Top 25 Minnesota high school boys hockey rankings (2/5/2024)

The Skippers faced something they hadn't seen in a while–adversity. Minnetonka found itself down 2-0 after the first period against No. 3 Wayzata on Thursday night. A big second period parlayed with an overtime goal from Danny Klaers saw the Skippers' undefeated season stay alive for the time being. With No. 2 Edina on the docket this Saturday, expect some more theatrics from Minnesota's top team.

The Hornets took the trip to Aldrich Arena on Friday where prevailed 5-3 over Hill-Murray, and then they mustered the same result back home on Saturday. This weekend will be another busy one for the Hornets, who will play host to No. 1 Minnetonka on Saturday.

The 5-4 loss to Minnetonka stings, but going toe-to-toe with the top team in the state is still worth something. This week, the Trojans will have a tune-up game against Blake on Thursday before facing off against a rejuvenated Eden Prairie squad on Saturday.

A 6-2 route over a tricky St Louis Park squad was Chanhassen's only action of the week. This week is another soft scheduling week for the storm, who will go on the road to take on Chaska on Thursday and then Orono on Saturday.

Yes, Chanhassen and Minnetonka are the clear favorites in Section 2AA, but let's not count out Shakopee. Last week, the Sabers defended home ice against No. 20 Holy Family before going on the road and knocking off a gritty Lakeville South squad. With Prior Lake and Rosemount on the schedule for this week, they'll have two more opportunities to pick up quality wins.

The Red Knights rode the momentum of their 6-2 win versus Hill-Murray into last week where they went a perfect 3-0. The highlight of the week came on Tuesday when they hung 13 goals against a quality New Prague squad on their way to a 13-2 victory. Benilde-St. Margaret's will stay busy this week with three more games, highlighted by a tilt against surging Grand Rapids on Saturday. 

A 4-3 overtime victory over Bemidji raises a bit of an eyebrow, but a 4-1 dispatching of Thief River Falls proves the former was likely a one-off. Act two against East Grand Forks is slated for Tuesday, with a win locking up the one seed for the Warriors in Section 8A. 

It's been that kind of a 2024 for the Cougars who–despite being outshot 40-21–won on the road Saturday versus White Bear Lake. The win improves Centennial's record to 10-0-1 since the new calendar year. This week, a road-trip Northwest Suburban gauntlet goes as follows: Maple Grove, Elk River and Andover.

St. Thomas Academy has been in and out of the top ten this season, and this week it’s back in thanks to blowouts over Hastings and Mahtomedi. This week looks to be a tough one for the Cadets, who take on No. 10 Maple Grove and No. 16 Hill-Murray.

The last light scheduling week concluded this past week for the Crimson, who made quick work of Totino-Grace and Blake. This week–and the rest of the season for that matter–will be grueling for Maple Grove. The week goes as follows: Centennial on Tuesday, St. Thomas Academy on Thursday, and Lakeville South on Saturday.

It was a clean sweep for the Irish last week, who took down Lakeville North, Prior Lake and Farmington in consecutive fashion to improve to 16-5 on the season. While a matchup with No. 5 Shakopee this Saturday is important, It pales in comparison to the Irish’s matchup with Eastview on Tuesday. A win against the Lightning will get Rosemount one of the top seeds in Section 3AA–maybe even the first. 

Eden Prairie ended a brief midseason slump with a couple of wins over the upper echelon of the Suburban East Conference. The Eagles breezed by White Bear Lake on Tuesday before prevailing in an overtime thriller versus a previous top ten team in Stillwater. The top ten tests will continue this week for the Eagles, who will get a crack at No. 3 Wayzata on Saturday. 

 If there were any questions as to whether Grand Rapids wins over Maple Grove and St. Thomas Academy was a fluke, those questions were answered last week. The Thunderhawks took down Andover in a physical 1-0 bout to notch their third straight top ten win and improved to 13-9 on the season. If they can get past Benilde-St. Margaret’s this Saturday, we could be looking at a state tournament contender. 

The Huskies were victims of the aforementioned buzz saw that is Grand Rapids, getting stymied by the Thunderhawks 1-0. That loss–coupled with an earlier loss in the week to Elk River/Zimmerman–has lost Andover control Section 7AA, likely dropping it to a two or three seed. The Huskies will try to regain some momentum this week as they travel to Blaine on Tuesday and then play host to Centennial on Saturday.

Rogers reminded its conference foes that it is still a dangerous team despite being short handed. The Royals went on the road to Stillwater and put the boots to the Ponies, winning 4-1. They finished the week with a 10-0 rout of Chaska to improve to 13-6-2 on the season. Another Suburban East Conference challenger in White Bear Lake awaits the Royals, who will look to build off last week's momentum. 

Two competitive losses against No. 2 Edina shouldn't be a cause for concern for Hill-Murray, but it still drops them a couple of spots in this week's rankings. A rematch against St. Thomas Academy–a team it beat 5-2 earlier in the season–highlights what's otherwise a light scheduling week for the Pioneers.

St Cloud Cathedral earns my newly created distinction of the ‘Grand Rapids of Class A.’ The hot streak Cathedral has built continued last week with a gutsy win over Northern Lakes and a shutout of Detroit Lakes. The Crusaders will dip their toe into Class 2A this week as they'll take on Totino-Grace on Tuesday.

The Lightning took care of business versus lesser opponents last week, going 2-0 against Chaska and Mounds View to improve to 13-7-1 on the season. The big one for Eastview is this week, as the Lightning welcome Rosemount town on Tuesday with the top seed in Section 3AA on the line.

The biggest critique of Stillwater this season has been a lack of nonconference wins, and last week added fuel to that notion. The Ponies took care of conference foe Woodbury earlier in the week but finished the week with an overtime loss to Lake Conference powerhouse Eden Prairie. The Ponies will look to rebound this week with games against Forest Lake and Cretin-Derham Hall. 

The last three games for Roseau went as follows: loss to Wayzata, loss to Warroad and win against Moorhead. It's a cumulative 2-1 stretch, but the most important result was the win against Moorhead, which likely gives Roseau the one seed in Section 8AA. The Rams will play host to Thief River Falls this week before heading to Duluth to take on Duluth East. 

The Fire rallied after a 6-1 loss to Shakopee by upending a red-hot Totino-Grace team 4-2. With the four seed in Section 2AA all but locked up, the Fire will look to continue to gain more positive momentum heading to the playoffs, starting with Park of Cottage Grove this Tuesday.

After leading for two periods against No. 5 Shakopee, the Panther's defense was unable to withstand the potent offensive attack from the Sabers who tallied three goals in the third, ultimately winning 3-1. A win versus Cretin-Derham Hall earlier in the week keeps them in the rankings for now, and a win versus Maple Grove this Saturday would likely springboard them into the top 20. 

It's been a flat couple of weeks for Hermantown, who were shut out for the third time this season against Moorhead. However, an earlier in the week 6-1 dispatching of Cloquet/Esko/Carlton–the likely two seed in Section 7A–proves there is still a huge gap between them and the rest of the section. The Class 2A schedule will continue this week, with the Hawks traveling down to the metro to take on Benilde-St. Margaret’s on Friday. 

The Bears dropped two of three last week, but context is important; their losses were to Eden Prairie and Centennial–two top 15 teams. Sandwiched between those games was a 5-3 win over Roseville, which keeps them on track to win the Suburban East title. This week, the Bears will play three road games, highlighted by a tilt with Rogers on Tuesday.

 Gentry Academy continued the theme of beating up lesser opponents last week, with wins over Coon Rapids and Providence Academy. A matchup Thursday against Holy Family will be a good indicator as to whether or not the Stars are true contenders in Section 4AA.