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We have a pretty stable top seven right now, though this season did take one of its weirder twists when Moorhead lost to Grand Forks Central this past week. Section seeds are coming into shape now, too. Rankings:

1. Minnetonka (16-1-1)
-It was smooth sailing for the Skippers against Buffalo and Hopkins, so this spot, at least, is secure. They now get a chance to avenge their lone loss on the season when they host the rival Hornets.
This week: Thurs vs. #5 Edina, Sat at St. Michael-Albertville

2. Moorhead (15-2-1)
-Never did I expect I would spend so much time studying Grand Forks Central this season as I try to figure out what exactly it means for the Spuds to lose to a North Dakota power. The Knights from west of the Red River have lost to Warroad and East Grand Forks this season, so while this isn’t a horrific loss, it’s not a great one for a top-2 team in the state, either, but the Spuds have enough of a cushion over Shakopee that I haven’t dropped them. No matter how much weight we choose to put on the loss, one thing is clear: the Spuds are not playing their best hockey right now. After steamrolling through everyone not named Minnetonka in the first half of the season—including a dominant holiday tournament after the Joey Cullen injury—three of their past four games have not been great, including a tie with a St. Thomas team they’d previously beaten by four, needing overtime to escape a sub-.500 Andover team, and now this. They’ll need to get back on track against a couple of tougher Class A teams now.
This week: Tues vs. East Grand Forks, Sat vs. Hermantown

3. Shakopee (17-3)
-The beat keeps going for the Sabers, who shut down Rosemount to complete the sweep of the Irish, and secured 3-goal wins over Prior Lake and Lakeville South as well. They get a chance to really lock in this spot, and perhaps even put some pressure on Moorhead for the 2-spot, when they visit St. Thomas on Thursday.
This week: Thurs at #4 St. Thomas Academy, Sat at Eastview

4. St. Thomas Academy (14-4-2)
-The Cadets collected matching 4-1 wins over Mahtomedi and Rock Ridge, so there are no changes here, either. A win over Shakopee on Thursday would put an exclamation point on their recent run and potentially solidify their State seeding position.
This week: Thurs vs. #3 Shakopee, Sat vs. South St. Paul

5. Edina (15-5)
-Hornets scraped past Wayzata in a key section game and avenged their loss to St. Michael-Albertville, stabilizing their position here. It’s now their turn to run the Lake Conference road game gauntlet as they visit Pagel for a second run at the top-ranked Skippers and old friend Eden Prairie, whom they beat comfortably in the Holiday Classic.
This week: Thurs at #1 Minnetonka, Sat at #14 Eden Prairie

6. Rogers (14-4-1)
-Handily handled Andover to maintain their position. The coming week should be good for point collection.
This week: Thurs at Spring Lake Park/Coon Rapids, Sat vs. Anoka

7. Hill-Murray (14-3-2)
-The Pioneers grabbed the all-important win over Stillwater and should have the top seed in 4AA locked up. This isn’t an overwhelming Hill team, but they are winning the games they need to win, and they will have a couple chances to make a statement down the stretch, with three top ten games in their last four. Mahtomedi tied them the first time around, so they’ll have to exercise some caution around the Zephyrs.
This week: Thurs vs. Mahtomedi, Sat vs. Duluth East

8. Rosemount (13-4-1)
-The Irish offense went quiet as they fell to Shakopee for a second time, and while they stay steady in the rankings with some weird results among the teams right below them, they’ve been unable to secure that one big win that would launch them higher in the rankings. That was their last real opportunity to get one before sections, and they’ll likely have to go through both Cretin and St. Thomas to make any noise there.
This week: Wed at Lakeville South, Sat at Prior Lake

9. Maple Grove (11-5-1)
-The Crimson escaped Buffalo in overtime in their only game this past week; it’s not an exciting result, but at least it was a win. They’ve got two teams in the 11-20 range this week, meaning they’ll need to be on guard against a potential upset.
This week: Tues at Blaine, Thurs at #14 Eden Prairie, Sat at Hopkins

10. Cretin-Derham Hall (14-6)
-The one-goal games giveth and they taketh away, and this week they took away for the Raiders, as they lost to East Ridge.
This week: Thurs vs. Woodbury

11. Stillwater (12-6-1)
-The Ponies lost a squeaker to Hill and tied Forest Lake; while they remain competitive, it’s been a while since they had a true quality result. Up next is a rematch with White Bear that will be telling for the direction of both teams as they jockey for 4AA positioning.
This week: Thurs at White Bear Lake, Sat at Mounds View

12. Wayzata (8-9-2)
-The Trojans pushed Edina to the brink and handled Eden Prairie, which solidifies their position in this neighborhood. We’ll see if they can keep the beat going against two lurkers in the conference.
This week: Thurs at St. Michael-Albertville, Sat at Buffalo

13. Holy Angels (12-6)
-Things aren’t coming easily to the Stars these days, as they had to fight past Prior Lake and Providence Academy, but they did muster a three-win week. Elk River this coming week could be telling, and Blake isn’t a pushover, either.
This week: Fri at Blake, Sat vs. Elk River

14. Eden Prairie (9-9-1)
-A win over White Bear strengthens the Eagles’ hand as a top 15 team, while the Wayzata loss leaves them toward the back end of this collection of teams. Now, can they do anything in three straight games against the top three teams in the Lake?
This week: Thurs vs. #9 Maple Grove, Sat vs. #5 Edina

15. Farmington (16-2-1)
-Beat a feisty Mankato West team and shut out Lakeville North to take another step toward the top seed in 1AA, so that’s enough to win the 15-spot roulette this week. Wisconsin power Hudson headlines the coming action.
This week: Thurs at Hudson (WI), Sat vs. Apple Valley/Burnsville

The Next Ten

Grand Rapids (7-11-1)
-The Thunderhawks took the past week off, allowing them to gear up for a big one ahead: they’re on the road first to face Duluth Marshall, in a game that could decide the frontrunner for the top seed in 7AA, and then they get rival Rock Ridge on Friday night. By the end of the week they could be locked in as either the 1-seed or the 4-seed in the section; a loss to Marshall and a win over Rock Ridge probably puts them at 3, while a win over Marshall and a loss to Rock Ridge causes all hell to break loose.

Elk River (12-5-1)
-The Elks settled for a tie with Champlin Park, but wins over Centennial and Roseau keep a decent ranking intact here. They get the Cougars again this week, plus a decent Totino team and Holy Angels, so it will be an educational week over where these Elks stand.

Lakeville South (8-9-1)
-A narrow win over Eastview and a loss to Shakopee confirm the general priors on the Cougars. Now we’ll see if they can do anything with the other South Suburban frontrunner, Rosemount.

Blaine (11-6-2)
-The Bengals did not do themselves many favors with a narrow win over Mounds View and a 1-0-1 effort against Champlin Park. The week ahead is a huge one for section positioning, with both Maple Grove and Andover awaiting them.

Centennial (10-8)
-The Cougars fell to Elk River, but rebounded with a win over Duluth East. The aforementioned Elks and Andover bookend a three-game week, with the Andover game having some section seeding implications.

White Bear Lake (8-8-3)
-The Bears had a rough week, losing to Eden Prairie and settling for ties with Park and Roseville. A game with Stillwater this week gives them a chance to salvage their section standing somewhat.

Duluth Marshall (15-2-2)
-A second tie with a Class A power grabs some attention for the Hilltoppers. Their best win to date remains the one over Rock Ridge, but they have at least shown an ability to hang with good teams and are passing the eye test of a real contender in 7AA. They get a shot to really prove it when they host Grand Rapids on Tuesday.

Forest Lake (11-7-1)
-A tie with Stillwater is a solid result for the Rangers, who benefit from others’ losses here. Mounds View and Bemidji come to pay visits this week.

Totino-Grace (12-5)
-A win over Andover this past week has the Eagles moving up the table in 5AA, and they’ve quietly been having a pretty respectable season. Elk River will be the toughest test of a three-game week ahead of them.

Holy Family (10-9)
-Beat Hutchinson in their only action this past week. Road games against Park of Cottage Grove and Delano this coming week will tell us more about how much they deserve a top 25 slot.

And now, our second-to-last tour of my attempt to determine the top four seeds in each section.

1AA
15 Farmington
18 Lakeville South
Lakeville North
New Prague
-Farmington is doing what it needs to do to claim the top spot, but a rematch with South during the final week of the regular season will probably be the deciding factor. Those two are the clear top two right now. North and New Prague have tied, but I lean toward North for the 3-seed based on overall results; New Prague can’t match things like North’s Chanhassen tie.

2AA
1 Minnetonka
3 Shakopee
Chanhassen
14 Eden Prairie
25 Holy Family
-The top two look set here. Chanhassen is in the driver’s seat for the 3-seed with wins over Eden Prairie and Bloomington Jefferson, though they do have a rematch with the Jags and a meeting with Prior Lake left; a loss in either would open the door for Eden Prairie, who does have a win over Shakopee, to move up. A Holy Family-Prior Lake game on February 5 could decide the 5-seed, with an opportunity for more if any chaos happens.

3AA
4 St. Thomas Academy
8 Rosemount
10 Cretin-Derham Hall
Eagan
-St. Thomas is sitting in good shape for the top seed now, while Rosemount has pulled ahead of Cretin on body of work, with only a real change in fortune down the stretch for one of those three likely to move things. For now, Eagan is 1-0-1 against Park and Eastview, the other two teams in the clump racing for the 4-seed. They can probably lock it in with a second win over the Lightning on Saturday, but if Eastview wins, the 4-seed should be theirs, as they’d improve to 2-1 against that grouping.

4AA
7 Hill-Murray
11 Stillwater
21 White Bear Lake
East Ridge
-Hill is the top seed here after the win over Stillwater. With the early season Roseville loss and now a tie in the rematch, White Bear may be consigned to the 3-seed even with a win over Stillwater in their second round. East Ridge has a win over Roseville and is probably in line for the 4-seed if they complete the sweep, though a Roseville win might tip the Raiders into that spot, since they have that White Bear win. There are enough games among Suburban East teams down the stretch that there could be a few different scenarios in play.

5AA
9 Maple Grove
19 Blaine
20 Centennial
24 Totino-Grace
-Maple Grove is in good position and can claim the top seed with a win over Blaine this week. Andover’s loss to Totino this past week drops the Huskies out of the top 25 and on to the 5-seed line, but with Blaine and Centennial both on their schedule this week, they have the ability to repair that. Totino still has games with Blaine and Centennial, too, so going as high as the 2-seed isn’t out of the question. With four remaining games between the top five, there are still a lot of possible combinations here.

6AA
5 Edina
6 Rogers
12 Wayzata
13 Holy Angels
-This one is broken pretty comfortably into tiers. Edina and Rogers will likely jockey for 1-seed position down to the bitter end; Edina would have a strong argument with a sweep of Wayzata, though both teams have enough big games left that they could swing things for good or ill. Wayzata and Holy Angels’ meeting on February 4 probably decides the 3-seed, with the loser landing at 4. Buffalo’s win over Benilde should have the Bison at 5, with Benilde coming in as a tricky 6-seed.

7AA
22 Duluth Marshall
23 Forest Lake
16 Grand Rapids
Rock Ridge
-As noted in the Rapids comment above, Rapids can probably win the top seed with a sweep this week; Marshall can get it with a win over Rapids and over Duluth East at the end of the season. Forest Lake is rooting for the winner of the Rapids-Marshall game to lose their other remaining quality section game, which would get Rangers back into the 1-seed conversation. Rock Ridge could boost its case somewhat by beating Rapids, but probably only as far as the 3-seed; similarly, Duluth East probably needs some help to get up to 3 or 4 even if the Hounds beat Marshall.

8AA
2 Moorhead
17 Elk River
St. Michael-Albertville
Bemidji
-A Moorhead-Elk River game looms next week, though I’m not sure the Spuds can drop from the top seed line even with a loss there. The Elks seem to have the 2-seed just about buttoned up, and STMA is a firm 3-seed. There have been ups and downs, but I think Bemidji has done enough to sew up the 4-seed.

The STA vs Rockridge result should be treated as a scrimmage. It tells us little to nothing of consequence.

The HM vs Stillwater game was more entertaining than I had hoped. Of course when Stillwater scored early on the PP they acted like it was a state tournament game because, hey, we scored on Hill. Hill kept going to the box, in contravention to SEC Scotty's now long disproven complaints. They had a pretty effective PP, except for the one later in the 3rd, and Hill definitely needs to not give them 5 on 4's at the rematch next month.

East Side Pioneer Guy wrote: ↑Sun Jan 25, 2026 4:55 pm The STA vs Rockridge result should be treated as a scrimmage. It tells us little to nothing of consequence.

The HM vs Stillwater game was more entertaining than I had hoped. Of course when Stillwater scored early on the PP they acted like it was a state tournament game because, hey, we scored on Hill. Hill kept going to the box, in contravention to SEC Scotty's now long disproven complaints. They had a pretty effective PP, except for the one later in the 3rd, and Hill definitely needs to not give them 5 on 4's at the rematch next month.

Hill has been surprisingly poor on the penalty kill this year, all the more perplexing because they have a very good goalie and a solid D core. Here's the top 10 and how they fair on the penalty kill:

Team Penalty Kill %
Rogers 90.2%
Shakopee 89.8%
CDH 89.3%
Rosemount 88.0%
STA 86.0%
Moorhead 84.3%
Tonka 79.7%
Maple Grove 79.6%
Hill 76.0%
Edina 69.7%

Hill's penalty kill seems to be it's achilles heel, and it could cost them in the biggest moments. Teams like Moorhead and STA will make you pay dearly if you are in the box and have a below average penalty kill.....

BlueLineSpecial wrote: ↑Sun Jan 25, 2026 7:53 pm

East Side Pioneer Guy wrote: ↑Sun Jan 25, 2026 4:55 pm The STA vs Rockridge result should be treated as a scrimmage. It tells us little to nothing of consequence.

The HM vs Stillwater game was more entertaining than I had hoped. Of course when Stillwater scored early on the PP they acted like it was a state tournament game because, hey, we scored on Hill. Hill kept going to the box, in contravention to SEC Scotty's now long disproven complaints. They had a pretty effective PP, except for the one later in the 3rd, and Hill definitely needs to not give them 5 on 4's at the rematch next month.

Hill has been surprisingly poor on the penalty kill this year, all the more perplexing because they have a very good goalie and a solid D core. Here's the top 10 and how they fair on the penalty kill:

Team Penalty Kill %
Rogers 90.2%
Shakopee 89.8%
CDH 89.3%
Rosemount 88.0%
STA 86.0%
Moorhead 84.3%
Tonka 79.7%
Maple Grove 79.6%
Hill 76.0%
Edina 69.7%

Hill's penalty kill seems to be it's achilles heel, and it could cost them in the biggest moments. Teams like Moorhead and STA will make you pay dearly if you are in the box and have a below average penalty kill.....

Good points. And given Hill's low scoring output, it's even more critical. The first line has stepped up their scoring, but Zasada is still lackluster, and that needs to change.

Now as far as Edina, stripes doesn't call much against them, so it's not such a big deal. What's a few dozen after the whistle face washes between friends?

East Side Pioneer Guy wrote: ↑Sun Jan 25, 2026 8:46 pm

BlueLineSpecial wrote: ↑Sun Jan 25, 2026 7:53 pm

East Side Pioneer Guy wrote: ↑Sun Jan 25, 2026 4:55 pm The STA vs Rockridge result should be treated as a scrimmage. It tells us little to nothing of consequence.

The HM vs Stillwater game was more entertaining than I had hoped. Of course when Stillwater scored early on the PP they acted like it was a state tournament game because, hey, we scored on Hill. Hill kept going to the box, in contravention to SEC Scotty's now long disproven complaints. They had a pretty effective PP, except for the one later in the 3rd, and Hill definitely needs to not give them 5 on 4's at the rematch next month.

Hill has been surprisingly poor on the penalty kill this year, all the more perplexing because they have a very good goalie and a solid D core. Here's the top 10 and how they fair on the penalty kill:

Team Penalty Kill %
Rogers 90.2%
Shakopee 89.8%
CDH 89.3%
Rosemount 88.0%
STA 86.0%
Moorhead 84.3%
Tonka 79.7%
Maple Grove 79.6%
Hill 76.0%
Edina 69.7%

Hill's penalty kill seems to be it's achilles heel, and it could cost them in the biggest moments. Teams like Moorhead and STA will make you pay dearly if you are in the box and have a below average penalty kill.....

Good points. And given Hill's low scoring output, it's even more critical. The first line has stepped up their scoring, but Zasada is still lackluster, and that needs to change.

Now as far as Edina, stripes doesn't call much against them, so it's not such a big deal. What's a few dozen after the whistle face washes between friends?

Interestingly, Edina has taken the 3rd most penalty of the top 10:

Team PKs

CDH 75
Tonka 74
Edina 66
Moorhead 51
Hill 50
Rosemount 50
Shakopee 49
Maple Grove 49
STA 43
Rogers 41

Give Rogers credit- they don’t take penalties and when they do, they don’t give up much.

It’s actually amazing how bad Edina is at killing penalties. Under 70% is wild stuff. Yet they take their fair share too. Could well be Edina’s undoing this year too

Last thing I'll say about Hill's penalty kills. This is the first season in a while where I dread seeing them take a penalty. Good teams seem to torch them.

A couple of games that stood out for me where opposing teams badly hurt Hill on the PP

Eden Prairie 3 for 4
STA 2 for 2
Grand Rapids 2 for 3

They also gave up power play goals in games to Hermantown (ended in a tie), Holy Family (1 goal loss), Wayzata (1 goal win), and Stillwater (1 goal win).

Additionally, they gave up empty net goals to Stillwater & Wayzata.

This Hill team doesn't have the same margin of error that previous squads maybe did. Games are closer, every goal is important, and being generally bad when teams have a man advantage is a recipe for disaster.

If you combine goals they've given up on the penalty kill and the empty net goals of opposing teams, they're giving up .75 goals a game when teams have a man advantage. 8 of their 19 games (42%) have ended either in a tie or a one goal win or loss.

There's a fine line with penalties. You have to be aggressive, penalties happen when you play close to the edge. In the last 6 games of the season I'd like to see Lechner and Co refine their penalty kill. They have a tough schedule to end the season, so they'll have ample opportunity to do so.