AA Rankings for 1/7/24

[karl(east)]

“And then everyone lost” would be a fitting headline for last week, though said losses came with varying degrees of severity. The top bit, at least, is easy. Halfway through this season, it’s shaping up to a be a fascinating mix between the seemingly inevitable and the absolutely unpredictable. Your rankings:

1. Minnetonka (12-0-1)
-The Skippers are back to their dominant ways, making short work of Hill and Mahtomedi on a strong East Metro swing. They will look to rack up some points this week before diving deep into Lake action the next week.
This week: Thurs vs. Buffalo, Sat at Duluth East

2. Wayzata (12-0-2)
-The Trojans continue to keep pace with Minnetonka after obliterating Buffalo and not having too much trouble on a visit to Grand Rapids. They now enter a relaxed stretch of their schedule, with just one game in each of the next two weeks, both against Lake Conference bottom-feeders. Don’t expect any change in these top two anytime soon.
This week: Thurs at St. Michael-Albertville

3. Edina (11-2)
-After a somewhat plodding stretch of hockey, the Hornets lit up Holy Family to reassert their presence toward the top of the rankings. This spot has been hard to fill this season, but if feels like the cream is rising a bit right now. We’ll see if they can avenge their loss to St. Thomas over the holidays.
This week: Fri at #5 St. Thomas Academy, Sat at Buffalo

4. Chanhassen (11-4)
-Shutouts of Buffalo and Duluth East have the Storm moving up as other contenders for top five spots fall. Like the top two, they should be able to keep it rolling this coming week.
This week: Thurs at Waconia, Sat vs. Chaska

5. St. Thomas Academy (10-3-1)
-The Cadets keep climbing after knocking off the third-ranked team in the state for the second week in a row. The tough games keep coming, with conference supremacy on the line against Hill and a rematch with Edina looming next. A second win over the Hornets could get them up into that oft-revolving third spot.
This week: Wed at Hill-Murray, Fri vs. #3 Edina

6. Benilde-St. Margaret’s (9-2-1)
-The Red Knights suffered a setback against St. Thomas but rebounded with a win over Moorhead. It’s been a great start, but as their section rivals round into form, can they hang in there with the discipline they need to win two big section games? The week ahead features their rink-sharing rivals and a test against Eden Prairie.
This week: Tues at St. Louis Park, Thurs at #13 Eden Prairie

7. Maple Grove (9-3)
-The Crimson momentum slowed down a bit in a 1-0 loss to pesky Andover. Their holiday surge was impressive, and there is enough chaos below them that they can’t go any lower, but it remains to be seen if they really belong in the conversation with the clearer to few teams above them. The top seed in 5AA is on the line this week.
This week: Tues at #10 Rogers, Thurs vs. Armstrong/Cooper

8. Andover (9-5)
-This is the toughest spot to fill right now. The Huskies got their biggest win of the season when they edged Maple Grove and are now 7-1 in their last eight, slowly climbing the board here. They don’t play another current top 15 team until their Crimson rematch in the season’s final game, so they have a chance to stick around. All they have between now and then are a couple of borderline contenders, beginning with Centennial on Thursday.
This week: Thurs at Centennial, Sat vs. Totino-Grace

9. Holy Family (7-3-1)
- A humbling at the hands of Edina has the Fire sliding downward, and it could have been a lot worse if not for the carnage behind them. While they have taken care of everyone else, they are winless against top ten teams. A calmer week awaits them.
This week: Thurs at Delano

10. Rogers (8-4-2)
-The Royals’ fumbling run continued with a tie against an Elk River team they should have beaten, but hey, it’s not a loss, and the next four in line all lost this past week, so this record really doesn’t look to terrible considering everything else that’s going on. They’ve taken some lumps so far this season, but they can erase a lot of that from their memories with a win over Maple Grove. They can’t let up two nights later, though, with a dangerous Champlin team looming, too.
-This week: Tues vs. #7 Maple Grove, Thurs at Champlin Park

11. Rosemount (10-4)
-The Irish have lost three in a row after a stumble against Eastview this past week. Given this recent trend, the coming week will be a telling one, as they face two conference rivals that are near them in the rankings. Are they a top ten team that hit a bump, or are they returning to the pack? This week will say a lot.
This week: Tues vs. #12 Shakopee, Fri at Lakeville South

12. Shakopee (10-3-1)
-The Sabers slipped by Eastview but suffered a rough loss to Prior Lake, which not only drops them in the rankings but has the possibility of fouling up their 2AA seeding position. Rosemount this week sets up an interesting battle of South Suburban teams looking to prove something.
This week: Tues at #11 Rosemount, Sat at Farmington

13. Eden Prairie (7-4-1)
-A late comeback against Hermantown kept the Eagles’ game with the Hawks interesting, and they fall upward amid everything else going on here. The Benilde game will be telling about their ability to run with the top-end teams.
This week: Thurs vs. #6 Benilde-St. Margaret’s, Sat vs. St. Michael-Albertville

14. Eastview (7-6)
-The Lightning scored a big win over Rosemount to continue their upward movement. The record isn’t great, but they are now firmly on their way to a 1-seed in a very tight section They have a chance to keep building this week
This week: Lakeville North and Apple Valley/Burnsville.

15. Gentry Academy (12-3)
-The Stars’ 9-game winning streak took on an even brighter luster with the win over Holy Angels on Friday. They are now firmly in the thick of the 4AA race and are building as other struggle. Chaska and Lakeville North are up this week; I’d expect the streak to reach 12 before they face some serious competition again.
This week: Tues vs. Chaska, Thurs at Lakeville North

The Next Ten

Lakeville South (7-5)
-A one-goal loss to Edina was a second straight respectable result for the Cougars. Is this actually going to be a troublesome team for someone come playoff time? If they can keep it going against Rosemount this week, that may be worth watching.

Hill-Murray (5-5-2)
-The Pioneers did not hold up against the Minnetonka buzzsaw, and they followed that with a eyebrow-raising loss to Two Rivers. They’ve been flat for a bit now, and therefore drop out of the top 15. At the moment they’re going in the opposite direction of rival St. Thomas, whom they meet this week in the first of their two annual contests.

Champlin Park (8-5-1)
-The Rebels handled Blaine and Armstrong/Cooper to continue their respectable run of play. We’ll see what they can make of Rogers this coming week.

White Bear Lake (7-3-1)
-There was nothing pretty about the Bears’ 5-0 home loss to Stillwater. They continue a run of conference play now, with Park and Woodbury up this week; if they don’t sweep it, the alarm bells will go off.

Cretin-Derham Hall (7-4)
-The Raiders took care of Suburban East teams they should beat. A Stillwater team fresh off a big win is up next, and Park has some weapons to account for, too.

Stillwater (5-5)
-The Ponies burst onto the 4AA scene with a convincing win over White Bear Lake. Despite the .500 record they’ve done a good job of competing with non-Minnetonka quality teams against a tough schedule, so it’s not crazy to imagine them being a serious contender for a Tourney berth, though I’m not going to go too overboard in these rankings after one win. If they can beat Cretin this week, they’ll have some serious momentum.

Holy Angels (8-3-1)
-The battle of the Stars went poorly for the Catholics, who remain in search of a real quality win. They head northwest this week to take on Class A contender East Grand Forks, along with a section frontrunner in Alexandria.

Centennial (6-4-1)
-The Cougars secured a quality section win over Coon Rapids, which should give them good odds at a top four seed in 5AA. Andover is the main event of a three-game week ahead of them.

Grand Rapids (7-6)
-The Thunderhawks staged a dramatic comeback against Duluth East to salvage their 2-seed positioning in 7AA, and a loss to Wayzata showed where they are relative to the top teams. That all adds up to a hold in the rankings here. The Moorhead game this week will tell us something about the state of the northern contenders.

Rock Ridge (9-2-1)
-A rough loss to Hermantown doesn’t inspire a ton of confidence here, but I still like their overall record better than the 8AA teams behind them or Coon Rapids, who did not hang in there with Centennial. They should roll again this week before they start getting to some section tests that actually matter.

We’ll try again next week!

[East Side Pioneer Guy]

I can't recall a worse week of regular season hockey for Hill. Last year's 1-0 win over Deux Rivières was possibly the most embarrassing win Hill has ever had, and it's hard to believe it got worse this season. Ugh.

[Smooth]

Carl, you gotta go watch some games

[goldy313]

Exactly

By what metric is New Prague ahead of JM?

[Brodziak Fan Club]

1) These rankings are two weeks old

2) Karl is one of the most knowledgeable high school hockey contributors in the business. "Go watch some games" is such an ignorant, unproductive statement. How about a constructive comment?

3) If you're trolling, stop.