For the eighth consecutive year, the Edina Hornets will be heading to the State Tournament and represent the Section 2AA with a chance to defend the State Class AA championship by handling Bloomington Jefferson Jaguars by score 5-1 at Mariucci Arena.

With goals by Garrett Wait and Cullen Munson in the first 2:23 of the opening period, the Hornets flew out of the gate and never looked back.  Kyle Wendorf scored an odd angle goal from behind the Edina netl for the Jaguars at 4:01 of the first period to cut the Hornet lead to 2-1.

There was little more the Jaguars could muster offensively the rest of the game as they were outshot 12-1 in the second period and 31-11 for the game.  Dylan Malmquist scored a back breaking short handed goal for the 3-1 Edina lead at 7:05 of the second period.

The Hornets (22-4-1) continued their impressive all-around effort, led by the defensive end  of the game, and were steady in all three zones.  Efficient in the breakout  and led by Mr. Hockey semifinalist Tyler Nanne, the Hornets were able to keep the puck away from Johnny Panvica, the talented Jaguar right wing and keep him out of the game.

Miguel Fidler and Wait scored in the third period to pull away and set themselves up for another run at a State Title.  The State Tournament berth is their  36th in Edina High School hockey history and they are looking to build on their record 11 State Titles.

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1.  Edina Hornets (10-2-0, 0-0-0)  The Hornets put together two quality weeks of wins to catapult to the top spot unseeding Hill-Murray in the MHM Class AA rankings.  The culmination of their last 6 wins in a row over those two weeks was the 4-2 victory at the Schwan’s Cup Gold Division final Saturday night.  The Hornets rallied from three goals down in the third period against Burnsville to capture a 4-3 overtime semifinal win to earn that right.  Edina opened the tournament with a 4-1 win over the #1 ranked Class A Breck Mustangs. This week they have three games that include a face-off with the 7-1-1 Cretin-Derham Hall Raiders,  a re-match with the Burnsville Blaze from the Burnsville Civic Center and that game can be heard on Sports Radio 105 the Ticket and seen right here on MinnesotaHockeyMag.com, and a stiff test with the White Bear Lake Bears.

2.  Hill-Murray Pioneers (9-1-0, 4-0-0) The Pioneers won 9 straight games before falling to the Edina Hornets in the Schwan’s Cup Gold Division final game by a score of 4-2.  That loss moved them down one slot to #2 this week.  The Pioneers have been scoring goals at an efficient clip and this week was no different leading up to the Edina game.  They opened the tournament with a quarterfinal round win over Duluth East 6-3.  They also topped Minnetonka 5-3 to set up their game with Edina.  The Pioneers are off all week until Saturday when they face the Lakeville North Panthers who have cracked the MHM top ten with a terrific run at the St. Louis Park Holiday Classic.

3.  Wayzata Trojans (9-3-0, 0-0-0)  In a season that is seeing teams jump in and out of the top ten and returning again, the Wayzata Trojans are the epitome of this trend.  After opening the seasonk in the top ten, they faded with three losses, all before December 7th.  Since then, they have won five straight games including three at the St. Louis Park Holiday Classic.  They opened with a 3-2 win over the Moorhead Spuds and followed that up with a 6-1 win over the Bloomington Jefferson Jaguars.  The biggest test was with last week’s #3 Blaine Bengals and the Trojans passed with flying colors in earning a 4-0 win.  It was a win that featured a steady performance in all areas of the game.  They have two big Section 6AA games this week as they play host to the Benilde-St. Margaret’s Red Knights on Thursday and then travel to Victoria to battle the Holy Family Catholic Fire on Saturday.

4.  Blaine Bengals (8-2-1, 6-0-0) The Blaine Bengals had an interesting week at the St. Louis Park Holiday Classic as the hammered the Maple Grove Crimson 9-3 in a quarterfinal game that doubled as a Northwest Suburban Conference game. They ran into a stiff challenge from the Lakeville North Panthers that ended in a 3-3 tie with the Bengals prevailing in the shootout.  Up next was the championship game with the Wayzata Trojans and that resulted in a 4-0 loss moving the Bengals down a notch to #4 this week.  They are still an incredibly deep team that puts pucks in the net and has the ability to light it up on any given night.  This week on deck for the Bengals is a conference game with the Andover Huskies on Saturday afternoon.

5.  Benilde-St. Margaret’s Red Knights (9-2-2) Since losing two straight games a few weeks back, the Red Knights are 5-0-2 since.  Their week consisted of a 3-3 tie with Bloomington Jefferson that resulted in a shootout loss at the St. Louis Park Holiday Classic.  The Red Knights finished with back-to-back wins that included repelling the Moorhead Spuds 4-2 and handling the Eden Prairie Eagles 5-2.  One game is on the docket for the Red Knights this week and that is a Thursday night affair with the Wayzata Trojans.

6.  Lakeville North Panthers (8-3-1, 7-1-0) After starting the season 2-3, the Panthers have found their groove and are on a 6-0-1 run in their last 7 games.  This past week it was a successful St. Louis Park Holiday Classic that featured a 7-0 shellacking of last week’s #4 Eden Prairie Eagles, a 3-3 tie with the #3 Blaine Bengals, and a 5-1 win over the #8 Bloomington Jefferson Jaguars to take third place in the tournament.  The unbeaten string will be on the line as they have a huge test with the #2 Hill-Murray Pioneers this Saturday.

7.  Burnsville Blaze (8-3-0, 5-1-0)  The Blaze started the season 1-2 and are 7-1 since.  Their only conference loss was to #6 Lakeville North and wins this week in the Schwan’s Cup Gold Division against St. Thomas Academy by a score of 3-2 and Minnetonka 3-0 delivered a third place finish.  They were 17 minutes away fro the championship game and a rematch with the Hill-Murray Pioneers yet saw it slip away against Edina.  The Edina Hornets rallied for three goals in the third period and won in overtime to stop the Blaze winning streak at seven games.  This week, two tough games are on the schedule, the first with the #1 Edina Hornets in a re-match from last Saturday’s championship game.  That game can be heard live on Sports Radio 105 The Ticket and also seen streaming simulcast on MinnesotaHockeyMag.com  The Bloomington Jefferson Jaguars close out the Blaze week on Saturday.

8. Grand Rapids (9-3-0, 1-0-0)  The Thunderhawks played three games in a row this past weekend at home and won all three.  They opened play with a 5-4 win over Mahtomedi, followed that up with a 7-2 trouncing of St. Francis and topped Brainerd by a score of 3-1.  They are on a 4 game winning streak and face off with Cloquet-Esko-Carlton and have the scrappy Hopkins Royals on Saturday.

9.  St. Thomas Academy (5-3-1, 1-1-0) The Cadets staved off banishment to the Silver Division of the Schwan’s Cup with a win over Prior Lake in the 7th place game of the Schwan’s Cup Gold Division.  One goal losses to #7 Burnsville (3-2) and #1A Breck (5-4) could have gone either way yet a 2-3-0 run over the last five games puts them on the edge of the top ten.  They have a chance to improve their standing with games against Totino Grace and Mahtomedi this week.

10.  Eastview Lightning (8-2-0, 3-2-0) The Lightning put together three straight wins at the Schwan Cup Silver Division as they defeated Andover (4-1), Roseville (2-1), and Centennial (2-1) to run their winning streak to four games.  The Lightning are a deep team that had a dicey run two weeks back but have worked they way through it.  This is a team  that can beat anybody in high school hockey.  The Lightning face-off with the Bloomington Kennedy Eagles who are playing some solid hockey to date in their only game this week.

Others Receiving Votes:  Eden Prairie, Elk River, White Bear Lake, Eagan,  Duluth East, Cretin-Derham Hall,  Roseau, Bloomington Jefferson, Brainerd/Pillager/Pierz,

The post MHM Boys AA Top Ten – 12/30/13 appeared first on Minnesota Hockey Magazine.

Wayzata 4 Blaine 0
The Wayzata Trojans continued their torrid play as they dashed through the St. Louis Park Holiday Classic field with three straight wins. A well rounded effort that featured goals from four different Trojans and 26 saves by Jen Vaughn Ahrens propelled Wayzata to the shutout victory. Jack Sorenson, Mathtew Freytag, Alex Stevens, and Max Zimmer dented the twine for Wayzata in the win. It was a well played game by both teams and contested to the final minutes as the Trojans carried slim leads of 1-0 after the first period and 2-0 after the second period.

Wayzata (9-3-0, 0-0-0) opened the tournament with a hard fought 2-0 win over the Moorhead Spuds and defeated Bloomington Jefferson by a score of 6-1 to earn the shot at the title game with the Bengals(8-2–1, 6-0-0). The Trojans are winners of five straight and six of seven games.

Lakeville North 5   Bloomington Jefferson 1
The Lakeville North Panthers erupted for three third period goals to pull away from the Bloomington Jefferson Jaguars and deliver a 5-1 win in the third place game of the Sports Authority St. Louis Park Holiday Classic. Tristan Hazlett led his team with a goal and two assists and Ryan Poehling and Max Johnson each had a goal and an assist to spark the Panther victory.

It was an impressive weekend for the Panthers (8-3-1, 7-1-0) who opened with a dominating 7-0 victory over the Eden Prairie Eagles in the quarterfinal round of the tournament. They wound up closing out regulation and overtime in the semifinal with a tie against the Blaine Bengals who ultimately won in a shootout. The game went in the books as a 3-3 tie. The Jaguars left the tournament with a 6-4-1 record.

Benilde St. Margaret’s 5  Eden Prairie 3
The Consolation final was a game that not only was for thrid place, but also positioned the Benilde-St. Margaret’s Red Knights and Eden Prairie Eagles in a key Section 6AA contest. The two teams are slated to meet in the regular season two more times and a win in the tournament not only captured third place, but also put one team in better position from a section seeding perspective. The Red Knights prevailed in a 5-2 win over the Eagles as the Red Knights peppered the Eden Prairie goal with 37 shots on goal while only allowing 18 against.

Going 2-6 on the power play, the Red Knights also won the special teams battle as they held the struggling Eagle power play to an 0-5 effort. Nick Austin, Spencer Naas, Johnny Austin, Chase Jungels, and Carter Roo all scored in the Red Knight effort as Jalen Long made 16 saves to earn the win in goal as his team improved to 9-2-2 at the midway point of the season. The Eagles are now 8-3-0 on the season including 1-3 in their last four. Eden Prairie opened the season with a 7-0 loss at the hands of Lakeville North and then defeated the Maple Grove Crimson by a score of 3-2.

Maple Grove 4  Moorhead 3
The Maple Grove Crimson welcomed back three players that were ejected for majors in their quarterfinal round game of the Sports Authority St. Louis Park Holiday Classic and salaved a win in the seventh place game. Losses to the Blaine Bengals by a score of 9-3 and then the Eden Prairie Eagles was follwed by a 4-3 win over the Moorhead Spuds in overtime. Sam Huff tied the game at three with 4:05 left in the third period to force overtime. That set up a Josh Passolt  goal :37 into the extra session that earned the much needed win for the Crimson. Passolt had goal and an assist and Matt Vogl had 3 assists in the win for the Crimson who improved to (6-5-1, 4-2-0) on the season.  Aaron Herdt led the Sppuds with 2 goals and an assist as their recored fell to 5-7-0.

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The St. Louis Park Holiday Classic wrapped up day one of action and the semifinals are set.  There were two lopsided scores to open the day and two tight games that closed out an entertaining day one to set up the semifinals of the tournament that will play out Friday and stream live on NorthStarSports.tv.

Lakeville North 7   Eden Prairie 0
The Lakeville North Panthers took control of the first period as they captured a 4-0 first period lead and never looked back.  Jack Poehling delivered a hat-trick and an assist to lead his club with four points.  Nick Poehling and Jack McNeely each tallied three assists in the win.  When needed, it was the power play that delivered for the Panthers as they were 3-4 with the man advantage against the Eagles.

Meanwhile, Eden Prairie (7-2-0) was held off the scoreboard with the man advantage for the second straight game as they were 0-2 on the power play and held to just 18 shots on goal for the entire game.  Freshman goalie Jake Oettinger was perfect on the quality chances sent is way in making 18 saves for the shutout. The Panthers (7-3-0) face-off with the Blaine Bengals in the first semi-final game scheduled for 5pm.  That game can be seen streaming live on NorthStarSports.tv.

Blaine 9   Maple Grove 3
Six unanswered goals and nine of the game’s first ten goals by the Blaine Bengals were too much for the Maple Grove Crimson to overcome as they were overwhelmed by the Blaine Bengals by a score of 9-3 in their quarterfinal game of the Sports Authority St. Louis Park Holiday Classic.  The game served as conference game as well.

In a penalty filled game that featured 75 minutes in penalties, of which 61 were assessed to the Maple Grove Crimson, the Bengals were 0-6 with man advantage while the Crimson were 1-5.  The major dust up that created much of the issue centered around three Maple Grove players that received major penalties and game misconducts for a fracas that broke out around the Crimson net.  No Blaine players received more than a double minor in the incident.  Gone from the game were goalie Cal McKenney, leading scorer Josh Passolt, and top defenseman Nate Erickson.

Blaine (8-1-0, 6-0-0) already owned a 3-0 lead prior to the penalties on goals by Brandon Notermann, Easton Brodzinski, and Luke Noterman.  Seven different players scored for the Bengals who outshot the Crimson 46-21 including a stunning 38-7 margin after two periods.  Both Noterman’s each had 2 goals and 2 assists to lead their team in points.  Defenseman Alex Copa had 3 assists in the effort as well.

The thumping recalls memories of the Maple Grove 15-1 win over the Bengals in the Section 5AA finals two years ago.  The Bengals will face off with a well balanced Lakeville North Panthers in the first semifinal of the tournament.  The game can be seen at NorthStarSports.tv.  The Crimson (5-4-1, 4-2-0) will play the Eden Prairie Eagles in the consolation semifinal on Friday afternoon.

Wayzata 3   Moorhead  2
in a tense and contested game, the Wayzata Trojans topped the Moorhead Spuds by a score of 3-2 in the quarterfinal of the Sports Authority Holiday Classic.  A Mark Senden goal at 4:59 of the third period gave the Trojans a 3-1 lead and stood up as the eventual game winner.

Wayzata’s Jack Sorenson and Moorhead’s Grant Weiss exchanged first period goals to send the game to the locker room tied at a goal a piece after one period.  Midway through the second period Matthew Freytag wired a blast fro meth right point off a draw won in the Spuds zone by Sorenson for the 2-1 lead.  Aaron Herdt added a goal for the Spuds at 14:05 of the third period setting up a tense close to the game.

Alex Schilling made 23 saves to earn the victory for the Trojans  (7-3-0) while Jacob Dittmer was solid in goal making 32 saves for the Spuds.  It is a semifinal game for the Trojans against the Bloomington Jefferson Jaguars at 7:30pm.  That game can be seen streaming live on NorthStarSports.tv.  The Spuds (5-5-0, 1-0-0) will face the Red Knights of Benilde St. Margaret’s for the second time in a week.  BSM prevailed 9-2 in that game.

Bloomington Jefferson  4   Benilde-St. Margaret’s  3 (so)
The Benilde-St. Margaret’s Red Knights opened the Sports Authority St. Louis Park Holiday Classic with a 3-3 tie after regulation and an eight minute overtime period with the Bloomington Jefferson Jaguars.  Still, a winner needed to be determined and the Jags won a shootout to advance to the semifinals of the tournament to face the Wayzata Trojans Friday evening.

The speed of the Jaguars (6-3-1) have is aways a given every year or so it seems.   However, it was the physical play coupled with their speed that took the Red Knights by surprise in the early going of the contest that resulted in a 2-0 Jaguar lead.  Goals by Drew Redepenning and Johnny Panvica forced the issue in the first stanza.

The Red Knights (7-2-2) had little room to work, particularly in the first period and much of that was a credit to the Jaguars play.  “They physically said they were going to slow you down,” Pauly observed.  “We don’t play Jefferson a lot but I have never seen a Jefferson team play that physical.”

The Red Knight power play is flat out devastating entering the game clicking at a 37.1% clip.  It did not disappoint as Johnny Austin scored his 2nd goal of the season.  The power play marker came with :25 left in the first period.  Even Fleming dented the twine in the second period for his 5th goal of the season as he beat Jaguar goalie Grant Martens to tie the game at two.

Martens turned aside 41 Red Knight shots and was peppered in the third period as the Jags were outshot 16-1 for the period and 44-17 for the game.  Charlie Strauss, a converted forward to defense, lifted the Jags back to the lead by a score of 3-2 with a power play goal at 12:02 of the second period.

Through the third period, the Red Knights didn’t panic and neither did the Jags.  Still, the Red Knights came in waves and it was Carter Roo that evened the game late in the third period with Red Knights on the power play.

It was impressive and efficient as the unit went to work late in the third period. At 13:30 of the period,  it was Roo who took a nifty back hand through the legs feed by Ben Newhouse at the goal mouth for the easy tally in the opening net evening the game at three.  The goal was Roo’s 7th of the season.

The Red Knights, 3-0-2 in their last five will work to be unbeaten in regulation for the Holiday Classic tournament.  They have a re-match with the Moorhead Spuds in the consolation semi-finals on Friday afternoon at 2:30pm.

The post Blowouts by Day, Nail-Biters by Night appeared first on Minnesota Hockey Magazine.

2.  Blaine Bengals (7-1-0, 4-0-0) After the tough loss to the East Grand Forks Green Wave, the Bengals responded with a resounding two game effort that saw them out-score their opponents 21-0 as they hammered Coon Rapids 11-0 and followed that up with a 10-0 white washing over the Robbinsdale Armstrong Falcons.  The Bengals will line up with a solid group of teams at the St. Louis Park Holiday Classic this week.   Blaine opens with the Maple Grove Crimson at 2:30pm and if they win or lose will face either Eden Prairie or Lakeville North in the semi-finals.

3.  Edina Hornets (7-2-0, 0-0-0)  It was an impressive week for the Edina Hornets who were off  the week before.  Edina jumped right into the frying pan with 3 tough games and delivered three victories which did not hurt their resume.  The three quality wins were over the Grand Rapids Thunderhawks in overtime by a score of 4-3, Elk River/Zimmerman 6-3, and Eden Prairie 4-2 that lifted them to top three status this week.  The Hornets provided a well rounded effort and showed once again that they have depth which will prove to be an issue for most opponents.  Edina opens  Schwan’s Cup Gold Divison play with the #1A Breck Mustangs in the Schwan’s Cup Gold Division.

4.  Eden Prairie Eagles (7-1-0, 0-0-0) The Eagles had their 7 game winning streak snapped by the rival Edina Hornets by a score of 4-1 in the final game of the  the Edina Holiday Classic round robin this past Saturday.  The Eagles defeated Elk River/Zimmerman 3-1 and Grand Rapids 7-4 that set up the big game with neighboring Edina.  The Eagles had 17 minutes of power play time and were held off the scoreboard with the man-advantage in the Edina game that included an extended five-on-three and major penalty.  The Eagles are in the St. Louis Park Holiday Classic and have quarterfinal round action with the Lakeville North Panthers at noon. 

5.  St. Thomas Academy Cadets (4-1-1, 1-1-0) The Cadets were idle last week and stay put at #5 in the MHM rankings.  They open Schwan’s Cup Gold Division play with the Burnsville Blaze on Thursday at 5:30pm from Ridder Arena.

6.  Benilde St. Margaret’s Red Knights ( 7-2-1) Scoring goals has not been an issue for the Red Knights as they can put the puck in the net.  Spencer Naas (16g-11a-27pts)  has been lights out this year and scored his 100th career goal against the Moohead Spuds on Friday that resulted in a 9-1 Red Knight victory.  BSM also defeated the Marshall School, Duluth Hilltoppers 4-3 in overtime as Naas had the hat trick and added an assist on the Even Fleming game winner.  They opened the week with a 4-4 tie against Maple Grove and have built their game from there.  An opening round game against the Bloomington Jefferson Jaguars is on deck this week at the St. Louis Park Holiday Classic.  That game can be heard live on Sports Radio 105 The Ticket.

7.  Bunrsville Blaze (6-3-0, 5-1-0) After losing 2 of their first 3 games to start the season,  the Blaze have been on fire.  (Sorry, had to do it).  They have won five straight that includes a pair of shutouts.  Last week Bunrsville handled Apple Valley (8-0) and had and even more impressive 6-2 win over the highly regarded Prior Lake Lakers.  They catapult to the #6 slot.  The Blaze have the #5 St. Thomas Academy Cadets to open the Schwan’s Cup.  Their next three games at the Cup will determine whether they are in the mix or move back down.

8. Bloomington Jefferson Jaguars (6-2-0, 2-1-0)  The Jags responded to adversity quite well last week.  After winning four straight to open the season, they lost two in a row and have rebounded  with a pair of wins over the highly regarded Eastview Lightning (4-1) and followed that up with a 6-1 win over the Apple Valley Eagles.  The Jags head to the St. Louis Park Holiday Classic and will take on the #6 BSM Red Knights in the quarterfinals of that tournament.  Like most teams in that deep pool of competition, plenty will be learned about the Jaguars and where they stand.

9.  Grand Rapids Thunderhawks (6-3-0, 2-0-0)  The Thunderhawks have not been lighting the world on fire and are steadily working their way out of the top ten.  They stay in this prestigious group on the MHM rankings on the strength of their win over the Elk River Elks at the Edina Holiday Classic by a score of 3-2.  Grand Rapids opened the three game set at Edina with a 4-3 overtime loss at the hands of the Edina Hornets.  They followed that up with a 7-4 defeat to the Elk River Elks.  John Rothstein’s Thunderhawks host three games at the IRA Civic Center this week as they open play with Mahtomedia.  St. Francis and Brainerd follow to close out the weekend series.

10.  Elk River Zimmerman Elks (5-3-0, 3-0-0)  The Edina Holiday Classic can be a humbling series of games and the results were not in favor for the Elks.   While they played very well, the result did not benefit them in the win column.   Elk River was topped by the Eden Prairie Eagles (3-1) in the opening game and then defeated by Edina Hornets (6-3), and then lost the big section 7AA match-up with Grand Rapids (3-2).   A non-conference affair with Forest Lake is on the schedule this week on Saturday as they refrain from any tournament type play.

Others Receiving Votes:  Duiuth East,  Eastview,  Wayzata,  Brainerd/Pillager/Pierz, Forest Lake, Maple Grove, Lakeville North

The post MHM Boys Class AA Top Ten appeared first on Minnesota Hockey Magazine.

Featured Image Credit:
(Tim Kolehmainen)

The top ten this year will be anything less than stable if the past two weeks are any indication.  The #2 Benilde-St. Margaret’s Red Knights, Edina Hornets, and Wayzata Trojans all lost games this week.  For Wayzata, it was their third loss of the young season that knocked them out of the top ten.  This week, the Bengals of Blaine hold serve as the top team while Hill-Murray is stalking the top spot. 

1.  Blaine Bengals (4-0, 2-0)  The Bengals are living up to the early hype of being the top team in the state to date.  Note, the MinnesotaHockeyMag is not a bandwagon jumper and were the first to anoint the Bengals as the top team in the State.  They picked up conference wins over Osseo 6-2 and neighboring Centennial 3-1 to jump to a share of the top spot with Maple Grove in week two. The conference race will prove to be a difficult Northwest Suburban Conference this year.  The Bengals take on Anoka Thursday and a show-down with the #1 Class A team East Grand Forks this week. 

2.  Hill-Murray Pioneers (3-0, 0-0)  Three impressive non-conference wins for the Pioneers show they are elite and poised for a terrific run this year.  They turned aside Lakeville South 6-0 and last week’s #2 Benilde-St. Margaret’s Red Knights 7-3 in a statement game.  Another quality opponent awaits the Pioneers in the #3 St. Thomas Academy Cadets as they face-off this Thursday to open the final year of the Classic Suburban Conference.  The Mahtomedi Zephyrs round out the schedule as they play on Saturday.

3.  St. Thomas Academy Cadets (2-0-1, 1-0-0) The Cadets played just one of their two games as their show-down with Holy Family Catholic was postponed due to weather this past Wednesday.  A big win over Lakeville North by a score of 5-2 propelled them to the #3 spot this week.  A tie with the Academy of Holy Angels kept them unbeaten in the early portion of the season.  Minnetonka, #2 Hill-Murray, and Tartan all await the Cadets who will have three different games on their menu.

4.  Elk River (2-0, 1-0) The Elks have long been known for their low scoring defensive tussles.  They opened their season with one that featured a 3-1 win over the Edina Hornets.  The 46 shots on goal for the Elks were noticed and they outscored the explosive Andover Huskies 7-6 in their Northwest Suburban Conference opener.  A big week faces the Elks as they have #7 Duluth East in non-conference play on Tuesday.  The Elks travel to Maple Grove on Thursday in a game can be heard on Sports Radio 105 The Ticket at 7pm, and battle rival Osseo on Saturday.  They have plenty of quality games in the next two weeks as they head to the Edina Holiday Classic in a week.  Looking ahead would be ill-advised as the Elks have three tough opponents this week.

5.  Benilde-St. Margaret’s (4-1) The Red Knights stormed out to a 4-0 record in which they outscored their opponents 29-11 in those contests.  This past week they opened with a bizarre 11-5 win over the Mounds View Mustangs who can put the puck in the net.  Then, it was a solid 5-4 win over the Burnsville Blaze in a well-played game in Burnsville.  They closed out their week with a 7-3 loss to the Hill-Murray Pioneers.  Games this week include Holy Family Catholic and Hibbing/Chisholm.

6.  Eden Prairie (3-0, 0-0) It was a pair of wins last week over former Lake Conference foes Rosemount (5-4) and Lakeville South (6-2) that moved the Eagles up 3 slots from 9 to 6.  It was the fashion that they finished the Lakeville South Cougars this past Saturday.  They out-shot the Cougars 49-26 and came in waves.  Something will have to give this week as they face the undefeated #10 Bloomington Jefferson Jaguars on Tuesday and play host to the 2-0-1 Cretin-Derham Hall Raiders on Friday.  Both games will take us a long way in seeing what direction the Eagles will fly this year.

7.  Duluth East Greyhounds (2-0) The Greyhounds stay put at #7 for another week and largely because they haven’t played since November 30^th.  They have a showdown with the #4 Elk River Elks in a big Section 7AA game Tuesday.  They have the always entertaining contest with Cloquet-Esko Carlton on Thursday.

8.  Grand Rapids Thunderhawks (4-0, 0-0) Workman like would describe the Grand Rapids Thunderhawks effort this year.  Back-to-back wins over Roseau (4-3) and Warroad (5-3) this past week kept the Thunderhawks undefeated.  Senior Avery Peterson had a productive weekend (3g-2a-5pts) and always gives the Thunderhawks a chance to win each and every night. One game is on the schedule this week as the Marshall School, Duluth Hilltoppers host Grand Rapids Friday of this week.

9.  Edina (4-2-0, 0-0) The Hornets were stopped a week ago by a steady Elk River team and rebounded with a quality win over the Prior Lake Lakers by a score of 4-2 in a key Section 2AA match-up.  That was followed up with a loss at Eagan by a score of 2-1.  Despite out-shooting Eagan 40-26 for the game, the Hornets did not get the result they were looking for.  The Hornets are off this week and come back with three games in a row at the Edina Holiday Classic next week that features #4 Elk River, #6 Eden Prairie, and #8 Grand Rapids.  All games can be viewed on NorthStarSports.tv.  

10. Bloomington Jefferson (4-0, 0-0) The Jaguars had an impressive week with wins over Chanhassen (4-2) and Minnetonka (3-0).  They have been stingy defensively allowing just 4 goals against in four games.  They will hope to keep the puck out of the net this week in games with #6 Eden Prairie and Lakeville North. 

Others receiving votes:  White Bear Lake, Eastview, Maple Grove, Prior Lake, Moorhead, Cretin-Derham Hall, Wayzata

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