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Just three weeks to go in the regular season!

1. Moorhead (19-1)
-It was a week of running time against section opponents for the Spuds, who have now won 19 straight. They hit the road this week and have contests with a couple of Class A’s better offerings, including a clash of top-ranked teams in each class on Friday.
This week: Tues at East Grand Forks, Fri at Hermantown, Sat at Brainerd

2. St. Thomas Academy (17-2)
-The Cadets kept beating the same drum with comfortable wins against a Hermantown and Grand Rapids. Most of their remaining big games are against 4AA teams, beginning with Stillwater on Tuesday.
This week: Tues at #9 Stillwater, Fri at Mahtomedi

3. Hill-Murray (17-1-1)
-An early blitz of Stillwater keeps the Pioneers right on pace in the ongoing top six battle. No one has a nastier finish, with five of their last six games coming against top five opponents: the path to figuring out State seeding very likely goes through Hill.
This week: Fri vs. #5 Edina, Sat at #5 Edina

4. Rogers (17-1-1)
-The Royals kept the beat going and have now won nine straight, and they do start to come up out of the underbelly of their schedule this week when they face two of the better teams in the Northwest Suburban and 5AA. There is a gap, but just how large is it?
This week: Thurs vs. Blaine, Sat at Maple Grove

5. Edina (14-5)
-The Hornets are regaining some momentum after a comfortable win over Minnetonka. The annual home-and-home with Hill this week gives them a chance to make a little move in this top tier.
This week: Fri at #3 Hill-Murray, Sat vs. #3 Hill-Murray

6. Cretin-Derham Hall (16-2-1)
-The Raiders marched along, finishing off Forest Lake and section opponent Eastview. They’ll look to keep their perfect conference record rolling this coming week before they get around to their rematches with the two other top ten teams in the Suburban East.
This week: Thurs at Mounds View, Sat vs. East Ridge

7. White Bear Lake (13-3-2)
-The Bears took care of business against East Ridge and Mounds View. The stakes get higher this week, as they face a tough Minnetonka team in desperate search of a quality win and then collide with Stillwater for the second of what will likely be three meetings, with the next one coming in the 4AA semifinals.
This week: Thurs at Minnetonka, Sat vs. #9 Stillwater

8. Rosemount (19-2)
-The Irish continue to turn South Suburban competition to cannon fodder. In a follow-up to last week’s critique about bleeding goals, they have now given up exactly three goals in their past five games. That’s fine against their current opponents, but probably less fine against Cretin or St. Thomas.
This week: Idle

9. Stillwater (14-4)
-The Ponies got a couple of decent wins in conference play, but a loss to Hill eliminates any possibility of earning the top seed in 4AA. The week ahead is a big one, as they try to show they can do something against St. Thomas and then face White Bear in a contest that will settle the 2-seed in the section.
This week: Tues vs. #2 St. Thomas Academy, Thurs vs. Woodbury, Sat at #7 White Bear Lake

10. Shakopee (14-5-1)
-The Sabers pulled away from Maple Grove in their Hockey Day showcase, a solid showing that has me again nudging them to the front of a very crowded tier. They’ll just need to keep things going against conference competition this week.
This week: Tues at Lakeville South

11. Holy Angels (16-2-1)
-The Stars made a statement with a 4-1 win over Wayzata, proving they can beat top 6AA competition. Suddenly, with a win over Benilde this week, they will be on track to claim the top seed in the section, and while that doesn’t mean a whole ton in a four-team race, it could at least help them avoid Edina until a potential section final. At the very least, they’ve shown they have the pieces to win it.
This week: Tues vs. #12 Benilde-St. Margaret’s, Sat vs. Hudson (WI)

12. Benilde-St. Margaret’s (12-5)
-The Red Knights did a decent job of sticking around against Hill, but remain on the outside looking in against top notch opponents. They can really throw 6AA for a loop if they beat Holy Angels this week.
This week: Tues at #11 Holy Angels, Thurs at Orono, Sat vs. St. Louis Park

13. Eden Prairie (10-7-2)
-It was a week of good vibes for the Eagles, who shut out Minnetonka to take a step closer to the top seed in 2AA and held off Hibbing to win on Hockey Day. They now control their own destiny for that top seed and are through the toughest of the Lake, with just rematches against Edina and Minnetonka left on their schedule.
This week: Thurs at St. Michael-Albertville, Sat at Hopkins

14. Wayzata (11-7-2)
-The Trojans were held to one goal by Holy Angels, which throws 6AA seeding up for grabs and has them in one of those muddy good-but-not-quite-coherent Wayzata moods. They have over a week without games to lick their wounds, and when they resume, it is not against one of the three great Lake powers.
This week: Sat vs. St. Michael-Albertville

15. Grand Rapids (13-6)
-The Thunderhawks slipped in a shutout win over Brainerd, but followed that up with a loss to St. Thomas that left them with just one goal in their last three games against top ten teams. That, obviously, will not cut it offensively. It’s now time for the Thunderhawks to show if they are indeed the comfortable favorite in 7AA, as they play three teams who will probably be fellow top five seeds this coming week. The Rock Ridge game is the obvious headliner here, but Duluth Marshall has had some flashes of respectability and that road trip to Andover brings a big question mark with it, too.
This week: Tues vs. Duluth Marshall, Thurs vs. Rock Ridge, Sat at Andover

The Next Ten

Rock Ridge (16-3-1)
-The Wolverines continue to pile up wins and score goals in bunches, this past week making short work of a top five Class A team in Cloquet. They’ve got some momentum, but we’ll get a better sense of how real it is this week when they face two Iron Range area rivals, with a skilled young Hibbing team preceding the battle for the top seed in 7AA with Grand Rapids.

Minnetonka (10-8-1)
-The Skippers encountered rough seas this past week, scoring zero goals against conference rivals Eden Prairie and Edina; the quality win just will not come. Their road to the finish is not easy, but White Bear gives them a shot at something this coming week.

Maple Grove (10-7-1)
-The Crimson lost to Shakopee outdoors and, all in all, have been one of the steadier teams this season, basically locked in right around here in the rankings throughout. After a game with Centennial, they get the section showdown with Rogers and a chance to prove they’re in the picture to win the thing.

Bemidji (12-4-1)
-Bemidji fell in the battle of Lumberjacks against Cloquet; seeing as another team in this neighborhood, Rock Ridge, handled the Jacks in purple this past week, that’s cause to drop the Jacks in blue a bit. Warroad headlines a three-game week ahead.

Lakeville South (10-8)
-The Cougars are winning games they should win by good margins and have now rattled off five wins in a row. Shakopee this week will be a good test of this seeming improvement.

Park of Cottage Grove (11-6-1)
-The Wolfpack has been winning comfortably against teams that are not the big three in the Suburban East lately. They’ll look to keep that going in a three-game week ahead.

Holy Family (13-6)
-Skated past a couple of Duluth schools. Delano is their only opponent this coming week.

Champlin Park (12-7)
-The Rebels slipped past Elk River and handled Osseo, which keeps them steady. Respectable Totino is their only competition this coming week.

Andover (7-11)
-The Huskies rolled past Osseo. Now things start to get a bit more challenging, with a couple of decent conference opponents in Blaine and Totino, and then a visit from 7AA frontrunner Grand Rapids.

Totino-Grace (9-6-1)
-Recent results include a win over Blaine, a tie with Maple Grove, and a two-goal loss to Rogers, so this squad makes its top 25 debut. A win over Champlin this week could have them looking at a 3-seed in 5AA.

And a look at section races, as we head down to the wire:

1AA
20 Lakeville South
Lakeville North
Rochester Century/John Marshall
New Prague
-Last time around I made some optimistic notes about Century/John Marshall, but between some rough results there and South rolling to a second solid win over North, this one is looking pretty obvious. New Prague continues to do enough to get the 4-seed, and is locked in at least there, with a game against North remaining. That and a Century/John Marshall meeting with Owatonna are the only games left that could upend this order.

2AA
13 Eden Prairie
16 Minnetonka
10 Shakopee
22 Holy Family
-Eden Prairie is doing what it needs to do to win the top seed here and will bring a perfect section record into the rematch with Minnetonka. If Minnetonka can win the rematch the Skippers will have an argument, but all results may still matter given the tightness of the race and the fact that Tonka tied Shakopee, while Eden Prairie beat the Sabers. Shakopee is probably stuck with the 3-seed at this point, having lost to Eden Prairie and Holy Family and not done quite enough outside the section to make a serious case that they’re better than the rest.

3AA
2 St. Thomas Academy
6 Cretin-Derham Hall
8 Rosemount
21 Park of Cottage Grove
-Barring an epic collapse by someone, I think we can lock this one in. St. Thomas is the clear top seed with a win over Cretin, and Rosemount’s schedule just doesn’t give it enough of a chance to prove the Irish are better than Cretin. The only possible wrinkles could come via a Park-Cretin game in the season’s final week, or in Park’s game with respectable Two Rivers.

4AA
3 Hill-Murray
7 White Bear Lake
9 Stillwater
Gentry Academy
-With wins over their closest competitors, Hill has locked up the top seed here. Two and three could potentially flip if Stillwater wins the rematch this week, but otherwise, this one is looking pretty official, too.

5AA
4 Rogers
18 Maple Grove
25 Totino-Grace
23 Champlin Park
-This section still has some things to be decided. I’m not sure a loss to Maple Grove would drop Rogers from the top spot, but those two do play this week. Champlin still has Blaine and Totino, which could move them up to the 3-seed or down to the 5-spot. We’ll see if Totino can continue its momentum here, too.

6AA
11 Holy Angels
14 Wayzata
5 Edina
12 Benilde-St. Margaret’s
-And then there’s this section. Holy Angels, with a win over Benilde (and Blake) this coming week, would be undefeated in the section in command of the race for the 1-seed. In that situation, Benilde would be stuck at 4, and the Wayzata-Edina is a straightforward battle for the 2-seed, with Wayzata taking it if they can sweep the Hornets and Edina taking it on overall record if they earn a split. If Benilde wins this game, on the other hand, it’s chaos. If that happens, I could see Holy Angels falling all the way to 4 given their overall schedule, while Benilde slides up to 3 and Edina-Wayzata settles 1 vs. 2. But, every game might just matter down the stretch.

7AA
15 Grand Rapids
16 Rock Ridge
24 Andover
Forest Lake
-There hasn’t been much to say here, but Rapids’ games with Rock Ridge, Andover, and Duluth Marshall this coming week will tell us an awful lot. Andover continues to intrigue me, but does need to do something in an upcoming stretch of big games to justify this high a seed; I don’t think Forest Lake should go any lower than 4 given their schedule unless Duluth Marshall, who is sitting in 5-seed position at the moment and has a bunch of section games coming up, can beat Grand Rapids or something. We should have clarity here pretty soon.

8AA
1 Moorhead
19 Bemidji
Elk River
St. Michael-Albertville
-The top two should be locked in. After that it’s a great big shrug, as Elk River, Roseau, Sartell, and St. Michael-Albertville are all 1-1 or 1-1-1 against each other. Sartell and STMA play this week, so I think the winner of that is the 3-seed, while the loser will be relegated to 6. I think the Elks have done enough to be next in line in this situation, but just about any outcome is possible and those should be two fun quarterfinals here.

East-Side Rankings for 01/26/2025

1. Moorhead (19-1)
2. Saint Thomas Academy (17-2)
3. Hill-Murray (17-1-1)
4. Rogers (17-1-1)
5. Edina (14-5)
6. Cretin-Derham Hall (16-2-1)
7. Holy Angels (16-2-1)
8. Rosemount (19-2)
9. White Bear Lake (13-3-2)
10. Shakopee (14-5-1)
11. Stillwater (14-4)
12. Benilde-St. Margaret (12-5)
13. Rock Ridge (16-3-1)
14. Bemidji (12-4-1)
15. Wayzata (11-7-2)
16. Grand Rapids (13-6)
17. Eden Prairie (10-7-2)
18. Minnetonka (10-8-1)
19. Maple Grove (10-7-1)
20. Holy Family (13-6)

Also Receiving Votes: Blaine (12-5), Park of Cottage Grove (11-6-1), Champlin Park (12-7), Roseville (12-8), Two Rivers (13-3-2)

Hold on just a ding dang minute.

Apparently in the last five years or so I missed the memo that a team's record agin' section opponents is the end all and be all of section seeding. My reading of section seeding, which goes back to the days of region seeding, is that is a factor, but not necessarily the primary or overriding factor in determining seedings.

The thought that Edina would be #5 or 6 in the state and #2 in the section to a team that isn't even in the state top ten is ludicrous. That AHA should be rewarded for playing a weak schedule is just laughable. ''Well, they beat the teams they're supposed, didn't they?" just doesn't hold water. Year after year we see one or two teams that rack up wins with a less than impressive schedule, only to see them fizzle out in later February. I don't recall a team like that even making it to the semifinals. A tepid schedule prepares you for nothing more than a disappointing section tournament.

No, we don't know 100% for sure if Edina would beat AHA, that's why we play the games. We've all seen surprising and even shocking section upsets. That goes without saying. Can anyone seriously tell me that AHA would be favored to win 6AA over Edina? Would you put a few hundred bucks on that? If we're going to laud AHA for the win over Wayzata, we also have to note that they lost to Andover. Four of Edina's 5 losses are to the #1 and 2 teams, and they don't having anything approaching a loss to lowly Andover, a loss indicating that AHA has not actually beaten everyone they should.

We can argue all we want about how seeding should properly be done (that is the purpose of the forum, is it not?), but at the end of the day, coaches can rank section opponents however they want.

If Edina wins the rematch with Wayzata they will most likely earn the #1, even if Holy Angels beats Benilde.

Holy Angels has a win over Wayzata, but so would Edina in the scenario above. Their loss to Wayzata was in overtime. I don't see losses to St. T & Moorhead dragging Edina out of the #1.

Now if they lose to Wayzata, no doubt the Stars are #1 with a perfect in-section record that would include wins over B-SM & Wayzata.

O-townClown wrote: ↑Sun Jan 26, 2025 11:42 am If Edina wins the rematch with Wayzata they will most likely earn the #1, even if Holy Angels beats Benilde.

Holy Angels has a win over Wayzata, but so would Edina in the scenario above. Their loss to Wayzata was in overtime. I don't see losses to St. T & Moorhead dragging Edina out of the #1.

Now if they lose to Wayzata, no doubt the Stars are #1 with a perfect in-section record that would include wins over B-SM & Wayzata.

And Edina plays HM twice this weekend. I don't expect it to happen, but if HM somehow sweeps, now you are talking a 7 loss Edina team and the AHA record looks pretty good against that. If I had to put money on it, I'd bet Edina, but with their history who wouldn't? And the older I get, the less I care about section seedings. You have to beat the teams in your section, period. And yeah, the 3 seed is often quite a bit better than the 4 seed, but you still have to get it done.

Time to address the AHA issue as most know I am a homer, but a fan of High School Hockey. Yes, they play a weaker schedule, and they have for the last 30 years. During the early 2000's they did pretty good in the sections and tournament. During that time their conference schedule was weaker than now, and they played these teams twice. Schools cannot help their conference schedule. Now they are again in a conference that is not filled with superior teams but does have one of the top teams in class A. Coach Griswold is doing a great job getting games against better teams each year, but you cannot play the best team every game. just not possible. For this year I can only say that when they lost to CDH and Andover they were missing a huge part of the lineup and both games were close. Had that player been there, things might have been different. Playing against Wayzata the entire team was there, and the score should have been more like 7-1. Just think what that would say about them. Tuesday is the biggest game for them. Not sure about the seeding for the section, but it does not matter because they all have to get through Edina, BSM, Wayzata and AHA. But the quarterfinals come first....GO STARS

Sparlimb wrote: ↑Sun Jan 26, 2025 11:59 am And the older I get, the less I care about section seedings. You have to beat the teams in your section, period. And yeah, the 3 seed is often quite a bit better than the 4 seed, but you still have to get it done.

I agree. You still have to beat the best. I laugh at all the people that complained about the college football playoff seeding. Championships are earned, not handed out because you were the best at avoiding playing the top teams.

Zamman wrote: ↑Sun Jan 26, 2025 12:25 pm Time to address the AHA issue as most know I am a homer, but a fan of High School Hockey. Yes, they play a weaker schedule, and they have for the last 30 years. During the early 2000's they did pretty good in the sections and tournament. During that time their conference schedule was weaker than now, and they played these teams twice. Schools cannot help their conference schedule. Now they are again in a conference that is not filled with superior teams but does have one of the top teams in class A. Coach Griswold is doing a great job getting games against better teams each year, but you cannot play the best team every game. just not possible. For this year I can only say that when they lost to CDH and Andover they were missing a huge part of the lineup and both games were close. Had that player been there, things might have been different. Playing against Wayzata the entire team was there, and the score should have been more like 7-1. Just think what that would say about them. Tuesday is the biggest game for them. Not sure about the seeding for the section, but it does not matter because they all have to get through Edina, BSM, Wayzata and AHA. But the quarterfinals come first....GO STARS

First, you absolutely can do something about your conference opponents. Ask Hill, STA, or Duluth East. Second, they have only three games against opponents of any consequence. We can, and should, hold a weak schedule against a team. We know who you play makes a difference at playoff time.

You lose one player and you end up losing to a mediocre opponent? Even if it's close, that's a bad sign.

Coaches may choose to rank based on head to head play, but that is a choice, not a binding requirement. Otherwise there would be no need to vote.

Also, head to head play is not valid as the end all and be all, because those records are far from a perfect parallel. I believe that in some states, for football. your section is your conference, the sum total of your regular season schedule. Hill did not play Stillwater for many years. Now they play once, but WB and Stillwater play twice. AHA doesn't even play Edina, how does that work for head to head? It only allows for the transitive property, which we all know is anything but reliable as an indicator.

Hopkins doesn't play a single conference opponent for boys hockey. I guess they got it figured out.

East Side Pioneer Guy wrote: ↑Sun Jan 26, 2025 9:14 pm Coaches may choose to rank based on head to head play, but that is a choice, not a binding requirement. Otherwise there would be no need to vote.

Also, head to head play is not valid as the end all and be all, because those records are far from a perfect parallel. I believe that in some states, for football. your section is your conference, the sum total of your regular season schedule. Hill did not play Stillwater for many years. Now they play once, but WB and Stillwater play twice. AHA doesn't even play Edina, how does that work for head to head? It only allows for the transitive property, which we all know is anything but reliable as an indicator.

Hopkins doesn't play a single conference opponent for boys hockey. I guess they got it figured out.

That’s because Hopkins is independent for hockey

bardown27 wrote: ↑Sun Jan 26, 2025 9:27 pm

East Side Pioneer Guy wrote: ↑Sun Jan 26, 2025 9:14 pm Coaches may choose to rank based on head to head play, but that is a choice, not a binding requirement. Otherwise there would be no need to vote.

Also, head to head play is not valid as the end all and be all, because those records are far from a perfect parallel. I believe that in some states, for football. your section is your conference, the sum total of your regular season schedule. Hill did not play Stillwater for many years. Now they play once, but WB and Stillwater play twice. AHA doesn't even play Edina, how does that work for head to head? It only allows for the transitive property, which we all know is anything but reliable as an indicator.

Hopkins doesn't play a single conference opponent for boys hockey. I guess they got it figured out.

That’s because Hopkins is independent for hockey

I appreciate you're proving my point. What Hopkins can do, others can do as well.

East Side Pioneer Guy wrote: ↑Sun Jan 26, 2025 9:14 pm Coaches may choose to rank based on head to head play, but that is a choice, not a binding requirement. Otherwise there would be no need to vote.

Also, head to head play is not valid as the end all and be all, because those records are far from a perfect parallel. I believe that in some states, for football. your section is your conference, the sum total of your regular season schedule. Hill did not play Stillwater for many years. Now they play once, but WB and Stillwater play twice. AHA doesn't even play Edina, how does that work for head to head? It only allows for the transitive property, which we all know is anything but reliable as an indicator.

Hopkins doesn't play a single conference opponent for boys hockey. I guess they got it figured out.

Most sections have by-laws that say you vote: 1) H2H, 2) Strength of Schedule. The voting comes more in to place when teams all beat each other. 5-8 is done in that section - with 5) Blake, 6) SLP, 7) Hopkins, Armstrong. SLP has a better body of work - but Blake beat them. Same with Hopkins and Armstrong.

Hopkins didn't figure it out - the other teams in the conference got them out.

Not saying it's right or wrong - but that's how it goes.

https://www.mshsl.org/sites/default/fil ... eeding.pdf

MSHSL METHOD OF SEEDING

Section 8A simply states “seeding by coaches vote”; which would revert to MSHSL. WHICH GIVES 3 options none of which state what they must take into consideration.

elliott70 wrote: ↑Mon Jan 27, 2025 8:37 am Section 8A simply states “seeding by coaches vote”; which would revert to MSHSL. WHICH GIVES 3 options none of which state what they must take into consideration.

Head to head is only mentioned in terms of a tie AFTER voting.

East Side Pioneer Guy wrote: ↑Mon Jan 27, 2025 9:46 am

elliott70 wrote: ↑Mon Jan 27, 2025 8:37 am Section 8A simply states “seeding by coaches vote”; which would revert to MSHSL. WHICH GIVES 3 options none of which state what they must take into consideration.

Head to head is only mentioned in terms of a tie AFTER voting.

right.

AHA was independant but did not feel like they had a home conference so they joined one. I am not sure but heard a rumor they may be leaving for a different one. I always thought that when the Missota disbanded they should have went to the Metro West instead of Richfield. BUt what do I know.

Everyone cannot play Edina, they have their conference and their reguilar games every year, tradition. I wish we could have gotten them this yeat. But may see them in sections.

Zamman wrote: ↑Mon Jan 27, 2025 2:46 pm AHA was independant but did not feel like they had a home conference so they joined one. I am not sure but heard a rumor they may be leaving for a different one. I always thought that when the Missota disbanded they should have went to the Metro West instead of Richfield. BUt what do I know.

Everyone cannot play Edina, they have their conference and their reguilar games every year, tradition. I wish we could have gotten them this yeat. But may see them in sections.

And to be fair, Holy Angels is playing a better schedule than Rosemount. Its really the same question with Rock Ridge, until they play the better teams, its really hard to know how much to trust their record. Holy Angels is legit though.

GR has a way to go. I was hoping they would look a little better by now. I’m not panicking yet though. Plenty of time before it really matters.

Goaltending is great. Both guys.

Coaching is top notch.

They will find a little more offense.

Hang in there. The Halloween Machine is coming.

I wouldn’t sleep on Rock Ridge. They have some good stuff going on as well.

So on the season, AHA will be 1-2 against quality opponents, and also the clunker against Andover.

East Side Pioneer Guy wrote: ↑Tue Jan 28, 2025 9:35 pm So on the season, AHA will be 1-2 against quality opponents, and also the clunker against Andover.

Andover is sure coming on. They are the dark horse in 7AA.

The forum is thick with AHA apologists.