YHH Staff Rankings (GIRLS): January 8

Youth Hockey Hub staff rankings:

Class AA 

1. Andover (10-2-3)

Anoka provided little challenge for the Huskies last week, as Courtney Little’s two goals and a single score from Maya Engler led to a 3-0 win. Even more impressively, the Huskies allowed just five shots on goal to the Tornadoes, and the shutout marks the fourth consecutive game in which Andover has not allowed a goal in regulation.

2. Hill-Murray (16-1)

Games on back-to-back days didn’t phase the Pioneers, as the class of the East Metro racked up 19 combined goals against Grand Rapids/Greenway on Friday night and Proctor/Hermantown on Saturday.

The Pioneers now have four straight wins since the 4-2 loss to Lakeville North on Dec. 27. Interesting note about the Hill-Murray schedule – the Pioneers have not played on a Tuesday evening since Dec. 12. They won’t do so again until the regular-season finale against Benilde-St. Margaret’s on Feb. 6.

3. Edina (13-3-1)

A Cate McCoy power-play goal in the first four minutes of the opening period proved to be the difference in Saturday’s game, as the Hornets handed Lake Conference rival Minnetonka its first loss since Dec. 9.

Junior Reese McConnell has stepped in for Nora Hannan (who is currently playing for Team USA for the Under-18 Women’s World ) and has performed admirably. McConnell has stopped 31 of 32 shots in three victories since Jan. 2.

4. Minnetonka (14-2-1)

The Skippers began a stretch of their schedule last week that will include seven of their previous 10 games consisting of Lake Conference opponents, and anything is possible in a conference that features two top-five teams and some dangerous wildcards.

A 4-1 win over Eden Prairie was followed by a 1-0 loss against last week’s No. 5-2A Edina. Uncharacteristically, Minnetonka was held to just 16 shots on goal, and the Skippers went 0-6 on the power play.

5. Benilde-St. Margaret’s (11-2-1)

The Red Knights tied Orono 1-1 in their only game since the last batch of rankings. Against the Spartans, BSM held a 1-0 lead until nearly the middle of the third period and got 30 saves on 31 shots on goal from netminder Elie Hancock.

6. Moorhead (14-2-1)

The Spuds ran their winning streak to four last week, thumping nearby rival Fargo Davies 11-1 and scoring three times in the third period to earn a 5-3 win over Maple Grove in Moorhead. The Spuds will play three of their next four games on the road, with trips to Buffalo and a sneaky Bemidji team on tap for this week.

7. Centennial/Spring Lake Park (14-1-2)

If the Cougars pull off the Jan. 9 win over Elk River in just a few days, it will have been two months since Centennial/Spring Lake Park tasted bitter defeat.

The Cougars shut out Owatonna 8-0 on Jan. 2 and then blanked Osseo/Park Center on Saturday, giving C/SLP its third shutout in four games. In addition to the Elk River contest, the Cougars will face Prior Lake on Jan. 13.

8. Lakeville North (13-2-1)

The Panthers eked out a 3-2 win over South Suburban Conference rival Prior Lake last Thursday and followed that win with another by a score of 3-0 over Metro-South. Three seems to be the magic number for Lakeville North, given that was the Panthers’ total in the last three victories.

The Panthers should be favored on paper for the rest of the season, and 20 wins is well within reach.

9. Northfield (16-0)

Northfield may have only played one game over the last week, but the Raiders made it count with a 3-1 win over Section 8A hopeful Crookston at home. Ayla Puppe scored in the first period for the Raiders in the win, and Grace McCoshen scored the team’s second and third tallies, with Puppe assisting on both.

Benilde-St. Margaret’s and Owatonna are on this week’s docket for the Raiders.

10. Stillwater (11-5)

The Ponies outshot White Bear Lake 41-26 in their lone game last week, cruising to a 4-0 win behind two goals from Josie Lang and one goal apiece from Audrey Hackler and Riley Robinson. Surprisingly, none of Stillwater’s goals came on the power play, given that the Bears took six penalties in the loss.

Class A

1. Orono (12-4-1)

The Spartans took highly rated Benilde-St. Margaret’s to overtime last week, eventually tying the Red Knights 1-1 on the road. The tie marks the second consecutive game in which the Spartans have gone into extra innings with a top-10 Class AA squad, having lost to Centennial/Spring Lake Park.

The gauntlet continues for the Spartans this week, with No. 1-2A Andover and No. 2-1A Holy Angels making their way to the Orono Ice Arena. The games will kick off a seven-game homestead for Orono before the season finale at Bloomington Jefferson.

2. Holy Angels (11-2-3)

One game, one win for the Stars last week, topping another team of Stars (Gentry Academy) 3-1. This coming Saturday has been circled on Holy Angels’ calendar all season, as the Stars travel to top-ranked Orono in one of the week’s best high school hockey matchups.

3. Warroad (11-5)

The Warriors suffered 1-0 losses last week during a three-game stretch, losing to Bemidji and Brainerd/Little Falls with an 8-3 win over St. Cloud sandwiched between the two. Four of Warroad’s five losses this season have been by two goals or less, including three 1-0 defeats.

4. Duluth Marshall (16-1-1)

Ilsa Lindaman scored her 40th and 41st goals of the season and dished out three assists to lead all skaters with five points as the Hilltoppers blanked Rock Ridge 6-0. Nina Thorson recorded a hat trick for the ‘Toppers in the win and has 16 goals and 25 points in her junior season.

The Hilltoppers have a wild 19 days between games, which should be ample time to heal bumps and bruises.

5. Proctor/Hermantown (9-6-1)

Proctor/Hermantown gutted out a 3-1 win over Moose Lake Area last Tuesday, then hosted Hill-Murray on Saturday. The Mirage may rethink inviting top-three Class AA teams to the St. Luke’s Sports and Event Center after watching the Pioneers hang seven goals on the board in a 7-1 loss.

Up next this week for the Mirage are Holy Family, Chisago Lakes, and Breck.

6. Dodge County (14-2)

Someday, the world will get to the bottom of the Dodge County penalty kill.

But last Friday was not that day, as the Wildcats killed four more penalties to run their perfection to 55 straight penalty kills in an 8-2 win over Chisago Lakes.

A four-game road stint begins on Tuesday at Red Wing, and then the Wildcats will trek to Thief River Falls for a date with the Prowlers.

7. Crookston (12-5-1)

The Pirates snapped a two-game losing streak with a 4-0 shutout of Gentry Academy, offering a small amount of comfort after a 3-1 loss to No. 9-2A Northfield. The Pirates are at home for their next three games, hosting Thief River Falls on Monday, East Grand Forks on Thursday, and No. 5-1A Dodge County on Saturday.

8. Mound Westonka/Southwest Christian (11-5-1)

The White Hawks came out of the holiday break flying, tagging New Prague for six goals in the first period of an 11-1 victory last Thursday. Greer Hardacre, Elizabeth Callahan, and Camryn Hargreaves registered two goals in the win over the Trojans, and the White Hawks outshot the home team 59-10.

9. Delano/Rockford (10-6)

Kayla Simonson continues her sparkling season with 28 saves on 29 shots in the Tigers’ 4-1 win over Litchfield/Dassel-Cokato.

A date with Mound Westonka/Southwest Christian looms on Jan. 9 will give the Tigers another chance to solidify themselves as one of the state’s top Class A teams.

10. South St. Paul (11-7)

With Willmar’s loss to unranked Litchfield/Dassel-Cokato, the Packers slide into Class A’s top-10 after wins over Simley and Cloquet/Esko/Carlton. In defense of the Packers’ seven losses, five have come against ranked Class AA and Class A teams.

The Packers have been mainstays at the Class A State Tournament the last few seasons and have found a groove relying on the trio of Lily Pachl, Bailey Vesper, and Alida Ahern. Senior goaltender Molly Jeffrey has posted 30 or more saves in three games this season, her first as the starter after the graduation of program stalwart Delaney Norman.

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

1. Wayzata (Gold) 3 DNP
2. North Shore 11 W
3. Grand Rapids-Greenway 12 W
4. Armstrong Cooper 3 WWW
5. Central MN Riverblades 5 W
6. Bloomington 6 WT
7. Alexandria 15 WW
8. Osseo-Maple Grove (Black) 3 TW
9. Rosemount 8 WW
10. Stillwater 2 DNP

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

1. Wayzata (Gold) 3 DNP
2. North Shore 11 W
3. Grand Rapids-Greenway 12 W
4. Armstrong Cooper 3 WWW
5. Central MN Riverblades 5 W
6. Bloomington 6 WT
7. Alexandria 15 WW
8. Osseo-Maple Grove (Black) 3 TW
9. Rosemount 8 WW
10. Stillwater 2 DNP

The U15B top-10 gets some minor changes this week, as the current top ten didn’t have any losses. OMG Black moved up one spot this week to No. 8, the Leafbirds tied No. 6 Bloomington this week and beat UR Chaska-Chanhassen. Rosemount is new to the rankings this week at No. 9, the Irish are on a three-game win streak. Stillwater is new to the rankings this week as well at No. 10. The Ponies have now won six games straight.

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

1. Cannon River 9 WWW
2. Eagan (Blue) 8 W
3. Elk River 10 WW
4. Minnetonka (Blue) 6 WL
5. Northern Lakes 15 WWW
6. Woodbury (Royal) 8 WWWW
7. Bemidji 16 LW
8. Eagan (White) 8 WW
9. Minnetonka (Black) 6 WT
10. Osseo/Maple Grove (White) 3 WW

Elk River gets bumped into the top 3 to No. 3, with two bounce back wins this week after their loss last week. Woodbury Royal goes from unranked to No. 6 in a week, the Royal defeated previous No. 5 MVI Gold this week. Minnetonka Black is back in the rankings this week at No. 9 with a huge win over inter-city rival No. 4 Minnetonka Blue. We also welcome OMG White into the top ten this week; the Leafbirds have been playing some good hockey as of late, with their six-game win streak.

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

1. Mankato 9 W
2. Waseca 9 DNP
3. Apple Valley/Burnsville/Eastview 8 DNP
4. New Prague 6 WWW
5. North Shore 11 WW
6. Central MN Riverblades 15 WTW
7. Marshall 4 WWW
8. Duluth (Black) 11 DNP
9. White Bear Lake (Black) 2 T
10. Wayzata (Gold) 3 WLWWW

The top seven all take care of business this week in U10B, there is no movement within the top seven. Duluth Black is on a five game win streak, and that is enough to go from unranked to No. 8 in a week. White Bear Lake Black is also new this week at No. 9. The Bears are 11-5-2 this year and are outscoring opponents 80-26.

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