The Real 2007 /2008 Bantam A Rankings

[i_live_4_hockey]

my2cents:

I looked at minnetonka's record, and they have tied EP, Wayzata, Edina and lost to EP in OT so why wouldnt they be right behind those teams in the rankings.

[Chuck Norris Fan]

1. EP – Winners/ Barely over Maple Grove.
2. Wayzata –
3. Edina - Playing well it shows beating up Centennial
4. East – Beats Centennial in OT
5. St. Cloud - Tied Centennial, having their way in D10.
6. Centennial – Tied St. Cloud, Beat SSM & WBL, and lost to Edina & East
7. Burnsville – Will see how they do in St. Cloud
8. Moorhead – Can show well in St. Cloud tourney
9. Woodbury – Could be dangerous come regions
10. Minnetonka – in bracket with burnsville and st. cloud next weekend
11. Stillwater -
12. Champlin / Brooklyn Park – Playing well as of late
13. Grand Rapids – lost a couple in Roseau
14. Maple Grove – what a jekyl and hyde team.
15. Duluth Lakers -
16. Jefferson / Kennedy – lost to prior lake, still a better team
17. Eagan - not in top tier but good
18. Roseau – tough home weekend, not showing as a top team
19. Bemidji –
20. White Bear- no matter how bad they are would not want to face them in playoffs

[huskies33]

Looks pretty good Chuck! Everyone looks forward to the rankings...Think the Lakers and MG may be a bit ranked a bit high, but good rankings

[D16Dad]

Chuck

Been looking forward to your latest, thought I would push the issue

[epyha121]

Just pushing the issue

[FREDFLINTSTONE]

Where's Chuck Harris?

[peanutbutter]

1) EP
2) Wayzata
3) Edina
4) Minnetonka
5) Moorhead
6) St.Cloud
7) East
Centennial
9) Burnsville
10) Maple Grove
11) Champlin Park
12) GR
13) Woodbury
14) Lakers
15) Bemidji

[Chuck Norris Fan]

Sorry for the delay, the last top 20 posted got zero responses so I didn't think you guys cared.

1. EP – Have not been as dominate as early in the year
2. Wayzata – Clearly a top 2 team
3. Edina - Nice win over EP lets see it in playoffs
4. St. Cloud - Sure Can score goals, Wins D10
5. Burnsville – solid team
6. Minnetonka – best team on west side
7. Centennial – can't score enough to overcome back up goalie
8. Moorhead –
9. East – struggeling right now
10. Woodbury – goaltending, goaltending, goaltending
11. Bemidji – has been very good as of late
12. Champlin / Brooklyn Park – Big team, could be good, and then isn't
13. Grand Rapids – solid goaltending, could be deadly to other teams
14. White Bear- could be scary good
15. Rochester - they trapped me into this one
16. Stillwater -
17. Maple Grove – up and down year continues with bad showing in WBL
18. Duluth Lakers -
19. Roseau –
20. Jefferson / Kennedy –

[my2cents]

Now for the REAL rankings (actually not that different):

1) EP
2) Wayzata (got thumped by MG but still consistently good)
3) Edina (on a little roll)
4) St Cloud (when they have the edge, they bury teams)
5) Champlin (On a big time roll)
6) D East (2 tough OT losses in WBL followed by annhilation to Woodbury)
7) Minnetonka (only a couple bad games this year)
B'ville (needs stiffer competition from outside D6 to be considered higher)
9) Moorhead (needs stiffer competition from outside D15 to be considered higher)
10) Roseville (quietly making a case as best in D2)
11) Stillwater (Roseville's case as best in D2 isn't that strong)
12) Maple Grove (actually faired well in WBL taking cons and beating Wayzata-the makings of a giant killer)
13) Centennial (lots of close losses doesn't add up to a #7 - CNF)
14) WBL (they beat everyone including themselves)
15) Grand Rapids
16) Rochester (consistent top defense)
17) Bemidji (OK I'll bite, but who have they beat?)
18) Woodbury (very bad showing in WBL)
19) Blmtn Jeff
20) Roseau (slip sliding away...)

Outside looking in:
Blaine (some nice wins lately over WBL & DE, but then again...)
Eagan (talent but lack of team offense)
No St Paul (steady play and scoring ability, but easy schedule)
Duluth Lakers (one nice win early in the year and they are still getting ranked for it)

[Fire and Ice]

My2Cents....doesnt count! only the CNF has the answer. Read the tails behind the team. He recognizes what teams have injuries or other factors that have caused some interesting losses. But the playoffs usually take care of the lip flappin.

[punchinbag]

Who has Bemidji beat? Let's see...no one really. Did play Wayzata in tourney championship but lost 2-1 even though Bemidji scored two goals (one for Wayzata and one for Bemidji). Did play Minnetonka in St. Cloud championship, accidently won that one I guess. A fluke. Beat Roseau and Grand Rapids, both flukes too I guess. Nope. If I were other teams, I wouldn't be too worried about Bemidji. Hey, there from the north, they can't be that good right?! Just extremely lucky. I would look past them if I were an opponent of theirs.

Chuck, keep the faith man. You do a great job! We all look forward to your posts as they are dead on usually.

2cents, there are teams from north of I 94 that can actually play. GR has beat DE twice this year. Give them some respect too. And Roseau, shame be the team that feels that Roseau is slippin away. If you do that, it will be an early bus ride home:) Watch out for EGF too.

There, my 3 cents!

[peanutbutter]

Bemidji also lost to Moorhead twice, the same moorhead team that also has not played anybody yet this year!!

[punchinbag]

butter, you are right. Moorhead has a fine team. They are fun to watch. Someday, the outstate teams will get some respect from the beltline. Hopefully, it is in Mid March. Until then, I hope the northern teams keep getting overlooked by people other than Chuck Norris, who seems to know his hockey.

[Polarhockey4]

My2cents- I agree we do not have the hardest schedule in the state. But to say it is easy I don't agree. We have played a total of 8 teams on your top 20 a total of 18 times of our 47 games. Also according to mnhockeyrankings.com we have played 9 of the top twenty. 24 times of our 47 games and overall records as of right now is 28 wins 13 losses and 6 ties 3 of the ties are against number 10 Stillwater. Also district 2 has 3 teams in the top 20 and two in the top 15.

Stillwater 10
Roseville 13
Wbl at 18.

[my2cents]

woahh. I have the northern teams ranked as high as CNF does (within a couple spots). No bias against northern teams at all. If Moorhead had a tougher schedule, they may very well beat some top teams. I wouldn't bet against it. Their one chance against a top team resulted in Champlin beating them on their home rink, but that was a long time ago. CNF is ragging on DE which I rank much higher. Not exactly bias against northern teams on my part.

CNF has Centennial at #7. Nice 5-1 loss to Blaine the other day to go along with the 6-0 loss to EP and losses to Rochester and WBL in the last two weeks. Just what you'd expect from a #7 team.

Grand Rapids has some nice wins, but also no consistency against lower teams. A good team of course, but too flakey to rank higher. I'll give kudos to Bemidji who has played well and I will admit HAS beaten some teams, but on home or neutral sights. So move them up a few spots, however, I don't see them putting up lots of goals against lowly teams like top teams do. Yes, Roseau is dangerous. Maybe they are having their lull at the right team to peak at the right time, but you can't consistently beat good teams with just a few players.

No St Paul guy, relax. Look at your schedule. Yes, lots of games against the D2 teams ranked 10-20, but very few against the top 10 and no wins. Still, keep in minds that I mention you and CNF doesn't.

If you look closely, you'll see that my rankings fall in line with the computer rankings more so than CNF's.

So what does this all mean? Squat. At the end of the year in playoff games, we will see some surprises. I expect the outstate teams to give a good showing. The metro teams tend to get the early jump since they start playing games before the northern teams even have tryouts. It all evens out. The creams usually rises to the top, but hockey can be cruel and so can a chatboard post.

[peanutbutter]

Mhd has beaten Minnetonka, Burnsville, Eagan, GR twice, Bemidji twice, roseau twice and when they lost to Champlin Park they were short 5 guys to the flu. not saying they would have bet them because they are very good but it would have been closer!

[my2cents]

How did Mhd fare against St Cloud, EP, Wayzata, Edina, DE? At this point we don't know. Keep in mind the teams you list have also been beaten by non top 20 teams. You could also look at this and say that the other northern teams beaten by Mhd shouldn't be ranked so highly (here we go again).

Not to rag on Mhd. They are a fine team and they will have their chance to strut their stuff soon. They do have the best record of all of the MN Bantam A teams.

This just goes to show that when you've got 100 teams playing 40-50 games and even the best teams have 5-10 losses you can rationalize any point you want to make by selective reasoning. For example, you could take Blaine and point out that they have beaten WBL (5-2), Centennial (5-1), Eagan (6-0) Maple Grove (1-0), Rochester (2-1), Champlin (5-3) Duluth East (3-2) and say THEY are a top 10 team, but they are not. But it does show that rankings mean little once the puck is dropped, and that is why we play the games.

[Chuck Norris Fan]

How did Mhd fare against St Cloud, EP, Wayzata, Edina, DE? At this point we don't know. Keep in mind the teams you list have also been beaten by non top 20 teams. You could also look at this and say that the other northern teams beaten by Mhd shouldn't be ranked so highly (here we go again).

Not to rag on Mhd. They are a fine team and they will have their chance to strut their stuff soon. They do have the best record of all of the MN Bantam A teams.

This just goes to show that when you've got 100 teams playing 40-50 games and even the best teams have 5-10 losses you can rationalize any point you want to make by selective reasoning. For example, you could take Blaine and point out that they have beaten WBL (5-2), Centennial (5-1), Eagan (6-0) Maple Grove (1-0), Rochester (2-1), Champlin (5-3) Duluth East (3-2) and say THEY are a top 10 team, but they are not. But it does show that rankings mean little once the puck is dropped, and that is why we play the games.

First of I would like to point out something I have said all year long... Bantam A is down this year as a whole. If the EP, Wyzata, or Centennial teams of last year were here no one else would touch them. The 06 Centennial and Edina teams would probably not lost to anyone but each other if they played in this season. But that is not the case there is so much parity in the state right now anyone can beat anyone...well almost.

So that leads me to rankings, how do you rank teams that loose on any given night to one team and end up beating the best team a week later (maple grove for example). You have to take all factors into play and not just wins and losses (ie the computer). For example your Ep / Centennial Game 6-0. Not that Centennial has been all that close this year but a back up goalie who has not played well all year plays in that game and not the starter makes a difference, Moorhead sick players against champlin, Centnnial Blaine with nothing on the line for Centennial, Ep Edina game, with nothing on the line for EP. This makes a difference when the game is played.

My Rankings are my feelings and my feelings only on who I think are the best teams, now who won a game here and there. I watch a lot of hockey all over the state and see a lot of teams. Take it or leave it, but take all the factors into consideration. By the way my 2 cents Wayzata lost to Minnetonka and only beat Centennial by one, should they be ranked #2 still??????????????????? absolutly YES!

[punchinbag]

Thanks CNF! We do appreciate the time and thought that you put into your rankings. The old saying is true...on any given Sunday. You are correct when you say you can't just look at wins and losses on a particular night or overall record. If that were the case, Sartell would be in the top five.

[cutanddrive]

My2cents- I agree we do not have the hardest schedule in the state. But to say it is easy I don't agree. We have played a total of 8 teams on your top 20 a total of 18 times of our 47 games. Also according to mnhockeyrankings.com we have played 9 of the top twenty. 24 times of our 47 games and overall records as of right now is 28 wins 13 losses and 6 ties 3 of the ties are against number 10 Stillwater. Also district 2 has 3 teams in the top 20 and two in the top 15.

Stillwater 10
Roseville 13
Wbl at 18.

Is Stillwater untested?

[my2cents]

CNF: Thanks for your insight. There is no fun in having you put your rankings out there if we can't take some pot shots. Keep them coming.

I disagree a little bit about Bantam A being down this year. I agree they are down somewhat, but maybe not to the extent that you claim (however I can't possibly quantify that). Our current top team, EP - the defending BA champs, has goaltending to match last year's team, better defense, and just as much, if not more scoring punch. St Cloud's team is almost all returning A players and I didn't see a team with that much skill last season. I can think of a few premier returning players that are not blowing everyone away this season. Why? Because everyone improves, every year and the gap closes. We always tend to think that as our kids get older, the levels below them don't look as strong as they were when "our kids" played that level. You have to remember that we remember the quality of EP, Edina, DE, Centennial etc at the end of LAST year compared to how they look at the beginning of this NEW year's season. Not end of year to end of year.

I have decided to claim Lake of the Woods (#98 out of 99 teams on the computer ranks) as our new #1.

Lake of the Woods beat Irondale
Irondale beat Washburn
Washburn beat Little Falls
Little Falls beat Buffalo
Buffalo beat Armstrong
Armstrong beat Rogers
Rogers beat Blaine
Blaine beat Duluth East
Duluth East beat EP.

So there you have it.

[Fire and Ice]

Just like my earlier post. CNF has the inside track to the state's best Bantam A teams. He knows when teams have injuries or other factors that skew the game.

My 2 cents hang onto Irondale....do they still have an A team?

[elliott70]

Now for the REAL rankings (actually not that different):

1) EP
2) Wayzata (got thumped by MG but still consistently good)
3) Edina (on a little roll)
4) St Cloud (when they have the edge, they bury teams)
5) Champlin (On a big time roll)
6) D East (2 tough OT losses in WBL followed by annhilation to Woodbury)
7) Minnetonka (only a couple bad games this year)
8. B'ville (needs stiffer competition from outside D6 to be considered higher)
9) Moorhead (needs stiffer competition from outside D15 to be considered higher)
10) Roseville (quietly making a case as best in D2)
11) Stillwater (Roseville's case as best in D2 isn't that strong)
12) Maple Grove (actually faired well in WBL taking cons and beating Wayzata-the makings of a giant killer)
13) Centennial (lots of close losses doesn't add up to a #7 - CNF)
14) WBL (they beat everyone including themselves)
15) Grand Rapids
16) Rochester (consistent top defense)
17) Bemidji (OK I'll bite, but who have they beat?)
18. Woodbury (very bad showing in WBL)
19) Blmtn Jeff
20) Roseau (slip sliding away...)

Outside looking in:
Blaine (some nice wins lately over WBL & DE, but then again...)
Eagan (talent but lack of team offense)
No St Paul (steady play and scoring ability, but easy schedule)
Duluth Lakers (one nice win early in the year and they are still getting ranked for it)

Well, if St Cloud is #4 then Bemidji is #3 and Moorhead would have to be #2 and Grand Rapids #5.

Not picking a fight or trying to move anyone up in any ones rankings, just that I have seen St Cloud, Moorhead, Bemidji, Grand Rapids, Roseau, and DEast play. And seeing teams only once ortwice does not make a season, but it does count for forming my opinion.

If Wayzata is the second best team in the state, I give the north teams a good chance to do well at state.

At least I hope they do.

[Fire and Ice]

Elliott....this year is the most wide open chance to win state in probably a decade. Ep is slightly the best and in one given game could be beat by...maybe Maple Grove. So the North certainly has as good a chance as any this year.

CNF was right about the Parody.

[AverageHockeyJoe]

Big doubleheader tonight:

EP 9
Tonka 2
Shots about 35-20, EP in the lead....

Burnsville 3
Edina 1
Shots -- didn't get....

EP and Burnsville punch thier ticket to the South Bantam A Regional in Albert Lea.....