YHH Staff Rankings (GIRLS): January 15

Youth Hockey Hub staff rankings:

Class AA

1. Minnetonka (15-2-1)

Thanks in part to the war of attrition at the top, the Skippers find themselves ranked No. 1 again after a 6-2 win over Lake Conference rival Wayzata. Gold-medal winners Layla Hemp, Lauren Goldsworthy and Kendra Distad return from their stint with Team USA for the remainder of the season.

2. Andover (12-3-3)

Typically, falling to a Class A program would drop a team like Andover further than one spot in the rankings, but with a 6-2 win over Hill-Murray and Edina’s loss to unranked Lakeville South, the cushion keeps the Huskies from sinking.

In addition to the resounding win over the Pioneers, the Huskies topped Maple Grove 2-1 in overtime before being edged 4-3 on the road by the Spartans.

3. Hill-Murray (17-2)

The Pioneers were within a goal at one point during Saturday’s loss to Andover before the Huskies scored goals seven seconds apart to end the second frame. Those goals didn’t just take the wind out of Hill-Murray’s sails – they punched a hole in the bottom of the ship and set fire to the cannon room. Promise, that’s the last nautical warfare metaphor I’ll use.

The Pioneers will play five of their next six games on home ice to close out the regular season, with Holy Family on tap for this coming Friday.

4. Edina (15-4-1)

I am well aware that the Hornets lost to an unranked Lakeville South team last week.

Well aware.

But the Hornets have built up so much equity with wins over teams like Stillwater and top-ranked Minnetonka that we can look past an overtime loss against arguably the best statistical goalie in the state in Claire Bronson.

Lake Conference rivals Eden Prairie and No. 1-2A Minnetonka are on deck for this week.

5. Moorhead (16-2-1)

The Spuds have won six straight games since a 2-1 loss to Minnetonka during the Walser Tourney. Among those were back-to-back shutouts of Buffalo and Bemidji last week, giving the Spuds a remarkable run of 16 games in which they allowed two or fewer goals.

The Spuds will face Roseau and No. 3-1A Warroad this Thursday and Saturday.

6. Centennial/Spring Lake Park (16-1-2)

The streak continues!

Last week, two games and two shutouts for the Cougars, topping Elk River 2-0 and Prior Lake 6-0. The blank sheets give Kaitlin Groess six total shutouts on the season, with six games to go in the regular season.

This week features Champlin Park/Coon Rapids and St. Cloud.

7. Northfield (18-0)

The Raiders followed a 4-3 upset of previously fifth-ranked Benilde-St. Thanks to a five-goal third period, Margaret’s with a 7-3 win over Owatonna. The Raiders are favored on paper against its next seven opponents, and an undefeated regular season is on the horizon.

8. Lakeville North (15-2-1)

The Panthers scored 14 goals in their two games last week, topping South Suburban Conference foes Eastview 7-0 and Eagan 7-1. The wins give the Panthers five straight since losing to Benilde-St. Margaret’s on Dec. 28.

The Panthers will face dangerous Farmington on Thursday and Shakopee on Saturday.

9. Benilde-St. Margaret’s (12-3-1)

The Red Knights pounded New Prague 10-0 in response to the 4-3 loss against Northfield, getting a hat trick and two assists from Lizzy Hamel and scoring six times in the second period. BSM will face Minneapolis on Tuesday and then head to No. 6-1A Proctor/Hermantown for a Saturday afternoon tilt.

10. Lakeville South (16-1-3)

One of the few teams in the state allowing fewer than one goal per game, the Cougars join the top 10 after a 3-2 overtime win over Edina, a 4-0 shutout of Farmington, and yet another overtime victory by a score of 1-0 over Rosemount.

Claire Bronson has been outstanding for the Cougars this season, going 6-1 in games decided by one goal and posting a goals-against-average of 0.86, a save percentage of .963, and 10 shutouts.

Class A

1. Holy Angels (13-2-3)

Bella LaMere’s power-play goal with 28 seconds left in regulation lifted the Stars to a 5-4 win over previously top-ranked Orono and by osmosis to the No. 1 slot this week.

The Stars have three games his week, traveling to New Prague and Bloomington Jefferson and hosting Thief River Falls.

2. Orono (13-5-1)

The Spartans swung to both extremes on the pendulum last week, topping (then) No. 1-2A Andover 4-3 and then falling by a single goal against Holy Angels 5-4. The schedule doesn’t exactly get easier going forward, with No. 5-1A Dodge County on tap for Saturday, but the Spartans should be battle-tested for the postseason.

3. Warroad (14-5)

The Warriors picked up three wins last week, downing rival Roseau 5-3, blanking Alexandria 3-0, and slipping past Fergus Falls 2-1 on the road. Warroad has now won four of its last five, with the lone loss coming against Brainerd/Little Falls by 1-0.

The team bus can now be idle for a few weeks, as the Warriors will host their next six opponents to close the regular season.

4. Duluth Marshall (16-1-1)

The Hilltoppers did not play last week and are in the thick of the 19-day sabbatical. No. 6-1A Proctor/Hermantown is on tap for Jan. 23, with Moose Lake Area and International Falls scheduled for the following Thursday and Friday.

5. Proctor/Hermantown (11-7-1)

The Mirage staff is clearly more invested in postseason wins than regular-season ones, and I respect that. A schedule that ranks among the state’s most challenging continues on Saturday with No. 8-2A Benilde-St. Margaret’s before the highly anticipated Jan. 23 tilt with Section 7A rival Duluth Marshall.

6. Dodge County (15-2)

The Wildcats made quick work of Red Wing last week, scoring six times in the first period en route to a 12-0 win over the Wingers. Mollie Koch led all Wildcats in scoring with two goals and six points in the win. The toughest test of the season awaits on Saturday as the Wildcats travel to No. 2-1A Orono.

7. Crookston (14-5-1)

Wins over Thief River Falls and East Grand Forks only add to the Pirates’ Section 8A resume. Saturday’s game with No. 6-1A Dodge County was canceled, which is unfortunate because that would have been an excellent barometer game for both the Wildcats and Pirates.

If the schedule doesn’t change, the Pirates will play 23 regular-season games instead of the usual 25.

8. Mound Westonka/Southwest Christian (13-5-1)

The White Hawks picked up a top-10 win last week with a 4-2 victory at home against Delano/Rockford, then shut out Litchfield/Dassel-Cokato 6-0 for their third straight win since a 5-2 loss against Blaine.

The White Hawks have just one game this week, with Thief River Falls coming to town on Saturday afternoon.

9. Delano/Rockford (11-7)

A 4-2 loss to MWSWC doesn’t do much to change the landscape for the last two spots in Class A, and the Tigers hung 10 on Visitation in a 10-0 win on Saturday. Pine City and Hutchinson are up next this week.

10. Albert Lea (12-3)

I’m not a fan of playing “who had the best loss” when finding a team for the No. 10 slot in the rankings. So, we’re going outside the box with Albert Lea after previous No. 10 South St. Paul was thumped 6-1 by unranked North St. Paul/Tartan.

The Tigers have won three straight after a 6-2 win over Rochester Century/John Marshall last Thursday, plus own an earlier victory over Rosemount in regulation. Rosemount took Lakeville South to overtime. Lakeville South beat Edina. Edina beat Minnetonka. Fun with theories!

15A
(Rank-Team-District-Last Week)

1. Edina Green 6 WWWL
2. Minnetonka Black 6 WWLWW
3. Rochester 9 L
4. Alexandria 15 DNP
5. Woodbury Black 8 TWWLWW
6. Andover 9 WWWW
7. Duluth 11 WWWW
8. Stillwater Red 2 LWL
9. NWC Riverhawks 5 LL
10. Wayzata Blue 3 TL

15B
(Rank-Team-District-Last Week)

1. North Shore 11 WWW
2. Grand Rapids-Greenway 12 WWWW
3. Armstrong Cooper 3 WT
4. Wayzata (Gold) 3 WL
5. Alexandria 15 WWW
6. Osseo/Maple Grove (Black) 3 WTW
7. Central MN Riverblades 12 WWWW
8. Brainerd/Little Falls 15 WWW
9. Bloomington 6 WW
10. Owatonna 9 DNP

Congrats to North Shore, as they are our new No. 1 team at the U15B level. The Storm are 17-2-1 on the season and haven’t lost since the beginning of December, and went 4-0-1 at last weekend’s Duluth Icebreaker tourney. The Storm topped Metropolitan 7-0 in the Icebreaker finals, led by Hallie Komarek’s two goals and three assists and Callie Ernest’s hat trick.

Alexandria is on an impressive eight-game win streak, which helps propel them into the top five this week.

Newly ranked Bloomington is 4-0-1 in their last five games. Bloomington took second place in the Danglefest a couple of weekends ago.

12A
(Rank-Team-District-Last Week)

1. Centennial/Spring Lake Park 10 WWWW
2. Minnetonka 6 WWWL
3. Edina 6 LWWW
4. Woodbury 8 WWLW
5. Chaska/Chanhassen 6 WW
6. Osseo Maple Grove 3 LW
7. Grand Rapids-Greenway 12 DNP
8. Lakeville 8 W
9. Rosemount 8 W
10. East Grand Forks 16 W

12B
(Rank-Team-District-Last Week)

1. Cannon River 9 DNP
2. Eagan (Blue) 8 WWWW
3. Elk River 10 WWW
4. Minnetonka (Blue) 6 WWWW
5. Northern Lakes 15 TW
6. Woodbury (Royal) 8 W
7. Bemidji 16 DNP
8. Eagan (White) 6 WWWW
9. Mounds View/Irondale (Gold) 2 WL
10. Moorhead (Black) 15 WWWW

There is no movement within the top eight this week, with Cannon River spared a slip from No. 1 despite Eagan-IGH winning it all at Duluth’s Icebreaker tournament. The SpartaCats did not allow a goal in four goals en route to the Icebreaker title.

Mounds View/Irondale Gold is back in the rankings at No. 9 this week. MVI Gold is 19-4-2 on the season, with their few losses being against ranked teams.

Moorhead Black is back on a hot streak, after a bit of a rough stretch around the holiday season. The Spuds are back in the rankings at No. 10 and winners of four straight games.

10A
(Rank-Team-District-Last Week)

1. Osseo-Maple Grove 3 W 1
2. Moorhead 15 WWW 2
3. White Bear Lake 2 TWWL 3
4. Blaine 10 W 4
5. Chaska/Chanhassen 6 WT 5
6. Hastings 8 WW 6
7. Bloomington 6 W 9
8. Edina Green 6 LWWL 8
9. Owatonna 9 W 10
10. Minnetonka 6 WWWW NR

10B
(Rank-Team-District-Last Week)

1. Waseca 9 WWW
2. Marshall 4 WWW
3. New Prague 6 WW
4. North Shore 11 W
5. Mankato 9 TL
6. Apple Valley/Burnsville/Eastview 8 WTL
7. Central MN Riverblades 5 W
8. White Bear Lake (Black) 2 WWWW
9. Wayzata (Gold) 3 WW
10. Duluth (Black) 11 LW

Waseca is our new No. 1 team at U10B – the Bluejays only have one loss all year and are outscoring opponents 130-39 in 18 games.

Marshall makes a huge leap this week, going from No. 7 to No. 2 in our rankings, taking home top honors at this weekend’s New Hope tournament. White Bear Lake also emerged as a tournament champion this weekend, edging St. Paul 2-1 in overtime of the Duluth Icebreaker 10B finale.

New Prague continues its upward trend. The No. 3 Trojans are 18-1-0, with their only loss coming against Thunder Bay during the Danglefest.

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