HighSchoolHockeyForums.com

Only a couple more weeks before sections, one team drops from the rankings and plenty of games between top teams this week.

Enjoy!

1. [1] Saint Thomas Academy (15-2-1)
The Cadets lost a close game to rival Hill-Murray on Thursday and followed that up with beating another conference opponent. They host Totino this week in what should determine the top seed in section 4A.
This week: Tues vs #3 Totino-Grace, Thurs @ South St Paul, Sat vs #14 Mahtomedi

2. [2] Breck (14-3-1)
The Mustangs have three away games this week, including the Prowlers of TRF who are on a hot streak right now. After this week, they conclude their season with their final 4 games at home.
This week: Tues @ Providence Academy, Fri @ #5 Thief River Falls, Sat @ Bemidji

3. [3] Totino-Grace (14-2-1)
The Eagles continue to win games, although the scores aren’t very comforting; they have allowed a total of 10 goals to St Francis, St Louis Park and Chisago Lakes. This week they travel to Mendota Heights and also play host to Hermantown. Can Totino earn the top seed going into sections?
This week: Tues @ #1 St Thomas Academy, Thurs @ St Louis Park, Sat vs #10 Hermantown

4. [11] Thief River Falls (12-6)
The Prowlers were the preseason pick in 8A, went 2-6 to start the season, are now on a 10-game winning and in their last 4 games they have beat last week’s #4, #5, #10 and #12 teams to shoot themselves into the top 5 and the lead in 8A again. This Friday they play host to Breck in an attempt to climb another spot or two in the rankings next week.
This week: Tues @ Lake of the Woods, Fri vs #2 Breck

5. [6] Rochester Lourdes (12-6)
The Eagles losses are all to STA, Breck, BSM, HF, and WI schools. Depending on who makes it out of other sections, Lourdes could end up being ranked this year at state.
This week: Tues @ Tartan, Thurs @ Albert Lea

6. [5] Duluth Denfeld (13-6)
The Hunters beat Warroad in Warroad, but also got beat by the hot Thief River Falls. They travel over the hill to MARS this week to play for the top seed in their section.
This week: Tues vs Eveleth, Thurs @ #12 Duluth Marshall

7. [4] East Grand Forks (15-2-2)
If their last 7 games the Green Wave have gotten their only 2 losses this season, but they also have 5 shutouts, one notably to Roseau. The top seed in the section looks to be shifting to TRF, but with games against both Warroad and TRF still to come, EGF can still get the top seed.
This week: Tues vs Crookston, Sat @ #8 Warroad

8. [12] Warroad (15-5-1)
That win over Cathedral makes more sense now. The top seed is not likely going to be Warroad’s, but if they beat both Roseau and East Grand Forks this week, anything is still possible.
This week: Tues @ Roseau, Sat vs #7 East Grand Forks

9. [8] St. Cloud Cathedral (13-6)
The Crusaders shut out Orono this week for their 4th shutout win of the season. They have their first of two games with Little Falls this week and then next week the top seed in the section will be decided.
This week: Tues vs #11 Little Falls, Fri @ Fergus Falls

10. [9] Hermantown (14-4-1)
Two big games for the Hawks this week. It’ll be interesting to see what they do with a Cloquet team who hasn’t lost to a Class A team this year and at Totino, who would be a game to shoot Hermantown back up the rankings next week.
This week: Thurs vs Cloquet-Esko-Carlton, Sat @ #3 Totino-Grace

11. [13] Little Falls (14-4)
The Flyers were shut out by Princeton this week, but also shut out two other opponents. Whether it’s something in the water or simply sound coaching, Princeton has had their number both this season and last. They have two home games against St Cloud teams this week. With no losses to section teams and it doesn’t look like any will come, Little Falls will be the top seed and likely winner of section 6A. Right now they are likely unseeded, although if they win out with two wins over Cathedral and if the right teams make it out of other sections, they could end up with a chance to make it to the semi’s.
This week: Tues vs #9 St Cloud Cathedral, Thurs vs St Cloud Tech

12. [10] Duluth Marshall (8-10)
The Hilltoppers do have 6 losses in their last 7 games, but they are all to Class A teams and all to teams ranked above them. This past week they lost in both Warroad and TRF, but both games were on the road and it was by a total of 3 goals. 4 of their 6 losses were by 6 goals or less. They still have an early season win over Hibbing and there’s little reason for them to be ranked below them. It’ll be interesting to see how they do against Denfeld this week and Virginia next week as they prepare for sectional play. With a win this week and next, the top seed in 7A is still theirs to win.
This week: Thurs vs #6 Duluth Denfeld, Sat @ Eveleth-Gilbert

13. [14] Hibbing (9-10)
The Bluejackets didn’t play last week, but have two away games this week. While they do have a handful of losses, they are all to AA teams or Class A teams ranked ahead of them. They likely won’t end up with the top seed, but could get as high as the 2nd seed in their section.
This week: Mon @ Proctor, Thurs @ International Falls

14. [15] Mahtomedi (11-7)
The Zephyrs play and interesting school that is tough to rank with who they have played, but they still have solid performances against multiple good teams. 3 of their next 4 games are against St Thomas, Totino and Hill. They could theoretically get as high as the top seed in section 4A, but will likely end up as the 2nd or 3rd seed depending on how their game with Totino-Grace ends up.
This week: Thurs @ Simley, Sat @ #1 Saint Thomas Academy

15. [-] New Prague (9-7-2)
With 4 or 5 teams that could be seeded in this spot, the Trojans are no worse pick than any other. They are likely to end up with 2nd place in the Missota and have the possibility of winning it if they can beat Holy Angels next week. They only have one non-Missota game left and that is against section foe Lourdes, who they lost to in OT at home in their 3rd game of the season. If they can win the second time around, the seeding would get interesting, but there would be a case to be made for them to get the top seed.
This week: Tues ve Farmington, Thurs @ Shakopee


Notable Team
St Paul Academy (12-7)
Who would’ve thought the 8-win Spartans from last season would get 2nd place in their conference right behind Breck? Earlier this season they got shut out at home to Providence Academy, then yesterday played them away and beat them 6-4. With a game that looks to have been relatively close against Breck that ended up with them losing 3-1, this team seems to have a bright future. With only one of their remaining games they are not likely to have a chance to win, the Spartans could double their wins from last season.

While they are in section 4A, we likely won’t make any noise this year, although they could get seeded as high as 4th or 5th, they will have the opportunity to play some good teams. The future looks bright for the program with a new head coach this season, only two seniors in their top 10 in scoring and only 5 seniors on the roster. With three freshman and three sophomores already getting varsity experience and notching points, they look set to be successful for a while. With St Thomas leaving the section, how well they’re doing this year and the youth they have, it’ll be interesting to see how they improve in the coming seasons.

If TRF would happen to beat Breck,would TRF move ahead of both Breck and totino grace?

No love for Princeton?

Good job watcher these are always good for a laugh.

Mite-dad wrote:No love for Princeton?

They're an interesting situation. Seeing as how they are 4-0 against LF the last two years, they seem to have LF figured out despite not appearing on the same level otherwise. As much as it's tough to take two games in the same week as flukes, everything I've heard about them hasn't been positive.

I was tempted to throw them back in toward the bottom; it's really tough to say. With little feedback on the outstate teams, their losses to Luverne and Sartell don't like good, nor does their loss tie to Rogers. I guess we'll see how games against Delano and Cathedral go.

HShockeywatcher wrote:

Mite-dad wrote:No love for Princeton?

I was tempted to throw them back in toward the bottom; it's really tough to say. With little feedback on the outstate teams, their losses to Luverne and Sartell don't like good, nor does their loss tie to Rogers. I guess we'll see how games against Delano and Cathedral go.

Many of the teams like those noted above usually go 0 - 2 if they reach state and are lucky to escape with a goal differential of less than 14 in those two games.

Marty wrote:Many of the teams like those noted above usually go 0 - 2 if they reach state and are lucky to escape with a goal differential of less than 14 in those two games.

It's tough to say who will go 0-2 this year. I'm guessing some pretty crazy chains could be made already about how some bad teams could do well, how bout this:

Luverne beat Princeton
Princeton beat Cathedral
Cathedral beat Breck

That's a pretty short list. Any betting man would likely put their money on a 4A and 2A making it to a third game, but beyond that it's really tough to say what will happen.

Even if Totino beats STA tonight, I just can't believe the hockey gods would seed them higher -- given the night-and-day difference in their schedules.

It would have to be a blow-out, in my opinion. Stranger things have happened, but I wouldn't hold my breath.

I guess it begs the question-- do the seeders just consider head-to-head and in-section games?

Not like it matters that much. They'll be seed 1 and 2 for sure. It would benefit TG only slightly to have home advantage, to make sure they don't get stomped by STA's first two lines up against their third.

Hockey needs to get rid of the last line change to the higher seed. Why should one team in the playoffs because of a subjective seeding be given such a great advantage the entire game?

deacon64 wrote:Hockey needs to get rid of the last line change to the higher seed. Why should one team in the playoffs because of a subjective seeding be given such a great advantage the entire game?

And what is your proposal for changes?

Shinbone_News wrote:Even if Totino beats STA tonight, I just can't believe the hockey gods would seed them higher -- given the night-and-day difference in their schedules.

They won't beat STA. Totino has run a pretty soft "AA" schedule to-date (STA and Benilde will change that just a little by season's end).

Totino vs Mahtomedi is a better match up. Mahtomedi has been unable to compete with most "AA" teams (lopsided losses to GR, HM, Tartan), This game will most likely help determine when each of them gets to play STA one last time in section 4A.

Is it better to lose in the section semis or section finals or is when you lose irrelevant ?

Shinbone_News wrote:I guess it begs the question-- do the seeders just consider head-to-head and in-section games?

Not like it matters that much. They'll be seed 1 and 2 for sure. It would benefit TG only slightly to have home advantage, to make sure they don't get stomped by STA's first two lines up against their third.

They should in my opinion, although it's not clear whether they usually do or not. I really can't see Totino winning this game and not being the top seed...unless they lose to Mahtomedi

Little falls needs to be moved out of the top 15. Period.

northern_guy wrote:Little falls needs to be moved out of the top 15. Period.

Why? I can see it, as their one win over a ranked team was in their first game of the season. Completely off seems a little low, though, as they kept Hermantown within 1 and have been fairly consistent this season. That being said, I'm always looking for opinions. Keep em' coming.

Thoughts on any teams currently not ranked that could deserve some thought...

HShockeywatcher wrote:

northern_guy wrote:Little falls needs to be moved out of the top 15. Period.

Why? I can see it, as their one win over a ranked team was in their first game of the season. Completely off seems a little low, though, as they kept Hermantown within 1 and have been fairly consistent this season. That being said, I'm always looking for opinions. Keep em' coming.

Thoughts on any teams currently not ranked that could deserve some thought...

Not saying top 15 yet, but St Cloud Apollo should be somewhere close to 15.

GordonBombay99 wrote:

HShockeywatcher wrote:

northern_guy wrote:Little falls needs to be moved out of the top 15. Period.

Why? I can see it, as their one win over a ranked team was in their first game of the season. Completely off seems a little low, though, as they kept Hermantown within 1 and have been fairly consistent this season. That being said, I'm always looking for opinions. Keep em' coming.

Thoughts on any teams currently not ranked that could deserve some thought...

Not saying top 15 yet, but St Cloud Apollo should be somewhere close to 15.

HELL NO...not even close...you honestly think they are one of the top 15 let alone top 20 class A teams in the state? you are crazy

northern_guy wrote:

GordonBombay99 wrote:

HShockeywatcher wrote: Why? I can see it, as their one win over a ranked team was in their first game of the season. Completely off seems a little low, though, as they kept Hermantown within 1 and have been fairly consistent this season. That being said, I'm always looking for opinions. Keep em' coming.

Thoughts on any teams currently not ranked that could deserve some thought...

Not saying top 15 yet, but St Cloud Apollo should be somewhere close to 15.

HELL NO...not even close...you honestly think they are one of the top 15 let alone top 20 class A teams in the state? you are crazy

Well call me crazy then but going off of scores and who theyve faced, their overall record and rankings of other polls, they have to be a team on the verge of getting some attention.

GordonBombay99 wrote:

northern_guy wrote:

GordonBombay99 wrote: Not saying top 15 yet, but St Cloud Apollo should be somewhere close to 15.

HELL NO...not even close...you honestly think they are one of the top 15 let alone top 20 class A teams in the state? you are crazy

Well call me crazy then but going off of scores and who theyve faced, their overall record and rankings of other polls, they have to be a team on the verge of getting some attention.

they only play cathedral and little falls as "ranked" teams and little falls isnt very good. with the disparity of class a teams, to be a top 15 team you need to be able to play a top 5 team without getting embarrassed by score. apollo could not hang with any top 5 team in any poll ranking. maybe they should start scheduling better class A opponents if they want respect. but playing river lakes, northern lakes, breckenridge, fergus falls isnt going to get that done. play a better schedule and we will talk.

northern_guy wrote:

GordonBombay99 wrote:

northern_guy wrote: HELL NO...not even close...you honestly think they are one of the top 15 let alone top 20 class A teams in the state? you are crazy

Well call me crazy then but going off of scores and who theyve faced, their overall record and rankings of other polls, they have to be a team on the verge of getting some attention.

they only play cathedral and little falls as "ranked" teams and little falls isnt very good. with the disparity of class a teams, to be a top 15 team you need to be able to play a top 5 team without getting embarrassed by score. apollo could not hang with any top 5 team in any poll ranking. maybe they should start scheduling better class A opponents if they want respect. but playing river lakes, northern lakes, breckenridge, fergus falls isnt going to get that done. play a better schedule and we will talk.

Well their kinda obligated to play Fergus and River Lakes seeing their conference teams, they competed with Little Falls, were beating Princeton and Brainerd, the schedule is what it is, but if you beat the teams your supposed to beat and compete with the others, more often than not your record will show and youll be in a position they are in right now, sitting 3rd in conference, 2nd in sections and well over .500. Their schedule is stronger than some of the teams ahead of them and weaker than some.

northern_guy wrote:
with the disparity of class a teams, to be a top 15 team you need to be able to play a top 5 team without getting embarrassed by score. apollo could not hang with any top 5 team in any poll ranking. maybe they should start scheduling better class A opponents if they want respect. but playing river lakes, northern lakes, breckenridge, fergus falls isnt going to get that done. play a better schedule and we will talk.

If that's your criteria, then there would be virtually no one ranked.

The way Class A is right now, there are TWO teams in the top tier right now, a handful [depending on who you ask] of teams below them, then a pond with a bunch of fish in it and really up to personal preference for how things go I'd say.
We'll see how TRF does hosting Breck, but my guess is they'll prove the the top two are far and above the rest.

It'll be interesting to see what happens in Class A next year with St Thomas leaving and Breck only graduating 5 seniors.

Highschoolhockeywatcher I appreciate your rankings. I personally don 't consider the private school all star teams when looking at the class A rankings. I am interested in the small town A schools.

Northern guy doesn't get it. Keep ripping small town hockey.Small A schools are not going to be deep in talent. Lots of freshman playing in A hockey because of the lack of depth.

I thought that was the best when LF beat the two privates for consolation at state and bummed that Hermantown lost to the St Thomas all stars.

Go Princeton, Hermantown,LF, Apollo and all the other legitimate A schools that Northernguy likes to rip.

DKS1962 wrote:Highschoolhockeywatcher I appreciate your rankings. I personally don 't consider the private school all star teams when looking at the class A rankings. I am interested in the small town A schools.

Northern guy doesn't get it. Keep ripping small town hockey.Small A schools are not going to be deep in talent. Lots of freshman playing in A hockey because of the lack of depth.

I thought that was the best when LF beat the two privates for consolation at state and bummed that Hermantown lost to the St Thomas all stars.

Go Princeton, Hermantown,LF, Apollo and all the other legitimate A schools that Northernguy likes to rip.

This post has so much win in it! I agree with this all!

I've been pretty high on Apollo all year. I've seen them play several times and they've competed with everyone (other than Cathedral). I think they are a good team with some young talent.

I've said this to my buddies and have been laughed at...I'd be more surprised to see Cathedral in the state tournament this year than Apollo. Apollo works harder and has the benefit of playing in a weaker section. If their goalie can play decent down the stretch I think they might be the best team in 6A.

That said, I'd like to see both Apollo and SCC in the state tournament. That'd be good for the hockey in the city...not that northern_guy cares at all about the good of the hockey in the city as a whole as he only cares about one team and disrespects the rest.

HShockeywatcher wrote:

northern_guy wrote:
with the disparity of class a teams, to be a top 15 team you need to be able to play a top 5 team without getting embarrassed by score. apollo could not hang with any top 5 team in any poll ranking. maybe they should start scheduling better class A opponents if they want respect. but playing river lakes, northern lakes, breckenridge, fergus falls isnt going to get that done. play a better schedule and we will talk.

If that's your criteria, then there would be virtually no one ranked.

The way Class A is right now, there are TWO teams in the top tier right now, a handful [depending on who you ask] of teams below them, then a pond with a bunch of fish in it and really up to personal preference for how things go I'd say.
We'll see how TRF does hosting Breck, but my guess is they'll prove the the top two are far and above the rest.It'll be interesting to see what happens in Class A next year with St Thomas leaving and Breck only graduating 5 seniors.

I see this being a close game.
If I were a betting man I might have to go with the 'underdog'.

HShockeywatcher wrote:

northern_guy wrote:
with the disparity of class a teams, to be a top 15 team you need to be able to play a top 5 team without getting embarrassed by score. apollo could not hang with any top 5 team in any poll ranking. maybe they should start scheduling better class A opponents if they want respect. but playing river lakes, northern lakes, breckenridge, fergus falls isnt going to get that done. play a better schedule and we will talk.

If that's your criteria, then there would be virtually no one ranked.

The way Class A is right now, there are TWO teams in the top tier right now, a handful [depending on who you ask] of teams below them, then a pond with a bunch of fish in it and really up to personal preference for how things go I'd say.
We'll see how TRF does hosting Breck, but my guess is they'll prove the the top two are far and above the rest.

It'll be interesting to see what happens in Class A next year with St Thomas leaving and Breck only graduating 5 seniors.

Wow, 2 Class-A Private Metro All Star Teams sitting at the top of the Class A!
Who would have guessed!! You must be so proud!!!

Imo the only interesting thing would be if Breck found some character and followed your team out of here.

By the way, this is the way Class A has been for the past 14 years or so.

Talk about arrogance...