It’s a Section 7A Supremacy right now in Class A. Also, some new faces join the Top 10 while some traditional powers drop down. Week #3 Rankings Below:
1. Hermantown (2-1-1)
Past Week Results: W 4-0 #12 East Grand Forks, W 5-2 #11 Mahtomedi
Upcoming Schedule: 12/10 @ Duluth Marshall, 12/13 @ Centennial, 12/14 vs Maple Grove
The Hawks took care of business this week as they were able to take on a good challenge from EGF and get a shutout home win. The next morning they had to get up early, get on a bus and travel all the way down to the east metro and take on a rested and fresh Mahtomedi club. While this is not as dominant of a Hermantown team as we are used to, they are young and will only improve and for now they have a firm grip on the top spot but just look at this ranking and you will see their Section 7A will be anything but easy to deal with. AA games this week await.
2. Cloquet/Esko/Carlton (4-0-0)
Past Week Results: W 4-3 #12 East Grand Forks
Upcoming Schedule: 12/10 @ #16 Proctor, 12/14 @ Blaine
CEC just continues to find ways to win early on in the year as they now rise all the way to number 2 in the rankings this week. The win over EGF was nice because they lost their leading scorer early in the game to a fighting DQ and they then saw their 3-1 lead disappear in the third period but the Lumberjacks again found a way to win. This week they have a must win road game vs 7A Proctor before then taking on a decent AA Blaine crew.
3. Hibbing/Chisholm (5-2-0)
Past Week Results: W 7-1 Duluth Denfeld, W 5-0 #16 Proctor, W 4-1 Totino Grace
Upcoming Schedule: 12/10 @ Greenway, 12/14 vs #13 Little Falls
Hibbing put together a nice week as they did exactly what they should, beating three teams that they should as they took down Denfeld, Proctor and TG. The highlight and one reason for rise was the team’s defensive effort was much more complete, only giving up two goals in three games. Now they have another week where they should do well as they take on 7A Greenway before a good test with a dangerous Little Falls crew.
4. Warroad (2-1-1)
Past Week Results: W 5-2 Rock Ridge, L 1-6 Grand Rapids
Upcoming Schedule: 12/13 vs #11 Mahtomedi, 12/14 vs #14 Orono
The Warriors faded a bit through the course of their weekend trip as they looked like world-beaters against Rock Ridge, but then just got worn down by Grand Rapids and things came apart on special teams in the third period. It’s just one game, and they have a similar resume to Hibbing but Blue Jackets beat SCC where they tied them to slot them here for now. Good competition this week again with visits from Mahtomedi and Orono to provide for more good tests.
5. St Cloud Cathedral (1-1-2)
Past Week Results: W 7-6 Gentry Academy, T 2-2 #8 Northfield
Upcoming Schedule: 12/10 vs #20 Alexandria, 12/14 @ Rock Ridge
The Crusaders at some point are going to start to have to play more consistent hockey to justify this spot in the ranking. This past week they blew a 6-2 third period lead but did win vs Gentry and then blew a 2-0 third period lead vs Northfield and settled for a Tie. These are not terrible results but they also raise all kinds of questions at the same time. The defending champs need a get well week vs struggling Alexandria and a decent Rock Ridge club this week.
6. Delano (3-1-0)
Past Week Results: W 6-2 Providence Academy
Upcoming Schedule: 12/12 vs Rosemount, 12/14 @ Breck
Delano was doing Delano things this week: while they were able to get a 2A win, they do play a style that lets inferior teams stay in the game which can be dangerous as Providence having 2nd period lead pointed out. Nonetheless the Tigers roared from there and put the game out of reach. Their game this week with Rosemount will be a nice test before a must win at 2A Breck.
7. Monticello (3-0-0)
Past Week Results: W 4-1 Pine City, W 4-0 #18 Chisago Lakes
Upcoming Schedule: 12/10 @ #13 Little Falls, 12/12 vs #8 Northfield, 12/14 @ Litchfield Dassel Cokato
The Moose keep clomping along following a few more solid showings, including a comfortable win over a respectable and ranked Chisago Lakes. Their wins have not been bonafide blowouts, but they are wins nonetheless, and that keeps them firmly in the Top 10. Huge tests await this week with games vs ranked Little Falls and Northfield highlighting the upcoming schedule.
8. Northfield (5-0-1)
Past Week Results: W 5-0 Albert Lea, W 6-0 Austin, 12/7 @ #5 St Cloud Cathedral
Upcoming Schedule: 12/10 @ #14 Orono, 12/12 @ #7 Monticello
Northfield beefed up their résumé with a solid comeback tie vs St Cloud Cathedral, and they have really rolled early on this season as they look like the heavy favorite again to win Section 1A. If they were to get to State again this year they can really help their positioning in the State Seeding debate by keeping up their winning ways this week as they have great tests vs Orono and Monticello win those games and they will continue to move up.
9. Northern Lakes (4-1-0)
Past Week Results: W 5-0 #20 Alexandria, W 2-0 #23 Crookston
Upcoming Schedule: 12/13 @ Thief River Falls
The Lightning may have found themselves this past week? After adjusting to the new coach early in the season this week looked much more like a Coach Randolph club, grinding away two opponents as they picked up good wins over section rival Alexandria and a solid Crookston team and not allowing a goal in the process. Now they have just one game this week against a struggling but traditional power in Thief River Falls this week to try and keep up their nice defensive streak of late.
10. Detroit Lakes (4-1-0)
Past Week Results: W 4-3 Thief River Falls
Upcoming Schedule: 12/10 @ #23 Crookston
Yes, the Lakers loss to River Lakes last week was not good, however take that out and their list of accomplishments to date especially in 8A, knocking off both EGF and TRF on the road, are quite impressive and this team is dangerous. It’s all about finding consistency now. They face a sneaky good 8A Crookston on the road this week with section seeding implications on the line. It’s a must win for Detroit Lakes.
11. Mahtomedi (1-4-1)
Past Week Results: T 2-2 Prior Lake, L 2-5 #1 Hermantown
Upcoming Schedule: 12/10 vs Tartan, 12/13 @ #4 Warroad, 12/14 @ #12 East Grand Forks
The Zephyrs tied a decent AA Prior Lake club and lost to the Hawks, though remained competitive, which sticks with their early season theme of this team being a mystery to rank for Class A. They have played Class ‘s #1 and #3 team tight and been beat by some midrange AA teams. Should they be Top 10 still most likely but they just haven’t done much. They will still win 4A most likely and have a good shot at playing on Friday at State. However, for now they drop out of the Top 10 but that can change significantly with a good week this week with games vs Warroad and EGF on the docket.
12. East Grand Forks (2-5-0)
Past Week Results: L 0-4 #1 Hermantown, L 3-2 #2 Cloquet/Esko/Carlton
Upcoming Schedule: 12/13 vs #14 Orono, 12/14 vs #11 Mahtomedi
The Greenwave are another team I truly believe are a Top 10 team and placing them outside it is difficult to do. However, they have yet to beat a team in Minnesota going (0-5-0) so far and they have a head to head loss to Detroit Lakes. There is too much depth and talent on this team to continue to drop in this ranking. They can make a quick resurgence this week if they can have a good showing at home vs Orono and Mahtomedi.
13. Little Falls (2-0-1)
Past Week Results: T 4-4 Sauk Rapids, W 3-2 #14 Orono
Upcoming Schedule: 12/10 vs #7 Monticello, 12/13 @ Rock Ridge, 12/14 @ #3 Hibbing/Chisholm
The Flyers had an up and down week as they let a two goal lead slip away at home vs a section team in Little Falls which is not normal to see from them. However, they rebounded nicely with their best showing of the year to end week taking down a good Orono squad. Now this week the challenges pick up significantly as they have games with Top 10 Monticello and Hibbing along with AA Rock Ridge. They can move up these rankings and within the 5A standings with a good showing.
14. Orono (4-2-0)
Past Week Results: W 6-3 Breck, 12/7 @ #13 Little Falls
Upcoming Schedule: 12/10 vs #8 Northfield, 12/13 @ #12 East Grand Forks, 12/14 @ #4 Warroad
The Spartans only two losses are to top 15 opponents, the loss to Little Falls this week hurts more with the fact that they will be missing two of their top players when they take on Northfield to start this week. We are going to find out a lot more about Orono after this week as besides the Raiders they have a trip up to EGF and Warroad for a gauntlet of a week.
15. Minneapolis (5-1-1)
Past Week Results: W 12-0 #24 Southwest Christian, W 4-2 Duluth Denfeld, W 5-2 Duluth Marshall
Upcoming Schedule: 12/12 vs St Paul Highland Park
The 612 crew keep climbing here following a few more solid showings this week, including a blowout win over Southwest Christian/Richfield that shocked many. Overall, they haven’t played many top end Class A teams so it’s hard to judge that much on their results but this is a team that always seems to be tough to play against and they are looking very good early on this year. Just one game this week vs St Paul Highland Park.
16. Proctor (3-3-0)
Past Week Results: L 2-6 Grand Rapids, L 0-5 #3 Hibbing/Chisholm
Upcoming Schedule: 12/10 vs #2 Cloquet/Esko/Carlton, 12/13 vs Rochester Lourdes, 12/14 vs Rochester Mayo
The Rails were humbled this week by Grand Rapids and Hibbing, which really isn’t a terrible result for any Class A team in the portion of the rankings, and they do still sit at .500 with all losses being credible. Things don’t get any easier this week with a visit from ranked CEC and a sneaky decent Lourdes team on the horizon.
17. Waseca (3-0-1)
Past Week Results: W 7-6 #22 Mound Westonka, W 16-0 Fairmont, T 3-3 #18 Luverne
Upcoming Schedule: 12/12 @ Windom, 12/14 vs Marshall
Waseca picked up a nice win on the road over a decent Mound Westonka squad to show they can score with anyone and the followed that up by destroying Fairmont. The tie vs Luverne at this point is not a bad result and they have been playing well to start the year. They should continue to put up big numbers this week as they have two more winnable games vs Windom and Marshall
18. Luverne (4-0-1)
Past Week Results: W 4-2 Marshall, W 11-2 Redwood Valley, T 3-3 #17 Waseca
Upcoming Schedule: 12/10 vs Worthington
Roll Cards Roll jumps back into the Top 20 this week after they were able to avenge last year playoff upset to Marshall and then cruised past Redwood Valley but the tie with a very good Waseca team at the end of the week was the eye catcher. Luverne plays just one winnable game vs Worthington thi week but around Christmas time their schedule will pick up tremendously to have them better tested for the playoffs.
19. Chisago Lakes (2-1-1)
Past Week Results: W 2-1 Cambridge, L 0-4 #7 Monticello
Upcoming Schedule: 12/10 vs Pine City, 12/12 v Gentry Academy
The Wildcats have seen things continue to go more or less according to plan as they have won the games that you would have predicted them to so far like when they beat a decent Cambridge club. Yet they were then shutout by Top 10 Monticello which shows they have a ways to go to move out of this spot in the rankings. Looks like another .500 week on paper for Chisago Lakes looking ahead to this upcoming week.
20. Alexandria (1-4-0)
Past Week Results: L 0-1 Sartell, L 0-5 #9 Northern Lakes
Upcoming Schedule: 12/10 @ #5 St Cloud Cathedral, 12/4 @ Princeton
Alexandria’s seemingly annual sputtering start continued this week as they were held scoreless for all six periods of hockey. While a loss to Sartell doesn’t move the meter much either way the Northern Lakes thumping wasn’t great for their seeding fate but those teams will meet again later this year. They beat Brainerd earlier this year who beat River Lakes this week to stay in the Top 20 for now but the goal this week is to score a goal as they take on Cathedral and Princeton on the road.
Next Five Notable Teams
River Lakes (3-1-0)- River Lakes had a less than confidence inspiring week as they barely beat winless Hutchinson and lost badly to Brainerd, and that Detroit Lakes upset win is doing a lot of work here. This week they take on two AA CLC foes before finishing off the week with a winnable game against Morris/Benson.
Mound Westonka (4-1-0)- The Whitehawks lost to Waseca, but ended the weekend by blowing out Morris/Benson. Now they have a busy week ahead as they have some stronger teams compared to who they have played so far when they take on Waconia, Southwest Christian/Richfield and Bloomington Jefferson.
Crookston (3-1-0)- The Pirates whacked Breckenridge/Wahpeton but then got shutout by a Top 10 Northern Lakes at home. They can do a ton for their 8A standing this upcoming with a big showdown vs Detroit Lakes.
Mankato West (3-1-0)- The Scarlets put together a very nice week taking care of Rochester Mayo, Albert Lea and Winona with ease this week. Now they have more Big Nine Conference action this week. This is a good young team playing a slew of Sophomores to keep an eye on this winter.
Sauk Rapids (2-1-1)- The Storm tied a very good Little Falls team on the road this week. Add that to beating Thief River Falls last week and they deserved some recognition here. They have an elite top line that will put a scare into anyone they play.
Class A Section by Section Rankings Week #3
Section 1A Ranking (12/8/24)
1- Northfield Raiders (5-0-1)
2- Waseca Bluejays (3-0-1)
3- Albert Lea Tigers (1-2-0)
4- Rochester Lourdes Eagles (3-2-0)
5- Winona Winhawks (3-3-0)
6- Dodge County Wildcats (0-2-0)
7- La Crescent-Hokah Lancers (2-1-0)
8- Austin Packers (3-2-0)
9 – Faribault Falcons (1-4-0)
10- Red Wing Wingers (0-3-2)
1A Summary –Northfeild picked up a big 1A win over Albert Lea and also beat Austin who was beaten by Rochester Lourdes as well. Waseca went (2-0-1) and La Crescent went (1-0-0) outside of the section. Faribault picked up their 1st win of the year outside of the section and Red Wing picked up a tie outside the section. Dodge County remains winless on the year and Winona had a rough week losing all 3 games outside the section
Section 2A Ranking (12/8/24)
1- Delano Tigers (3-1-0)
2- Orono Spartans (4-2-0)
3- Minneapolis (5-1-1)
4- Mound Westonka White Hawks (4-1-0)
6- Providence Academy Lions (2-3-0)
6- Breck Mustangs (0-4-0)
7- Litchfield Dassel Cokato Dragons (2-0-0)
8- Hutchinson Tigers (0-4-0)
2A Summary- Delano got a comeback 2A win over Providence Academy and Orono got a tight win over 2A Breck. Minneapolis went (3-0-0) while Mound Westonka went (1-1-0) outside the section. Litchfield Dassel Cokato is unbeaten so far with wins outside the section and Hutchinson is still winless on the year.
Section 3A Ranking (12/8/24)
1- Luverne Cardinals (4-0-1)
2- Mankato West Scarlets (3-1-0)
3- Minnesota River Bulldogs (2-2-0)
4- New Ulm Eagles (2-2-0)
5- Mankato East Cougars (2-3-0)
6- Marshall Tigers (1-4-0)
7- Worthington Trojans (1-3-0)
8- Windom Eagles (0-4-0)
9- Fairmont Cardinals (0-2-0)
10- Redwood Valley Cardinals (0-5-0)
3A Summary- Luverne picked up Section 3A wins over Marshall & Redwood Valley. Minnesota River picked up a big 3A win over New Ulm. Both Mankato West & Mankato East had a good week going unbeaten outside of the section. Worthington, Windom & Fairmont all went winless outside of the section.
Section 4A Ranking (12/8/24)
1- Mahtomedi Zephyrs (1-4-1)
2- Chisago Lakes Wildcats (2-1-1)
3- Southwest Christian/Richfield Stars (1-2-0)
4- St Paul Academy (1-3-0)
4- Simley Spartans (3-3-0)
5- St. Paul Highland Park Scots (3-1-0)
6- South St Paul Packer (2-1-1)
8- Bloomington Kennedy Eagles (0-5-0)
4A Summary- Mahtomedi went (0-1-1) and Chisago Lakes went (1-1-) outside of the section this week. Southwest Christian Richfield got a 4A win over Bloomington Kennedy. St Paul Academy got a big 4A win over Simley and both South St Paul & St Paul Highland Park went unbeaten outside of the section.
Section 5A Ranking (12/8/24)
1- St Cloud Cathedral Crusaders (1-1-1)
2- Monticello Moose (3-0-0)
3- Little Falls Flyers (2-0-1)
4- River Lakes Stars (3-1-0)
5- Pine City Dragons (4-1-0)
6- Sauk Rapids Storm (2-1-1)
7. Princeton Tigers (2-4-0)
8- Mora/Milaca Mustangs (1-4-0)
9- Becker/Big Lake Eagles (0-1-1)
5A Summary- St Cloud Cathedral went (1-0-1) outside of the section. Monticello got a good 5A win over Pine City but the Dragons rebounded with a 5A win over Becker/Big Lake. Little Falls & Sauk Rapids settled for a 5A tie. Princeton went (2-0-0), River Lakes went (1-1-0) and Mora/Milaca went (1-1-0) outside of the section.
Section 6A Ranking (12/8/24)
1- Northern Lakes Lightning (4-1-0)
2- Alexandria Cardinals (1-4-0)
3- Fergus Falls Otters (3-2-0)
4- Morris/Benson Storm (1-4-0)
5- Prairie Centre North Stars (2-2-0)
6- Breckenridge/Wahpeton Blades (2-2-1)
7- Willmar Cardinals (0-3-0)
8- Wadena Deer Creek Wolverines (1-2-0)
6A Summary- Northern Lakes got a huge 6A win over Alexandria. Fergus Falls went (2-0-0) outside of the section. Morris/Benson picks up critical 6A win over Breckenridge/Wahpeton. Prairie Centre went (2-1-0) during an emotional week. Wadena Deer Creek picked up their 1st win of the season outside the section and Willmar remains winless.
Section 7A Ranking (12/8/24)
1- Hermantown Hawks (2-1-1)
2- Cloquet/Esko/Carlton Lumberjacks (4-0-0)
3- Hibbing/Chisholm Bluejackets (5-2-0)
4- Proctor Rails (3-3-0)
5- International Falls Broncos (1-0-0)
6- Greenway Raiders (3-2-0)
7- North Shore Storm (1-4-0)
8- Moose Lake Rebels (3-2-0)
9- Ely Timberwolves (1-3-0)
7A Summary- Hermantown went (2-0-0) and Cloquet/Esko/Carlton went (101-0) outside the section this week. Hibbing got a 7A win over Proctor. Greenway picked up a 7A win over North Shore but the Storm did get a &a win over Ely. International Falls & Moose Lake got wins outside the section.
Section 8A Ranking (12/8/24)
1- Warroad Warriors (2-1-1)
2- Detroit Lakes Lakers (4-1-0)
3- East Grand Forks Greenwave (2-5-0)
4- Thief River Falls Prowlers (1-4-0)
5- Crookston Pirates (3-1-0)
6- Red Lake Falls Eagles (4-1-0)
7- Bagley/Fosston Eagles (3-2-0)
8- Park Rapids Panthers (2-3-0)
9- Kittson County Central Bearcats (1-1-0)
10- Lake of the Woods Bears (0-4-0)
8A Summary-Warroad went (1-1-0) and East Grand Forks went (0-2-0) outside of the section. Detroit Lakes got a key 8A road win over Thief River Falls. Bagley/Fosston & Park Rapids picked 8A wins over Lake of the Woods. Red Lake Falls, Crookston & Kittson County Central all registered wins outside of the section this week.
Be the first to comment on "Class A Guy Rankings 12/8/2024"