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Updated rankings.....not all based on games played/scores, but also upside, gut feeling, favoritism, etc....

1) Mayo - one of the best goalies in the section, perhaps the best/deepest group of forwards....D still struggle, but are playing better, not always intense enough

2) Lakeville South - nice win over North; nice tie vs. Jefferson; goalie can be unreal; forwards are underrated;

3) Lakeville North - great win over EP; perhaps the most Jekyl and Hyde team in the section; good goaltending, but not as much in the skill area

4) Owatonna - by record they should be #1, but to have two 7-0 losses to class A teams is shocking - one of them not even a top class A team; they work hard, have good goaltending (but not very consistent); lack depth

5) Century - Younger team this year; not much scoring; a goalie who has been there before; will improve as the year goes on

6) Farmington - Decent team; some nice forwards who are quick and can move the puck well; goaltending could be an issue

7) Winona - Soph. goalie gives them a chance; one line that can really play; little chance of winning the section, but could pull an upset

JM - total guess until they play Dodge County; the Rockets are weak and they won't contend for much of anything

9) Dodge County - lost everything from a below average team; among the worst AA teams in the state until further notice.

1st. Orono is a Top class A team and they spanked owatonna. Their record may not show it but look who they have played.
Warroad
Eastview
Wayzata
Champlin
Blake
Breck

2nd. Orono's schedule is a lot tougher than Owatonna, but 1AA is down this year and I beleive they can make a run for this section.

According to PS2, Orono is currently 26th among class A teams, hardly top-notch.....and certainly not as highly ranked as Mankato West.

Mayo just pumped Hibbing, which is rated 11th among class A teams on PS2.

i am new to this forumn and dont really know how it works, but i do watch alot of hockey in southern minnesota and the teams that in no particular order that i think will contend

mayo- they have a strong group of players that can score from anywhere but sometimes i question the young goaltending although they should improve as the season goes on and with a impressive win against hibbing i made the trip up there and if they play like that they can beat anyone

owatonna-these are the two teams that i believe have the best shot although owatonna lost to a couple single a teams in blowouts they also beat blake who beat orono and albert lea who is a good team not to mention mayo, owatonnas first line usually decides how good they fare in games

the lakeville schools are also always tough and will bring a tough game to anyone havent been able to watch them too much this year yet though

mayo did just lose to virginia 3-0

GOOOO WINHAWKS!!!!!

Owatonna beat Mayo, maybe a point you missed in your rankings. Owatonna did get blown out twice, but they also have played a better schedule than Mayo has to this point and have better wins than Mayo does to this point. Mayo has it all in front of them; Albert Lea, West, Lakeville North, Duluth East, and a conference game against Century in the next 3 weeks. So far they've beat up on a schedule that would make Glenn Mason envious. They are also 0-1 against the top half of the Big Nine. They get their shot at these teams coming up the rest of this month and they may very well be ahead of the pack then but there's no way you could logically put them in front of a team they lost to.

The thing that could separate Mayo come tournament time is depth. I've only seen them play once, but from watching that game and reading about them, it sounds like they have one very good line, a second pretty good line and a third line that coach Grosso seems to have confidence in. From what I hear, Thauwald got moved around again last weekend and they played him with Schultz and Truex. Mabye SEMinnHockeyNut can confirm that.

Owatonna's Schedule:
Date Opponent Time/Result
Dec. 4 Faribault W, 6-3
Dec. 6 at Albert Lea W, 3-2
Dec. 8 at Rochester Mayo W, 2-1
Dec. 11 at Rochester Century W, 3-2
Dec. 15 at Rochester JM W, 6-0
Dec. 18 Mankato West L, 7-0
Dec. 22 Farmington W, 3-1
Dec. 27-29 Owatonna Tournament
Dec. 27 Dodge County W, 7-1
Dec. 28 Park-Cottage Grove W, 3-2
Dec. 29 Prior Lake W, 6-1
Jan. 3 at Orono L, 7-0
Jan. 5 Blake W, 7-4

Mayo's Schedule:
Date Opponent Time/Result
Nov. 24 at Roseville L, 7-4
Nov. 29 Mankato East W, 11-1
Dec. 4 at Rochester JM W, 7-2
Dec. 8 Owatonna L, 2-1
Dec. 11 at Winona W, 8-1
Dec. 15 Farmington W, 6-2
Dec. 18 at Austin W, 12-1
Dec. 21 Graffton W, 5-3
Dec. 27-29 at Kiwanis Tournament
Dec. 27 New Richmond W, 4-1
Dec. 28 Rochester Century W, 3-1
Dec. 29 Buffalo L, 6-5
Jan. 4 at Hibbing W, 6-1
Jan. 5 at Virginia L, 3-0

Yes Owatonna beat Mayo, when Mayo played like crap. If you look at the schedules, you can't say Owatonna has played a tougher schedule overall - a few games yes, but not overall. Look at the games in bold, and you can see that Mayo has been in all their games, with some nice wins. Now if Mayo gets beat 7-0 a few times, that will also change my opinion. However, I think the Spartans can roll 3 lines, get scoring from more people, and have more upside. If you look at what I said, I did not go just from scores.

Goldy is right, it is all in front of Mayo, starting Thursday in AL and Sat in Lakeville. I wish them the best of course and I still think they are the best team in the section.

Big game in this section tomorrow with Mayo @ Lakeville North. I think LN will play well like they did vs. Jefferson and win this game.

What will everyone think of the section if LN wins? If Mayo wins? Or will it all depend on how the actually game goes not just the score? I know that the score will be big because wins against each other in this section are big especially for the Lakeville schools cuz they only get two games against them.

Lakeville North beats Mayo 4-1 today and they outplayed them most of the game shots were somethinglike 29-21 LN

Nut, I think you jinxed your Spartans. Since your lofty predictions they've gone 0-2, gave up nearly 70 shots to Albert Lea and dropped a 4-1 decision to Lakeville North. They're now looking up at 3 teams instead of 1 and are really in the meat grinder with Century for the probable #4 seed and even if they gain that seed they'll probably have Century for a fourth time this season. Owatonna probably gained the most from this weeks happenings as Mayo and West both stumbled in the conference race. Mayo did catch a break when Leiverman was ejected for 4 games meaning the best player for West won't be on the ice when they host Mayo on the 26th.

So no more bold predictions is your cure for the Spartans illness? Maybe.
Sometimes adversity is what a team needs - you seem to think they lack character. That may be true, but I don't think they have had to face it much yet this year and certainly not in the last 5-6 years. The Spartans have not been section 'favorites' in a long time. However, they blew it Saturday and might need hlep.....but if they can beat Century, Owatonna, and Lakeville South, they would get at least a #2 or 3 seed, with a shot at #1 as well (depending on what South/North do the 2nd time around)...in other words, you can't pencil them in at #4 yet, but they could freefall to #5 as well.

What I want to know is, will the real section 1AA teams please stand up?
North vs EP or North that ties Century?
Mayo vs Hibbing, Grafton or Mayo vs. North and Owatonna?
South vs. North and Jefferson or South that barely beats Century?
Owatonna vs Mayo and Blake or Owatonna vs Orono?

So much can happen still...GO SPARTANS!