Here’s the first set of in-season rankings. I’ll stick with my usual early season refrain: one game does not make or break a season, so I try not to overreact to one surprising early result. When things become trends, that’s when the changes start to happen. And at this point, a lot of teams are making it difficult to tell who is trending in a certain direction and who’s being fluky.
1. Edina (4-0)
-The first spot is easy: the Hornets look very much the part of a #1, as they steamrolled through two reasonably good opponents in the Turkey Trot and also didn’t break much of a sweat against Roseau. They did get a mild push from St. Louis Park before locking back into form, and no one’s been within four goals of them. They now get a week off before hosting their Holiday Classic.
This week: Idle
2. Minnetonka (2-0-1)
-This is a tough spot to fill since the next five teams in the preseason rankings all suffered some sort of blemish, but the Skippers slide up by virtue of their win over St. Thomas. They controlled play against Lakeville North, so at this point I’m inclined to cut them some slack for that tie. The visit to Duluth Marshall on Saturday could be an interesting one, and St. Louis Park has already shown they can make top teams’ lives interesting if taken lightly.
This week: Thurs vs. St. Louis Park, Sat at Duluth Marshall
3. Duluth East (1-0-1)
-The Hounds showed both their potential and some cause for concern in the White Bear Lake tie, and followed that one up with a workmanlike win over Wayzata. When their top line is on, they’ll be tough to beat; when it’s not, it’s a different story. This week involves a northern road trip and a game against a relative unknown in the 7AA race.
This week: Thurs at Bemidji, Sat vs. Andover
4. St. Thomas Academy (3-1)
-There isn’t much shame in the Cadets’ overtime loss to Minnetonka, and they also pulled out an important win over Moorhead to build the early resume. A win over Eastview also has important section implications. But there are a few warning signs, too: they’re bleeding a lot of goals, and let Farmington hang around for an entire game on Saturday. Just one game this week, and it’s one of potential interest against Holy Family.
This week: Sat vs. #9 Holy Family
5. Moorhead (3-1)
-Another team with some mixed messages early, as the Spuds served up seven goals to St. Thomas and only inched past Buffalo, but also blew past Brainerd, who was the next-best 8AA team on paper. The week ahead includes yet another game against a mid-level section opponent beginning with a B.
This week: Tues at Bemidji
6. Centennial (2-0)
-No drama for the Cougars early, as they scored twin 6-2 wins over Roseau and Armstrong/Cooper. An interesting trip to Elk River awaits them this week.
This week: Thurs vs. Coon Rapids, Sat at #8 Elk River
7. White Bear Lake (2-0-1)
-The come-from-behind tie with Duluth East was a statement game for the Bears, and they also picked up a reasonably good win when they downed Cloquet. The potential is clearly there. They now spend a couple of weeks in conference play, and this week’s docket includes their most likely challenger for the Suburban East crown.
This week: Thurs at Forest Lake, Sat vs. #12 Cretin-Derham Hall
8. Elk River (2-0)
-Others’ losses are the Elks’ gain, as they jump into the top ten following two uneventful wins over weaker Northwest Suburban opponents. Their clash with Centennial this week will either confirm this rise or continue the revolving door in this neighborhood of the rankings.
This week: Thurs at Totino-Grace, Sat vs. #6 Centennial
9. Holy Family (2-1-1)
-Here’s another team with some convoluted early results, as they got wrecked by Edina, pounded a quality Wayzata team, and couldn’t escape a trip to Orono with more than a tie. This week’s visit to St. Thomas will be instructive.
This week: Tues vs. Hutchinson, Sat at #4 St. Thomas Academy
10. Wayzata (1-2-1)
-The Holy Family loss was rough, but the Trojans have otherwise looked decent so far, as they tied Maple Grove, got a quality win over Hermantown, and gave Duluth East a decent run. They’ve got themselves an off week now.
This week: Idle
11. Maple Grove (2-1-1)
-The Crimson slide in right behind Wayzata after their season-opening tie with the Trojans, and thanks to Ethan Haider they stuck around with Edina for a little while. On paper, this week looks like two more wins.
This week: Thurs at Armstrong/Cooper, Sat vs. Anoka
12. Cretin-Derham Hall (1-0)
-A convincing win over Eden Prairie vaults the Raiders into the rankings. We’ll get a better sense of how real this is when they take on White Bear this coming weekend.
This week: Thurs vs. Woodbury, Sat at #7 White Bear Lake
13. Cloquet (2-1)
-Was fairly flat against White Bear Lake, but also cruised to easy wins over a couple of mid-tier teams, so we’ll call it a wash. They’ve got a busy week, including Stillwater’s first game of the season.
This week: Tues at Stillwater, Thurs vs. Duluth Denfeld, Fri at Hopkins
14. Eden Prairie (0-1)
-The Eagles laid an egg in their first game out of the gate against Cretin; if I’m concerned that there’s an overreaction to anything that happened in the first week and a half, it comes here, but they certainly had to drop, and it’s hard to justify putting them ahead of Cretin here in this 10-15 range given the head-to-head result. This week they host a couple of northern visitors who will tell us how real that loss was.
This week: Fri vs. Hermantown, Sat vs. Brainerd
15. Lakeville North (0-1-1)
-This is one of those odd situations where a team doesn’t win a game and climbs, but the tie with Minnetonka was a positive start, and in general they didn’t look overmatched at all in the YHH Opener, which was a concern going in. A clash with Eastview this week could bring some intrigue.
This week: Tues vs. Benilde-St. Margaret’s, Sat at Eastview
Watch List
Duluth Marshall (4-0)
-The Hilltoppers are rolling up some gaudy wins, but the quality of their opposition so far isn’t going to help convince anyone that they belong in the top 15. They’ll have their chance to prove themselves against Minnetonka this week.
Eastview (2-1)
-The Lightning turned some heads with an impressive win over Hill-Murray. A win over Jefferson, while close, helps their 3AA standing, and the St. Thomas loss was a little tighter than the scoreline showed, too. Up next: a mid-level section opponent in Rosemount and a game against Lakeville North. Two wins could get them into the top 15.
Hill-Murray (1-1)
-Not a great start for the Pioneers, as they scraped by Burnsville and got thumped by Eastview. A three-game week includes visits from one of the better A teams in Mahtomedi and another regular AA contender that took a lump this past week in Blaine. If they continue to have issues, then there are deeper concerns.
Lakeville South (2-1)
-Rolled over Prior Lake and Buffalo by solid margins, and a competitive loss to the best team in Class A isn’t a big knock against them. They’ll be favored in every game they have between now and the end of the month, so they should be able to build some momentum here.
Blaine (1-1)
-Suffered a stunner of a loss to Irondale, so we’ll pump the brakes for a moment here but also wait for more results before panicking. Their game with Hill this week should tell us more.
Brainerd (1-1)
-A 6-1 loss to Moorhead set the bar in 8AA, but they took care of business against Bemidji. They venture south now for weekend collisions with Benilde and Eden Prairie.
AA Rankings for 12/3/17
Moderators: Mitch Hawker, east hockey, karl(east)
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karl(east)
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Great job Karl
A tough assignment this week
The age old question of whether to rank based on the results to date, or whether to do projected rankings based on expectation further into the season.
Using the latter approach, I would still say Hounds should be 2, and that EP should be somewhere in mid to lower top 10
Im going to have to adjust my schedule to make sure I see CDH somewhere
A tough assignment this week
The age old question of whether to rank based on the results to date, or whether to do projected rankings based on expectation further into the season.
Using the latter approach, I would still say Hounds should be 2, and that EP should be somewhere in mid to lower top 10
Im going to have to adjust my schedule to make sure I see CDH somewhere
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alcloseshaver
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Eden Prairie might be the toughest team to figure out in the top 15. I would chalk up the loss as a bad game, although EP shouldn’t be in the top ten right now until we get a bigger sample size. Puck control issues and discipline can be corrected, and I expect them to bounce back. Talent wise, they seem to be about two lines deep offensively between Jensen-Konin-Mittelstadt-Rudrud-Jones, but lack depth defensively (Andrew Erwin the blue line anchor) which will keep them from making a serious run in March. They’ll probably finish somewhere between 6 and 10 in the rankings at the end of regular season.
Ryan
I like my games and takes juicy
I like my games and takes juicy
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oldschoolpuckster
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