A Rankings for 11/23/25

[ClassAGuy]

We are off and running in the 2025-2026 season, and things got started with some good opening weekend games that already caused some shuffling in Class A! Here’s my take week #1:

1. Hibbing/Chisholm (1-0-0)
Past Week Results: W 6-3 CDH
Upcoming Schedule: 11/25 @ #16 Cloquet/Esko/Carlton, 11/28 @ #13 St Cloud Cathedral
The Bluejackets opened their season on the road with a very tough test against a ranked AA Cretin-Derham Hall team. The impressive opening season win only solidifies their ranking at the top of Class A, now this coming week, they will have a few more road tests that will be important for them to win. The 7A Finals rematch with CEC should be fun, and that will be followed by a trip to St Cloud to take on Class A blueblood Cathedral to give Hibbing a chance to flex their muscles early on within Class A.

2. Hermantown (0-0-0)
Past Week Results: Idle
Upcoming Schedule: 11/28 @ CDH, 11/29 @ Hill Murray
The Hawks took the opening weekend off and won't play till after Thanksgiving. However, they will kick their season off with their annual early tough tests vs two AA private powers in Cretin Derham Hall and Hill Murray to open the season this coming weekend. Both games will challenge Hermantown’s commitment to more scoring depth this year and help us see how all the Hawks in their deep Junior Class look now, a year older with varsity experience under their belt.

3. Delano (2-0-0)
Past Week Results: W 3-1 #5 Warroad, W 5-1, #6 East Grand Forks
Upcoming Schedule: 11/29 vs Buffalo
Delano was the big winner of the opening weekend of the games in Class A as they sent a statement to everyone when they went on the road into Section 8A country and picked up a big northern sweep of ranked Warroad and East Grand Forks. They rode the strong goaltending of their backup, who was the hero of the weekend, and played great team defense and used timely scoring to rise in the rankings this week. Now this week, they head home and take on rival AA Buffalo in their only action.

4. Sartell (1-0-0)
Past Week Results: W 7-3 Rock Ridge
Upcoming Schedule: 11/25 vs St Cloud Public
The Sabres were another Class A team that had an impressive opening win vs a AA ranked opponent, as they rolled over the 7AA favorites Rock Ridge in a game that they really controlled throughout to open the year. Sartell will play a primarily AA schedule, which will benefit them come 6A playoff time, but make them a difficult team to gauge for these rankings, as they don’t play a ton of the other Class A elites. This week, they take on rival St Cloud Public in a CLC game for their only action of the week.

5. Warroad (1-1-0)
Past Week Results: L 1-3 #3 Delano, W 6-2 #13 St. Cloud Cathedral
Upcoming Schedule: 11/28 vs Moorhead, 11/29 @ Bemidji
The Warriors were taken down in their home opener as they fell to a good Delano team in a game where their offense went cold. They did show some good early-season character, though, with a rebound win vs Cathedral to get the opening weekend split. Now this week they welcome in the top team in the state as AA powerhouse Moorehead comes to town, and what will be a good test for the young Warriors, and they will then have a trip to AA Bemidji, which will not be an easy game either.

6. East Grand Forks (0-1-0)
Past Week Results: L 1-5 #3 Delano
Upcoming Schedule: 11/25 @ #22 Detroit Lakes, 11/28 @ Grand Forks Red River, 11/29 vs Grand Forks Central
It was not a great start again this year for Class A’s Defending Champs as the Greenwave were taken down in their home opener in the Top 10 showdown vs a Delano team that took advantage of things with special teams play. EGF will look to not let the loss linger as they have a big upcoming week with a key 8A road game at Detroit Lakes, followed by two big matchups vs their border rivals for the Gambucci Cup on the docket.

7. Mahtomedi (0-0-0)
Past Week Results: Idle
Upcoming Schedule: 11/28 @ Centennial, 11/29 vs Blaine
The Zephyrs took the opening week off, but this move is more of a course correction due to the news just days before the start of their season, when it was revealed that Division One Maine commit Henry Sampair would be returning home to play for them this winter. Now Mahtomedi’s deep blueline will get a good test early vs two 5AA clubs when they take on Centennial and Blaine this week to open their year.

8. Monticello (0-0-0)
Past Week Results: Idle
Upcoming Schedule: 11/25 @ #10 Northfield, 11/28 vs #24 Sauk Rapids-Rice
The Moose were also idle in the opening week, but now they will open their season with a tough road trip down south to take on a good Northfield squad in a Top 10 matchup. They will then follow that up with a sneaky good Section 5A game vs a Sauk Rapids-Rice team that will be looking to make an early statement. Both games will be stiff challenges and a good barometer for them to see where they stand within Section 5A and Class A overall this winter, right from the start.

9. Blake (1-1-0)
Past Week Results: W 6-3 Mounds View, L 4-7 Gentry Academy
Upcoming Schedule: 11/25 v Waconia, 11/29 vs #20 Breck
So far, with limited game data, the Bears seem correctly pegged in this neighborhood of the rankings, as they picked up a win in a game they should have by beating Mounds View, but then got beaten by Gentry, who beats most in Class A. This week should be much easier to judge as they have two early Section 2A tests at home when they take on Waconia and then finish the week vs their biggest rival in Breck, both games they will want to win.

10. Northfield (1-0-0)
Past Week Results: W 6-1 Hastings
Upcoming Schedule: 11/25 vs #8 Monticello
Northfield got their season rolling on a strong note as they were able to take down newly Class A Hastings in their home opener to help get Coach Cloud his first career win. Now they turn their attention to a big early-season Top 10 matchup as they will host the Moose in a game that could have State Seeding implications later on in the year, and the Raiders will be looking for revenge as Monticello got the best of them in a loss last winter.

11. Waseca (0-0-0)
Past Week Results: Idle
Upcoming Schedule: 11/25 vs New Ulm, 11/29 vs New Prague
Waseca took the opening off as their football team was competing in the Prep Bowl this past weekend. The Bluejays will now hope that they can get their football players in hockey shape quickly as they start their highly anticipated season at home this week when they take on Big South Conference rival New Ulm, followed by a visit from 1AA New Prague, and both matchups will provide them with good early tests.

12. St. Louis Park (1-0-0)
Past Week Results: W 6-5 Armstrong/Cooper
Upcoming Schedule: 11/25 @ Totino Grace, 11/28 @ Woodbury, 11/29 @ TBD
The Orioles held steady in the opening week, as they were able to hold on vs Armstrong/Cooper to start the year on the right foot, but they did not have their best night in the defensive zone; alas, it was early. This week will be a busy one for St Louis Park as they have a good test with AA Totino-Grace and a trip after Thanksgiving to Woodbury, where they will look to continue their good start to the season.

13. St Cloud Cathedral (1-1-0)
Past Week Results: W 6-3 Thief River Falls, L 2-6 #5 Warroad
Upcoming Schedule: 11/25 vs #20 Breck, 11/28 vs #1 Hibbing/Chisholm
The Crusaders got off to a predictable up-and-down start to the season in their Opening Weekend Northern Swing Trip through 8A. Cathedral will be a team early in the year that will be going through some growing pains as they are having to replace a ton of scoring. Things don't get any easier this week as they will host a Breck team that is looking to make a statement that they are back, and then end the week hosting the ultra-talented #1 Bluejackets from Hibbing.

14. Orono (0-1-0)
Past Week Results: L 4-6 Alexandria
Upcoming Schedule: 11/29 @ #21 Chisago Lakes
The Spartans got off to a tough start, as with the football team winning the Prep Bowl, they had to play the next day with a lineup that just didn't have its legs yet to finish off their game against AA Alexandria in a loss. They will look to get things back on track this week as they have a game with a Chisago Lakes crew that is looking to make some noise of its own and should provide a good test.

15. Northern Lakes (1-0-1)
Past Week Results: W 4-1 Somerset (Wis.), T 4-4 Pine City Area
Upcoming Schedule: 11/25 @ Duluth Marshall, 11/29 @ Totino-Grace
The Lightning took care of business during their opening game during their trek over Wisconsin, but things did not go as well in their tight turnaround the next day, as they were unable to hold a lead and had to settle for a tie vs a sneaky Pine City Area crew, which did raise some red flags. Things won't be easy this week for Northern Lakes as they will hit the road twice to take on AA Privates Duluth Marshall and Totino Grace, which will both be good challenges early in the year.

16. Cloquet/Esko/Carlton (0-1-0)
Past Week Results: L 2-3 Bloomington Jefferson
Upcoming Schedule: 11/25 vs #1 Hibbing/Chisholm, 11/29 @ Princeton
The Lumberjacks had a disappointing start to their season as they went on the road and took a head-scratching loss to a Jefferson program that has struggled in recent years, which was not the start to the season they were looking for. Now, a huge section opponent is up next, with the Hibbing game having major early seeding implications, and they will follow that up by finishing the week on the road again, taking on a rebuilding Princeton team.

17. Luverne (2-0-0)
Past Week Results: W 3-2 #18 Rochester Lourdes, W 2-1 OT #23 Little Falls
Upcoming Schedule: 11/25 vs Worthington
Roll Cards Roll were one of the other big winners in Class A in the opening week, as Luverne was able to capture two ranked wins at home. In the opener vs Lourdes, they did need to pull an escape act as they looked out of sync most of the night. However, they rebounded well when they dominated Little Falls pouring on 60 plus shots before being able to solve the Flyers netminder for a strong start to the year. Now they head into Big South play this week and should roll vs Worthington.

18. Rochester Lourdes (1-1-0)
Past Week Results: L 2-3 #17 Luverne, W 5-1 Two Rivers
Upcoming Schedule: 11/25 @ Austin
Lourdes went on the road to start the season and they had a good showing overall. The Eagles did have a little bit of an issue with slow starts in both games but they really controlled the pace of play in both matchups. They did suffer a tough loss to a good Luverne team, in a game that could have gone either way, but they were able to rebound and take care of AA Two Rivers. Another road trip awaits this week and it's one they should win when they head to Austin.

19. Providence Academy (1-0-0)
Past Week Results: W 5-4 Armstrong/Cooper
Upcoming Schedule: 11/28 vs Northern Edge, 11/29 vs Mankato East
The Lions got their season off to a strong start as they were able to take down a pesky AA Armstong/Cooper squad to start the year. Providence is a team to watch as they have a scary offense that is challenging to contain and shutdown once it gets rolling and they will head to the TRIA Classic this week where they will take on Northern Edge and Mankato East both games they should be favored to win to continue their strong start.

20. Breck (2-0-0)
Past Week Results: W 16-1 St Paul Academy, W 4-1 Proctor
Upcoming Schedule: 11/25 @ #13 St Cloud Cathedral, 11/29 @ #9 Blake
Welcome back to the ranking Breck as they made a nice splash in the opening weekend as they were able to skate to two wins and show off an impressive revamped top line and D core and Coach Dziedzic has the Mustangs looking every bit the part of a contender early on. Now this week we will see how real this team is as they take a road trip to the blueblood Cathedral before the clash with their biggest rival Blake to end the week.

Next Five Notable Teams
Chisago Lakes (1-0-0)
The Wildcats took care of business in their opener as they showed some strong defense and goaltending in their shutout of Princeton to start the year. Chisago Lakes is looking to show they are a real contender this year and they will get their chance this week to prove it as they have good games vs Wisconsin power Hudson and Class A Blueblood Orono to give them a chance to rise in these rankings early in the year.

Detroit Lakes (0-2-0)
The Lakers drop here has nothing to do with starting the year (0-2-0) as the two North Dakota Programs they lost to are high quality teams. The bigger concern was that they were shut out in both games which just has alarm bells going off early in the year as last season they were one of the lowest scoring teams in the state and it hindered them all year. They will look to right the ship this week vs 8A foe East Grand Forks.

Little Falls (0-1-0)
The good for the Flyers was that Izaak Kalis stopped 63 of 65 shots to nearly pull off a tie with state ranked Luverne showing he will be able to keep them in every game. The bad is that they are giving up 60 plus shots and offered little offense which was a concern coming into the year. Little Falls will look to get some things corrected this week vs 6A Morris Benson.

Sauk Rapids-Rice (0-0-0)
The Storm were idle on the opening weekend but they will open their season in a big way this week when they will hit the road first taking on CLC Brainerd before having an opportunity to make big splash early within the 5A standings when they finish the week heading to preseason favorite Monticello which will be a very important early season clash.

Mankato West (1-0-0)
The Scarlets cruised to a win over a rebuilding Osseo team to win their home opener by a wide margin. This week will give Mankato West a much stiffer challenge as they will hit the hit road to take on an underrated AA East Ridge team. That game should give us more of an indication of where this team is early in the year.

Class A Section by Section Rankings Week #1
Section 1A Ranking (11/23/25)
1- Northfield Raiders (1-0-0)
2- Waseca Bluejays (0-0-0)
3- Rochester Lourdes Eagles (1-1-0)
4- Albert Lea Tigers (0-0-0)
5- Dodge County Wildcats (1-0-0)
6- Winona Winhawks (1-0-0)
7- La Crescent-Hokah Lancers (0-0-0)
8- Red Wing Wingers (0-1-0)
9- Faribault Falcons (1-1-0)

1A Summary -Northfield got its season started with a win outside the section. Dodge County got a 1A win over Faribault. Rochester Lourdes split the opening weekend outside the section. Winona got a win outside the section and Red Wing took a look at a loss outside the section. Waseca, Albert Lea & La Crescent-Hokah were all idle.

Section 2A Ranking (11/23/25)
1- Delano Tigers (2-0-0)
2- Blake Bears (1-1-0)
3- St Louis Park Orioles (1-0-0)
4- Orono Spartans (0-1-0)
5- Providence Academy Lions (1-0-0)
6- Breck Mustangs (2-0-0)
7- Minneapolis (1-0-0)
8- Westonka White Hawks (1-0-0)
9- Waconia Wildcats (1-1-0)
10- Southwest Christian/Richfield Stars (0-0-0)
11- Hutchinson Tigers (0-0-0)

2A Summary- Delano got a good weekend sweep of 8A powers to start the year. Blake split with AA teams on the weekend. St Louis Park & Providence Academy both beat Armstrong/Cooper. Breck & Minneapolis both rolled outside the section. Westonka got a non section OT win and Waconia split outside the section. Orono took an opening season loss and Southwest/Christian & Hutchinson both took the opening weekend off.

Section 3A Ranking (11/23/25)
1- Luverne Cardinals (2-0-0)
2- Mankato West Scarlets (1-0-0)
3- New Ulm Eagles (0-0-0)
4- Mankato East Cougars (0-2-0)
5- Minnesota River Bulldogs (0-1-0)
6- Marshall Tigers (0-1-0)
7- Windom Eagles (0-0-0)
8- Fairmont Cardinals (0-0-0)
9- Worthington Trojans (0-1-0)
10- Redwood Valley Cardinals (0-0-0)

3A Summary- Luverne picked up two ranked wins outside of the section and Mankato West also picked up a win outside the section. Mankato East, Minnesota River, Marshall & Worthington all took losses outside the section. New Ulm, Windom, Fairmont & Redwood Valley were all idle in the opening week.

Section 4A Ranking (11/23/25)
1- Mahtomedi Zephyrs (0-0-0)
2- Chisago Lakes Wildcats (1-0-0)
3- Hastings Raiders (0-1-0)
4- Tartan North Titans (1-1-0)
5- Irondale Knights (0-0-0)
6- South St. Paul Packers (0-1-0)
7- Osseo Orioles (0-2-0)
8- Simley Spartans (0-1-0)
9- St. Paul Academy Spartans (0-1-0)
10- St. Paul Hockey (0-0-0)

4A Summary- Chisago Lakes got a win outside of the section to start the year. Tartan North was able to go (.500) in the opening week outside of 4A. Hastings, South St Paul, Simley & St Paul Academy all took losses outside the section. Mahtomedi, Irondale & St Paul all took the opening weekend off.

Section 5A Ranking (11/23/25)
1- Monticello Moose (0-0-0)
2- St Cloud Cathedral Crusaders (1-1-0)
3- Sauk Rapids-Rice Storm (0-0-0)
4- Pine City Area Dragons (0-0-1)
5- River Lakes Stars (0-0-0)
6- Litchfield Dassel Cokato Dragons (0-0-0)
7- Princeton Tigers (0-2-0)
8- Becker/Big Lake Eagles (1-0-0)
9- Mora/Milaca Mustangs (0-2-0)

5A Summary- St Cloud Cathedral split their trip up through Section 8A. Pine City Area picked up a nice tie vs a Class A ranked team. Becker/Big Lake got a win outside of the section. Princeton & Mora/Milaca both went winless outside the section. Monticello, Sauk Rapids-Rice, River Lakes & Litchfield Dassel Cokato were all idle in the first week.

Section 6A Ranking (11/23/25)
1- Sartell Sabres (1-0-0)
2- Northern Lakes Lightning (1-0-1)
3- Little Falls Flyers (0-1-0)
4- Fergus Falls Otters (1-0-0)
5- Breckenridge/Wahpeton Blades (0-1-0)
6- Prairie Centre North Stars (1-0-0)
7- Willmar Cardinals (0-1-0)
8- Morris/Benson Storm (0-1-0)
9- Wadena Deer Creek Wolverines (1-0-0)

6A Summary- Sartell got a nice AA win outside the section. Northern Lakes went (1-0-1) outside of the section. Fergus Falls picked up a 3A win while Little Falls got a 3A loss. Prairie Centre got a big 6A win over Willmar. Wadena Deer Creek picked up a win outside the section, and both Breckenridge/Wahpeton & Morris/Benson lost outside the section.

Section 7A Ranking (11/23/25)
1- Hibbing/Chisholm Bluejackets (1-0-0)
2- Hermantown Hawks (0-0-0)
3- Cloquet/Esko/Carlton Lumberjacks (0-1-0)
4- International Falls Broncos (0-0-0)
5- Proctor Rails (0-1-0)
6- Greenway Raiders (1-1-0)
7- Moose Lake Area Rebels (0-1-0)
8- North Shore Storm (0-0-0)
9- Ely Timberwolves (0-0-0)

7A Summary- Hibbing picked up a big win over AA ranked CDH to start the year. Cloquet/Esko/Carlton lost Jefferson to begin the season. Proctor lost outside the section Greenway went .500 outside the section. Moose Lake Area lost outside the section. Hermantown, International Falls, North Shore & Ely were idle in week #1.

Section 8A Ranking (11/23/25)
1- Warroad Warriors (1-1-0)
2- East Grand Forks Greenwave (0-1-0)
3- Detroit Lakes Lakers (0-2-0)
4- Thief River Falls Prowlers (0-1-0)
5- Crookston Pirates (0-0-0)
6- Red Lake Falls Eagles (1-0-0)
7- Bagley/Fosston Flyers (1-0-0)
8- Park Rapids Area Panthers (0-1-0)
9- Kittson County Central Bearcats (0-0-0)
10- Lake of the Woods Bears (0-1-0)

8A Summary- Warroad & East Grand Forks both took losses to Delano but the Warriors did get a win over Cathedral. Red Lake Falls got an 8A win over Lake of the Woods and Bagley/Fosston got an 8A win over Park Rapids. Detroit Lakes & Thief River Falls went winless outside the section. Crookston & Kittson County Central were idle.

[ClassAGuy]

LPH BHS Hockey Class A Coaches Rankings (11/25/25)
1. Hibbing/Chisholm
2. Hermantown
3. Delano
4. Warroad
5. Sartell
6. Mahtomedi
7. East Grand Forks
8. Monticello
9. Blake
10. Northfield
11. St Cloud Cathedral
12. St Louis Park
13. Breck
14. Waseca
15. Cloquet/Esko/Carlton
16. Orono
17. Northern Lakes
18. Luverne
19. Rochester Lourdes
20. Chisago Lakes
OTHER TEAMS RECEIVING VOTES: Thief River Falls, Hastings, Little Falls, Mound Westonka, Detroit Lakes, Minneapolis, Mankato West, Providence Academy.

[ClassAGuy]

Some Notes from (11/25/25) in Class A
- #16 CEC played #1 Hibbing tough had it 2-3 in the 3rd period, was a good effort by the Lumberjacks, don't count them out this year, should only improve.
- #4 Sartell is DEEP they have a nice lineup and look like legit contender on the State level out of 6A
- #20 Breck is back in business!! Very nice road win at #13 Cathedral.. The growing pains are real for the Crusaders early in the year.

Surprise of the Night
New Ulm taking #11 Waseca to OT! The Bluejays are coming off a Prep Bowl from last weekend not sure if that played a role as they let a 5-3 lead slip away late, but dominated the OT session to get the win.

Team to Watch
International Falls won 9-0 tonight over Lake of the Woods... The Broncos are gonna put up crazy numbers and lots of wins looking at the schedule!