AA Rankings for 12/27/09
Posted: Sat Dec 26, 2009 10:13 pm
There weren’t many games this week, but I think it’ll be nice to have everything in order for the upcoming holiday tournaments. (I am also stuck in Chicago a day longer than expected due to bad weather and bored. Why not rank hockey teams in my free time?) This is the third straight week with the same three top 15 teams; I suspect we’ll see some upheaval over the next few days.
Rather than trying to write out the many possible games this week, I’ll just note which tournament each team is in, then offer a few comments on each tournament involving a ranked team at the end.
1. Minnetonka
-The Skippers stay the obvious #1 with a win over then-#3 Blaine this past week. Though they controlled the game, the end result shows they could be beaten if enough things go right for the opposition. A win in the Schwan Cup could cement them in the top spot for quite some time. They also have a game against a decent team on Saturday.
This week: Schwan Cup Gold, Sat vs. Stillwater
2. Hill-Murray
-Had a week off and now head into the Schwan Cup, where they face a very difficult draw. Time to see where this team really fits in; as I mentioned last week, I’m not sure they really belong this high. I wouldn’t strongly disagree with anyone who puts them as low as sixth, but I couldn’t bring myself to put three Classic Suburban teams in a row at the top, and their one negative result--a tie against Benilde--is slightly more impressive than Wayzata’s tie with Osseo (despite the current rankings) or Edina’s 4-2 loss to Wayzata. No matter; we’ll get a real answer this week.
This week: Schwan Cup Gold
3. Wayzata
-Took care of business against Roseville and now find themselves in the surprising position of being the top-ranked team in the St. Louis Park tourney. They’ll have to earn the tourney win, as they did not get an easy draw.
This week: St. Louis Park Tournament
4. Edina
-Continue to surprise (as much as an Edina team can surprise, that is), and they’re in great position to cause an awful lot of problems in the Schwan Cup. Their good start is a testament to the depth of the Edina program and, yes, the coaching, as they haven’t missed a beat despite the loss of the deep senior class.
This week: Schwan Cup Gold
5. Blaine
-Two very tough 1-goal losses to top west Metro teams this past week; despite the results they played well enough that I think they deserve to stay up here. May get their chance at revenge against one or both teams in the Schwan Cup, though they sure have the toughest road to win the tournament, possibly going through 3 of the 4 teams ahead of them.
This week: Schwan Cup Gold
6. Bloomington Jefferson
-The lack of a major holiday tourney last year seriously hurt their shot at a higher ranking last year. This year, on the other hand, they do have a real chance to prove themselves, and the road to the final is a little easier than Wayzata’s is.
This week: St. Louis Park Tournament
7. Holy Angels
-Played well in their first game against a ranked opponent and now get a very real test against Minnetonka to open the Schwan Cup. We’ll finally get a good idea of where this team belongs in the coming days.
This week: Schwan Cup Gold
8. Eden Prairie
-Another tougher-than-expected-win for the Eagles against Burnsville. They’re idle this week, but they have plenty to practice for with a matchup against Minnetonka to start the new year on the 5th of January. Lack of a post-holiday tourney will make them harder to rank; next week their ranking will be at the mercy of whatever goes on around them.
This week: Idle
9. Cretin-Derham Hall
-Unlike most of the other top teams, they’re not in a very deep tourney this week. A good showing is essential to maintain position.
This week: Schwan Cup Silver
10. Roseau
-Had an off week in between their two holiday tournaments, with the second looking to be much easier than the first. As always their schedule causes headaches with ranking; their rematch with Moorhead is their only game left against a top-15 team.
This week: Roseau Holiday Classic
11. Osseo
-The win over Andover is another notch in their belt, proving that they do deserve to be up here. They now travel north for their holiday tourney, with one tough game in a slate of three.
This week: Warroad Invitational
12. Benilde-St. Margaret’s
-Don’t read too much into them getting nudged downwards; Blaine’s close loss to Tonka helped both Roseau and Osseo, and Benilde is hard to distinguish from them right now. With that said, they have the most riding on a holiday tourney than any other team out there. Their game against Wayzata will be their only one against another major 6AA opponent, meaning it has huge seeding implications, and though they have a couple nice non-conference games down the stretch, the North Suburban is not a very good proving ground for statewide rankings.
This week: St. Louis Park Tournament
13. Duluth East
-A hard-fought tie with Moorhead wrapped up a strong start to the season for the Hounds, but now they head into their moment of truth with three very difficult Schwan Cup games (a tournament that has always given the Hounds problems) followed by Blaine and Minnetonka. Time for a young team to grow up in a hurry.
This week: Schwan Cup Gold
14. Moorhead
-The tie with East slides them up a spot in the rankings and shows that they’re not to be taken lightly, even if they’re not as talented as some of the opponents they’re about to run into.
This week: St. Louis Park Tournament
15. Elk River
-They’re playing good teams pretty well, but just like last year, they don’t seem able to come up with a big win in the early going. Last year, they put it together a bit down the stretch; this year, they have a shot at an earlier run in the SLP tourney. Time for this team to make a move.
This week: St. Louis Park Tournament
-------------
Holiday Tournaments (listed in order of first-round brackets). All tourneys are Monday-Wednesday unless otherwise noted.
-------------
Schwan Cup Gold
7 Holy Angels
1 Minnetonka
1(A) St. Thomas Academy
White Bear Lake
5 Blaine
2 Hill-Murray
13 Duluth East
4 Edina
-As usual, it’s absolutely loaded, with six of the very best teams in the state, another very good one, and…White Bear Lake (but they did pull off a big upset here last year, so perhaps we shouldn’t write off the Bears quite yet). It’s possible to do very poorly in this tourney and still be in very good shape in the rankings.
--------------
St. Louis Park Tourney
15 Elk River
Maple Grove
6 Bloomington Jefferson
14 Moorhead
Centennial
Woodbury
12 Benilde
3 Wayzata
-To me, this is easily the most intriguing tournament out there. A lot of teams here have a lot to prove--this is the biggest stage for Jefferson and Benilde this year, Wayzata has a golden opportunity to show just how far they’ve climbed, Elk River is in good position to make a statement, Moorhead is the sort of team no contender wants to face, and the three unranked teams have underachieved to some degree so far and could really use a big showing. The Centennial-Woodbury matchup is especially intriguing in this regard.
-------------
Schwan Cup Silver
9 Cretin
Lakeville South
Breck
Stillwater
Mahtomedi
Burnsville
Roseville
Blake
-The top half of the bracket is much more challenging than the bottom half; Cretin and Breck have to be the odds-on favorites, and failure to finish first and third by the two of them would be a disappointment.
--------------
Roseau Holiday Tourney (Tues-Thurs)
Round-robin; includes:
10 Roseau
Lake of the Woods
Faribault
Alexandria
-Roseau takes on three A teams; they should be able to dominate this one. Faribault will probably be the biggest test.
--------------
Warroad Invitational
Round-robin; includes:
Warroad
Grafton (ND)
Fargo North (ND)
11 Osseo
-Two of the better NoDak teams take on good teams in each class; should be a decent tournament, though the Minnesota teams should be favored.
Other tournaments involving bubble AA teams:
Duluth Heritage Classic
-Park and Bemidji should be the favorites in a quality tourney.
Also involved: Buffalo, Delano, Mound-Westonka, Cloquet, Duluth Denfeld, New Prague
Forest Lake Invitational
-The focus will be on the all-7AA lower bracket, with Andover as the favorite and the quietly strong host Forest Lake possibly playing spoiler.
Also involved: St. Paul Como Park, East Ridge, Sleepy Eye, Chisago Lakes, Cambridge, St. Francis
Kiwanis/Wells Fargo Festival (AA Bracket)
-A couple teams on the very distant bubble, Rochester Century and Brainerd, take on the Rochester publics, Eastview, Princeton, Richmond (WI), and Fargo South (ND).
Another notable bubble team, Eagan, already won its first game in the South St. Paul Premier Tournament. They will play South St. Paul in the semifinal and then either Hopkins or Hastings in the final round. It’s their tournament to lose.
Rather than trying to write out the many possible games this week, I’ll just note which tournament each team is in, then offer a few comments on each tournament involving a ranked team at the end.
1. Minnetonka
-The Skippers stay the obvious #1 with a win over then-#3 Blaine this past week. Though they controlled the game, the end result shows they could be beaten if enough things go right for the opposition. A win in the Schwan Cup could cement them in the top spot for quite some time. They also have a game against a decent team on Saturday.
This week: Schwan Cup Gold, Sat vs. Stillwater
2. Hill-Murray
-Had a week off and now head into the Schwan Cup, where they face a very difficult draw. Time to see where this team really fits in; as I mentioned last week, I’m not sure they really belong this high. I wouldn’t strongly disagree with anyone who puts them as low as sixth, but I couldn’t bring myself to put three Classic Suburban teams in a row at the top, and their one negative result--a tie against Benilde--is slightly more impressive than Wayzata’s tie with Osseo (despite the current rankings) or Edina’s 4-2 loss to Wayzata. No matter; we’ll get a real answer this week.
This week: Schwan Cup Gold
3. Wayzata
-Took care of business against Roseville and now find themselves in the surprising position of being the top-ranked team in the St. Louis Park tourney. They’ll have to earn the tourney win, as they did not get an easy draw.
This week: St. Louis Park Tournament
4. Edina
-Continue to surprise (as much as an Edina team can surprise, that is), and they’re in great position to cause an awful lot of problems in the Schwan Cup. Their good start is a testament to the depth of the Edina program and, yes, the coaching, as they haven’t missed a beat despite the loss of the deep senior class.
This week: Schwan Cup Gold
5. Blaine
-Two very tough 1-goal losses to top west Metro teams this past week; despite the results they played well enough that I think they deserve to stay up here. May get their chance at revenge against one or both teams in the Schwan Cup, though they sure have the toughest road to win the tournament, possibly going through 3 of the 4 teams ahead of them.
This week: Schwan Cup Gold
6. Bloomington Jefferson
-The lack of a major holiday tourney last year seriously hurt their shot at a higher ranking last year. This year, on the other hand, they do have a real chance to prove themselves, and the road to the final is a little easier than Wayzata’s is.
This week: St. Louis Park Tournament
7. Holy Angels
-Played well in their first game against a ranked opponent and now get a very real test against Minnetonka to open the Schwan Cup. We’ll finally get a good idea of where this team belongs in the coming days.
This week: Schwan Cup Gold
8. Eden Prairie
-Another tougher-than-expected-win for the Eagles against Burnsville. They’re idle this week, but they have plenty to practice for with a matchup against Minnetonka to start the new year on the 5th of January. Lack of a post-holiday tourney will make them harder to rank; next week their ranking will be at the mercy of whatever goes on around them.
This week: Idle
9. Cretin-Derham Hall
-Unlike most of the other top teams, they’re not in a very deep tourney this week. A good showing is essential to maintain position.
This week: Schwan Cup Silver
10. Roseau
-Had an off week in between their two holiday tournaments, with the second looking to be much easier than the first. As always their schedule causes headaches with ranking; their rematch with Moorhead is their only game left against a top-15 team.
This week: Roseau Holiday Classic
11. Osseo
-The win over Andover is another notch in their belt, proving that they do deserve to be up here. They now travel north for their holiday tourney, with one tough game in a slate of three.
This week: Warroad Invitational
12. Benilde-St. Margaret’s
-Don’t read too much into them getting nudged downwards; Blaine’s close loss to Tonka helped both Roseau and Osseo, and Benilde is hard to distinguish from them right now. With that said, they have the most riding on a holiday tourney than any other team out there. Their game against Wayzata will be their only one against another major 6AA opponent, meaning it has huge seeding implications, and though they have a couple nice non-conference games down the stretch, the North Suburban is not a very good proving ground for statewide rankings.
This week: St. Louis Park Tournament
13. Duluth East
-A hard-fought tie with Moorhead wrapped up a strong start to the season for the Hounds, but now they head into their moment of truth with three very difficult Schwan Cup games (a tournament that has always given the Hounds problems) followed by Blaine and Minnetonka. Time for a young team to grow up in a hurry.
This week: Schwan Cup Gold
14. Moorhead
-The tie with East slides them up a spot in the rankings and shows that they’re not to be taken lightly, even if they’re not as talented as some of the opponents they’re about to run into.
This week: St. Louis Park Tournament
15. Elk River
-They’re playing good teams pretty well, but just like last year, they don’t seem able to come up with a big win in the early going. Last year, they put it together a bit down the stretch; this year, they have a shot at an earlier run in the SLP tourney. Time for this team to make a move.
This week: St. Louis Park Tournament
-------------
Holiday Tournaments (listed in order of first-round brackets). All tourneys are Monday-Wednesday unless otherwise noted.
-------------
Schwan Cup Gold
7 Holy Angels
1 Minnetonka
1(A) St. Thomas Academy
White Bear Lake
5 Blaine
2 Hill-Murray
13 Duluth East
4 Edina
-As usual, it’s absolutely loaded, with six of the very best teams in the state, another very good one, and…White Bear Lake (but they did pull off a big upset here last year, so perhaps we shouldn’t write off the Bears quite yet). It’s possible to do very poorly in this tourney and still be in very good shape in the rankings.
--------------
St. Louis Park Tourney
15 Elk River
Maple Grove
6 Bloomington Jefferson
14 Moorhead
Centennial
Woodbury
12 Benilde
3 Wayzata
-To me, this is easily the most intriguing tournament out there. A lot of teams here have a lot to prove--this is the biggest stage for Jefferson and Benilde this year, Wayzata has a golden opportunity to show just how far they’ve climbed, Elk River is in good position to make a statement, Moorhead is the sort of team no contender wants to face, and the three unranked teams have underachieved to some degree so far and could really use a big showing. The Centennial-Woodbury matchup is especially intriguing in this regard.
-------------
Schwan Cup Silver
9 Cretin
Lakeville South
Breck
Stillwater
Mahtomedi
Burnsville
Roseville
Blake
-The top half of the bracket is much more challenging than the bottom half; Cretin and Breck have to be the odds-on favorites, and failure to finish first and third by the two of them would be a disappointment.
--------------
Roseau Holiday Tourney (Tues-Thurs)
Round-robin; includes:
10 Roseau
Lake of the Woods
Faribault
Alexandria
-Roseau takes on three A teams; they should be able to dominate this one. Faribault will probably be the biggest test.
--------------
Warroad Invitational
Round-robin; includes:
Warroad
Grafton (ND)
Fargo North (ND)
11 Osseo
-Two of the better NoDak teams take on good teams in each class; should be a decent tournament, though the Minnesota teams should be favored.
Other tournaments involving bubble AA teams:
Duluth Heritage Classic
-Park and Bemidji should be the favorites in a quality tourney.
Also involved: Buffalo, Delano, Mound-Westonka, Cloquet, Duluth Denfeld, New Prague
Forest Lake Invitational
-The focus will be on the all-7AA lower bracket, with Andover as the favorite and the quietly strong host Forest Lake possibly playing spoiler.
Also involved: St. Paul Como Park, East Ridge, Sleepy Eye, Chisago Lakes, Cambridge, St. Francis
Kiwanis/Wells Fargo Festival (AA Bracket)
-A couple teams on the very distant bubble, Rochester Century and Brainerd, take on the Rochester publics, Eastview, Princeton, Richmond (WI), and Fargo South (ND).
Another notable bubble team, Eagan, already won its first game in the South St. Paul Premier Tournament. They will play South St. Paul in the semifinal and then either Hopkins or Hastings in the final round. It’s their tournament to lose.
