AA Rankings for 1/18/26

[karl(east)]

The top two are the same, but things have shuffled a bit beyond that, and once we hit #14 or so, all bets are off. Rankings:

1. Minnetonka (15-1-1)
-The Skippers methodically worked their way past St. Michael-Albertville and Maple Grove this past week, remaining in command of the top spot here. They’re giving up a few more goals now, though the pace they were on before was historic and may just not have been sustainable. They’ve got some of the weaker Lake teams this coming week.
This week: Thurs at Buffalo, Sat vs. Hopkins

2. Moorhead (15-1-1)
-The Spuds needed to dig deep to get past a shorthanded Andover team, but they did it all the same, and that means no changes in the top two. The top team in North Dakota awaits them next.
This week: Tues vs. Grand Forks Central (ND), Thurs vs. St. Cloud

3. Shakopee (14-3)
-The Sabers got an overtime win over Hermantown to keep the momentum going, keeping up a string of solid, often low-scoring results. They have an impressive collection of respectable wins, and while the schedule certainly isn’t as hard as that of St. Thomas or Edina, they have also avoided any serious lapses, with two of their three losses coming to Minnetonka and Moorhead. The week ahead is a big one that features some of the better teams in the South Suburban, most notably a chance to sweep the other top ten team here, Rosemount.
This week: Tues at #8 Rosemount, Thurs vs. Prior Lake, Sat vs. Lakeville South

4. St. Thomas Academy (12-4-2)
-A win over Edina is a big step forward for the Cadets, and they nudge ahead of the Hornets by virtue of that more recent head-to-head result and the recent Moorhead tie. They get a tough Class A team and a Hockey Day showcase against Rock Ridge this coming week.
This week: Thurs at Mahtomedi, Sat at Rock Ridge

5. Edina (13-5)
-The Hornets couldn’t complete the regular season sweep of St. Thomas, though they did rebound to pull one out against Maple Grove and eased past Buffalo for a two-win week. They drop a couple spots here since their recent play, between the St. Thomas and STMA losses, is not quite on par with that of Shakopee and St. Thomas. The week ahead is an interesting one, as they face Wayzata for the first time in an important section game and then attempt to avenge that shocker of a loss to STMA.
This week: Thurs vs. #12 Wayzata, Sat vs. St. Michael-Albertville

6. Rogers (12-4-1)
-The beat goes on for the Royals, who got two-goal wins over respectable Elk River and Wayzata this past week, and are unbeaten in their last ten. They’re collecting a bunch of quality ones, though there hasn’t been that signature moment that would pump them up into the top five yet. A feisty Andover team could give them trouble this coming week, though they did win the first meeting comfortably.
This week: Tues vs. Andover

7. Hill-Murray (12-3-2)
-The Pioneers pulled out a couple of squeakers against Wayzata and Grand Rapids, keeping them in the same spot for a fourth straight week; like Rogers, they are winning quality games, but haven’t had a result that screams “put them higher,” either. The battle for the top seed in 4AA looms.
This week: Thurs at South St. Paul, Sat vs. #11 Stillwater

8. Rosemount (13-3-1)
-The Irish made short work of Holy Angels on the outdoor rink of Hastings, running up their unbeaten streak to seven. A rematch with one of the teams that has beaten them looms this week, and is a must-win for a shot at a conference championship.
This week: Tues vs. #3 Shakopee

9. Maple Grove (10-5-1)
-The Crimson hung around with Edina and Minnetonka, but they wound up with two losses, and they’ve settled into a pretty consistent spot here. They now face two upset-minded fellow newer additions to the Lake Conference.
This week: at St. Michael-Albertville, Sat vs. Buffalo

10. Cretin-Derham Hall (13-5)
-The season of the one-goal win continues for the Raiders, but the victories this week, over fellow conference frontrunners White Bear Lake and Stillwater, keeps them moving in the right direction and returns them to the top ten in the state. It’s conference play the rest of the way for them, with a couple of mid-tier opponents this coming week.
This week: Tues at East Ridge, Sat vs. Roseville

11. Stillwater (11-5)
-Fell to Cretin in their only action this past week, continuing a general drift backward in recent play. They’re still competitive, just not getting the key wins. The battle with Hill caps off a busy week ahead of them.
This week: Tues vs. Forest Lake, Thurs at Woodbury, Sat at #7 Hill-Murray

12. Wayzata (7-8-2)
-Here are the ever-consistent Trojans, who gave top ten Hill-Murray and Rogers tight games this past week but did not win either one. They hit the road to face two of their traditional rivals this coming week, and they get a shot at the Hornets in an important section battle.
This week: Thurs at #5 Edina, Sat at #15 Eden Prairie

13. Holy Angels (9-6)
-After losses to Mahtomedi and Rosemount, I feel compelled to drop the Stars a slot. They need to get fully healthy, yes, but the resume of quality results is awfully thin for this point in the season. That won’t change with the opponents on their schedule this coming week.
This week: Tues at Prior Lake, Wed vs. St. Paul, Sat vs. Providence Academy

14. White Bear Lake (8-7-1)
-The Bears couldn’t muster a W in a tough battle with Cretin, though they did find some firepower later in the week with blowout wins over Forest Lake and Mounds View. They seem to have found some footing after some scuffles around the Holidays and they do have a couple of quality early results, so into the top 15 they go. Eden Prairie headlines a three-game week ahead of them, and they’ll aim to avenge one of those unfortunate earlier losses in the rematch with Roseville, too.
This week: Tues vs. #15 Eden Prairie, Thurs vs. Park of Cottage Grove, Sat at Roseville

15. Eden Prairie (8-8-1)
-I don’t like any of the options here, so we’ll try this since they’ve beaten the two teams immediately below them and seem to be stabilizing after an ugly stretch of hockey. The Eagles took care of business against the lower tier of the Lake, including a convincing 7-2 win over STMA. Now, can they do something against somewhat stiffer competition? White Bear and Wayzata offer achievable steps up this coming week before they face a couple top ten teams the following week.
This week: Tues at #14 White Bear Lake, Sat vs. #12 Wayzata

The Next Ten

Grand Rapids (7-11-1)
-Meet the new 7AA frontrunner, this one a bit more convincing than the past few: wins over Cloquet and Lakeville South coupled with a squeaker of a loss to top-10 Hill-Murray have the Thunderhawks continuing their recent momentum. They now have a week off to prepare for two big section games that could decide the top seed in 7AA.

Elk River (10-5)
-The Elks had a strong week, beating St. Michael-Albertville to take a step toward the 2-seed in 8AA and a quality Blaine team; they gave Rogers a competitive showing, too. Centennial will be the biggest test of a three-game week.

Chanhassen (9-5-1)
-The Storm took care of Jefferson and St. Louis Park. A three-game week includes Lakeville North and Benilde, which by the standards of their new year schedule is a tougher run.

Blaine (9-6-1)
-The good news: the Bengals beat Centennial for a second time to solidify their case for a high seed in 5AA. The bad: they lost to Elk River, which leaves them treading water in the rankings when they had an opportunity to climb. They’ve got Mounds View and a home-and-home with Champlin Park this week, so it’s a chance to rack up a few wins.

Farmington (14-2-1)
-A split with Eastview doesn’t scream top seed, and a narrow win over New Prague, a possible semifinal opponent, isn’t great, either. South had a tough enough week that the Tigers remain the top-ranked team in the section, but the week ahead will be telling, as they go for the sweep of Lakeville North and also play a respectable Mankato West group.

Lakeville South (7-8-1)
-The road loss to Grand Rapids is forgivable, but the Prior Lake loss was a step backward for the Cougars, who also beat Rock Ridge to salvage a win this past week. They get a crack at Shakopee this coming week.

Centennial (9-7)
-The Cougars lost a squeaker to Blaine and continue to bounce somewhere around the fringes of the top 15. Elk River and Duluth East are up next.

Andover (6-9-3)
-The Huskies put up a valiant fight against Moorhead, but couldn’t quite finish off the Spuds; like Grand Rapids, they look more dangerous than the record would suggest. They get a crack at Rogers now.

St. Michael-Albertville (9-8)
-The Knights have lost four in a row since their big win over Edina. The showing against Minnetonka was pretty respectable, but the Elk River loss may consign them to the 3-seed in 8AA, and the Eden Prairie game got away from them. It doesn’t get any easier this coming week, as they host Maple Grove and head to Edina for a rematch.

Holy Family (9-9)
-Got a decent win over Gentry this past week, and while there have been some downs, they did beat Hill too, so they win the 25-spot roulette this week. Hutchinson is their lone opponent this coming week.

One month left in the regular season!

[East Side Pioneer Guy]

The Wayzata Hill game was better than I thought it would be. Wayzata looked really good, it was a fast pace, good passing and an aggressive fore check. It reminded me of Hill Edina games from a while back, before Giles started having them pull a lot of after the whistle crap. Wayazta was down by 2 and had puled the goalie when they finally made it 4-3, but there wasn't a lot of time left by then. I was hoping for HIll to hang a better crooked number on them and win by at least 2 if not 3, but like I said, the Trojans were on their game.

I don't see a lot of Wayzata, and at the Wild the night before I saw a guy in a Wayzata hat at my stand. I asked if he was going to Aldrich the following night. He said, "Yeah. I'm the coach."

[Immigrant Fan]

I think you are on to something with Rapids. They were burdened with a number of injuries earlier in the season, but seem to be getting healthier. The key for the Thawks is which team is playing that night. The team that works hard, hustles, and maintains intensity could be dangerous. The soft team that dogs it at times would be an embarassment in St. Paul. It would have been interesting to see how the H-M game would have gone with Salisbury on the ice. Hopefully, we see a rematch.

It was nice to see a team wearing green that did not pull the after the whistle stuff like Edina. I don't see why the refs allow that to continue, but the Hornets seem to specialize in it and get a free pass.

[Brodziak Fan Club]

Obligatory counterpoint from a Hornet fan.

I believe Giles coaches them to find where the line is each night and play right to it. The message is you are going to have to buckle up every time you play Edina.

They are one of the most disciplined teams out there once playoffs roll around.

[CrimsonCakeEater]

Obligatory counterpoint from a Hornet fan.

I believe Giles coaches them to find where the line is each night and play right to it. The message is you are going to have to buckle up every time you play Edina.

They are one of the most disciplined teams out there once playoffs roll around.

Another comment from an Edina alum: let's not pretend that Edina's opponents don't enjoy being given the opportunity to throw some punches at the Horents. Not Edina's fault their opponents can't help themselves when they play Edina instead of some less-hated team.

[East Side Pioneer Guy]

Yeah, that's right, right up to the line, the first few times. When it's after nearly every whistle, it's beyond the line. I don't know why opposing coaches don't tell their players to push right back, and to refs at the per-game meet, "Let's watch the after the whistle crap, now." And then start barking about it from jump street. And it is discipline, it's obviously coached if it's that consistent. I guess if Giles gets away with it, I can't blame him. It's stripes not calling it and the coaches not jaw jacking them.

[diablo26]

FYI- Eastview vs Rosemount was 4-2 loss this week w/ an empty net, a split w Farmington- some teams do grow stronger as season progresses, especially if changes r made -Note certain teams are comprised w many 2 sport athletes who r not solely focused on hockey, they improve w time- EV is certainly not a top 20 team but did beat Park, Chan and play a very tough schedule

[East Side Pioneer Guy]

FYI- Eastview vs Rosemount was 4-2 loss this week w/ an empty net, a split w Farmington- some teams do grow stronger as season progresses, especially if changes r made -Note certain teams are comprised w many 2 sport athletes who r not solely focused on hockey, they improve w time- EV is certainly not a top 20 team but did beat Park, Chan and play a very tough schedule

Two sport athletes??? This endangered species should be tagged and released back into the wild, so that researchers can track their habits. While we face very long odds, we may be able to restore their numbers somewhat. We can hope. It has been noted that the demise of the multi-sport athlete has had an inverse relationship with the 4 high school athlete - athletes who attend a different school each year. And while correlation isn't causation, it's a pretty good clue.

[Nostalgic Nerd]

Caught Sports Zone (ch 799) briefly and they said STA has 23-2 goals in the 1st period vs opponents and have seven different players averaging 1+ points a game. Will be interesting come playoffs.

[stateofhawkey]

The Next Ten

Grand Rapids (7-11-1)
-Meet the new 7AA frontrunner, this one a bit more convincing than the past few: wins over Cloquet and Lakeville South coupled with a squeaker of a loss to top-10 Hill-Murray have the Thunderhawks continuing their recent momentum. They now have a week off to prepare for two big section games that could decide the top seed in 7AA.

Maybe I'm missing something, but isn't Duluth Marshall in 7AA? You don't think a 14-2-2 team that just tied Hibbing would be the frontrunner?

[elliott70]

MN Scores.net (QRF)
Section 7AA Standings
Seed Team Section Overall For Agst QRF Value QRF Rank Streak
Duluth Marshall 2-0-0 14-2-2 5.2 1.7 85.1 13 None
Forest Lake 3-1-0 11-7-0 3.7 3.4 74.8 18 Won 1
Grand Rapids 1-1-1 7-11-1 3.0 3.6 60.2 34 Lost 1
Rock Ridge 1-2-0 9-9-0 3.6 3.2 59.7 37 Lost 1
Duluth East 3-2-1 6-10-2 3.2 3.6 49.3 47 Lost 1
Duluth Denfeld 1-2-0 6-8-1 3.1 4.3 48.9 48 Won 2
Cambridge-Isanti 1-3-0 5-12-0 3.2 4.6 37.1 58 Lost 4
Northern Edge 0-1-0 7-9-1 3.5 3.9 29.3 63 Lost 1

Grand Rapids is making a push but to say they are the front runner is a bit off the mark.

[Brodziak Fan Club]

The Next Ten

Grand Rapids (7-11-1)
-Meet the new 7AA frontrunner, this one a bit more convincing than the past few: wins over Cloquet and Lakeville South coupled with a squeaker of a loss to top-10 Hill-Murray have the Thunderhawks continuing their recent momentum. They now have a week off to prepare for two big section games that could decide the top seed in 7AA.

Maybe I'm missing something, but isn't Duluth Marshall in 7AA? You don't think a 14-2-2 team that just tied Hibbing would be the frontrunner?

If you can believe it, Karl hates Marshall even more than he loves Wayzata

#rankthehilltoppers