This year, as a means of keeping things a little more organized in regards to high school hockey, I've decided to put together a weekly post every Tuesday, with a top ten ranking, and some games to watch in the upcoming week. At some point, I might even come up with a name for it that doesn't suck. We'll see how it goes.
WCH Top Ten
1. Wayzata (2)
2. Edina (1)
3.Eden Prairie (3)
4. Burnsville (NR)
5. Apple Valley (5)
6. Duluth East (6)
7. Hill-Murray(4)
8. St. Thomas Academy (7)
9. Minnetonka (8)
10. Benilde-St. Margaret's(9)
Key Results: Wayzata def. Edina 3-2, Wayzata def. Maple Grove 3-2, Burnsville def. Hill-Murray 6-4
Comments: Well, it took all of two days into the high school to produce this year's first #1 vs. #2 match-up, this time between Edina and Wayzata. It was great for high school hockey fans, except for those of us out of the state for the holiday. Wayzata earned the top spot by virtue of their win. Maple Grove, perhaps unfairly, gets dropped out of the poll, due to a tough one-goal loss to new number 1 Wayzata. I'm sure they'll be back.
The other big movement in a fairly quiet opening weekend was Burnsville, who I really liked, but not quite enough to put in the top ten, knocking off Hill-Murray. They move into the top five, thanks to their impressive resume-building win.
Games of the Week
#1 Wayzata at Centennial, Tuesday 7pm Centennial Sports Arena
Wayzata's first opportunity to hold on to their number one ranking will be a tough road game in the Socialist Collective of Circle Pines. Centennial will be an interesting team this year. A Centennial All-Decade team--which would have to be among the most formidable All-Decade teams in the state--would feature names like Gorowsky, Flynn, Pitlick, Hess, and Lovick. All those names will also appear on Centennial's roster this season. Can the 2.0 versions of those great players capture the same magic their predecessors had? This should be a good test.
#4 Burnsville at #2 Edina, Thursday 7pm Braemar Arena
Burnsville will get an opportunity to prove their big win over Hill-Murray wasn't just a fluke. Edina gets a chance they can beat a highly-ranked team after a tough loss to Wayzata.
Fun fact: Many people feel the correct spelling of the town's name is 'Byrnesville' rather than 'Burnsville,' but that the name was misspelled at one point, and never corrected.
Roseau at Blaine, Friday 7:30pm Fogerty Arena
It's a bit of a shock to see neither school in the top 10 in the state, but solid arguments could be made for putting both in the top 15-20 teams in the state. These are two excellent programs, and it's one of the rare chances for people in the Twin Cities to get to see Roseau play.