It’s February and with playoffs only two weeks away the Jacks have chopped their way to the top of rankings. So much parity in Class A and Sections will be a blast! Week #11 Rankings Below:
1. Cloquet/Esko/Carlton (18-4-0)
Past Week Results: W 6-3 Duluth Denfeld, W 3-1 #2 Hermantown, W 6-5 OT #8 Minneapolis
Upcoming Schedule: 2/7 @ #3 Warroad, 2/8 @ Roseau
The Lumberjacks had a huge week as they jumped back into the State’s Top A Ranking as they went into Hermantown and got the huge 7A win and then were pushed to the brink by MPLS, spotting the 612 crew a 2-goal lead before embarking on a overtime adventure, but they showed some championship mettle and pulled it out to keep that zero in the loss column vs Class A teams. We’ll do it again this coming week when they face #3 Warroad as the challenges don’t get any easier for the state’s new top Class A team.
2. Hermantown (13-7-3)
Past Week Results: L 1-3 #1 Cloquet/Esko/Carlton, L 1-2 Moorhead
Upcoming Schedule: 2/7 vs Benilde-St. Margaret’s
The Hawks had a week they’d rather forget. A one goal loss to Moorhead is nothing to hang their head about but the loss to CEC will now relegate them to the 2-seed in 7A. They scored just once in those two games; an offensive power outage was certainly not a huge concern going into the season, but now that teams are focused on shutting down Freeman depth concerns are becoming more apparent. We’ll see if they can rebound against Benilde this week, which is another tough AA game.
3. Warroad (15-5-1)
Past Week Results: W 5-2 Bemidji, W 4-2 #22 Thief River Falls
Upcoming Schedule: 2/4 vs #12 East Grand Forks, 2/7 vs #1 Cloquet/Esko/Carlton
The Warriors continued their steady ways and beat two solid teams this week when they took down Bemidji and got the 8A sweep of Thief River Falls. They have just continued to win and they also got great health news with the return of their top line wing this past week. Now they have one of the most challenging weeks of the season, with a vital section battle vs East Grand Forks followed by a visit from the state number one team. Can they maintain their stable placement here against the two quality Class A Teams?
4. Monticello (19-1-1)
Past Week Results: W 5-3 Princeton, W 5-0 Northern Edge
Upcoming Schedule: 2/4 vs Buffalo, 2/7 vs Cambridge-Isanti
The Moose continued to clomp along as they ran their new win streak to six games, they handled their business against two lower tier Mississippi 8 Conference teams to hold steady here. Give them credit for doing what other teams are not throughout Class A and that’s taking care of everyone they should beat down the stretch here. Looking at this week the expectations have to be the same as they face two struggling AA teams but the game vs Buffalo will be one to keep an eye on.
5. Hibbing/Chisholm (12-9-0)
Past Week Results: L 1-3 Rock Ridge
Upcoming Schedule: 2/3 @ Superior (Wis.), 2/8 @ #20 Detroit Lakes
It has been a frustrating few weeks for Hibbing, who this week played one of their best games of the year against a solid Rock Ridge crew; but ultimately they just could not put the puck in the net and suffered yet another quality loss. At their best they have the skill to play against literally anyone in Class A, but some questions about their ability to finish the deal are arising here and they are running out of time to figure out how to put a complete game together. On paper this week should bring them two needed wins to get on a roll heading into playoff time but don’t overlook the trip to Detroit Lakes who will want to play a low scoring structured game.
6. St Cloud Cathedral (13-7-2)
Past Week Results: W 3-2 OT #14 Little Falls, W 11-5 #12 East Grand Forks, W 3-0 #20 Detroit Lakes
Upcoming Schedule: 2/4 vs #9 Northern Lakes, 2/6 @ Totino-Grace
The good times kept rolling this week for the defending champ Crusaders, as they went on the road all week and picked up three quality wins avenging the loss to Little Falls and then sweeping the “Northern Swing” of 8A EGF & Detroit Lakes. This is a team to keep an eye on as they have really started to play good hockey of late and should be the #1 seed in 5A. This week they have a good matchup with ranked Northern Lakes before taking a trip to AA Totino Grace.
7. Northfield (16-3-2)
Past Week Results: T 3-3 Winona, W 6-1 Mankato West, W 3-2 Rochester Century/John Marshall
Upcoming Schedule: 2/6 vs Owatonna, 2/8 @ Rochester Mayo
The Raiders had a surprising tie vs Winona to begin the week as the Winhawks goalie stood on his head stopping 55 shots. Northfield settled itself though after that as they dismantled Mankato West before getting the big sweep over Rochester JM/Century which puts them in full control of winning another Big 9 Conference Title. This week they can wrap up that conference title with wins in their two games vs Owatonna and Rochester Mayo.
8. Minneapolis (13-5-3)
Past Week Results: W 5-1 Breck, W 3-1 Irondale, L 5-6 OT #1 Cloquet/Esko/Carlton
Upcoming Schedule: 2/4 vs Blake, 2/6 @ #15 Chisago Lakes, 2/8 @ Bloomington Kennedy
The 612 crew showed they could be a problem to face should they get back to State this year. They locked up the #1 seed in 2A with their win over Breck and then took down Irondale on Senior night for all kinds of good vibes. While they did drop the finale up in Cloquet they showed again they are a real threat to the Top Class A teams as they held a lead going into the third period before ultimately falling in a heartbreaker in overtime. Now this week they have a busy week with the highlight being the match up vs Chisago Lakes as the winner of that game could potentially decide the #5 seed at State looking at how things are shaping up overall within Class A.
9. Northern Lakes (14-7-0)
Past Week Results: W 5-3 Fergus Falls, L 2-3 Gentry Academy, W 3-0 #17 Luverne
Upcoming Schedule: 2/4 @ #6 St Cloud Cathedral
The Lightning had a very strong week as they were able to beat Fergus Falls to lock up the #1 seed in 6A and they took care of business vs Luverne to end the week that could help for State Seeding potentially. While they did take a one goal loss to AA Gentry on the road the result does not hurt them and they are now (10-4-0) since the start of the new year. Coach Randolph has these boys locked into a good defensive mindset and with others around this realm of the ranking all losing, why not let them re-enter the Top 10 this week. This week will be a tough test as they will get a rematch down in St Cloud vs the defending champs who are suddenly red hot of late.
10. Delano (9-10-1)
Past Week Results: L 4-6 Holy Family, T 3-3 Southwest Christian/Richfield
Upcoming Schedule: 2/4 @ Hutchinson, 2/6 @ Litchfield/Dassel-Cokato
Delano seems etched in stone in this portion of the rankings, only based on their body of work throughout the season, as while others in this portion of the ranking continue to get upset, they still don’t have a bad loss at this point. No shame in the tight loss to Holy Family but the tie vs Southwest Chrisitian/Richfeild is their worst result this year but the Stars goalie did stop 60 Tiger shots. They just lack elite offensive skill so they have to grind out games and their head to head wins over Orono & EGF keep them at #10 for now. Two must win games this week vs Section 2A Hutchinson & LDC.
11. Orono (10-9-2)
Past Week Results: L 4-6 Benilde-St. Margaret’s
Upcoming Schedule: 2/6 @ St Louis Park, 2/8 @ Chanhassen
The Spartans held their own in their only game of the week as they lost a tight game late in the 3rd period vs Benilde-St. Margaret’s, showing they could be a problem for any one of the top teams in Class A at State should they make it back through Section 2A for the third straight year. This week it’s more AA action as they take one Metro West Conference St Louis Park and Chanhassen as they build up for a potential postseason run.
12. East Grand Forks (9-11-1)
Past Week Results: L 3-6 Moorhead, L 5-11 #6 St Cloud Cathedral
Upcoming Schedule: 2/4 @ #3 Warroad, 2/6 @ Bemidji
The Greenwave have been the strangest team in Class A for much of the season, they started the year as the odds on preseason favorite to win it all only to have a dreadful start to the year. Then it looked like they had figured things out in the middle of the year but now they have bottomed out as they are (1-5-0) in their last 6 games with the home drubbing from SCC being the alarm bell going off that this team might not be a contender after all. For now, though, I will leave them here and give them their chance against Warroad this week to see how they match up against Section 8A’s best team at the moment.
13. River Lakes (14-6-2)
Past Week Results: W 7-1 Prairie Centre, W 7-5 #14 Little Falls, W 9-1 Breckenridge/Wahpeton
Upcoming Schedule: 2/4 vs Pine City, 2/6 @ Fergus Falls
The Stars are one of those rankings where you ride the hot hand. River Lakes made their statement this week, knocking off 5A power Little Falls and they have suddenly won four straight games overall. They’re a tough team to play against and they use a heavy physical style and they are trending in the right direction, and they’ll get a shot at another significant section win this week as if they beat Pine City the #3 seed in 5A feels like it’s theirs based on the overall resume. The question is just how high is this group’s ceiling? We are about to find out over these next few weeks.
14. Little Falls (12-7-2)
Past Week Results: L 1-2 OT #6 St Cloud Cathedral, L 5-7 #13 River Lakes, W 4-2 #17 Luverne
Upcoming Schedule: 2/4 @ #22 Alexandria, 2/6 vs #20 Detroit Lakes, 2/8 @ Cambridge-Isanti
The Flyers had a rough week as they lost two critical Section 5A seeding games, and while they took SCC to overtime the loss to River Lakes was devastating to the 5A resume, and it feels like they’ve somewhat reverted back to where they were early in the season with inconsistent play showing its ugly head again at the wrong time. To their credit they did finish the week with a good win over Luverne and now they’ll have another busy three game week as they play a weird Tuesday 4:00 PM game at Alexandria before finishing with Detroit Lakes & Cambridge as they look to get back on track.
15. Chisago Lakes (12-6-2)
Past Week Results: W 3-2 #16 Mahtomedi, W 6-4 Simley, W 6-4 #21 Sauk Rapids
Upcoming Schedule: 2/3 @ South St Paul, 2/4 vs Two Rivers, 2/6 vs #8 Minneapolis
The Wildcats were one of the big movers this week as they climbed up into the Top 15 for the first time after their big upset win over Mahtomedi which should give them the #1 seed in 4A and good positioning for their first Tourney appearance since 2014. They wrapped up the week by taking down Simley and an underrated Sauk Rapids team to be one of Class A’s hottest teams. This week will present some good challenges for them as they can’t overlook section foe South St Paul before finishing with quality games vs Two Rivers and ranked Minneapolis which suddenly has State Seeding implications.
16. Mahtomedi (6-13-2)
Past Week Results: L 2-3 #15 Chisago Lakes, L 0-8 St. Thomas Academy
Upcoming Schedule: 2/4 vs Simley, 2/6 @ Hill Murray
The Zephyrs now have fallen into full out panic mode as the upset loss to Chisago Lakes sends them free falling to their lowest Class A ranking in the last 10 years. The loss also will prevent them from earning the #1 seed in 4A. There is nothing new to report here it’s more of the same the offense is punchless making every game a tight low scoring affair unless they get routed by the AA powerhouses on their schedule. They stay in this portion for now because no one below them has wins like they do over Top 15 teams Warroad & Orono but the crisis in confidence feels real and this team is on life support at the moment.
17. Luverne (16-4-1)
Past Week Results: W 11-0 Worthington, L 2-4 #14 Little Falls, L 0-3 #9 Northern Lakes
Upcoming Schedule: 2/4 @ Marshall, 2/7 vs New Ulm
The good news: Luverne started the week by taking care of Worthington and they are still unbeaten in Section 3A and appear on paper to be a heavy favorite to get to State. The bad news: should they get there they are looking at the #8 seed as they now moved to (0-4-0) vs Top 15 teams and they were competitive but fell to Little Falls & Northern Lakes to end the week. Next, they face a critical seeding week as they take on their top two rivals in Marshall & New Ulm in must win games for Roll Cards Roll.
18. Waseca (15-2-2)
Past Week Results: W 13-1 Redwood Valley
Upcoming Schedule: 2/4 @ Minnesota River, 2/6 vs Fairmont, 2/8 @ Blake
The Bluejays blitzed a struggling Redwood Valley team for a Big South Conference win in their only action of the week. However, hammering weaker teams has not really been the issue this season as they are still averaging a ridiculous 8.58 goal a game albeit vs weaker competition. This week does provide some more competitive flavor for Waseca as Minnesota River is not a team to overlook and the week’s finale at Blake should be a nice test for this young team as playoffs near.
19. Proctor (12-9-1)
Past Week Results: W 4-1 Pine City, W 3-2 Superior (Wis.), W 10-0 Ely
Upcoming Schedule: 2/4 @ Duluth Marshall, 2/6 @ North Shore
The Rails had a solid week as they took care of three teams that they should be beating and the win over Ely at the end of the week helped them take one more step toward locking up the #4 seed and home ice for the Section 7A Quarterfinals. This week the game at Duluth Marshall will be a good barometer for this group to see where they stand after a recent hot stretch vs a more competitive opponent and then they can finish the week by locking up that said home ice with a win over 7A North Shore.
20. Detroit Lakes (8-11-2)
Past Week Results: L 0-4 #22 Alexandria, L 2-5 Sartell, L 0-3 #6 St Cloud Cathedral
Upcoming Schedule: 2/4 vs Bemidji, 2/6 @ #14 Little Falls, 2/8 vs #5 Hibbing/Chisholm
The Lakers are now (2-10-1) in their last 13 games after three more tough losses this week. The Lakers offense has gone ice cold as they have only scored more than two goals in a game just once in the past 13 and have been shutout six times. With all that said they still own wins over #21 Sauk Rapids, #23 TRF and a split with #22 Alex to stay inside the Top 20 rankings for one more week. Things won’t get any easier this week as they take on Bemidji followed by ranked Little Falls & Hibbing.
Next Five Notable Teams
Sauk Rapids (13-8-1)- The Storm have had a very nice year as with their win over Alexandria this week they now have a resume of wins over #22 Alex & #23 TRF a tie with #14 Little Falls and a season split with #13 River Lakes. So why not in the Top 20? Crazy enough they are looking like only a 6 seed in their own section as they have head to head losses to 5A Pine City & Becker/Big Lake. They may be the scariest sectional #6 seed ever in Class A history if that holds true. Though they do need to win this week vs Princeton or they will fall to a 7 seed, don’t overlook this team come playoff time as a bracket buster.
Alexandria (10-10-0)- Alexandria won twice defeating Detroit Lakes & Denfeld this past week, and while they did get beat by Sauk Rapids in the middle of the week, overall they are (8-4-0) since Christmas, and it feels like they’ve really found their game in the second half of the season which, as noted previously, is the norm for this program. Now back at .500 they will look to get revenge on Little Falls for an earlier season loss before hitting the road for two road games vs AA teams.
Thief River Falls (8-9-1) – The Prowlers loss to Warroad this week doesn’t change my take on them a whole lot, and just entrenches them in this neighborhood of the rankings: competitive, capable of pulling off a big upset in 8A if enough goes right, but not one of the favorites to be able to win three games in a row and win the section outright. This week is important though if they get upset by Red Lake Falls they are going to be the #5 seed and they don’t want to have a road Quarterfinal Game.
Rochester Lourdes (10-7-1)- Lourdes held their own in a tough road game vs Blake this week missing a chunk of their lineup due to illness and injuries and an OT loss is a pretty quality data point result for any team in this realm of the rankings. Unfortunately, their game vs Breck got cancelled and they now have a critical back to back series of games vs 1A rival Dodge County. They will need a sweep for a top 3 seed but a split should still keep them in contention.
Red Lake Falls (18-3-0)- The Eagles continue to plug along, having won 8 straight against albeit weaker competition, and they are doing so without any real drama. Now after a somewhat sleepy stretch, the week ahead is huge for them: they get a chance to make some program history and improve their odds at their highest section standing ever, as if they can beat Thief River Falls this week they will be in prime position to the claim the #3 seed in Section 8A.
Class A Section by Section Rankings Week #11
Section 1A Ranking (2/2/25)
1- Northfield Raiders (16-3-2)
2- Dodge County Wildcats (6-11-0)
3- Albert Lea Tigers (12-7-1)
4- Rochester Lourdes Eagles (10-7-1)
5- Waseca Bluejays (15-2-2)
6- Winona Winhawks (10-7-1)
7- Austin Packers (11-7-1)
8- La Crescent-Hokah Lancers (6-12-3)
9- Red Wing Wingers (2-18-2)
10- Faribault Falcons (4-13-1)
1A Summary- Northfield & Winona skated to a 1A tie. Austin got a 1A win over the Winhawks and tied La Crescent. Red Wing got a 1A sweep of Faribault but got swept by the 1A Windhawks. Waseca & Albert Lea both won their only games outside the section and Dodge County went winless outside the section.
Section 2A Ranking (2/2/25)
1- Minneapolis (13-5-3)
2- Delano Tigers (9-10-1)
3- Orono Spartans (10-9-2)
4- Providence Academy Lions (10-9-3)
5- Breck Mustangs (7-11-1)
6- Hutchinson Tigers (8-10-1)
7- Mound Westonka White Hawks (10-11-0)
8- Litchfield Dassel Cokato Dragons (8-12-0)
2A Summary- Minneapolis got a 2A win over Breck to lock up the #1 seed. Delano & Providence Academy went (0-1-1) and Orono lost its only games of the week outside the section. Hutchinson got the 2A sweep of Mound Westonka but the Whitehawks got the critical 2nd game win of a 2A split over Litchfield Dassel Cokato.
Section 3A Ranking (2/2/25)
1- Luverne Cardinals (16-4-1)
2- Mankato East Cougars (9-13-0)
3- New Ulm Eagles (10-9-2)
4- Minnesota River Bulldogs (10-11-0)
5- Mankato West Scarlets (7-11-1)
6- Marshall Tigers (10-11-0)
7- Worthington Trojans (6-15-0)
8- Windom Eagles (6-14-1)
9- Redwood Valley Cardinals (3-17-0)
10- Fairmont Cardinals (0-19-0)
3A Summary- Luverne got Section 3A win over Worthington. New Ulm & Marshall got the big 2nd win of a 3A split against Minnesota River. The Tigers, Redwood Valley & Windom all got 3A wins over winless Fairmont. Mankato East & Mankato West both went .500 outside the section.
Section 4A Ranking (2/2/25)
1- Chisago Lakes Wildcats (12-6-2)
2- Mahtomedi Zephyrs (6-13-2)
3- Southwest Christian/Richfield Stars (7-10-2)
4- St Paul Academy Spartans (7-13-0)
5- Simley Spartans (9-12-0)
6- St. Paul Highland Park Scots (6-13-2)
7- South St Paul Packers (6-13-1)
8- Bloomington Kennedy Eagles (1-19-0)
4A Summary- Chisago Lakes got 4A wins over Mahtomedi & Simley. St Paul Academy got 4A wins over Bloomington Kennedy and the Spartans. St Paul Highland Park got a 4A win over the Eagles. South St Paul went .500 outside the section.
Section 5A Ranking (2/2/25)
1- St Cloud Cathedral Crusaders (13-7-2)
2- Monticello Moose (19-1-1)
3- River Lakes Stars (14-6-2)
4- Little Falls Flyers (12-7-2)
5- Pine City Dragons (9-9-1)
6- Sauk Rapids Storm (13-8-1)
7- Princeton Tigers (8-13-0)
8- Becker/Big Lake Eagles (6-13-2)
9- Mora/Milaca Mustangs (10-12-0)
5A Summary- St Cloud Cathedral got the 5A big 2nd win over Little Falls which should give them the #1 seed. Monticello got the 5A sweep of Princeton. River Lakes got the big 5A win over the Flyers. Becker/Big Lake went (3-0-0), Sauk Rapids & Mora/Milaca went (2-1-0) and Pine City went winless outside of the section.
Section 6A Ranking (2/2/25)
1- Northern Lakes Lightning (14-7-0)
2- Alexandria Cardinals (10-10-0)
3- Fergus Falls Otters (10-11-0)
4- Breckenridge/Wahpeton Blades (8-13-1)
5- Prairie Centre North Stars (12-8-0)
6- Willmar Cardinals (7-14-0)
7- Morris/Benson Storm (8-14-0)
8- Wadena Deer Creek Wolverines (5-15-0)
6A Summary- Northern Lakes got the 6A win over Fergus Falls which should lock up the #1 seed. Alexandria went (2-1-0) & Breckenridge/Wahpeton lost its only game outside the section. Prairie Centre got the 6A win over Wadena Deer Creek and Willmar got the 6A win over Morris/Benson.
Section 7A Ranking (2/2/25)
1- Cloquet/Esko/Carlton Lumberjacks (18-4-0)
2- Hermantown Hawks (13-7-3)
3- Hibbing/Chisholm Bluejackets (12-9-0)
4- Proctor Rails (12-9-1)
5- International Falls Broncos (12-8-0)
6- Moose Lake Rebels (10-10-0)
7- North Shore Storm (8-13-0)
8- Greenway Raiders (6-13-1)
9- Ely Timberwolves (5-14-0)
7A Summary- Cloquet/Esko/Carlton got the big 7A win over Hermantown. Hibbing/Chisholm lost their only game outside of the section. Proctor got the 7A win over Ely. North Shore got 7A wins over International Falls & Greenway. Moose Lake went (1-2-0) outside of the section.
Section 8A Ranking (2/2/25)
1- Warroad Warriors (15-5-1)
2- East Grand Forks Greenwave (9-11-1)
3- Red Lake Falls Eagles (18-3-0)
4- Detroit Lakes Lakers (8-11-2)
5- Thief River Falls Prowlers (8-9-1)
6- Crookston Pirates (13-7-1)
7- Bagley/Fosston Eagles (12-8-0)
8- Park Rapids Panthers (8-13-0)
9- Kittson County Central Bearcats (5-12-1)
10- Lake of the Woods Bears (3-15-0)
8A Summary-Warroad got the 8A sweep of Thief River Falls. East Grand Forks went (0-2-0), Red Lake Falls went (2-0-0), Bagley/Fosston went (2-0-0), Lake of the Woods went (1-0-0) & Detroit Lakes went (0-3-0) outside of the section. Crookston got the 8A win over Park Rapids but the Panthers rebounded to get the 8A win over Kittson County Central