Happy New Year -
1. Benilde @ 12-0-1 - 67 goals scored leads state against tough schedule. Not dominant in Holiday tournament but getting Mayer back from injury and thus Calengor back to Forward will help getting back to form they showed the first 10 games of the year.
2. Blaine @ 9-2-0 - the most dominant line in the state with over 50% of teams goals coming from Tufte and Notterman. Blessing or a curse?
3. Eden Prairie @ 10-2-0 - tough schedule and Defense only allowing 2.7 gpg is recipe for success. On paper arguably the best team in State but with their only two loses coming from #1 and #2 they fall comfortably in at #3.
4. Holy Family @ 10-3-0 - team can score and play defense. Garin leading the way on offense and Anderson not too far behind offensively but just has been outstanding defensively as well. Moe @ .930 and Stauber @ .910 have answered all questions that may have existed prior to the start of the season.
5. Stillwater @ 10-1-0 - disappointing performance against Holy Family but how they responded with dominating wins over Maple Grove and Moorhead is really impressive. Out scoring opponents by 2.5gpg with Cates, Manning, Cates top three point getters and Benson with a .907 is going to make it difficult for other Section 4 teams. Jan 23rd tilt with Hill Murray @ Aldrich will be game to be at.
Next in Line but not in any particular order:
- - Minnetonka, Elk River, Bemidji, Edina, Wayzata, Lakeville North, Grand Rapids, St. Thomas, Hill Murray.
Questions:
- Anoka is a team to watch. Very close to being considered a Top 10 team if they can beat Maple Grove, Centennial and Elk River in their upcoming games.
- Duluth East is trending up with their close loss to Blaine
- Prior Lake going 0-3 in Holiday tournament is disappointing
- Can Rosemount rattle off 6 or 7 straight wins? If so they are going to be a tough out in Section 3.
AA Rankings - Jan 3 2016
Moderators: Mitch Hawker, east hockey, karl(east)