The University of Minnesota hockey programs are no stranger to those high expectations, especially the women’s program, which has seven national championships and three national runners-up finishes in 24 seasons up until 2023-24.

Those standards, though, don’t preclude the team from having any fun. That couldn’t be demonstrated any better than with the team’s leader, junior captain Peyton Hemp, engaging in a bit of fun with her younger sister and fellow teammate, Josie, on occasion.

“There’s times I’ll walk into the dressing room or the conference room on the road and see them horsing around and wrestling and things like that,” Gophers head coach Brad Frost said. “So I certainly think they have fun.”

On top of Frost’s view of his players’ lighthearted antics, when brought up to the players themselves, the discussion was met with a few laughs.

“I think that’s like a part of our relationship,” Peyton said. “Obviously, there’s so much love there, but we definitely get on each other’s nerves, but it’s all on the love, so it’s super fun.”

It’s just sisterly love, right? Once you are around someone long enough, you can be just a bit more comfortable. No matter if it’s in the locker room, in the hallways around Ridder Arena, or in the team areas of rinks around the WCHA, the pair can be found often wrestling with one another.

Peyton Hemp has 10 goals and 23 points in 26 games so far this season. (Photo courtesy of University of Minnesota / Gopher Sports and Brad Rempel)

While there is no one who is the instigator to all of the friendly bouts, at least some of them can be attributed to the younger sister.

“After practices sometimes, I’ll literally just out of nowhere kind of jump on her,” Josie said. “We’ll literally just start tackling each other, so there’s that. Sometimes in the locker room before practice, we will just randomly, it’s not actually a fight, but we’ll randomly just start wrestling each other, literally just like out of nowhere.”

Andover to Minnetonka to Minneapolis
This pair of sisters from Andover, Minn., being two years apart, have had quite the experience playing together growing up. From being little kids all the way to high school to play hockey together, it ended up being a little weird to the duo when Peyton was at Minnesota and Josie still had two years of high school left. While those high school memories were fleeting at Andover, as Josie transferred to Minnetonka for her final two years of high school, Peyton and Josie reached the ultimate goal while playing together.

In 2020, they helped Andover to a Class 2A state championship with a victory over Edina.

“I think the one that sticks out the most with her and I was in my junior year and [Josie’s] freshman year at Andover when we won the state tournament,” Peyton said. “I think that’s probably like the biggest one. That was just super fun to win that with her and it was super special too, but there were so many moments growing up.”

That success in the state tournament propelled Peyton to be the state’s Ms. Hockey in her senior season in 2021 before joining the Gophers. Josie played the remainder of her two years of high school without her older sister, but with her younger sister, Layla, at Minnetonka.

A junior at Minnetonka this season, Layla is also committed to Minnesota, but she’s a goaltender. She also recently helped backstop the United States to gold at the 2024 U-18 Women’s World Championship.

“I’m sad we don’t all three get to play with each other, but it’s super cool obviously for me being in the middle,” Josie said. “Being able to have Layla and Peyton and then getting to play with the both of them for two years in high school [was really special].”

Josie Hemp is a 5-9 defenseman in her freshman season at the University of Minnesota, joining her older sister, Peyton Hemp. (Photo courtesy of Bjorn Franke)

Three sisters, three roles
Funny enough that the trio each plays their own position, but it was Josie who actually played forward instead of defense until high school. When she was a forward, she was linemates with Isa Goettl, now a teammate on the Gophers. Josie said that her dad helped bring it up once about potentially making the switch in positions. Then, in high school, after getting some shifts on the back end, she realized she really enjoyed playing defense and stuck with it ever since.

Using that experience as a forward, Josie said it has helped her understand her role as a defender. While she said she views herself more as an offensive defender, and Frost also says she has good offensive instincts, she values the experience of knowing how to play up front to better understand her own responsibilities on the ice on defense.

Josie is looking to redshirt the 2023-24 season and compete for a spot in the Gophers’ defensive corps next season, and through a large part of a season of practices in her first year with the team, she said she’s learned the most about speed and size at this level of competition.

“The transition [from high school] was definitely big, with the speed,” Josie said. “Even though I haven’t gotten to play in a game, I definitely think I’ve learned so much in practice because of adjusting to the speed, as I would say, speed is the biggest thing for me.”

Going against older sister Peyton in practice has to be a tough assignment for anyone, considering the complete game she produces for the Gophers every night. Both Frost and Peyton said that she brings a consistency to the game that coaches and teammates alike really appreciate. From the penalty kill to the power play, her competitiveness and consistency have been making an impact.

That also helps Peyton’s role as the team captain, to set an example for the rest of her teammates to look to in the long grind of the season.

With the competitive angle she helps represent on the team now, to the little competitions that both Peyton and Josie had with together with older sister Catalina in their garage as kids, Josie and Peyton are as close as can be.

“Honestly, I feel like it’s just great to have, like obviously you’re friends with everybody on the team, like you love your teammates and stuff, but it’s such a blessing to have that one person that can just be your go-to,” Peyton said. “[Someone] that knows you truly, they literally grew up with you, so they pretty much know everything about you.”

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“Right Back Where We Started From” by Maxine Nightingale, which was released in the 1970s.

Whether coincidence or part of a set playlist, the song seems fitting for a deep Minnetonka Skippers team that returned a bunch of key players from last winter’s dominant Class 2A state championship team.

Only two games in, Minnetonka turned in a couple of dominating efforts on its home ice, outscoring Rosemount and Andover by a combined 18-3 margin. The Skippers put up a 10-3 victory over Rosemount to open the season Friday before an 8-0 shutout of Andover, a program it met in last year’s state semifinals (though this time without the since-graduated line featuring Cooper Conway, Gavyn Thorsen and Cayden Casey).

With so many state champions – and multiple Division I commits – returning to Minnetonka’s squad this season, Skippers coach Sean Goldsworthy acknowledged that his team isn’t starting from square one.

“First off, they’re committed to each other,” Goldsworthy said. “So, when they all come back, it makes things easier on each other. We have a lot of returning kids from a team that had great success last year. So that matters.”

Minnetonka comes into the season as a top-ranked team, according to the preseason rankings from Let’s Play Hockey magazine, while Andover is ranked No. 10. And the Skippers shut out the Huskies while outshooting them 42-5 on Saturday evening.

Minnetonka and Andover boys hockey shake hands after the Skippers won 8-0 on Nov. 25, 2023 at Pagel Ice Arena as part of the Tonka Thanksgiving Preview tournament. (MHM Photo / Heather Rule)

Senior Javon Moore had hat tricks both days, giving him a team-leading six goals and 10 points through just two games. His effort against Andover was highlighted by a breakaway, shorthanded goal in the first period. His second hat trick in as many games came with just more than 10 minutes left in regulation, sending the game to running time with a 6-0 lead.

Moore is followed by the senior Garry brothers; Luke with two goals and five assists and Gavin with three goals and four assists. Against Rosemount, the Garry brothers scored goals 50 seconds apart for a 2-1 lead. Gavin recorded a hat trick, and senior Hagen Burrows added five assists on Friday.

Depth? They have that, too. A dozen players have at least a point on those 18 goals over two games.

The goal right now, Goldsworthy said, is to “get the fall hockey out of them,” which usually takes eight to 10 games, he added.

“I think what you’re seeing is these kids are committed to getting it out of their system in about four or five games,” Goldsworthy said.

Minnetonka lost only twice last season, to Chanhassen and Wayzata, on the way to a state championship. Even though it’s cliché, staying in the moment throughout the season helped drive that successful title run, Goldsworthy said.

“You’ve got to stay in the week,” Goldsworthy said. “That’s what we did last year. These kids know when they do that, our success came from living in the moment.”

Despite the shutout loss, Andover split its games in the Tonka tourney, defeating No. 3-ranked Chanhassen 3-2 on Friday behind a pair of Casey Rodgers goals. The Huskies came into the season looking to replace the production of its top line from 2022-23; Conway-Thoreson-Casey scored 65% of the team’s 167 goals last season.

Chanhassen, which fell an overtime-goal short of the state tournament with a loss to Minnetonka last year, starts the season 0-2 with a one-goal loss to Andover and a 2-1 loss to Rosemount on Saturday. The Storm, who hit the ice just before the school’s football team took the field at U.S. Bank Stadium on the way to a thrilling Prep Bowl championship, trailed the entire game before getting a goal in the final minute of regulation.

Thanksgiving means puck drop on boys hockey
Most of the boys hockey teams got started with their seasons over the weekend. After the turkey coma ends, hockey players and fans head to various rinks on Friday and Saturday of Thanksgiving weekend for regular-season hockey and various holiday tournaments.

On the same night that Edina’s football team suffered a heartbreaking loss to Centennial in the Class 6A Prep Bowl, the No. 2-ranked Edina Hornets – last season’s runner-up in hockey – shut out No. 8-ranked Maple Grove 3-0 in the Wayzata Turkey Trot at Plymouth Ice Center. Wayzata started its season off with a pair of victories against No. 7-ranked Moorhead (6-1) and Maple Grove (6-4) in its home Turkey Trot.

White Bear Lake opened its season with a 4-3 overtime victory over Duluth East at home. Nolan Roed scored a pair of goals, including the winner at 2:37 of the extra session.

In Class 1A, last year’s runner-up Warroad lost 3-2 in overtime to St. Cloud Cathedral. Griffin Sturm scored the winner just before the final horn in overtime. Murray Marvin-Cordes scored both Warroad goals.

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(MHM Photo / Rick Olson)

King powers Brainerd to Class 2A Final 
 
Midway through the first period, Brainerd was about to try and kill off a 5-on-3 for one minute and eight seconds against a high-powered Andover offense while trying to preserve their 1-0 lead. But to successfully kill off the penalties, the Warriors were going to need a herculean effort from their senior goaltender Olivia King.  
 
For one minute and eight seconds, Brainerd got exactly what they wanted as King stood tall in goal and did not allow one puck past her, including a huge pad save with 10 seconds left on the penalty. Some goalies might wilt under the pressure of getting peppered as King did for 68 seconds, but she prefers to see a lot of shots and got more comfortable as they kept coming in. “It’s exciting to get a lot of shots,” she said.   
 
“It was huge,” Brainerd coach Jim Ernster said of the 5-on-3 kill. “This is the time of year when seniors and goaltenders win games for you.” 

King finished with 38 saves in a 3-2 Brainerd win that took overtime to settle.
 
King credited the team’s play all season on the penalty kill before making a quip about penalties by saying, “We seem to [take] a lot of penalties,” that even got a postgame chuckle from her coach.  
 
The Warriors – specifically King – did not relent in two periods and took a 2-0 lead into the third. 
 
“To keep them at bay for two periods is really important,” said Ernster of Andover’s offense. 
 
Meanwhile, Andover was not about to let themselves get down despite not getting a puck – 29 shots through two periods – past King in the Brainerd goal. “We were not letting out heads hang,” said Andover forward Hannah Stauffeneker. “We were not feeling sorry for ourselves [at that point].” 
 
However, Andover did make a comeback in the third as they scored six minutes into the period and tied up the game with just over six minutes to play. The Huskies nearly won the game with a minute to play as King once again was called upon to make a sprawling save with Andover on a breakaway. 
 
The save sent the game into overtime where it took all of 10 seconds for Brainerd to score the winner – off the stick of Cheyenne Abear – and send them to the Class 2A finals Saturday night to play the winner of Minnetonka/Edina. 
 
With his senior goalie now in the spotlight, Ernster said of his goalie being on the state’s radar, “I sure hope so [that everyone has taken notice]. I’ve seen a lot of good saves over five years.” 

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No. 2 Centennial vs. Lakeville South 

Class 2A began with a battle of two felines as the No. 2 Centennial Cougars took on the unseeded Lakeville South Cougars. Although Centennial averaged nearly five goals per game, it was their defense and timely play that lifted them to a 2-0 win and a birth to the semi-finals.

“I mean I was kind of expecting this,” said Centennial head coach Kristi King. “Their goalie’s incredibly good and hats off to her, she made a lot of good saves. I thought we did a great job of creating offense. Our first period wasn’t great but second period we doubled our time on attack and we did everything we needed to and outshot them. So kind of feeling it out in the first period and figure out what we do well and execute that in the second and third. We knew if we kept shooting and crashing the net hard, the goals will come.”

Centennial spent the majority of the first period on its heels. Lakeville South came out the gate with a solid forecheck and was able to put seven shots on net in first 10 minutes of play.

But the momentum began to swing Centennial’s way after they drew a power play. Shortly after the advantage expired, sophomore Allison Pitlick netted the game’s first goal, with assists to senior Anneke Linser and junior Maija Almich. Despite being outshot 11-6, Centennial led 1-0 heading into the first intermission.

“First period period I think for everyone but especially me, it was like, taking it all in and the atmosphere was incredible,” said Linser after the win. “You couldn’t even hear yourself think in the roaring of the fans and seeing your whole community out there, you wanted to do it for them and I think getting the nerves out of the first period and coming back and regrouping with the team was a huge part of our success in the second and third.”

Centennial got off to a much better showing in the second period firing 18 shots on net. However, Lakeville South goalie Lexi Baker didn’t skip a beat. She stopped all 18 shots that came her way and kept it a one-goal game.

Lakeville South came out for the final period of regulation the way they did in the first: with speed, an aggressive forecheck and plenty of rubber on net. Yet, they could not crack goalie Mackenna Storteau who was absorbing every opposing blast and pitched a 15-save shutout. In the closing the minutes, Centennial would get an insurance goal from Linser with assists from senior Gabbie Hughes and Almich.

“That’s a powerful team,” said Lakeville South head coach Mark Johnson. “They do a lot of misdirection and changing the puck around they control it very well. They’re a hard-working team. Those two girls: Linser and Hughes are backed with a couple good players also and they played well. I look forward to seeing them going far.”

No. 3 Hill-Murray vs. Eagan 

The Eagan Wildcats returned to the state tournament for the first time in six years but faced a tournament juggernaut in the Hill-Murray Pioneers. It was the seventh consecutive year Hill-Murray has made the Tourney, with the team capturing championships in 2014 and 2015.

But there won’t be any banner for the power house this season, as the Wildcats knocked off the Pioneers 2-1 and advanced to the semi-finals.

After a scoreless first period, Eagan was able to strike first with a pair of goals in the second period. While on the power play, sophomore Jenna Ruiz dangled through the slot and put a puck top shelf giving her team a 1-0 lead. As time winded down, the Pioneers tried to clear the zone but they threw it right on the tape of Eagan’s Taylor Anderson and the senior capitalized and scored, giving her team the 2-0 heading into the second intermission.

“I’m thinking first of all ‘shoot the puck, Taylor’ as I always am,” said Eagan head coach Dan Wilson “As she always wants to get a little bit closer to the net. Obviously it worked out in our favor at that point.”

However, Hill-Murray came out swinging in the final period of play and it appeared they cut the deficit to one goal. However, upon video review – which is only allowed in state tournament play – junior Katie Kaufman clearly kicked the puck in and the goal was waved off. But the Pioneers would get one shortly after when freshman Kennedy Morris blasted a puck from the top of the point.

“Sometimes it’s difficult to cling to that type of lead against a team like that,” said Wilson “Obviously going into the third period we just talked a lot about taking care of puck and get the puck down deep, don’t take any big time risks and chances. We obviously knew that they got some high-scoring power. So we really talked about kind of packing our house and packing in front of our net to keep everything to the outside. I actually think we did a pretty good job with that and it really obviously helped us.”

Eagan continued to weather the storm as Hill’s offense wouldn’t let up. At one point, the Pioneers were outshooting the Wildcats 11-0, with Eagan not registering their first shot of the period until the 11-minute mark. Despite being heavily outshot, the Wildcats prevailed with goaltender Maddie Nickel making 26 saves in the contest.

Meanwhile for Hill-Murray, they’re in unfamiliar territory.

“You know it’s tough to know what to say. For one, it’s never happened before so I never had to have that speech before,” said Pioneers head coach Bill Schafhauser. “If we could’ve played the first two periods like we played in the third, we might’ve had a different outcome.”

No 1 Edina vs. Brainerd

Defending Class 2A champion Edina with a large cast of returnees from 2017’s title run welcomed Brainerd to its first-ever state tournament in the opening game of Thursday night’s evening session. The welcome was short lived, however, as the Hornets treated the Warriors to 4-0 defeat to snap Brainerds seven-game winning streak.

Emily Oden led a balanced Edina attack featuring four different goal scorers as Tella Jungels, CC Bowlby and Olivia Swaim chipped in. With two assists, Edina’s Brooke Tucker was the only Hornet with more than one point.

Edina goaltender Megan Smith stopped all 10 shots she faced for the shutout while Brainerd’s Nicole Schulz stopped 28 of the Hornets’ 32 shots.

“To beat a team like that you have to play close to a perfect game because they’re going to capitalize on anything and everything,” Brainerd coach Jim Ernster said. “We weren’t able to do that but that’s a credit to them. The one thing that they were was consistent throughout, whether it was their first line, second line or third line. They were consistent in their skill, they were consistent in their patience and they were really good finding that player without the puck.”

Oden opened the scoring just 2:02 into the game with her 32nd of the year. Later in the period a pair of Brainerd penalties 28 seconds apart gave Edina a 1:32 5-on-3 advantage.

Even down two players, though, the Warriors threatened when Cheyenne Abear and Gabbie Smith nearly connected on a 2-on-1 with the puck just out of Smith’s reach at the right post. 

Shortly thereafter, Jungels scored her fifth of the year to make it 2-0 with just five seconds remaining in the two-player advantage. The Hornets picked up another power-play goal midway through the second when Bowlby notched her 28th of the season for a three-goal Edina cushion.

Swaim’s goal with 53 seconds left in the second, her ninth of the year, preceded a scoreless third period.

Edina coach Sami Reber expressed relief at advancing despite the heavy odds in her team’s favor entering the game.

“I think when you have quite a few players coming back to the state tournament who were here last year it definitely helps, there isn’t as many nerves throughout the entire team,” Edina coach Sami Reber said. “But you never know what your going to get at the state tournament … so the first game’s always a tough one and I’m proud of the way we came out of that.”

— By Brian Halverson

No. 4 Andover vs. No. 5 Eden Prairie

The Huskies and Eagles played up to their seeding in a tightly-contested game in the quarterfinal nightcap. 

The game was scoreless through two periods but Eden Prairie’s Crystalyn Hengler broke the tie just 1:15 into the final period, firing a wrist shot through traffic that Andover goaltender Cassidy Stumo said she couldn’t see.

“I thought I was out far enough but maybe, because of my size, I should have been out a little further,” Stumo said.

“Pretty big goal for us at a time where I was thinking we might be here until one, two in the morning,”Eden Prairie coach Jaime Grossman said. “So it was nice to see that go through.”

Hengler scored her 19th goal of the season using a brand new limited edition stick which replaced an identical one she had recently broken.

“She had like three goals in eight games with it and it broke at practice the day after a game. The new one that they ordered came today. Looks like that stick’s a good stick for her.”

Eden Prairie’s Becca Kniss capped the scoring with an empty-net goal with 1:22 to play. 

The story of the game was the stellar goaltending battle between Stumo and Eden Prairie’s Alexa Dobchuck who each finished with 29 saves.

“I think we could have done a little better job of getting on pucks a little bit harder,” Andover coach Melissa Volk said. “We did a good job the first 10 minutes of the game and, after that, kind of let off.”

The Huskies came out flying to start the game, applying intense pressure on Eden Prairie early on. But Dobchuk withstood the barrage and the Eagles weathered the storm.

“We’ve been a team that’s been a little slow out of the gates at times most of the year but it’s always nice knowing Alexa’s back there because we have confidence,” Grossman said. “Our kids have confidence that no matter they do those first few minutes, she’s got our back until we calm down.”

Eden Prairie (19-9-1) and top-seeded Edina (26-2-1) will play Friday night’s second Class 2A semifinal for the right to play for a state championship. Andover moves to the consolation bracket for a semifinal meeting with Brainerd.

— By Brian Halverson

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Keller scores twice to lead Tonka over Andover

[ Box Score ] | [ Game Sheet ]

SAINT PAUL – Left wing Kippin Keller, a former member of the Benilde-St. Margaret Red Knights, is no stranger to the state tournament. As an underclassman, Keller and the Knights made a trip to the state final. But now as an upperclassman, she hoped her state tournament experience could provide leadership opportunities at state in 2015.

And Keller is off to a strong start in her new role with Minnetonka.

Keller scored two goals in Minnetonka’s 5-0 victory over the Andover Huskies in the Class 2A girls’ state hockey quarterfinals at the Xcel Energy Center. The Skippers will play the winner of the Lakeville South-Blaine game, on Friday at 8 pm.

In her first state game as a Skipper, Keller enjoyed herself as a leader.

“I think it went well,” Keller said. “I think the team helps out a lot. Presley [Norby], my linemate having her there and this team is always grinding and going 100 percent, so it is really fun to play with them.”

Minnetonka didn’t make the trip to the Xcel Energy Center last year after winning the state championship in 2013, so Keller helped speed up the re-acclimation process.

Minnetonka peppered Andover goaltender Cassidy Stumo all night while limiting the Huskies to just four shots on goal in Thursday’s win. (MHM Photo / Tim Kolehmainen)

After Andover goaltender Cassidy Stumo deflected the initial shot, Keller came from behind and knocked the puck in as it sat in the crease. And just two minutes later, Skipper Emma Bigham took the puck and went five-hole on Stumo, giving Minnetonka a 2-0 lead heading into the first intermission.

While the Skippers often found success on offense, the Huskies couldn’t say the same. The Huskies’ struggled to muster anything offensively all game. With only four shots through three periods, Andover didn’t even register a shot in the third period.

“Our plan was to try and control the puck and work it into the offensive end,” Minnetonka head coach Eric Johnson said. “They were clogging up the middle in the neutral zone and in their own defensive zone. We wanted to move the puck around the perimeter, but then eventually get it to the net.”

Keller not only provided her team a strong start in the game, but also the state tournament, allowing her team to re-adjust to the state atmosphere in pursuit of another championship.

“I definitely wanted to get ahead because everyone can settle down and take a deep breath and relax,” Keller said. “Just having a good start, you know you can have a good game and not get frustrated.”

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Andover’s Maddie Rooney rejoined the boys for her senior season

Look out onto the ice at the Andover Community Center while the boys’ hockey team warms up and you’ll see the usual sights. Players stretching their legs, pucks being shot at the net. But there’s one sight that might stand out more than others.

She has a long, brown ponytail hanging from the back of her all-gold helmet.

Yes, it’s senior Maddie Rooney in goal for the Andover Huskies (10-12-3). She gets plenty of playing time, too, playing in 24 games (9-10-3), 2.83 GAA and .910 save percentage. She recorded a 5-0 shutout against Coon Rapids in her final home game Feb. 12.

Rooney tended goal with the Andover girls’ hockey team the past two seasons, leading the team to its first state tournament last year where they won the consolation championship. The girls are headed back to state this week, this time with eighth-grader Cassidy Stumo in goal.

“I had some close friendships with some of those girls on the team,” Rooney said. “It was hard to leave them, but I wish them the best.”

The transition from the girls’ team to the boys wasn’t as drastic as it might seem. That’s because she spent most of her youth career playing with the boys. Senior captain Tyler Vold, and many of the other Huskies, played with Rooney for years in youth hockey programs, so it wasn’t much of a change to see her join them for her senior season.

“I was pretty excited for her and for our team,” Vold said. “With Maddie, our whole team has been growing up with her.”

Rooney rejoined the boys for last year’s summer program, and “she was one of our top two,” coach Mark Manney said.

The risk for Rooney was that she could only try out for one team – boys or girls – and Manney couldn’t guarantee her playing time. Early in the season, they were a little protective of her, he said, and didn’t start her in a game against Elk River.

“I guess at some point, we just realized that she gave us the best chance to win,” Manney said. “I think her two biggest assets at the beginning of the year were her quickness and her aggressiveness. When those are your two bigger assets to begin with, everything else tends to be pretty good.”

Make no mistake; there are differences in the girls’ game versus the boys’ game. For Rooney, she had to adjust to a quicker passes, speedier shots and more physical play in front of her. You could get away with a little more in girls’ hockey because it’s slower, she said.

“Guys’ hockey’s more intense,” she said. “And you kind of have to be in on every play, and make sure as a goalie … you have to make sure every movement is crisp.

“If you give up a rebound, everything is faster and more physical.”

So, she practiced her lateral movements a lot. Whatever she did seems to have worked. In that recent game against Coon Rapids, she saved an initial shot on her right then had to make a sprawling save on the rebound to her left.

“She sees the puck very well,” Vold said. “Even though shots are harder.”

Vold has friends on many of the competing teams, and he knows that Rooney is respected as a good goaltender, he said.

“When she’s on her game, I think she’s one of the best goalies in the conference,” he said.

During his six years coaching Andover, Manney said he’s had four athletes who have shown up each and every day simply to be hard workers.

Rooney is one of those four.

“She shows up every day and she works hard,” Manney said. “At the end of the day, she takes off her stuff and goes home, and probably thinks about what she could’ve done better. (Her) goal is to become a better hockey player every day.”

Rooney is committed to the University of Minnesota-Duluth next season. With the regular season of boys’ hockey under her belt, Rooney recommends other girls make the switch if they’re looking to play college hockey.

“I wanted to give myself the ultimate challenge,” Rooney said.  “And playing with the guys was the highest possible thing I could do.”

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Featured Image:
Grand Rapids’ Avery Peterson is off to a fast start and his team cracks the top ten this week. Image by: Tim Kolehmainen

In week two and three, it can be said that ranking the top teams is about perception vs. reality.  That came to fruition this week as there were some surprising wins and some even more surprising losses among the top teams.  A look at week two shows plenty of shuffling of the teams.  This ranking system is based on performance, not a hunch.  If a team loses, it loses and most likely is supplanted by a team that continues to win.  Head-to-head match-ups play into the rankings as well.  One thing that is certain, this year will provide plenty of twists and turns as there are plenty of teams that are capable of beating each other throughout the season.

1.  Blaine Bengals (2-0-0, 0-0) The Bengals opened the season with a roadie that featured an eruption of 14 goals in two games.  Wins over Roseau (8-4) and Moorhead (6-4) illustrate how explosive this Bengal team is.  Somewhat concerning is the average of 4 goals against.  Anyone in hockey knows offense wins games and defense wins championships.  Look for that to be shored up in the Bengal camp over the coming weeks.  Seniors Tyler Cline (6g-1a-7pts) and Joey Lau (3g-4a-7pts) lead the way in the goals scoring category after two games.  Up next, the Bengals jump into the Northwest Suburban Conference schedule with games this week against Osseo and cross-town rival Centennial.

2.  Benilde-St. Margaret’s Red Knights (2-0-0)  Off to a torrid start, the Benilde-St. Margaret’s Red Knights have turned aside two opponents with ease.  Enough ease, that they catapulted four slots from six last week to the second position this week.  With 13 goals in two games, a shutout to their credit and, a sound 7-2 win over a solid Duluth Denfeld team this week, the Red Knights have a swagger out of the box that forced the MHM to take notice.  Goaltending has been sound as junior Jalen Long as turned aside 43 of 45 shots and posted a shutout in their 6-0 opening season win over the Rochester Lourdes Eagles. As would be expected, senior Spencer Naas (3g-3a-6pts) leads the way offensively. Juniors Chase Jungels (2g-3a-5pts) and Ben Newhouse (0g-5a-5pts) are providing a sound supporting cast for Naas and the Red Knights.  They will be featured in plenty of media this week as their Tuesday game will be streaming live on their BSMHockey.com website.  Thursday’s game with the Burnsville Blaze will also be available live on Sports Radio FM 105 The Ticket.   The Red Knights close out the week with the #3 Hill-Murray Pioneers at Aldrich Arena and that game will be streaming live from the MHM website as well.

3.  Hill-Murray Pioneers (1-0-0, 0-0-0) Led by a 3 goal rally in the third period, the Hill-Murray Pioneers turned aside last week’s #10 Burnsville Blaze to earn a quality win to open the season.  With Lakeville South and Benilde-St. Margaret’s on the schedule this week, the Pioneers will have a chance to move up.  For this week, they did elevate one slot from four to three.  Senior Zach Mills delivered two clutch goals in the third period with the game winner coming at 9:26.  Three different players produced multi-point games and senior goalie Sam Ilgen was solid when called upon.  Knowing where to be and how to execute on the ice is critical to a team’s success.  Year after year, head coach Bill Lechner’s teams have the same elements that thrust them to the top of the high school hockey food chain. They always play within in the team, skate, and never are overwhelmed from game-to-game or the situation.  More of that can be seen with two big games this week.

4.  Elk River Elks (1-0-0, 0-0-0) The Elks jump three slots from seven to four with a stiffing 3-1 win over the Edina Hornets in Elk River.  Known as a team loaded with defensemen and a terrific goalie, the Elks went offensive and outshot Edina 46-32 including 20-4 in the third period to finish with authority.  It was a game played five-on-five with each team only employing two  power plays for the game.  Junior Ben Johnson had two goals for the Elks, both in the second period,  including the game winner at 15:05.  The two teams will face each other in a re-match at Braemar Arena at the Holiday Classic later this month.  The Elks are off all week until they open their Northwest Suburban Conference action with the fast starting Andover Huskies.

5.  Edina Hornets (3-1-0, 0-0-0) Opening season wins over Holy Family Catholic (8-0), Wayzata (3-1), and Centennial (6-1) had the Hornets soaring until they landed in Elk River and were stopped by the Elks 3-1.  Senior Cullen Munson (7g-3a-10pts) is off to a sizzling start for the Hornets.  Five players are over a point a game and they have the depth to wear teams down much like they did against the Centennial Cougars, evidenced by their three goal second and third periods.  The goaltending has been equally impressive with Andrew Rohkohl (3-0, 0.67, 971) leading the way.  They have a big Section 2AA test in the Prior Lake Lakers on Tuesday who came off a sound 7-2 win over Chanhassen this past week.  The Hornets round out the week with a game at Eagan.

6.  St. Thomas Academy Cadets (1-0-1, 0-0-0) The Cadets delivered a win and a tie this past week as they opened with a 5-2 win over The Marshall School Duluth and then tied The Academy of Holy Angels 4-4 this past Saturday.  While the Cadets fired 64 shots at the AHA net, they couldn’t pull out the win as they allowed three goals in the third period to lose the grip on what appeared to be a win.  They will tussle with Holy Family Catholic on Wednesday and Lakeville North Saturday of this week. As expected, senior defenseman Seamus Donohue (1g-4a-5pts) and junior forward Tommy Novak (0g-5a-5pts) are pacing the offensive production for the Cadets.

7.  Duluth East Greyhounds (2-0-0) One gets the feeling that the young Duluth East Greyhounds will be in a series of low scoring affairs this year.  A big win over the Wayzata Trojans  by a score of 3-2 pushed the Hounds in the top 10.  They have trio of returning players that will be a factor in their push to the Section 7AA.  Seniors Phil Beaulieu, Jack Kolar and Alex Trapp are providing the leadership.  They play host to Anoka this week and travel over the bridge to tussle with rival Superior this week.

8.  Wayzata Trojans (3-2-0, 0-0-0) The Trojans have high expectations this season and certainly one week does a season not make.  However, two losses are two losses.  This past week, they played three games opening with a 4-1 win over Champlin Park.  They followed that up with a solid 6-1 win over Hermantown and fell to Duluth East this past Saturday 3-2.  Their other loss is to the Edina Hornets.  Maxwell Zimmer (2g-5a-7pts) is leading the way offensively for the youthful Trojans. Games with Apple Valley and Burnsville are on the docket.  Another loss, and the Trojans could be on the outside looking in to the prestigious MHM rankings.

9.  Eden Prairie Eagles (1-0-0, 0-0-0)  The Eagles held serve and picked up a balanced 6-0 win over the Osseo Orioles last week.  They play two this week as They host Rosemount Tuesday and head to Lakeville South on Saturday.  Junior Riley Argetsinger (3g-1a-4pts) had a productive first game and will take the goal scoring and point production pressure off seniors Steven Spinner and Luc Snuggerud.

10.  Grand Rapids Thunderhawks (2-0-0, 0-0-0)  The Thunderhaws opened the season with a pair of wins including a key Section 7AA victory over Forest Lake by a score of 2-1.  They eked out a 4-3 win over the Bemidji Lumberjacks to start the season last week.  Senior Avery Peterson (2g-2a-4pts) had a three point effort against Bemidji to pace his club.  They open the Iron Range Conference schedule with a tilt agains Virginia-Mountain Iron/Buhl and travel further north to battle Roseau on Friday followed by Warroad on Saturday.

Others receiving votes:  Prior Lake, Andover, Roseau, Burnsville

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