WCH Top Ten
Last week's ranking in parenthesis
1. Wayzata (1)
2. Edina (2)
3. Eden Prairie (3)
4. Minnetonka (10)
5. Benilde-St. Margaret's (6)
6. Duluth East (7)
7. Burnsville(5)
8. Apple Valley (8)
9. Eagan (NR)
10. Maple Grove (9)
Key Results: Minnetonka def. St. Thomas 4-3(OT), Maple Grove tied Blaine 2-2, Eagan tied Burnsville 2-2
Comments: The top three remain unchanged since none of those teams took a loss last weekend. Minnetonka moves into what has been fairly cursed #4 spot after their big overtime win over St. Thomas, and a game against Eagan that got snowed out. The Skippers look impressive early on despite senior Derek Frawley leaving the team. I'm finally starting to give Eagan the credit they deserve. And Maple Grove just barely hangs on to that last spot after needing a last second goal to earn a tie against Blaine. Maple Grove controlled the game for the most part, but had trouble putting the puck in the net. It's not going to be easy unseating Blaine in Section 5.
Games of the Week
Edina Classic, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday 6pm and 8:30pm
This annual tournament that features Edina, Eden Prairie, Grand Rapids, and Elk River always provides some great hockey, capped off by a Saturday night match-up between #2 Edina and #3 Eden Prairie. Grand Rapids is off to a very strong start this season, and is bordering on consideration for the Top Ten after beating many of the top programs in the north. A win over either Edina or Eden Prairie would go a long ways in proving how legit they are.
Andover at Anoka, Saturday 5pm Anoka Arena
Anoka High School was first opened in 1909, and since then, four other cities have broken away from Anoka and started their own high schools: Coon Rapids, Blaine, Champlin Park, and most recently, in 2002, Andover. With that split still somewhat fresh in people's minds, that makes Andover/Anoka a pretty fierce rivalry.
Mankato East at Mankato West, 7:30pm All Seasons Arena
This isn't quite the rivalry one might think because the two cross-town rivals rarely manage to field solid teams in the same year, and this year is no exception with Mankato East being very down. But it is worth watching because it means it will likely be a big game for Mankato West foreign exchange student Ville Rantanen, who has 19 goals through his first five games on the season, putting him well above pace to break Joey Benik's record for most goals scored in a season. Like most high school hockey stats, it's pretty much meaningless given the wide disparity in competition levels, but still interesting to watch a player chase a record.