Class A Rankings 12-6-2015

[HShockeywatcher]

There is a switch at the top 2 with a tie and a lot of teams winning a lot early. What will teams do over the next two weeks to move up?

1. [2] Breck (4-0)
The Mustangs start strong with some good 8A wins and a section win. How will they do over the next two weeks playing two AA teams Hermantown played over the last two weeks?
Tues 12/8 @ Totino-Grace, Thurs 12/10 @ Wayzata, Sat 12/12 @ St Paul Academy, Thurs 12/17 @ St Cloud Cathedral, Sat 12/19 @ Duluth Marshall

2. [1] Hermantown (3-0-1)
Hermantown hasn't lost a game and has yet to play a Class A team. Their next two weeks they play 3 Class A teams and can solidify their spot atop the rankings.
Thurs 12/10 vs Denfeld, Sat 12/12 @ Thief River Falls, Fri 12/18 @ Minnetonka, Sat 12/19 @ New Prague

3. [5] St Cloud Apollo (1-1)
The Eagles have had one game in the last two weeks, which means nothing to hurt them but also not much to prove where they are. With their schedule, the only thing Apollo can do is win. If they lose even 1 game this season, they will not be top 3 going into sections, but if they don't lose any, with Breck and Hermantown losing certain games, they could be the top team. Every game is important for this team.
Tues 12/8 vs Alexandria, Fri 12/11 @ Sartell-St Stephen, Sat 12/12 @ St Cloud Cathedral, Thurs 12/17 vs Fergus Falls, Sat 12/19 vs Mankato West

4. [6] Mahtomedi (3-1)
The Zephyrs won at St Paul Academy but followed that up by allowing 6 goals to Spring Lake Park in a home win. Hill-Murray is probably all that stands in their way of an outright conference title; can they compete with the Pioneers at home?
Thurs 12/10 @ North St Paul, Sat 12/12 vs Tartan, Tues 12/15 vs Hill Murray, Sat 12/19 @ Henry Sibley

5. [4] St Paul Academy (3-1)
The Spartans lost to Mahtomedi by 1 goal then turned around and beat East Grand by 4. They could lose 1 game all season and still be the #2 team in the section, it will be up to them to convince the section they should be the top seed. Can they do it?
Tues 12/8 vs Simley, Thurs 12/10 vs Kennedy, Sat 12/12 vs Breck, Sat 12/19 @ Rochester John Marshall

6. [3] East Grand Forks (4-2)
The Green Wave are not the team they were the last couple seasons, with losses to Breck and St Paul Academy, but they have 1 goal wins over Cathedral and Totino. 4 of their next 5 games are against above average teams so we will have a better picture by then.
Tues 12/8 @ Crookston, Fri 12/11 vs Hibbing, Sat 12/12 @ Kittson Central, Tues 12/15 vs Bemidji, Sat 12/19 vs Alexandria

7. [7] Delano (4-1)
The Tigers lost to Breck but also scored 7 goals in that loss. They are likely the 2nd best team in 2A and they proved they can go toe to toe with Breck. Can this be the year they make their first state tournament appearance?
Tues 12/8 vs Buffalo, Fri 12/11 @ St Cloud Cathedral, Tues 12/15 vs Litchfield, Fri 12/18 @ Hutchinson

8. [9] St Cloud Cathedral (5-1)
The Crusaders have only lost to the two time defending champs but with 3 games in the next two weeks against teams in the top 7, their next ranking is in their hands.
Fri 12/11 vs Delano, Sat 12/12 vs St Cloud Apollo, Thurs 12/17 vs Breck, Fri 12/18 vs Mankato West

9. [10] Hibbing (4-0)
The Bluejackets have not lost a game, including 3 on the road. Can they continue it on the road our west this week?
Fri 12/11 @ East Grand Forks, Sat 12/12 @ Crookston, Fri 12/18 vs Rochester Mayo, Sat 12/19 vs Albert Lea

10. [11] Thief River Falls (4-1)
The Prowlers have only lost to Breck and their destiny is in their hands. How will they do this week?
Tues 12/8 vs Bemidji, Sat 12/12 @ Hermantown, Tues 12/15 @ Warroad, Sat 12/19 @ Crookston

11. [12] Orono (5-1)
Thurs 12/10 @ Blake, Sat 12/12 @ Chanhassen, Tues 12/15 vs Kennedy, Thurs 12/17 @ New Prague, Sat 12/19 Hopkins

12. [8] Luverne (4-2)
The Cardinals
Sat 12/12 @ Redwood Valley, Tues 12/15 vs Windom Area, Fri 12/18 vs Worthington

13. [14] Duluth Denfeld (3-2)
Tues 12/8 @ Virginia, Thurs 12/10 @ Hermantown, Thurs 12/17 vs Superior, Fri 12/18 @ International Falls

14. [17] St Paul Johnson (4-1)
Tues 12/8 vs North St Paul, Sat 12/12 @ Detroit Lakes, Thurs 12/17 @ Minneapolis, Sat 12/19 vs South St Paul

15. [19] Sartell-St Stephen (5-0)
Tues 12/8 @ St Cloud Tech, Fri 12/11 vs St Cloud Apollo, Tues 12/15 @ Sauk Rapids-Rice, Thurs 12/17 @ Willmar

16. [20] Mankato West (4-1)
Tues 12/8 @ Northfield, Thurs 12/10 @ Le Sueur, Sat 12/12 @ Albert Lea, Fri 12/18 @ St Cloud Cathedral, 12/19 @ St Cloud Apollo

17. [15] New Prague (1-4)
Tues 12/8 vs Red Wing, Thurs 12/10 vs Rochester Lourdes, Tues 12/15 @ Waconia, Thurs 12/17 vs Orono, Sat 12/19 vs Hermantown

18. [-] Greenway (5-1)
Tues 12/8 vs Proctor, Tues 12/15 vs Eveleth-Gilbert, Fri 12/18 @ Rochester Lourdes, Sat 12/19 @ Providence Academy

19. [-] North Shore (4-0)
Thurs 12/10 @ Moose Lake Area, Sat 12/12 vs Pine City, Fri 12/18 @ Chaska, Sat 12/19 @ St Louis Park

20. [-] Proctor (5-2)
Tues 12/8 @ Greenway, Thurs 12/10 @ Eveleth-Gilbert, Tues 12/15 @ Superior, Fri 12/18 vs Princeton

Totino-Grace (1-3)
Tues 12/8 vs Breck, Thurs 12/10 @ Osseo, Sat 12/12 vs Champlin Park, Thurs 12/17 @ Armstrong, Sat 12/19 vs Irondale

[goldy313]

Class A is a mess, I applaud your effort.

SPA shows how tough it is; they beat Luverne by 1, EGF by 4. Yet Luverne beat Waseca by 4, Rochester Century beats Waseca by 5, then Northfield beats Century by 7. 1-4 New Prague beats Northfield 4-0, and loses to West......
huh?
Exactly.

[Sats81]

[quote="goldy313"]Class A is a mess, I applaud your effort.

SPA shows how tough it is; they beat Luverne by 1, EGF by 4. Yet Luverne beat Waseca by 4, Rochester Century beats Waseca by 5, then Northfield beats Century by 7. 1-4 New Prague beats Northfield 4-0, and loses to West......
huh?
Exactly.[/quote


Godly. Please analyze for us all. Snooze. Such an elite hockey mind you possess.

[hockeyguy272]

It looks like the backup goalie was in net for Mahtomedi against SLP, not the 3rd year veteran Swanson, curious as to why Apollo is ahead of the zephyrs after the win over SPA

[dlow]

Too high: East Grand, Luverne, Johnson, Apollo

Too Low: Delano, Thief River, Greenway, Hibbing

[greenway1969]

St. Louis Park is in 6AA according to the MSHSL site. Appreciate the effort to try to make some sense of Class A.

[HShockeywatcher]

It looks like the backup goalie was in net for Mahtomedi against SLP, not the 3rd year veteran Swanson, curious as to why Apollo is ahead of the zephyrs after the win over SPA

Apollo was ahead of Mahtomedi last rankings and has played one game since. I do not think that, in general, you should leap someone who hasn't done anything wrong. It's a general statement and not always the case. Plus, like I mentioned, Apollo is in a tough spot with their schedule. Time will tell where they should be.

St. Louis Park is in 6AA according to the MSHSL site. Appreciate the effort to try to make some sense of Class A.

http://www.mnhockeyhub.com/page/show/19 ... son=233716
The Hub has them listed in 2A. Can someone confirm this is right or wrong?
http://www.mshsl.org/mshsl/schoolactpag ... actnum=410
MSHSL has them in 6AA.

[Corn Cobb]

It looks like the backup goalie was in net for Mahtomedi against SLP, not the 3rd year veteran Swanson, curious as to why Apollo is ahead of the zephyrs after the win over SPA

Apollo was ahead of Mahtomedi last rankings and has played one game since. I do not think that, in general, you should leap someone who hasn't done anything wrong. It's a general statement and not always the case. Plus, like I mentioned, Apollo is in a tough spot with their schedule. Time will tell where they should be.

St. Louis Park is in 6AA according to the MSHSL site. Appreciate the effort to try to make some sense of Class A.

http://www.mnhockeyhub.com/page/show/19 ... son=233716
The Hub has them listed in 2A. Can someone confirm this is right or wrong?
http://www.mshsl.org/mshsl/schoolactpag ... actnum=410
MSHSL has them in 6AA.

6AA

[GraniteCity22]

Apollo versus Cathedral on Saturday should be a great game. Hope to see a packed Mac for the crosstown matchup. Always a heated game, as these boys do not like each other that much on the ice. As well as should help sort Section 6.

[stromboli]

"Posted: Thu Nov 12, 2015 10:46 pm Post subject:
Top 10 Class A:

1. Hermantown
2. Breck
3. Saint Cloud Apollo
4. Mahtomedi
5. Saint Paul Academy
6. East Grand Forks
7. Hibbing
8. Saint Cloud Cathedral
9. Delano
10. New Prague

Teams to watch: TRF, Fergus Falls, Roll Cards Roll, St. Paul Johnson."

Not much has changed to the list above based on early results. The Top 5 stay the same for now.

1. I'm not ready to move Hermantown from the #1 spot based on one tie to a double AA squad. Any team can have an off night.

2. Breck has settled down defensively after a wild start with Delano. A change in net plus the return of one of their top four D has them playing more like the team most expected.

3. We'll know more about Apollo after this week. Too small of a sample to move them yet, though another loss will surely drop them down a bit and move the next two teams up.

4 & 5. Mahtomedi and SPA confirmed their season long battle with a hard fought game. Mahtomedi proves they're still the top team in their section. For now...

6. Hibbing. Moves up by default. Like Apollo, I need to see more games from this team to have a better feel for where they rank.

7. Delano. Deeper than I expected and appear to have filled in their senior departures from last year nicely.

8. Thief River Falls. Tough-nosed squad needs to improve to stay ahead of EGF, but appears to be the top team in their section.

9. St Cloud Cathedral. Is this team going to match pre-season expectations?
Too early to tell.

10. EGF. After a rough trip to the cities, EGF drops to number 10. While getting Loven back will help, they're not deep enough to match the top teams on this list.

Other notes:

Orono looks like they may only be a year away from rejoining this list. Their sophomores are showing well so far.

Luverne confirms they're not a top-ten team. Still need to prove they can win against top teams away from home. Over-hyped by those enamored with their top players, who while good, do not make a whole team.

New Prague is not as strong as last year. Won't compete for 2A this year.

6A is again the most evenly balanced section. The team that comes out on top should be ready for the X come Tourney time.

[Brecky1]

"Posted: Thu Nov 12, 2015 10:46 pm Post subject:
Top 10 Class A:

1. Hermantown
2. Breck
3. Saint Cloud Apollo
4. Mahtomedi
5. Saint Paul Academy
6. East Grand Forks
7. Hibbing
8. Saint Cloud Cathedral
9. Delano
10. New Prague

Teams to watch: TRF, Fergus Falls, Roll Cards Roll, St. Paul Johnson."

Not much has changed to the list above based on early results. The Top 5 stay the same for now.

1. I'm not ready to move Hermantown from the #1 spot based on one tie to a double AA squad. Any team can have an off night.

2. Breck has settled down defensively after a wild start with Delano. A change in net plus the return of one of their top four D has them playing more like the team most expected.

3. We'll know more about Apollo after this week. Too small of a sample to move them yet, though another loss will surely drop them down a bit and move the next two teams up.

4 & 5. Mahtomedi and SPA confirmed their season long battle with a hard fought game. Mahtomedi proves they're still the top team in their section. For now...

6. Hibbing. Moves up by default. Like Apollo, I need to see more games from this team to have a better feel for where they rank.

7. Delano. Deeper than I expected and appear to have filled in their senior departures from last year nicely.

8. Thief River Falls. Tough-nosed squad needs to improve to stay ahead of EGF, but appears to be the top team in their section.

9. St Cloud Cathedral. Is this team going to match pre-season expectations?
Too early to tell.

10. EGF. After a rough trip to the cities, EGF drops to number 10. While getting Loven back will help, they're not deep enough to match the top teams on this list.

Other notes:

Orono looks like they may only be a year away from rejoining this list. Their sophomores are showing well so far.

Luverne confirms they're not a top-ten team. Still need to prove they can win against top teams away from home. Over-hyped by those enamored with their top players, who while good, do not make a whole team.

New Prague is not as strong as last year. Won't compete for 2A this year.

6A is again the most evenly balanced section. The team that comes out on top should be ready for the X come Tourney time.

Very good analysis Stromboli!

[HShockeywatcher]

How is your team doing? What teams of note have I not mentioned?
Does Apollo stay at 3 until they lose? How high does Hibbing climb?

[rainier]

1. Hermantown
2. Breck
3. Mahtomedi
4. Apollo
5. Delano
6. Hibbing
7. SPA
8. EGF
9. TRF
10. Sartell

Others: Cathedral, Denfeld, Greenway, Luverne, Orono