Here are the latest 7A rankings.
Overall record and 7A record are given for each team.
1. Hermantown- 8-1-1 (0-0) The Hawks had a great holiday week, as they beat Bemidji 4-0, Delano 4-3, and Duluth Marshall 3-1. By beating the #1 team in A Delano (while outshooting them almost 3:1), Hermantown will ascend to the #1 spot and likely stay there the rest of the season, as the only real threats left on their schedule are AA teams.
Hermantown and their fans will finally get to experience this strange thing called a “section game” this week, as they host Greenway, and after that they will travel to St. Cloud Cathedral. Neither team is likely to put a scare into the Hawks, but the chance does exist that the little pond-dwelling big fish from suburban Duluth may get caught looking ahead to the following week’s big showdown with GR, so they might only win each game by 4 or 5 goals.
If there were only some way for Hermantown to avoid having to play all these awful Class A schools so that they could play better competition throughout the season and into the playoffs, like they do at the youth levels. If only the MSHSL offered some type OPTion that would let them OPT UP to an OPTimal level to match their skill. Instead of playing all these C and D graded programs, wouldn’t it be great if they could somehow play against grade A teams, or better yet, teams that are so good they could be graded AA?
2. Greenway- 9-2-1 (5-1) The Raiders had a semi-rough week, as they lost to Alexandria in OT 5-4, beat New Ulm 3-2 in OT, and tied Rosemount 3-3. As uninspiring as these on-ice results were, the worst news of the week was that they lost top forward Troumbly to a foot fracture. However, Greenway beat Hibbing and took Alex to OT without Troumbly, so it’s not as if the sky is falling.
Greenway still has 7A games vs Hermantown, I-Falls twice, North Shore, and Virginia remaining, so as long as they beat the teams they should beat, possible non-section losses to GR, SPA, or Duluth Marshall shouldn’t hurt them come seeding time, and a win in any one of those games should lock the #2 seed down.
This week they travel to Hermantown and North Shore.
3. Hibbing- 7-4 (3-1) The Bluejackets had a decent week, as they beat New Ulm 4-0, lost in OT to Alexandria 5-4, then beat Virginia 5-3. I considered moving Hibbing ahead of Greenway due to their comparatively better performances against New Ulm and Virginia, but Hibbing does not have a signature win yet, and Greenway has the solid EGF road win under their belt. Hibbing’s losses are to Roseau, Cloquet, Greenway, and Alexandria, all teams that are Class A top ten caliber teams, but that big win still eludes them. Given that the only remaining signature win possibilities on Hibbing’s schedule are GR, EGF, and Hermantown, the Bluejackets may need Greenway to have a bad loss in order to pass them.
This week Hibbing travels down south to take on Mayo and Albert Lea, and should be the favorite in both games. A rematch with Virginia looms the following week.
4. Virginia- 5-7 (3-2) The Blue Devils didn’t fare well this week, as they lost to Alex 3-0, New Ulm 3-0, and Hibbing 5-3. While losing to Alex and Hibbing were likely, to the loss to New Ulm stings, particularly when you consider they outshot the Eagles 64-30.
But, all is not lost for Virginia, as it is still conceivable they could move up to #3, given they have two games vs Hibbing and one game vs Greenway left to go. The rest of 7A still awaits the return of Seitz to see how good this Virginia team actually is. Hopefully he returns before their next battle with Hibbing on 1/12, as a loss in that game would make the #4 spot their ceiling.
Their only game is a road trip to Eagan on Saturday.
5. Eveleth- 6-6 (4-3) The Golden Bears finished strong this week, as after losing to Fox Cities (wherever that is) 5-3, they beat Coon Rapids 4-3 and Austin 7-3. They remain behind Virginia due to losing the first head-to-head matchup with the Blue Devils. Eveleth still has a chance of moving up and/or solidifying their current position, as games against Hibbing, Virginia, and North Shore (twice) still await.
The Bears also head south this week to take on Mayo and Albert Lea.
6. North Shore- 7-2-1 (2-0) The Storm went 2-1 on the week, beating Red Lake Falls and Redwood Valley 6-0 and 7-1, respectively, and lost to Rice Lake 5-1. I think they had a good week, but I really don’t know how good their competition was and I’m far too lazy to find out.
They take on Superior this week, but the following week they finally start playing the higher tier 7A teams, starting with Greenway. This should give us a much clearer idea of where North Shore fits into these rankings.
7. Proctor-6-7 (1-2) The Rails had similar results to Eveleth, as they beat Coon Rapids 2-0, Austin 3-1, and lost to Fox Cities 7-1. Remaining games vs Eveleth, North Shore, Virginia, and Hibbing still give Proctor and chance to improve their position.
This week they take on Denfeld.
8. I-Falls- 4-8 (0-4) The Broncos may have had the second best week of any 7A team, as they beat Osseo 6-4, Grafton 8-6, and Warroad 3-2, which is their first victory over the Warriors since 2002! Proctor still holds the head-to-head advantage over I-Falls right now, but the schedule the rest of the way is loaded with potential huge 7A wins. (Virginia, Greenway twice, North Shore twice, Eveleth, Hibbing) I-falls has shown some real pluck in a couple 7A losses, so if this week was indeed a turning point, then they may have a run up the rankings in store.
They play Ely in their only game this week, and the following week they will face Virginia and Greenway.
9. Denfeld- 1-12 (0-3) The Hunters’ woes continued as they lost to Sheboygan 7-0, Mankato West 5-2, and St. Louis Park 6-2. Unfortunately, their schedule the rest of the way is ridiculously hard as they still have games against Duluth East, Hermantown, Duluth Marshall, Cloquet, Hibbing, and Grand Rapids. Oof!
This week though, the Hunters take on Proctor, so perhaps they can snatch a victory.
10. Ely- 5-4 (0-2) The Wolves beat Redwood Valley and Legacy Christian, but lost to Rice Lake. They are above .500 and still have four games against lower tier 7A opponents in which to make some noise.
The 7A Game of the Week: Greenway at Hermantown. The slim hopes of upsetting the Hawks became razor thin with the Troumbly news, but the Raiders did put a scare into Hermantown last regular season in a 2-1 loss. Do they believe in miracles? I do, but I’ll still take the Hawks 5-1.
