AA Rankings for 1/31/10
Posted: Sun Jan 31, 2010 12:34 am
The snow is coming down in droves in DC, Georgetown put a beating on Duke today, and it’s been a week full of surprises in Minnesota hockey. Life is good.
The numbers after the team records are a) number of blowout wins (by 5 goals or more) and b) number of “bad” results (to teams more than ten spots below them). These do not necessarily mean anything in terms of the rankings; they’re just there for your amusement.
1. Minnetonka (19-0-1) 8/0
-So they are indeed mortal: Wayzata put a blemish on the Skippers’ record, though they remain undefeated. Games like this prove nothing can be taken for granted, and the Skippers will have to wait a while longer to clinch the top seed in the section. They’ve got a light week ahead of them, though Hopkins should not be taken for granted after they played Tonka reasonably well in the first meeting and tied Edina.
This week: Sat vs. Hopkins
2. Wayzata (14-2-2) 5/2
-Any doubt over the Trojans’ ability was put to rest on Saturday, when they achieved what no other team could do in tying Tonka--and very nearly beat them. Though their losses are a bit weaker than some of the other teams up here, this result combined with some of their other strong wins recently gives them the edge. Things get no easier now, with a trip to Hopkins followed by a chance to sweep the 3-game season series against Edina at Braemar.
This week: Thurs at Hopkins, Sat at #8 Edina
3. Eden Prairie (15-3) 7/0
-The loss to Eagan was a minor setback, but they responded well enough that I didn’t drop them as far as I could have, and of course they already have one big win over Eagan this year. Still need to find some more variety in their scoring. Their next three games are the biggest ones left on their schedule; the Burnsville game has suddenly taken on huge meaning.
This week: Thurs at #9 Burnsville, Sat vs. #12 Duluth East
4. Blaine (13-3-3) 5/1
-The second win over Osseo was a huge step towards sealing up the NWSC and the top seed in 5AA, though there are still plenty of tests left on the schedule. Face one of their toughest NWSC games this week when they head up to Elk River.
This week: Thurs vs. Champlin Park, Sat at #10 Elk River
5. Hill-Murray (17-1-1) 7/1
-The Pioneers collected their third straight shutout on Saturday as they continue their demolition of the lower tiers of the CSC. I continue to shove them around between #s 2-5 due to their weak schedule, based on what the teams around them are doing; if they run the table from here, which they probably should, they’ll probably move up some. The road gets significantly harder this week, as they take on two of Class A’s finest, both of which gave Hill a good run in their first meetings of the year.
This week: Thurs vs. Mahtomedi, Sat vs. St. Thomas Academy
6. Bloomington Jefferson (14-3-2) 10/1
-Got a pair of wins against quality teams this week, which helps fight their inconsistent reputation. Just about every team in this area of the rankings now has a bad result on the books somewhere, so the Lakeville North loss doesn’t look so painful now. Huge week ahead of them, as they get a shot at revenge against Eagan and face a suddenly potent Moorhead team on the road.
This week: Thurs at #7 Eagan, Sat at #14 Moorhead
7. Eagan (15-3-1) 4/0
-A roller coaster of a week; they top Eden Prairie, then get thrashed by Burnsville. When this team loses, they sure lose big. 5 of the Burnsville goals in the 8-2 loss came in the 3rd, so I don’t think they’re as bad as that game made them look, but that doesn’t excuse the result. They spend the week playing teams from Bloomington and have a chance to validate that first win of theirs over the Jags.
This week: Thurs vs. #6 Bloomington Jefferson, Sat at Bloomington Kennedy
8. Edina (12-5-2) 1/2
-The freefall continues: the Hornets have only won one of their last six, and the two this week were ugly. They proved they’re better than this earlier in the year, but they have a ways to go to reclaim their status. Fortunately, they have a recovery game against Armstrong before they go after Wayzata for the 3rd time this year.
This week: Thurs vs. Armstrong, Sat vs. #2 Wayzata
9. Burnsville (10-6-3) 5/3(?)--depends where you put Mahtomedi
-The record may not look good, but this team is absolutely on fire right now. They’re 8-1-1 in their last ten, and this is not against cupcake competition: they’ve beaten LVS, AV, CDH and Eagan--all by convincing margins--while tying Jefferson and barely losing to Wayzata. This team is legit and deserves to be ranked as such. Only two real loseable games left on the schedule, and one is this Thursday.
This week: Thurs vs. #3 Eden Prairie, Sat at Chaska
10. Elk River (12-5-2) 4/0
-Quietly putting together a very strong, consistent season; they avenged the only poor loss on the schedule on Saturday in a shutout of Maple Grove. Huge week ahead of them, as they play Andover in a game with section 7AA seeding implications and then look to make a statement against Blaine.
This week: Thurs vs. #15 Andover, Sat vs. #4 Blaine
11. Centennial (11-5-2) 5/0
-Finally putting it together at the season’s most crucial juncture; I’m giving them the nod over East despite the head-to-head result due to the recent big wins over Andover and Moorhead--two teams East couldn’t beat. One game that could cause trouble this week if they’re not careful.
This week: Thurs vs. Anoka, Sat vs. Maple Grove
12. Duluth East (11-5-3) 2/0
-The Hounds’ scoring woes continue, as they score 2 each in scraping by Forest Lake and tying Andover while heavily outshooting both. Their overall body of work looks quite nice, but they need to actually score goals to have a chance at a state tournament. Huge week ahead of them as they play a semi-rival, a dangerous Lake team, and one of the top teams in the state.
This week: MON at Superior (WI) [Edit: day changed due to caucuses Tuesday], Thurs vs. Apple Valley, Sat at #3 Eden Prairie
13. Holy Angels (11-6-1) 10/1
-Did what was expected against two Missota teams. Two more on the docket this week, but then a game that will be just a little bit more challenging. It’ll be interesting to see how they stack up after Breck played SSM relatively well.
This week: Mon at Shakopee, Thurs vs. New Prague, Sat vs. Shattuck-St. Mary’s
14. Moorhead (8-7-2) 3/1
-Welcome back to the rankings, Spuds; the Potatoes had a huge week with wins over then-ranked Roseau and Benilde-St. Margaret’s. The record is still ugly, but that’s not too shocking with the schedule they play, and the challenges don’t stop here.
This week: Thurs at East Grand Forks, Sat vs. #6 Bloomington Jefferson
15. Andover (13-4-2) 7/0
-The Huskies make their ranking debut after tying Duluth East, despite getting outshot badly and barely scraping by Cloquet the next night. They’re putting together their best results at the most important time; we’ll see if they can sustain that as they head to Elk River.
This week: Thurs at #10 Elk River, Sat vs. Champlin Park
Just Missing
Osseo (12-5-2)
-Played Blaine well once again, but other teams’ jumps knock them temporarily from the rankings. Easy week ahead.
Benilde-St. Margaret’s (12-4-2)
-The Red Knights’ bumpy season goes on as they lose to Moorhead. Record looks nice, but the schedule is very weak and some of the losses now look rather ugly. Play Shattuck this week.
Maple Grove (10-6-2)
-Not playing their best hockey down the stretch and sliding backwards because of it. Potential for a bounce-back against Centennial this week, who they’ve already beaten this year.
Roseau (13-3-1)
-Loss to Moorhead was a big blow. Need at least two, maybe three wins this week to get their season back on track as they play Warroad, Brainerd, and St. Cloud Tech.
Apple Valley (12-7)
-Continue to lack that authoritative win they need to go higher.
I’m going to be selective this week and not ramble on any further. On to the sections:
1AA
Lakeville South
Lakeville North?
-South slides out of the top 20 but remains the odds-on favorite. Section final very likely to feature the two Lakevilles.
2AA
6 Bloomington Jefferson
8 Edina
9 Burnsville
13 Holy Angels
-A complete mess; your guess on the seeding is as good as mine. The good news is that, with four quality teams, it doesn’t really matter all that much. Whoever wins this section will have beaten two excellent teams. I cannot say enough about how impressed I am with Burnsville’s run.
3AA
7 Eagan
(20) Apple Valley
Cretin-Derham Hall
Woodbury
-Eagan remains pretty far ahead, but their blowout losses make this far from a shoo-in. The story here is Cretin, who emerged from their lengthy slumber this week and reminded everyone that they are the defending section champs and can play with anyone in the right set of circumstances. Apple Valley continues to hover, and though Woodbury had a rough week, they can’t be counted out.
4AA
5 Hill-Murray
Stillwater
White Bear Lake
Tartan
-The hard-charging Ponies are the ones making noise here; though Hill remains miles ahead, Stilly has a shot if they can build on their recent momentum. White Bear Lake has a bit week ahead of them to prove if they should be in the picture or not, and Tartan continues to hover around the edges.
5AA
4 Blaine
11 Centennial
(16) Osseo
(18) Maple Grove
-We’re back to the two usual culprits on top, though MG and Osseo are serious semifinal threats. Blaine maintains its steady lead, though.
6AA
1 Minnetonka
2 Wayzata
3 Eden Prairie
(17) Benilde
-Oh no; the top three teams are all in one section--one of the semifinals here may be better than 7 of the section finals. Further complicating section seeding is the Benilde win over Wayzata, though hopefully the tie with Tonka will throw that out of the equation. The #1 seed will likely be decided in the Tonka-Wayzata rematch. What a circus this tournament is going to be; even Hopkins is looming there as a possible upset threat.
7AA
10 Elk River
12 Duluth East
15 Andover
Forest Lake
Grand Rapids
-A very interesting race; though the seeding is close to being set, any of these five teams could beat any of the others on a given night. The big story now is Flake, who’s making waves in the SEC and gave East a good run for its money. Even some of the lower seeds might not be capable of causing problems; Cloquet very nearly got to Andover, and though I don’t think the Joey Benik show in St. Franny could cause an upset, you never know.
8AA
14 Moorhead
(19) Roseau
Brainerd?
Bemidji?
-Moorhead’s big win causes a flip-flop at the top. Brainerd continues to do nothing but win; we’ll see shortly if they’ve improved on that ugly early loss to the Spuds. Bemidji does a good job of hanging with most teams as well, so we could have a race on.
There you go. Again, lots of great games this week; head out and enjoy one.
The numbers after the team records are a) number of blowout wins (by 5 goals or more) and b) number of “bad” results (to teams more than ten spots below them). These do not necessarily mean anything in terms of the rankings; they’re just there for your amusement.
1. Minnetonka (19-0-1) 8/0
-So they are indeed mortal: Wayzata put a blemish on the Skippers’ record, though they remain undefeated. Games like this prove nothing can be taken for granted, and the Skippers will have to wait a while longer to clinch the top seed in the section. They’ve got a light week ahead of them, though Hopkins should not be taken for granted after they played Tonka reasonably well in the first meeting and tied Edina.
This week: Sat vs. Hopkins
2. Wayzata (14-2-2) 5/2
-Any doubt over the Trojans’ ability was put to rest on Saturday, when they achieved what no other team could do in tying Tonka--and very nearly beat them. Though their losses are a bit weaker than some of the other teams up here, this result combined with some of their other strong wins recently gives them the edge. Things get no easier now, with a trip to Hopkins followed by a chance to sweep the 3-game season series against Edina at Braemar.
This week: Thurs at Hopkins, Sat at #8 Edina
3. Eden Prairie (15-3) 7/0
-The loss to Eagan was a minor setback, but they responded well enough that I didn’t drop them as far as I could have, and of course they already have one big win over Eagan this year. Still need to find some more variety in their scoring. Their next three games are the biggest ones left on their schedule; the Burnsville game has suddenly taken on huge meaning.
This week: Thurs at #9 Burnsville, Sat vs. #12 Duluth East
4. Blaine (13-3-3) 5/1
-The second win over Osseo was a huge step towards sealing up the NWSC and the top seed in 5AA, though there are still plenty of tests left on the schedule. Face one of their toughest NWSC games this week when they head up to Elk River.
This week: Thurs vs. Champlin Park, Sat at #10 Elk River
5. Hill-Murray (17-1-1) 7/1
-The Pioneers collected their third straight shutout on Saturday as they continue their demolition of the lower tiers of the CSC. I continue to shove them around between #s 2-5 due to their weak schedule, based on what the teams around them are doing; if they run the table from here, which they probably should, they’ll probably move up some. The road gets significantly harder this week, as they take on two of Class A’s finest, both of which gave Hill a good run in their first meetings of the year.
This week: Thurs vs. Mahtomedi, Sat vs. St. Thomas Academy
6. Bloomington Jefferson (14-3-2) 10/1
-Got a pair of wins against quality teams this week, which helps fight their inconsistent reputation. Just about every team in this area of the rankings now has a bad result on the books somewhere, so the Lakeville North loss doesn’t look so painful now. Huge week ahead of them, as they get a shot at revenge against Eagan and face a suddenly potent Moorhead team on the road.
This week: Thurs at #7 Eagan, Sat at #14 Moorhead
7. Eagan (15-3-1) 4/0
-A roller coaster of a week; they top Eden Prairie, then get thrashed by Burnsville. When this team loses, they sure lose big. 5 of the Burnsville goals in the 8-2 loss came in the 3rd, so I don’t think they’re as bad as that game made them look, but that doesn’t excuse the result. They spend the week playing teams from Bloomington and have a chance to validate that first win of theirs over the Jags.
This week: Thurs vs. #6 Bloomington Jefferson, Sat at Bloomington Kennedy
8. Edina (12-5-2) 1/2
-The freefall continues: the Hornets have only won one of their last six, and the two this week were ugly. They proved they’re better than this earlier in the year, but they have a ways to go to reclaim their status. Fortunately, they have a recovery game against Armstrong before they go after Wayzata for the 3rd time this year.
This week: Thurs vs. Armstrong, Sat vs. #2 Wayzata
9. Burnsville (10-6-3) 5/3(?)--depends where you put Mahtomedi
-The record may not look good, but this team is absolutely on fire right now. They’re 8-1-1 in their last ten, and this is not against cupcake competition: they’ve beaten LVS, AV, CDH and Eagan--all by convincing margins--while tying Jefferson and barely losing to Wayzata. This team is legit and deserves to be ranked as such. Only two real loseable games left on the schedule, and one is this Thursday.
This week: Thurs vs. #3 Eden Prairie, Sat at Chaska
10. Elk River (12-5-2) 4/0
-Quietly putting together a very strong, consistent season; they avenged the only poor loss on the schedule on Saturday in a shutout of Maple Grove. Huge week ahead of them, as they play Andover in a game with section 7AA seeding implications and then look to make a statement against Blaine.
This week: Thurs vs. #15 Andover, Sat vs. #4 Blaine
11. Centennial (11-5-2) 5/0
-Finally putting it together at the season’s most crucial juncture; I’m giving them the nod over East despite the head-to-head result due to the recent big wins over Andover and Moorhead--two teams East couldn’t beat. One game that could cause trouble this week if they’re not careful.
This week: Thurs vs. Anoka, Sat vs. Maple Grove
12. Duluth East (11-5-3) 2/0
-The Hounds’ scoring woes continue, as they score 2 each in scraping by Forest Lake and tying Andover while heavily outshooting both. Their overall body of work looks quite nice, but they need to actually score goals to have a chance at a state tournament. Huge week ahead of them as they play a semi-rival, a dangerous Lake team, and one of the top teams in the state.
This week: MON at Superior (WI) [Edit: day changed due to caucuses Tuesday], Thurs vs. Apple Valley, Sat at #3 Eden Prairie
13. Holy Angels (11-6-1) 10/1
-Did what was expected against two Missota teams. Two more on the docket this week, but then a game that will be just a little bit more challenging. It’ll be interesting to see how they stack up after Breck played SSM relatively well.
This week: Mon at Shakopee, Thurs vs. New Prague, Sat vs. Shattuck-St. Mary’s
14. Moorhead (8-7-2) 3/1
-Welcome back to the rankings, Spuds; the Potatoes had a huge week with wins over then-ranked Roseau and Benilde-St. Margaret’s. The record is still ugly, but that’s not too shocking with the schedule they play, and the challenges don’t stop here.
This week: Thurs at East Grand Forks, Sat vs. #6 Bloomington Jefferson
15. Andover (13-4-2) 7/0
-The Huskies make their ranking debut after tying Duluth East, despite getting outshot badly and barely scraping by Cloquet the next night. They’re putting together their best results at the most important time; we’ll see if they can sustain that as they head to Elk River.
This week: Thurs at #10 Elk River, Sat vs. Champlin Park
Just Missing
Osseo (12-5-2)
-Played Blaine well once again, but other teams’ jumps knock them temporarily from the rankings. Easy week ahead.
Benilde-St. Margaret’s (12-4-2)
-The Red Knights’ bumpy season goes on as they lose to Moorhead. Record looks nice, but the schedule is very weak and some of the losses now look rather ugly. Play Shattuck this week.
Maple Grove (10-6-2)
-Not playing their best hockey down the stretch and sliding backwards because of it. Potential for a bounce-back against Centennial this week, who they’ve already beaten this year.
Roseau (13-3-1)
-Loss to Moorhead was a big blow. Need at least two, maybe three wins this week to get their season back on track as they play Warroad, Brainerd, and St. Cloud Tech.
Apple Valley (12-7)
-Continue to lack that authoritative win they need to go higher.
I’m going to be selective this week and not ramble on any further. On to the sections:
1AA
Lakeville South
Lakeville North?
-South slides out of the top 20 but remains the odds-on favorite. Section final very likely to feature the two Lakevilles.
2AA
6 Bloomington Jefferson
8 Edina
9 Burnsville
13 Holy Angels
-A complete mess; your guess on the seeding is as good as mine. The good news is that, with four quality teams, it doesn’t really matter all that much. Whoever wins this section will have beaten two excellent teams. I cannot say enough about how impressed I am with Burnsville’s run.
3AA
7 Eagan
(20) Apple Valley
Cretin-Derham Hall
Woodbury
-Eagan remains pretty far ahead, but their blowout losses make this far from a shoo-in. The story here is Cretin, who emerged from their lengthy slumber this week and reminded everyone that they are the defending section champs and can play with anyone in the right set of circumstances. Apple Valley continues to hover, and though Woodbury had a rough week, they can’t be counted out.
4AA
5 Hill-Murray
Stillwater
White Bear Lake
Tartan
-The hard-charging Ponies are the ones making noise here; though Hill remains miles ahead, Stilly has a shot if they can build on their recent momentum. White Bear Lake has a bit week ahead of them to prove if they should be in the picture or not, and Tartan continues to hover around the edges.
5AA
4 Blaine
11 Centennial
(16) Osseo
(18) Maple Grove
-We’re back to the two usual culprits on top, though MG and Osseo are serious semifinal threats. Blaine maintains its steady lead, though.
6AA
1 Minnetonka
2 Wayzata
3 Eden Prairie
(17) Benilde
-Oh no; the top three teams are all in one section--one of the semifinals here may be better than 7 of the section finals. Further complicating section seeding is the Benilde win over Wayzata, though hopefully the tie with Tonka will throw that out of the equation. The #1 seed will likely be decided in the Tonka-Wayzata rematch. What a circus this tournament is going to be; even Hopkins is looming there as a possible upset threat.
7AA
10 Elk River
12 Duluth East
15 Andover
Forest Lake
Grand Rapids
-A very interesting race; though the seeding is close to being set, any of these five teams could beat any of the others on a given night. The big story now is Flake, who’s making waves in the SEC and gave East a good run for its money. Even some of the lower seeds might not be capable of causing problems; Cloquet very nearly got to Andover, and though I don’t think the Joey Benik show in St. Franny could cause an upset, you never know.
8AA
14 Moorhead
(19) Roseau
Brainerd?
Bemidji?
-Moorhead’s big win causes a flip-flop at the top. Brainerd continues to do nothing but win; we’ll see shortly if they’ve improved on that ugly early loss to the Spuds. Bemidji does a good job of hanging with most teams as well, so we could have a race on.
There you go. Again, lots of great games this week; head out and enjoy one.