The holiday break blitz is now behind us, we head into 2025, and Class A has a new #1 this week and a whole lot of parity that suggests a fun finish to this season. Week #6 Rankings Below:
1. Monticello (10-0-1)
Past Week Results: W 4-2 Sauk Rapids, W 6-0 #17 Luverne, T 3-3 Bemidji
Upcoming Schedule: 1/3 @ #12 Minneapolis
The Moose continued to clomp along through their schedule as they are now one of the last two remaining unbeaten teams in Class A. They had a good showing at the Granite City Classic where they took out 5A Sauk Rapids and ranked Luverne before skating to a tough tie with a solid Bemidji team. At this point the Moose have done enough to earn this top ranking for now the question will be how they handle it and if they can do better than the Jacks did last week as the game at MPLS this week will be a very tough match up to start 2025.
2. Hermantown (6-3-2)
Past Week Results: W 3-0 #8 Delano, L 2-5 White Bear Lake
Upcoming Schedule: 1/2 vs Rock Ridge, 1/4 @ Eden Prairie
The Hawks continue to play their mainly AA schedule this winter but when they do dip their toe into Class A they are unbeaten as they shut out Delano this week. They then lost a competitive game to White Bear Lake on the road but having losses to AA the Bears, Hill & Rosemount and a tie with CDH really doesnt should hurt them here. I will keep them at this spot for now and assume they will be #1 PageStat and would you believe it they have more AA games on the slate this week.
3. Cloquet/Esko/Carlton (10-1-0)
Past Week Results: W 4-1 #17 Luverne, L 1-2 St Cloud Public, 12/28 vs Mankato East
Upcoming Schedule: 1/2 @ Superior (Wis.), 1/4 @ #10 Mahtomedi
The Lumberjacks took their first loss of the season over holidays to St. Cloud Public, which does make one pause on their opinion of them a bit as that is an ugly loss. However, they are still one of four unbeaten teams within Class A competition and with wins over Hibbing, SCC & EGF on the resume, while they drop slightly they stay in the top three for now. A dangerous trip to traditional power Mahtomedi is on their radar this coming week.
4. Hibbing/Chisholm (9-4-0)
Past Week Results: W 7-2 Cambridge Isanti, W 7-2 #8 Delano
Upcoming Schedule: 1/2 vs Greenway
Hibbing is right there again at the top of these rankings after last weekend’s disastrous road trip they rebounded with a dominant win over Delano this week, they have now won two in a row after being swept a weekend earlier. The resume includes wins over SCC, Mahtomedi & Delano. They’ll look to keep the momentum going against a Section 7A Greenway this week and they could be getting a full lineup soon with their star defenseman on the mend.
5. Warroad (7-3-1)
Past Week Results: W 4-2 Grand Forks Red River, W 4-1 Grand Forks Central, W 3-2 OT Notre Dame (Conn.)
Upcoming Schedule: 1/4 vs #13 Detroit Lakes
The Warriors had a good Holiday Break piling up the wins, they marched steadily through their three outstate opponents to win their holiday classic and enter 2025 looking like a very strong and viable team to repeat as Section 8A Champions yet again. They do start the new year with a good test in regards to that as they take on ranked and unbeaten in 8A play Detroit Lakes and the winner will have the early inside track for the #1 seed in 8A for the time being.
6. Northfield (8-2-1)
Past Week Results: W 3-2 OT #13 Detroit Lakes
Upcoming Schedule: 1/4 @ Mankato West
Northfield is holding steady here after they won their only game of the week in overtime over a good Detroit Lakes squad. They have a resume with wins over Orono, MPLS, DL and a tie with SCC to fit nicely in this part of the rankings for now. They have a sneaky tough game ahead of them featuring a respectable opponent in Mankato West, a game they definitely should win but they will not want to be caught overlooking them.
7. St Cloud Cathedral (6-4-2)
Past Week Results: W 5-0 Mankato East, L 2-6 Bemidji, W 5-1 St Cloud Public
Upcoming Schedule: 1/4 @ #11 Orono
The Crusaders season long trend of inconsistent play continued in their holiday tournament with a feast-or-famine showing, shutting out Mankato East, then getting blasted by Bemidji and wrapping up with a win over city rival St Cloud Public. Despite a lot of crooked scores, they have yet to beat a team above them or lose to a team below them here, so this does feel about right. The challenges just keep coming in the week ahead with a trip to ranked Orono.
8. Delano (5-6-0)
Past Week Results: L 0-3 #2 Hermantown, L 1-4 Rock Ridge, L 2-7 #4 Hibbing/Chisholm
Upcoming Schedule: 1/4 vs Holy Family
Raise your hand if you had a winless holiday weekend for Delano on your bingo card: the Tigers are suddenly reeling, having lost 4 games in a row, three to ranked Class A teams ahead of them, and dropped below .500. One would assume there’s more to them than this, but if it wasn’t for the EGF & Mahtomedi resume wins and no losses to any Class A team below them, they would be out of the Top 10. Their reward for all these struggles? A date with Holy Family, a program that has owned them over the years.
9. East Grand Forks (5-5-1)
Past Week Results: W 5-1 Fargo Davies
Upcoming Schedule: 1/2 @ #21 Thief River Falls, 1/3 vs St Thomas Academy
Has the sleeping giant finally awoken? Granted, their opponent this past week is tough to judge as far as quality, but East Grand Forks did exactly what they needed to do to finish a tough start to the season going (3-0-1) to end December to find themselves back at .500 and reassert themselves into the conversation of Class A contenders as we enter 2025. A big week of tests is up next with an important road game at 8A TRF before a visit from AA power STA to see how much this group has really progressed.
10. Mahtomedi (4-7-1)
Past Week Results: W 4-3 #11 Orono
Upcoming Schedule: 1/4 vs #3 Cloquet/Esko/Carlton
I am sure this will draw the ire of many but honestly how does one rank the Zephyrs? They now have Class A wins over ranked Orono & Warroad. They have losses to Hermantown, Delano and Hibbing in overtime. They had a tremendous comeback this weekend scoring three 3rd period goals to overcome the Spartans which if they get that kind of production moving forward in 2025 watch out. This week a chance to cause even more ranking chaos when they take on CEC at home.
11. Orono (6-5-2)
Past Week Results: W 3-0 #13 Detroit Lakes, L 3-4 #10 Mahtomedi
Upcoming Schedule: 1/2 @ #24 Providence Academy, 1/4 vs #6 St Cloud Cathedral
The Spartans just can’t get over the Top 10 bump it seems as they had all kinds of momentum this past week beating a good ranked Detroit Lakes crew and then carrying a 3-1 lead over Mahtomedi into the 3rd period. However, they allowed the punchless Zephyrs to score three unanswered goals and dropped a tough road game. Orono has wins over Hibbing & Detroit Lakes but losses to Monticello, Warroad, NFLD, Mahtomedi, Little Falls and ties with EGF & MPLS. Another impossible Class A team to rank but more fun this week for them with games vs ranked Providence Academy & SCC.
12. Minneapolis (8-1-3)
Past Week Results: W 3-0 Hudson (Wis.)
Upcoming Schedule: 1/3 vs #1 Monticello, 1/4 @ Armstrong/Cooper
The 612 crew took care of Wisconsin power Hudson on the road over the Holiday break in their lone game of the week. Taking a look at the resume they only have a loss to Top 10 Northfield and ties with Orono & Providence Academy. They continue to show they are a dangerous team but they still lack that big win of the teams ranked ahead of them at the moment. They’ve got great chance to change that this week as this host the #1 Moose on Friday Night.
13. Detroit Lakes (6-3-1)
Past Week Results: L 0-3 #11 Orono, L 2-3 OT #6 Northfield
Upcoming Schedule: 1/2 @ Fargo Davies, 1/4 @ #5 Warroad
The Lakers fell out of the top ten after a tough holiday weekend that saw them lose competitive games to Top 10 Orono & Northfield on the road. Their losses are all to top 20 teams and they have a couple of nice wins, the EGF one being the best of the bunch at the moment, but they have yet to really find any wow factor. We’ll see if they can do anything against Warroad this week in a big Section 8A Game.
14. Waseca (9-0-1)
Past Week Results: W 7-4 #19 Thief River Falls, W 8-4 #25 Crookston
Upcoming Schedule: 1/3 vs Worthington
It’s time to start paying more attention to the Waseca, who stayed unbeaten in their trip up north this past week, including a big program win over TRF. Early on they have done what they can within their schedule, their scores have all looked like those of a legitimate contender within Section 1A, and they should only continue to win as we enter 2025 with just a game vs Worthington on the schedule for this week.
15. Northern Lakes (4-3-0)
Past Week Results: Idle
Upcoming Schedule: 1/3 @ Morris/Benson, 1/4 vs Southwest Christian/Richfield
The Lightning were idle this past week and overall I think even they would admit that it’s been a disappointment so far looking at how the season has gone vs the hype they had for this group coming into the year. At just one game over .500 and only the Alex win to hang their hat on they will need to make a push here in 2025 to regain some credibility. That should start this upcoming week with two very winnable games vs 6A Morris/Benson and then Southwest Christian/Richfield.
16. Little Falls (4-3-1)
Past Week Results:W 5-1 Princeton
Upcoming Schedule: 1/3 vs Southwest Christian/Richfield
The Flyers got a much needed Section 5A win over the Holiday break when they took down Princeton in their only action for the week. The Flyers are a hard team to rank. They have wins over Orono & Rock Ridge but a loss to a one win Hutchinson team and a tie with Sauk Rapids. The potential is there for this group but they will need more offense like they got this past week. Just one game again this week is a decent opponent in Southwest Christian/Richfield who they can not afford to overlook.
17. Luverne (8-2-1)
Past Week Results: L 1-4 #3 Cloquet/Esko/Carlton, L 0-6 #1 Monticello, W 9-6 Sauk Rapids
Upcoming Schedule: 1/3 @ #23 Rochester Lourdes
Roll Cards Roll further cemented themselves as a Top 20 team over the holiday break, as they were competitive in losses to Top three Class A teams CEC & Monticello, and took care of business against Sauk Rapids, a team who has beaten any below them in these rankings. They will have a very good test to start 2025 as they hit the road to take on a red hot Lourdes team who is looking to get that big win to show they are a Top 20 team as well.
18. River Lakes (6-2-2)
Past Week Results: W 3-2 Fargo North, W 10-3 Marshall
Upcoming Schedule: 1/2 vs #25 Fergus Falls, 1/3 @ Breckenridge/Wahpeton
The Stars had a strong showing in Fargo as they went outside and picked up two more wins including a nice comeback to take down Fargo North. Overall, they have the resume for a Top 20 team as we head into 2025 they have a marquee win over Detroit Lakes and beyond the Cathedral blowout they have been in every game so far. Good test this week with a red hot Fergus Falls team coming to town in a CLC showdown.
19. Proctor (7-6-0)
Past Week Results: L 1-4 New Ulm, L 2-7 Hopkins, W 7-1 North Shore
Upcoming Schedule: 1/4 vs International Falls
The Rails had a disastrous holiday tournament as they were upset by New Ulm and then got hammered by Hopkins and while they did wrap up with a Section 7A win over North Shore the overall result sends Proctor crashing down the rankings this week. They lack a marquee win on their resume with their best result being a controversial overtime win over Lourdes and they will look to get more tack as we enter 2025 which begins with a crucial Section 7A seeding game vs an improved International Falls team.
20. Chisago Lakes (5-3-1)
Past Week Results: Idle
Upcoming Schedule: 12/31 vs Forest Lake, 1/3 @ Dodge County
The Wildcats were another team that took the Christmas Break off and did not play this past week. They will be busier this coming week though as they have two games, the big rivalry game with neighbor Forest Lake and then a trip down to Dodge County. Chisago Lakes will be looking to gain some momentum in 2025 especially with the Zephyrs looking more vulnerable than ever this year.
Next Five Notable Teams
Thief River Falls (4-6-0)- The Prowlers loss to Waseca interrupted what had otherwise been a promising late December for TRF; they won their other holiday tournament game comfortably. For all the promise they show at times they still give up way too many goals vs good teams. I’m not sold on this group but the Northern Lakes win allows them to tread water here. They host East Grand Forks this week in a very important Section 8A Matchup.
Alexandria (3-6-0)- Alexandria ended a dreadful December with a nice complete game shutout of West Fargo. As noted the Cards don’t have any bad losses at the moment. They have also been a historically stronger team in the second half of the season and they will be hoping for more of the same this year. They open up 2025 with a dangerous St Cloud Public CLC game.
Rochester Lourdes (5-3-1)- The Eagles took the Christmas Break off this year instead of playing in their annual Kiwanis Festival. As noted in last week’s addition this team is young and is at the moment red hot going (5-1-1) in their last 7 games. Now they get a major chance to make a splash here hosting Luverne this week to show that they are one of the top teams in Southern Minnesota this winter.
Providence Academy (7-4-1)- The Lions had solid showing at the Super Rink Winter Classic taking third place claiming a win over Minnesota River before getting beat up by Duluth Marshall but taking out Gentry Academy was an eye opener and shows this team has some serious potential and could be a major spoiler within Section 2A. Big games for the Lions this week taking on the two time defending section champs Orono and 2A Mound Westonka.
Fergus Falls (7-3-0)- The Otters have been just stacking wins over the last 4 weeks as they have now won 7 of their last 8 games and are coming off winning their holiday classic. The signature win at the moment is the head to head over Crookston to give them the nod this week. They have plenty of good matchups in 2025 including a game with River Lakes this coming week.
Class A Section by Section Rankings Week #6
Section 1A Ranking (12/29/24)
1- Northfield Raiders (8-2-1)
2- Waseca Bluejays (9-0-1)
3- Dodge County Wildcats (4-5-0)
4- Albert Lea Tigers (5-4-0)
5- Rochester Lourdes Eagles (5-3-1)
6- Winona Winhawks (5-3-0)
7- La Crescent-Hokah Lancers (3-6-0)
8- Austin Packers (5-3-0)
9 – Faribault Falcons (3-6-1)
10- Red Wing Wingers (0-10-2)
1A Summary –Northfield won their only game outside the section. Waseca & Faribault both won the Holiday Tournaments that they went to. Dodge County got a 1A win over La Crescent. Albert Lea went (2-1-0) up north over the Holidays. Red Wing went winless in their Holiday Tournament and Austin & Winona were both idle over the holidays.
Section 2A Ranking (12/29/24)
1- Delano Tigers (5-6-0)
2- Orono Spartans (6-5-2)
3- Minneapolis (8-1-3)
4- Providence Academy Lions (7-4-1)
5- Mound Westonka White Hawks (7-5-0)
6- Breck Mustangs (1-6-0)
7- Litchfield Dassel Cokato Dragons (4-5-0)
8- Hutchinson Tigers (1-7-0)
2A Summary- Orono went .500 outside of the section over the Holidays. Delano went (0-3-0) outside the section over the Holidays up north . Minneapolis won their only game outside of the section. Providence Academy took 3rd place in their Holiday Classic. Mound Westonka & Litchfield Dassel Cokato both won the Holiday Tournaments they went to. Breck & Hutchinson both went winless in their action outside of the section.
Section 3A Ranking (12/29/24)
1- Luverne Cardinals (8-2-1)
2- Mankato West Scarlets (4-7-0)
3- Mankato East Cougars (4-8-0)
4- Minnesota River Bulldogs (4-6-0)
5- New Ulm Eagles (5-5-0)
6- Marshall Tigers (4-9-0)
7- Windom Eagles (2-8-1)
8- Worthington Trojans (3-7-0)
9- Redwood Valley Cardinals (1-9-0)
10- Fairmont Cardinals (0-6-0)
3A Summary- Luverne went (1-2-0) over the Holiday Break. New Ulm took 4th place up north over the Holidays. Redwood Valley picked up their 1st win of the season over the Holiday Break. Windom picked up a 3A win over Worthington. Mankato West, Mankato East, Minnesota River & Marshall all went winless over the Holidays. Fairmont was idle over the holiday break.
Section 4A Ranking (12/29/24)
1- Mahtomedi Zephyrs (4-7-1)
2- Chisago Lakes Wildcats (5-3-1)
3- Southwest Christian/Richfield Stars (4-3-0)
4- St Paul Academy Spartans (3-5-0)
5- Simley Spartans (4-5-0)
6- South St Paul Packer (3-4-1)
7- St. Paul Highland Park Scots (3-5-0)
8- Bloomington Kennedy Eagles (1-8-0)
4A Summary- Mahtomedi won their only game of the week outside the section. Bloomington Kennedy got their 1st win of the year outside the section. Chisago Lakes, Southwest Christian Richfield, South St Paul, St Paul Highland Park, Simley & St Paul Academy were all idle over the Holiday Break.
Section 5A Ranking (12/29/24)
1- Monticello Moose (10-0-1)
2- St Cloud Cathedral Crusaders (6-4-2)
3- Little Falls Flyers (4-3-1)
4- River Lakes Stars (6-2-2)
5- Pine City Dragons (6-4-1)
6. Princeton Tigers (4-7-0)
7- Becker/Big Lake Eagles (2-7-1)
8- Sauk Rapids Storm (4-5-1)
9- Mora/Milaca Mustangs (5-7-0)
5A Summary- Monticello picked up a 5A win over Sauk Rapids. Little Falls got a 5A win over Princeton. St Cloud Cathedral went (2-1-0) outside the section over the holidays. River Lakes won both their games outside the section. Pine City & Becker Big Lake went (1-2-0) over the Holiday break. Mora/Milaca went .500 outside the section.
Section 6A Ranking (12/29/24)
1- Northern Lakes Lightning (4-3-0)
2- Alexandria Cardinals (3-6-0)
3- Fergus Falls Otters (7-3-0)
4- Breckenridge/Wahpeton Blades (4-7-1)
5- Willmar Cardinals (5-6-0)
6- Prairie Centre North Stars (6-5-0)
7- Morris/Benson Storm (3-8-0)
8- Wadena Deer Creek Wolverines (2-4-0)
6A Summary- Alexandria won their only game of the week outside the section. Fergus Falls got a 6A win over Breckenridge/Wahpeton. Prairie Centre got a 6A win over Morris/Benson. Willmar all went (2-1-0) outside of the section up north over the Holidays. Northern Lakes & Wadena Deer Creek both took the holiday break off.
Section 7A Ranking (12/29/24)
1- Hermantown Hawks (6-3-2)
2- Cloquet/Esko/Carlton Lumberjacks (10-1-0)
3- Hibbing/Chisholm Bluejackets (9-4-0)
4- Proctor Rails (7-6-0)
5- International Falls Broncos (6-2-0)
6- Greenway Raiders (4-5-0)
7- North Shore Storm (3-9-0)
8- Moose Lake Rebels (6-6-0)
9- Ely Timberwolves (3-7-0)
7A Summary- Hermantown went (1-1-0), Cloquet/Esko?Carlton went (2-1-0) and Hibbing went (2-0-0) outside of the section over the Holidays. Proctor picked up a 7A win over North Shore. Moose Lake got a 7A win over Ely. Greenway won their only game of the week outside the section. International Falls went (2-1-0) in their Holiday Classic.
Section 8A Ranking (12/29/24)
1- Warroad Warriors (7-3-1)
2- Detroit Lakes Lakers (6-3-1)
3- East Grand Forks Greenwave (5-5-1)
4- Thief River Falls Prowlers (4-6-0)
5- Crookston Pirates (7-4-1)
6- Red Lake Falls Eagles (10-2-0)
7- Bagley/Fosston Eagles (5-6-0)
8- Park Rapids Panthers (3-7-0)
9- Kittson County Central Bearcats (4-5-1)
10- Lake of the Woods Bears (1-10-0)
8A Summary-Warroad won their Holiday Classic. Detroit Lakes went winless on their Holiday Trip. East Grand Forks won their only game of the week. Thief River Falls & Crookston went (.500) in the Ralph Engelstad Hockey Classic. Red Lake Falls took 5th Place at the Bill McGann Holiday Classic. Kittson County Central won the Ely Holiday Classic. Bagley/Fosston, Park Rapids & Lake of the Woods went winless over the Holidays.