Tim Kolehmainen, editor at The Breakdown wrote a nice feature on the top lines in Minnesota high school hockey. It's a pretty solid list. I'd maybe move the top lines at Duluth East and Minnetonka a little higher into the top ten.
Ben Hanowski is making a run at the state scoring record. As a general rule, I think any stats for high school hockey are essentially meaningless, and especially so for an out-state player that plays a lot of weaker teams, but Hanowski is still a very good player that has had a great high school career. It's looking pretty likely he'll make his fifth state tournament appearance with Little Falls this year, which is a really nice accomplishment.
Fox Sports North has done a pretty good job getting good high school games on TV this past week. I only caught the third period and overtime of Duluth East/Centennial but that was a very hard fought 2-2 tie. Both games that were on TV last night ended up being closer than expected. The Elk River/Eden Prairie and Edina/Grand Rapids games not only featured some of the bigger name players in the state, but also featured some of the better up-and-coming sophomores in the state.
Here are Follow the Puck's Top Ten rankings for each class.
Class AA: 1. Hill-Murray 2. Edina 3. Bloomington Jefferson 4. Holy Angels 5. Duluth East 6. Blaine 7. Centennial 8. Moorhead 9. Roseau 10. Eden Prairie
Class A: 1. Little Falls 2. Warroad 3. Hermantown 4. St. Thomas 5. Rochester Lourdes 6. Breck 7. Duluth Marshall 8. Mahtomedi 9. Thief River Falls 10. St. Cloud Cathedral
One of the problems with the way the state playoffs are set up is that it is designed to name one champion, and not necessarily get the best 8 teams to the XCel Center for the state's showcase event. Case in point, a week ago, Bloomington Jefferson, who could conceivably be seeded third in their section, took on Lakeville South, who so far, is looking like the favorite in Section 1AA and took the game into running time. Some of the best games this year could come in the section finals, as opposed to the state tournament.
Ben Hanowski is making a run at the state scoring record. As a general rule, I think any stats for high school hockey are essentially meaningless, and especially so for an out-state player that plays a lot of weaker teams, but Hanowski is still a very good player that has had a great high school career. It's looking pretty likely he'll make his fifth state tournament appearance with Little Falls this year, which is a really nice accomplishment.
Fox Sports North has done a pretty good job getting good high school games on TV this past week. I only caught the third period and overtime of Duluth East/Centennial but that was a very hard fought 2-2 tie. Both games that were on TV last night ended up being closer than expected. The Elk River/Eden Prairie and Edina/Grand Rapids games not only featured some of the bigger name players in the state, but also featured some of the better up-and-coming sophomores in the state.
Here are Follow the Puck's Top Ten rankings for each class.
Class AA: 1. Hill-Murray 2. Edina 3. Bloomington Jefferson 4. Holy Angels 5. Duluth East 6. Blaine 7. Centennial 8. Moorhead 9. Roseau 10. Eden Prairie
Class A: 1. Little Falls 2. Warroad 3. Hermantown 4. St. Thomas 5. Rochester Lourdes 6. Breck 7. Duluth Marshall 8. Mahtomedi 9. Thief River Falls 10. St. Cloud Cathedral
One of the problems with the way the state playoffs are set up is that it is designed to name one champion, and not necessarily get the best 8 teams to the XCel Center for the state's showcase event. Case in point, a week ago, Bloomington Jefferson, who could conceivably be seeded third in their section, took on Lakeville South, who so far, is looking like the favorite in Section 1AA and took the game into running time. Some of the best games this year could come in the section finals, as opposed to the state tournament.