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There were a couple match ups with unexpected results this week, so there was a good amount of mix up this week. I got rid of the teams on the outside looking in and added ranking one additional team instead of having ties. As long as EGF doesn't lose, the top 4 are pretty solid, after that the next 12 are a matter of opinion.

Enjoy!

1. [1] Saint Thomas Academy (12-1-1)
A big win over BSM followed up by a dominating win over DM this week, a good week for the Cadets with an even bigger week coming up. It’ll be exciting to see if Dougherty and company can control SSM like they have been with everyone else and how Novak and Versich will do on Wednesday, then they host Breck for a rematch of a close Schwan’s game the Cadets won.
This week: Wed @ Shattuck-St Mary’s, Sat vs #3 Breck

2. [2] East Grand Forks (12-0-1)
With their only game where they’d possibly be challenged postponed, the Green Wave notched another win but have little to talk about. With Warroad beating Roseau in OT and Breck just beating Moorhead by 2 a couple wins will keep them right where they are. Although with even one loss, they will drop at least two spots next week.
This week: Tues vs Roseau, Thurs @ Moorhead

3. [3] Breck (10-2-1)
The Mustangs continue to win as they played one conference game and hosted Moorhead this week. Two conference games this week capped off with a trip to Mendota Heights. The first time they played St Thomas it was dead even for most of the game, will this be different?
This week: Tues vs St Paul Como Park, Thurs @ St Paul Johnson, Sat @ #1 Saint Thomas Academy

4. [4] Totino-Grace (9-2-1)
The Eagles decided to take out their loss to Breck on Cooper by scoring 16 goals. Two lesser opponents this past week, but they were Totino’s first two shut outs of the season. They have another four games before they play St Francis and St Thomas. Not much to see here nor will there likely be this coming week.
This week: Tues vs South St Paul, Thurs vs Chisago Lakes, Sat vs St Louis Park

5. [6] Duluth Marshall (8-7)
The Hilltoppers are clearly not in the class with the top 4 as they have lost to three of them, but they have an interesting schedule at this point where their only significant blemish is to Hermantown, a team who is as good as their goalie will let them be. They still have 7 games against notable opponents, including all of their next 4 games.
This week: Sat vs #14 Rochester Lourdes

6. [12] Warroad (12-2-1)
This is a large jump for the Warriors, but despite some of their close games and their tie, their only Class A blemish is the EGF by 2 goals. Another big week of section 8 games, can they be the first in Class A to 15 wins?
This week: Tues vs Bemidji, Thurs vs #13 Thief River Falls, Sat @ Moorhead

7. [11] Denfeld (11-4)
With their only game this past week being a win over East, it appears we have learned one of two things: either the Hunters really are a top team, or they can win rivalry games. If it is truly either, they’ll end up the top seed in their section. There isn’t a week for the rest of the season Denfeld doesn’t play a good team, so they’ll either earn their ranking or fall back. A big section game this week and an opportunity to avenge their Holiday Classic loss in the final.
This week: Tues vs #12 Hibbing, Sat vs Cloquet

8. [10] Mahtomedi (9-6)
The Zephyrs continue to play well; they scored more goals on Hill-Murray than they have allowed all season and won two conference games. They did lose an away game to Hibbing by 1, but also went to OT with Breck and did well with both St Thomas and Hill-Murray; they are a team who can likely play with most teams outside the top couple in Class A.
This week: Wed vs Tartan, Sat vs Richfield

9. [15] St. Cloud Cathedral (9-6)
The Crusaders have been an interesting story this season with some ups and downs. They do still have a win over Breck on their schedule and recently beating Hermantown shows they could be the favorite to win their section.
This week: Thurs vs Becker/Big Lake, Sat @ Mound-Westonka

10. [5] Hermantown (11-3-1)
The Hawks top line could likely skate with literally any team in the state, and if you swapped their goalie out for one with a better save percentage, they have the players to be a top team in state regardless of class. How many shots they allow on their goalie really dictates how well they do despite severely outshooting many of their opponents. It’ll be really interesting to see how the rest of the season pans out for them; with only three losses and all by 1 goal it is possible they fall to the #3 seed in their section. They have another game with Denfeld, one with each of Totino, Hibbing and Cloquet and play Superior twice.
This week: Tues vs Superior (WI), Sat @ Bemidji

11. [8] Little Falls (11-3)
The Fliers started off the season really well, but after getting upset in Princeton, they have put up some results that are quite questionable with the quality of goalie they have between the pipes. This will be an interesting rest of the season and they play Apollo this week and of the remaining 10 the only that seem to pose a threat are two against Cathedral and a home game with Princeton. They proved this week they can play with a good team in Hermantown as they kept it close for the whole game; maybe they could make some noise if (and likely when) they make it to state.
This week: Thurs @ St Cloud Apollo

12. [9] Hibbing (9-7)
A home win over Virginia and an away loss to Cloquet this past week and they follow it up with probably their toughest week of the season. Huge section game in Duluth on Tuesday followed up by two high quality opponents in Rapids on Thursday and Saturday. There is a good chance we could have a ranked team under .500 next week.
This week: Tues @ #7 Denfeld, Thurs @ Grand Rapids, Sat vs Eagan

13. [14] Thief River Falls (8-6)
The Prowlers have won 6 in a row, but, while they haven’t played a quality opponent in that time, they have averaged 1 GA in that time. Their next 4 games are against Warroad, EGF, Denfeld and DM, so we will get a good idea of how well they should be ranked. In fact, of their remaining 10 games, only two are games they’ll be favored in; regardless of their record they should be ready for the postseason.
This week: Thurs @ #7 Warroad

14. [7] Rochester Lourdes (10-4)
The Eagles didn’t lose any games this week, but their results with Breck and St Thomas and now close games with Mankato West and Delano in the same week shows they are likely not as much a top team as we thought they were. They do, however, have the opportunity to prove me wrong as they play DM this week and HF, BSM, Tartan, Rogers and Totino in the coming weeks.
This week: Sat @ #5 Duluth Marshall

15. [17] Mankato West (12-3)
The Scarlets are going to be the #2 seed in section 1A, but they do have a good chance to make it to state. Their second game with Mayo will determine whether or not they lose again before the post season. With no serious contribution from seniors and doing well with their schedule, as well as likely being the favorite for section 1A next year, hopefully those in charge can add a little to their schedule for the coming years. This will be a cool team to follow for years to come with the youth in the organization.
This week: Mon @ Northfield

16. [18] Delano (9-6)
The Tigers are in this place because of their loss by large margin with Mankato West and OT loss with Lourdes. They have no quality wins on their schedule, but have lost to both Breck and Cathedral by 2 in back to back games and have an OT loss to HF, which is better than any Class A aside from St Thomas has done against them. With the exception of their game against Princeton, they conclude their season with a completely Wright County schedule. My prediction is they finish the season 18-7 and are the 2nd seed in section 2A.
This week: Tues @ Mound-Westonka, Fri @ Litchfield/Dassel-Cokato

As a fan of the Toppers, I want to believe they are a top 5 team in the state, but at this point, I just don't see it. Every time they have had a chance to make a statement and win a big game this year, they have failed to do so. With so many of those games being at home, you would think they could have won at least 1 of those games. Their biggest win of this season was a close one early on at Hibbing. Yes that is big for their section but to this point after seeing 4 or 5 of Marshall's games and seeing Denfeld 5 times, I believe Denfeld is the better team. I would move Marshall down to 7, and move Warroad and Denfeld up, maybe even putting Denfeld at number 5. Those boys are good.

this seams about right....class A has been a mess with teams you think would win a game instead dropping it for a loss. outside of a top 10 there is little to be excited about. at the state tournament the champion chip game will be a joke as will at least 2 of the first round games.

[quote="HShockeywatcher"]


11. [8] Little Falls (11-3)
The Fliers started off the season really well, but after getting upset in Princeton, they have put up some results that are quite questionable with the quality of goalie they have between the pipes. This will be an interesting rest of the season and they play Apollo this week and of the remaining 10 the only that seem to pose a threat are two against Cathedral and a home game with Princeton. They proved this week they can play with a good team in Hermantown as they kept it close for the whole game; maybe they could make some noise if (and likely when) they make it to state.
This week: Thurs @ St Cloud Apollo

8. [10] Mahtomedi (9-6)
The Zephyrs continue to play well; they scored more goals on Hill-Murray than they have allowed all season and won two conference games.

Just got off hockeyhub and it appears that the 8 (Hill) - 4 (Mahtomedi) final score certainly did not reflect the level of Mahtomedi play the first 34 minutes of that game. Maybe it was more like a cat (Hill) toying with a mouse before it eats it. I will see if I can get over to the eastside of town the night of the rematch.

Some one at the Hill - Mahtomedi game, what the heck happened ?

Any Mahtomedi kids playing on Hill this season ?

Curious about all the votes for Mahtomedi and opinions about them. They held St Thomas to 3 goals which is something only top end teams have done, scored more goals against HM than anyone has this year, beat Virginia by the same score as #6 Warroad (and similarly to others) and went to OT with Breck. I'm not saying anyone is right or wrong, the shut out loss to New Prague doesn't look great and their schedule is dissimilar to many others, but they don't seem too far removed from some pretty good teams to me.

northern_guy wrote:this seams about right....class A has been a mess with teams you think would win a game instead dropping it for a loss. outside of a top 10 there is little to be excited about. at the state tournament the champion chip game will be a joke as will at least 2 of the first round games.

It was last year as well. A very competitive 2nd round followed by a non-competitive final. Happens every now and again in both classes.

northern_guy wrote:this seams about right....class A has been a mess with teams you think would win a game instead dropping it for a loss. outside of a top 10 there is little to be excited about. at the state tournament the champion chip game will be a joke as will at least 2 of the first round games.

I would add that I think seeding had a lot to do with the lopsided results last year. The best two teams in Class A last year played in the semi's, for the opportunity to play Hermantown, to a 1-0 final.

EGF is the elephant in the room this year, especially if they do win out and make it to state, but I doubt any of the top three is head and shoulders that fall better than each other. Additionally, there are a couple teams that could end up in either the 4 or 5 spot that I think could make a pretty good game with any of the top 3.

I agree that St Thomas is clearly the top team, but only in the fact that they have continued to win against the Class A teams they play, not because they have won dominantly against any of them. Even against Hermantown, last year was the first time it was a lopsided victory.

Hermantown loses to Superior WI tonight at home 5-4. They gave up 5 goals on 19 shots.

And Denfeld whipped Hibbing tonight. Adam Johnson was sick and did not play.

rockcrusher wrote:And Denfeld whipped Hibbing tonight. Adam Johnson was sick and did not play.

Denfeld has some kids that are huge. Were these monsters on the team last year? Yes, Johnson didn't play, but the Hunters looked really good. I think they will beat Marshall and grab the #1 seed in 7A.

i would expect denfield to be a top 5 team next week...playing good hockey right now...i willhave to look and see when their losses were and to who and by how much but they have some nice wins on their schedule.

And, to add to the confusion for HSW, EGF shut out Roseau last night.

Sure wish they had Breck or STA on the schedule.

TTpuckster wrote:And, to add to the confusion for HSW, EGF shut out Roseau last night.

Sure wish they had Breck or STA on the schedule.

I don't know that it adds much to anything. Roseau lost to Warroad and Rapids, so beating them was expected going in. Shutting them out is a bonus. Unless St Thomas struggles, EGF will stay at 2. If they struggle, they fall a couple spots.

I still wouldn't be surprised to see them get the top seed at state with no losses, only time will tell. Although, after Saturday, there may be good reason to bump EGF to 3. We'll see.

EGF lost to Moorhead 3-4,and trf crushes worroad 5-1......now what will happen to these 3 teams in terms of rankings???

Hibbing's record on the Hub is a typo, right? They have them listed as 8-9-1 despite having 9 wins and 9 losses listed. Quite frustrating

Prowlerhockey wrote:EGF lost to Moorhead 3-4,and trf crushes worroad 5-1......now what will happen to these 3 teams in terms of rankings???

In my humble opinion, it changes little of what I thought of either team. Warroad is ranked where they are because of poll results last week and other teams losing. I think the result confirms where I had them ranked earlier.
My opinion on EGF losing has been explained. Still a top 3 seed at state if they make it.

7 Lourdes
0 Marshall

Ugh!