4. Holy Angels, 5. Roseville, 6. Centennial, 7. Bemidji, 8. Stillwater, 9. Coon Rapids, 10. Wayzata, 11. Grand Rapids/Greenway, 12. Cloquet/Esko/Carlton, 13. Burnsville, 14. Eagan, 15. Irondale.

It will be very interesting to see the rankings next week, with Nos. 1,2 and 4 all getting beat tonight. EP had not lost for soooo.... long - do they still deserve the No. 1 ranking? Meanwhile, Edina has lost two games recently to Wayzata and now BSM - they will surely move down, but how far? The biggest move will be "up" for Wayzata, especially if they should beat BSM Saturday night.

[ghshockeyfan]

I don't beleive that these changed from 2-15 to 2-22 although I could be wrong... I assume the final will be this week???

[MNHockeyFan]

I don't beleive that these changed from 2-15 to 2-22 although I could be wrong... I assume the final will be this week???

In year's past, don't they usually give the final No. 1 ranking to the State Champion? That would be Stillwater, if that's the case.

[hockeywild7]

Stillwater has to be #1 they won the state title

[MNHockeyFan]

Stillwater has to be #1 they won the state title

I would think so too, but that would require a jump from No. 8 to No. 1. We'll see.

[BCGHockey]

They may give the #1 ranking to Stillwater, but there is no way they are the #1 team. So are you going to give the NM team the #2 ranking because they lost the Championship. Three of the top 5 teams still are section 6AA. I do not like to admit it, but I still think EP is the best team in the state.

[defensedad]

They may give the #1 ranking to Stillwater, but there is no way they are the #1 team. So are you going to give the NM team the #2 ranking because they lost the Championship. Three of the top 5 teams still are section 6AA. I do not like to admit it, but I still think EP is the best team in the state.

Sorry to say but, EP did not even make it out of Section Semi's. How could they be no.1?

[hockeyfan#4]

They may give the #1 ranking to Stillwater, but there is no way they are the #1 team. So are you going to give the NM team the #2 ranking because they lost the Championship. Three of the top 5 teams still are section 6AA. I do not like to admit it, but I still think EP is the best team in the state.

Sorry to say but, EP did not even make it out of Section Semi's. How could they be no.1?

I agree defensedad!!!
What do you think the Top 10 should be?

My Top 10 Ranking
1 Stillwater
2 Benilde St. Margaret's
3 Roseville
4 Burnsville
5 North Metro
6 Wayzata
7 Rochester Mayo
8 Edina
9 Bemidji
10 Eden Praire

[MNHockeyFan]

They may give the #1 ranking to Stillwater, but there is no way they are the #1 team. So are you going to give the NM team the #2 ranking because they lost the Championship. Three of the top 5 teams still are section 6AA. I do not like to admit it, but I still think EP is the best team in the state.

Sorry to say but, EP did not even make it out of Section Semi's. How could they be no.1?

I agree defensedad!!!
What do you think the Top 10 should be?

My Top 10 Ranking
1 Stillwater
2 Benilde St. Margaret's
3 Roseville
4 Burnsville
5 North Metro
6 Wayzata
7 Rochester Mayo
8 Edina
9 Bemidji
10 Eden Praire

This a tough one, but I would guess:

1. Stillwater
2. North Metro
3. Benilde St. Margaret's
4. Eden Prairie
5. Edina
6. Burnsville
7. Roseville
8. Bemidji
9. Wayzata
10. Holy Angels

[hockeywild7]

I understand what your saying BCGHockey, but your going by a Krach system which isnt perfect. You can say what you want about EP, because head to head they did beat stillwater in OT. But, at the end of the season when it counts Stillwater got it done and EP didnt, so you have to give Stillwater the #1 as they earned it.

[gopher25]

Stillwater was the best team in the state when it counted. They had an awesome record the 2nd half of the season with only one loss to cretin. They beat the #3 team in the state(Roseville) twice. They handled Centennial in the section final. They also beat Holy Angels 4-1.

I don't know why they did not get a lot of respect. In my opinion it was a great story.They have great coaching. They played as a team, they had a goal to win and they went out and got it against some odds. When I was watching the game on TV Saturday night a lot of the commentary was about North Metro and how much of a story it was that they were there. They even had EP on TV when they didn't even make the tournament.

I was impressed with the talent BSM but they played as a bunch of individuals in the Semi-Final, which led to their demise. Stillwater was the best TEAM at the end of the year. There shouldn't even be a discussion about it.

Lastly I think it is kind of sad we keep bringing up how strong section 6AA was. This happens all of the time in minnesota sports. Look at Section 3AA in boys hockey (hill, Roseville, Wbl, Centennial, Stillwater) Every year Hill and White Bear are in the same section. I don't hear them whinning about only one of them going to state. This is the first year Edina has been really strong in hockey in a while. EP has only come on really strong in the past two years. BSM is a private school that can recruit players. Strong sections are going to happen and the best team that week will come out of it. Which happened to be BSM this year.
If we want the best 8 teams in the state tournament, why even have a section tournament? Why not just have a poll at the end of the regular season and rank the top 8? The fun of the hockey tournament is that upsets happen and the road to a state championship is a long one and somtimes you need some lucky breaks to win it.

[MNHockeyFan]

Lastly I think it is kind of sad we keep bringing up how strong section 6AA was. This happens all of the time in minnesota sports. Look at Section 3AA in boys hockey (hill, Roseville, Wbl, Centennial, Stillwater) Every year Hill and White Bear are in the same section. I don't hear them whinning about only one of them going to state.

In boys' Section 3AA only Roseville (No. 4) and Centennial (No. 9) are ranked in the Top 10. Hill-Murray is No. 12, and WBL is No. 15 (Stillwater is not even ranked). This is a far cry from three teams from the same section being ranked 1,2 and 3, as girls' Section 6AA was going into their state tournament. Here you had 3 Section 6AA girls teams teams all ranked higher than the top-ranked team in boys' Section 3AA. Plus Wayzata was in the Top 10 too. So this is not an even comparison at all!

This is the first year Edina has been really strong in hockey in a while. EP has only come on really strong in the past two years. BSM is a private school that can recruit players. Strong sections are going to happen and the best team that week will come out of it. Which happened to be BSM this year.

I would take exception to what you say about Edina - they were very strong last year as well but got overshadowed by EP. Benilde and Wayzata were very strong last year also, and Hopkins finished No. 13. In the final QRF rankings, Section 6AA went 1,3,4, 7 and 13 (EP, Wayzata, BSM, Edina and Hopkins) - 4 teams in the Top 10 with 3 in the Top 4, same as this year. Pretty dominating I would say. Section 3AA for boys' has always been pretty strong, but they've never been THIS strong, nor has any section in boys' hockey for as long as I can remember.

No matter what the naysayers say, I hope the upcoming realignment does something to even things out a bit. And yes, I can understand why those not now in Section 6AA would prefer things to remain the same - EVERYBODY wants to have the best chance possible to get to the state tournament, and NOBODY would want any of these teams added to THEIR section!

[SEMetro]

Man, I thought when 6AA flamed out this talk would end.

[MNHockeyFan]

Man, I thought when 6AA flamed out this talk would end.

Once the sections are realigned, this 6AA talk WILL end...we'll see what they do.

[allhoc11]

Hopkins finished No. 13. In the final QRF rankings

QRF are even less reliable than PP rankings. Hopkins was a good young team, and should be better next year, but not the 13th best team in the state this past year.

Keep in mind they don't look at individual sports and try to break up powers, they align soley on geographics. Based on where the schools you speak about are located I don't see any of those top teams moving out. Depending on where they start their grid, and plot teams into sections you could just as likely see them moving a team like AHA to 6AA, before they moved any of the west metro teams out. I don't think that is likely, but anything is possible.

[UWhockey88]

[quote="gopher25"]

I don't know why they did not get a lot of respect. In my opinion it was a great story.They have great coaching. They played as a team, they had a goal to win and they went out and got it against some odds.

You do have to remember that the number #1, 2, 4, 6 and 9 rated teams were eliminated the week b/f the State Tournament. That is a big upset in the "Girls Hockey World" which could have something to do with Stillwater feeling the lack of respect. Most of those teams and fans that were eliminated thought that they should of been there instead of some teams that were-based upon who they beat during the season. But, that's why it's called a game! Congratulations to Stillwater for winning the State Tournament!

[keepitreal]

BSM is a private school that can recruit players.

Really? Is that what people think? Hockey-driven parents might make the decision to move to a school like BSM for the hockey program, others might find it to be a better-than-average educational environment with a strong hockey commitment that might provide a better chance for a kid to get noticed by a college coach. Isn't that really what happens? Is that why a public school on a roll like Eden Prairie ended up with six open enrolled star players? Or are you saying that private schools "recruit" and puclic schools don't? Maybe you'd like to talk about Hopkins Boys Basketball. Please...

For once I wish people would stop fostering the notion that private schools are somehow free to recruit players. This is false and damaging bias. If anything it has been much easier to "recruit" players in the public schools where players have been allowed to move freely via OE without the tuition costs and standards applied to private school applicants.

Finally, I have seen only rare suggestions that any school or coaching staff are "recruiting". This is against MSHSL rules, and coaches, for the most part, know better. All the "recruiting" I have seen takes place among students, and vastly more likely among hockey-nutty parents, who take it upon themseleves to try and improve the chances of their kid's team--especially in a very competitive section like 6AA for instance. To be sure, skilled players are being sought out and "encouraged" by boosters, parents and other players to "join" a particular team and school. To suggest schools and/or coaches are largely behind this is an ugly misconception. And laying it at the feet of private schools is far from honest. I have far more faith in the integrity of the coaches and schools.