Class A Top 20 Week 6 (12/30)
Posted: Sun Dec 30, 2018 2:44 pm
With Elliott away, hopefully on some tropical island, I will get this party started myself this week. Ideally I would have preferred to wait until after completion of the Schwan’s Cup to release rankings, but that would be pretty late in the week. It seems like there is still a clear top five, though Alexandria is becoming more vulnerable. The bottom portion of the rankings are a mess, perhaps even worse than previous weeks, and the holiday tournaments didn’t help in providing much clarity.
1. Hermantown (7-3-0) (LW 1)
W 4-1 vs Blake, W 6-2 vs Brainerd, L 2-3 vs Rosemount
The Hawks went 2-1 against three top 25 AA teams in the Hilltopper Holiday Classic, falling in the final to a good Rosemount squad with a hot goalie. We finally get the showdown everyone has been clamoring for when they travel down to St. Cloud to face Cathedral Friday night.
2. St. Cloud Cathedral (12-0-0) (LW 2)
W 7-2 vs River Lakes, W 5-1 vs Mankato East, W 6-0 vs LDC
As expected, the Crusaders cruised through their three games in the Granite City Showcase and remain undefeated heading into the Hermantown showdown. A big question will be Warner’s availability, as he has been out of the lineup for nearly three weeks since being injured against Alex.
3. East Grand Forks (10-1-0) (LW 3)
Idle
The game against Gentry (which wasn’t even on the schedule as of last Sunday) was canceled. The Wave face off against cross-border rivals Grand Forks Red River and Central this week to determine who’s the boss among the greater GF area.
4. Mahtomedi (9-1-0) (LW 5)
W 7-2 vs Virginia, W 9-0 vs Hibbing, W 5-2 vs Greenway
The Zephyrs swap spots with Alexandria after sweeping through their competition in the Iron Range Invitational. Given how impressive Mahtomedi has been lately, it was tempting to leapfrog them over EGF. However, they don’t have nearly as many statement wins, and the Wave obviously did nothing to hurt their own profile. We probably won’t learn much more about the Zephyrs over the next few weeks while they face STA and HM, along with some weaker conference foes.
5. Alexandria (9-3-0) (LW 4)
L 3-5 @ Greenway, W 3-0 vs Virginia, W 9-3 vs Hibbing
The Cardinals dip slightly after dropping their IRI opener to a full-strength Greenway, then bouncing back to defeat two weaker 7A teams. Their overall profile remains strong, with no bad losses and a few strong wins scattered in. Huge sectional tilt against Sartell on Thursday.
6. Thief River Falls (7-4-2) (LW 6)
W 5-1 vs Eveleth, L 1-3 vs Fargo North
The Prowlers finally flashed some offensive firepower against Eveleth, breaking open a close game with four goals in the final period. They gave all that momentum back with a loss to a weak Fargo North team. None of the other teams below them have been world beaters, either, so they remain at the six spot for now.
7. Totino-Grace (7-3-0) (LW 11)
W 7-0 vs Minnehaha
I’m becoming an Eagle convert. Thoroughly outclassed Minnehaha in their first game of the Schwan’s Cup Bronze Division. Semifinal matchup Monday against Holy Angels awaits. The Champlin Park win is looking even better now. TG could easily jump up higher next week if they win their bracket.
8. Orono (5-4-0) (LW 9)
Idle
The Spartans were off through the holidays, but still managed to rise a spot with teams previously ranked above them playing poorly. Saturday’s till with Greenway should be a nice test for both squads.
9. Monticello (9-3-1) (LW 12)
W 4-3 (OT) vs Northern Lakes, W 7-4 vs Sartell, W 6-2 vs Mankato East
The Moose are one of the climbers of the week, after surviving a close call against NL, then spanking two pretty strong foes (including previous #7 Sartell) in the Granite City Showcase. This actually serves as a metaphor for their season, as Monti has ripped off seven straight wins following a slow start. Only action this week is against Miss 8 neighbor Buffalo.
10. Warroad (6-5-0) (LW 10)
W 3-1 vs Eau Claire North, W 4-1 vs Osseo, W 6-0 vs I-Falls
The Warriors took care of business against three weaker opponents in their holiday tournament, moving back above .500 in the process. Will provide Detroit Lakes with their first real test of the season on Saturday.
11. Greenway (4-8-0) [LW 8]
W 5-3 vs Alex, L 3-4 vs Delano, L 2-5 vs Mahtomedi
I was all prepared to write about the “resurgent Raiders” after the Alex victory. Then Greenway dropped the next two at their home tournament after Miller and Troumbley went down to injury. While the Delano loss is hard to forgive, I won’t punish them too much given that two of their top players were out.
12. Sartell-St. Stephen (8-2-0) (LW 7)
W 3-2 (OT) vs Mankato East, L 4-7 vs Monticello, W 6-0 vs St. Francis
Not a great showing for the Sabres in the Granite City Showcase, as they struggled with Mankato East and were roughed up by Monticello. Have a chance to redeem themselves right away against Alex.
13. North Branch (9-2-1) (LW 13)
W 1-0 vs Willmar, W 3-2 (OT) @ Little Falls
The Vikings continued their winning ways, even if it wasn’t exactly pretty. Face Chisago on Saturday in an important 5A contest.
14. Marshall (10-1-0) (LW 15)
W 6-1 vs Princeton
Despite being outshot handily, Marshall shellacked a pretty good Princeton team. Look to have a good shot at winning their Schwan’s Cup bracket before hosting Minnesota River on Saturday.
15. Detroit Lakes (9-0-0) (LW NR)
W 7-3 vs Providence, W 2-1 (OT) @ Fergus Falls
Welcome to the top 15, DL. The undefeated record is pretty, but let’s see how you fare against some real competition this weekend in Warroad.
Out: Duluth Denfeld (LW 14)
Honorable mentions (alphabetical order):
Duluth Denfeld (6-3-1)
W 3-2 (OT) vs Irondale, L 1-2 (OT) vs Mankato West, W 6-1 vs Apple Valley
Litchfield/Dassel-Cokato (6-3-1)
W 6-1 vs St. Francis, W 7-1 vs Northern Lakes, L 0-5 vs Cathedral
Mankato East (6-6-1)
L 2-3 (OT) vs Sartell, L 1-5 vs Cathedral, L 2-6 vs Monticello
Mound Westonka (9-3-0)
L 3-4 vs Hutchinson
Princeton (7-3-0)
L 1-6 vs Marshall
A few notes:
- Filling out the honorable mentions was a challenge. I feel lazy about recycling many of the same names, but there just aren’t that many teams jumping up to grab those spots.
- Mankato East in particular is hanging on by a thread, but their losses this week were all to ranked teams.
- That next tier of teams includes Northfield, Albert Lea, Lourdes, Little Falls, SPA, Breck, Delano, and Eveleth. We’ll see if any can string together some wins.
1. Hermantown (7-3-0) (LW 1)
W 4-1 vs Blake, W 6-2 vs Brainerd, L 2-3 vs Rosemount
The Hawks went 2-1 against three top 25 AA teams in the Hilltopper Holiday Classic, falling in the final to a good Rosemount squad with a hot goalie. We finally get the showdown everyone has been clamoring for when they travel down to St. Cloud to face Cathedral Friday night.
2. St. Cloud Cathedral (12-0-0) (LW 2)
W 7-2 vs River Lakes, W 5-1 vs Mankato East, W 6-0 vs LDC
As expected, the Crusaders cruised through their three games in the Granite City Showcase and remain undefeated heading into the Hermantown showdown. A big question will be Warner’s availability, as he has been out of the lineup for nearly three weeks since being injured against Alex.
3. East Grand Forks (10-1-0) (LW 3)
Idle
The game against Gentry (which wasn’t even on the schedule as of last Sunday) was canceled. The Wave face off against cross-border rivals Grand Forks Red River and Central this week to determine who’s the boss among the greater GF area.
4. Mahtomedi (9-1-0) (LW 5)
W 7-2 vs Virginia, W 9-0 vs Hibbing, W 5-2 vs Greenway
The Zephyrs swap spots with Alexandria after sweeping through their competition in the Iron Range Invitational. Given how impressive Mahtomedi has been lately, it was tempting to leapfrog them over EGF. However, they don’t have nearly as many statement wins, and the Wave obviously did nothing to hurt their own profile. We probably won’t learn much more about the Zephyrs over the next few weeks while they face STA and HM, along with some weaker conference foes.
5. Alexandria (9-3-0) (LW 4)
L 3-5 @ Greenway, W 3-0 vs Virginia, W 9-3 vs Hibbing
The Cardinals dip slightly after dropping their IRI opener to a full-strength Greenway, then bouncing back to defeat two weaker 7A teams. Their overall profile remains strong, with no bad losses and a few strong wins scattered in. Huge sectional tilt against Sartell on Thursday.
6. Thief River Falls (7-4-2) (LW 6)
W 5-1 vs Eveleth, L 1-3 vs Fargo North
The Prowlers finally flashed some offensive firepower against Eveleth, breaking open a close game with four goals in the final period. They gave all that momentum back with a loss to a weak Fargo North team. None of the other teams below them have been world beaters, either, so they remain at the six spot for now.
7. Totino-Grace (7-3-0) (LW 11)
W 7-0 vs Minnehaha
I’m becoming an Eagle convert. Thoroughly outclassed Minnehaha in their first game of the Schwan’s Cup Bronze Division. Semifinal matchup Monday against Holy Angels awaits. The Champlin Park win is looking even better now. TG could easily jump up higher next week if they win their bracket.
8. Orono (5-4-0) (LW 9)
Idle
The Spartans were off through the holidays, but still managed to rise a spot with teams previously ranked above them playing poorly. Saturday’s till with Greenway should be a nice test for both squads.
9. Monticello (9-3-1) (LW 12)
W 4-3 (OT) vs Northern Lakes, W 7-4 vs Sartell, W 6-2 vs Mankato East
The Moose are one of the climbers of the week, after surviving a close call against NL, then spanking two pretty strong foes (including previous #7 Sartell) in the Granite City Showcase. This actually serves as a metaphor for their season, as Monti has ripped off seven straight wins following a slow start. Only action this week is against Miss 8 neighbor Buffalo.
10. Warroad (6-5-0) (LW 10)
W 3-1 vs Eau Claire North, W 4-1 vs Osseo, W 6-0 vs I-Falls
The Warriors took care of business against three weaker opponents in their holiday tournament, moving back above .500 in the process. Will provide Detroit Lakes with their first real test of the season on Saturday.
11. Greenway (4-8-0) [LW 8]
W 5-3 vs Alex, L 3-4 vs Delano, L 2-5 vs Mahtomedi
I was all prepared to write about the “resurgent Raiders” after the Alex victory. Then Greenway dropped the next two at their home tournament after Miller and Troumbley went down to injury. While the Delano loss is hard to forgive, I won’t punish them too much given that two of their top players were out.
12. Sartell-St. Stephen (8-2-0) (LW 7)
W 3-2 (OT) vs Mankato East, L 4-7 vs Monticello, W 6-0 vs St. Francis
Not a great showing for the Sabres in the Granite City Showcase, as they struggled with Mankato East and were roughed up by Monticello. Have a chance to redeem themselves right away against Alex.
13. North Branch (9-2-1) (LW 13)
W 1-0 vs Willmar, W 3-2 (OT) @ Little Falls
The Vikings continued their winning ways, even if it wasn’t exactly pretty. Face Chisago on Saturday in an important 5A contest.
14. Marshall (10-1-0) (LW 15)
W 6-1 vs Princeton
Despite being outshot handily, Marshall shellacked a pretty good Princeton team. Look to have a good shot at winning their Schwan’s Cup bracket before hosting Minnesota River on Saturday.
15. Detroit Lakes (9-0-0) (LW NR)
W 7-3 vs Providence, W 2-1 (OT) @ Fergus Falls
Welcome to the top 15, DL. The undefeated record is pretty, but let’s see how you fare against some real competition this weekend in Warroad.
Out: Duluth Denfeld (LW 14)
Honorable mentions (alphabetical order):
Duluth Denfeld (6-3-1)
W 3-2 (OT) vs Irondale, L 1-2 (OT) vs Mankato West, W 6-1 vs Apple Valley
Litchfield/Dassel-Cokato (6-3-1)
W 6-1 vs St. Francis, W 7-1 vs Northern Lakes, L 0-5 vs Cathedral
Mankato East (6-6-1)
L 2-3 (OT) vs Sartell, L 1-5 vs Cathedral, L 2-6 vs Monticello
Mound Westonka (9-3-0)
L 3-4 vs Hutchinson
Princeton (7-3-0)
L 1-6 vs Marshall
A few notes:
- Filling out the honorable mentions was a challenge. I feel lazy about recycling many of the same names, but there just aren’t that many teams jumping up to grab those spots.
- Mankato East in particular is hanging on by a thread, but their losses this week were all to ranked teams.
- That next tier of teams includes Northfield, Albert Lea, Lourdes, Little Falls, SPA, Breck, Delano, and Eveleth. We’ll see if any can string together some wins.