BHS Hockey Class A 24-25 Week #5 Rankings 

A new unbeaten #1 team emerges this week and while the Top 3 remain solid it's a muddled mess after that 4-20 in Class A. The holiday break will offer us plenty of good matchups in the week ahead. For now my Week #5 Rankings Below: 

 

1. Cloquet/Esko/Carlton (8-0-0)

Past Week Results: W 5-0 #6 St Cloud Cathedral, W 5-1 St Michael Albertville

Upcoming Schedule: 12/26 vs #18 Luverne, 12/27 vs St Cloud Public, 12/28 vs Mankato East

The Lumberjacks continued their methodical winning ways by taking down St Cloud Cathedral & STMA this week to remain unbeaten on the year. At this point you have to move CEC into the top spot as they have just taken care of business all winter to date. Now with the shiny new #1 ranking they head down to Granite City Classic and they have an interesting matchup with unbeaten Luverne to start things off before taking on St Cloud Public & Mankato East to end the weekend.

 

2. Hermantown (5-2-2)

Past Week Results: W 5-3 Duluth Denfeld L 1-4  Rosemount

Upcoming Schedule: 12/26 vs #8 Delano, 12/28 @ White Bear Lake 

The Hawks scraped past a three win Denfeld club to start the week then went on the road and lost to unbeaten Rosemount; I flipped them with CEC this week since they’ve had a few more close calls than normal with teams like Duluth Marshall & Denfeld making them feel more beatable than normal. A meaty top-ten Class A battle awaits them this week as they host a ranked Delano crew and then another AA challenge with a trip to White Bear Lake to end the week. 

 

3. Monticello (8-0-0)

Past Week Results: W 6-5 Princeton, W 13-2 Northern Edge 

Upcoming Schedule: 12/26 vs Sauk Rapids, 12/27 vs #18 Luverne, 12/28 vs Bemidji 

The Moose picked up two more wins this week against weaker competition, though the Princeton game struggles did give us our first small feeling of uneasiness with this team, but they remain unbeaten nonetheless. The schedule does pick up a bit this week, as they head to the Granite City Classic, and take on a 5A Sauk Rapids team, a ranked and unbeaten Luverne group and then wrap up with a tough Bemidji crew. All are games they should win but they will need to be at the top of their game in order for that to happen. 

 

4. Warroad (4-3-1)

Past Week Results: W 2-1 #19 Thief River Falls, L 5-6 Moorhead

Upcoming Schedule: 12/26 vs Grand Forks Red River, 12/27 vs Grand Forks Central, 12/28 vs Notre Dame (Conn.)

The Warriors lost their comeback bid vs Moorhead to end the week. However, they had an important Section 8A win over Thief River Falls earlier in the week. Overall they have a decent resume that includes wins over Delano & Orono and a tie to SCC but they also got shutout by the Zephyrs. For now, I’ll give them some benefit of the doubt amid the absolute mess that is this portion of the rankings and leave them here. They host their holiday classic this week vs a bunch of outstate opponents. 

 

5. Hibbing/Chisholm (7-4-0)

Past Week Results: L 2-6 #11 Orono, L 3-6 Gentry Academy 

Upcoming Schedule: 12/27 vs Cambridge Isanti, 12/28 vs #8 Delano 

Hibbing caught the flu this week and they had a miserable trip to the cities as they were upset by Orono and then got beat up by Gentry Academy to end the brutal weekend sweep. Lots of concern here as some red flags were exposed this weekend but as mentioned they were missing key players and their head to head win over Cathedral will hold them here for now. However, they will need a good showing this week as the game vs Delano becomes very important suddenly. 

 

6. St Cloud Cathedral (4-3-2)

Past Week Results: W 8-1 #21 River Lakes, L 0-5 #1 Cloquet/Esko/Carlton, W 3-1 #8 Delano

Upcoming Schedule: 12/26 vs Mankato East, 12/27 vs Bemidji, 12/28 vs St Cloud Public 

The Crusaders haven’t lived up to their high preseason billing so far as defending state champs. While no one result has been horrid, their offensive output hasn’t quite been on the level many expected. However, the Delano win along with Warroad & Northfield ties are keeping them afloat here and they have no losses to anyone below them at the moment.. Overall it was a good week for them. Now, can they carry that momentum into their home holiday classic this week? 

 

7. Northfield (7-2-1)

Past Week Results: W 4-1 Mankato East, L 2-4 Lakeville North 

Upcoming Schedule: 12/28 vs #11 Detroit Lakes 

Northfield's loss was a tough luck one vs Lakeville North this week, but they do have wins over Orono & Minneapolis and a tie with St Cloud Cathedral on the resume, and overall so far this year they’ve taken care of business, and therefore continue to hold steady here. They have a great matchup vs Detroit Lakes this week, a team that sits below them in the Top 10 of these rankings. 

 

8. Delano (5-3-0)

Past Week Results: W 4-1 #13 Mahtomedi, L 1-3 #6 St Cloud Cathedral 

Upcoming Schedule: 12/26 @ #2 Hermantown, 12/27 @ Rock Ridge, 12/28 @ #5 Hibbing/Chisholm 

Delano had a mixed week as they picked up a very good win over Mahtomedi to start the week but then fell to St Cloud Cathedral to end the week. The SCC loss leaves their potential state seeding in question, and with losses to Warroad and the Crusaders, a team Northfield tied, dropped them  a bit this week in the rankings. They have another significant week upcoming with key Class A games vs Hermantown and Hibbing on tap. 

 

9. Detroit Lakes (6-1-1)

Past Week Results: W 3-1 #22 Alexandria, W 7-0 Willmar 

Upcoming Schedule: 12/27 @ #11 Orono, 12/28 #7 Northfield 

The Lakers took care of business this week in the Central Lake Conference beating Alexandria and Willmar. Overall, the resume to date does feel good enough for a Top 10 spot in the rankings considering all the messy results with other teams around them. They own wins over EGF, TRF & Alex which outweighs the ugly River Lakes loss. We will see how real this Laker team is this week with trips to Orono and Northfield this week which tells us a lot more about how this Lakers stacks up in the middle part of the rankings. 

 

10. East Grand Forks (4-5-1)

Past Week Results: W 5-2  Bemidji

Upcoming Schedule: 12/27 @ Fargo Davies 

Are the Greenwave starting to slowly find themselves? After a disastrous start to the year the pre-season favorites have now gone unbeaten in their last three games vs good competition to raise their stock back up here again. The weather thwarted an opportunity for a key Section 8A game but overall EGF is looking more and more the part of Class A Top 10 team of late. This week they should continue that trend with another North Dakota team on the docket and a chance to be back at .500 before the start of the new year.  

 

11. Orono (5-4-2)

Past Week Results: T 3-3  #12 Minneapolis, W 6-2 #5 Hibbing/Chisholm 

Upcoming Schedule: 12/27 vs #9 Detroit Lakes, 12/28 @ #13 Mahtomedi 

The Spartans grabbed some attention this week by shocking many in Class A with their upset win over Hibbing, but they also had along with that outstanding result…a tie against Minneapolis. That tie and the loss to Little Falls has me leery about putting them any higher than this for now. They can solidify things this week though with how they play as they play the two teams that sandwich them in the ranking with Detroit Lakes and Mahtomedi and if they win those two games they will find themselves back in the Top 10 for the first time this winter.

 

12. Minneapolis (7-1-3) 

Past Week Results: T 2-2 Providence Academy, T 3-3 #11 Orono, W 5-2 Hopkins 

Upcoming Schedule: 12/28 @ Hudson (Wis.) 

The 612 crew continues to build momentum as they have not been beaten since Thanksgiving time and currently on an impressive right game unbeaten streak. This past week they tied two Section 2A teams in Providence Academy and Orono to start the week before taking care of Hopking to end the week. Now over the Holiday break  they will head across the border and take on Wisconsin power Hudson.

 

13. Mahtomedi (3-7-1)

Past Week Results: L 1-4 #8 Delano, L 1-2 East Ridge 

Upcoming Schedule: 12/28 vs #11 Orono 

The Zephyrs officially are now entering a danger zone as this week was another struggle for them as not only did they lose twice but they only managed one goal each game. On the season Mahtomedi is now averaging below 2 goals a game. The Warroad win does show they are dangerous but they are also now in danger of not even making state as the East Ridge is concerning and if you can't score more than one goal someone in 4A is gonna beat them. This week is an absolute must win for them vs Orono as there has to be a confidence crisis right now in Mahtomedi. 

 

14. Northern Lakes (4-3-0)

Past Week Results: L 2-5 Duluth Denfeld 

Upcoming Schedule: Idle  

The Lightning’s loss to a three win Denfeld team does raise more doubts about them, that's now two less than stellar games in a row after last week’s upset to TRF and they head into 2025 falling in these rankings. They don't have many legitimate wins beyond one over a struggling Alexandria to really inspire the confidence that they belong among the Top 10 Class A teams. Now they take the week off and look to regroup and let their legendary coach tinker and adjust this team's lineup and approach to try and find the formula to bring out the preseason hype surrounding this group. 

 

15. Little Falls (3-3-1)

Past Week Results: L 1-4 Hutchinson 

Upcoming Schedule: 12/28 vs Princeton 

The Flyers fell to Hutchinson this week, a team that was winless up that point, raising all kinds of doubts about their status as a Top 15 team. I still like this team’s makeup, but they need to find more consistent production, and while when on their game they can produce things like wins over Orono and Rock Ridge the bad they produce like a loss to Hutch is unacceptable. I will hold them just inside the Top 15 for now but they’ll need to get on track this week as they have a must win Section 5A game vs a decent Princeton squad. 

 

16. Proctor (6-4-0)

Past Week Results: W 6-1 Greenway  

Upcoming Schedule: 12/26 vs New Ulm, 12/27 vs TBD, 12/28 vs TBD 

The Rails took care of business in their only action of the week as they took down Section 7A Greenway with ease. Proctor has now won three games in a row and will look to carry that momentum into this week as they look to defend their Bill McGann Holiday Classic Title that they won a year ago and that defense will start with a game vs New Ulm. 

 

17. Waseca (7-0-1) 

Past Week Results: W 3-2 New Ulm, W 9-1 La Crescent-Hokah 

Upcoming Schedule: 12/27 @ #19 Thief River Falls, 12/28 vs #25 Crookston 

Waseca rattled off two more wins this week which included a good comeback win over New Ulm to stay unbeaten on the year. This coming week over the holiday break will offer Waseca a major test as they hit the long road up north and take on two Section 8A teams in Thief River Falls and Crookston that will give a better idea where this team is at in the bigger statewide picture of Class A. 

 

18. Luverne (7-0-1) 

Past Week Results: W 12-1 Windom, W 4-3 Dodge County 

Upcoming Schedule: 12/26 vs #1 Cloquet/Esko/Carlton, 12/27 vs #3 Monticello, 12/28 vs Sauk Rapids 

Roll Cards Roll continued to handle the teams they should handle as they got two more wins this week vs Windom and Dodge County. Now we will see what Luverne is all about as they head into the Granite City Classic and take on the State’s #1 ranked and #3 ranked Class A teams when they meet up with unbeaten CEC & Monticello this week to provide great barometers of where this SW Minnesota crew is at in terms of the statewide competition. 

 

19. Thief River Falls (3-5-0)

Past Week Results: L 1-2 #4 Warroad, W 8-3 #25 Crookston

Upcoming Schedule: 12/27 vs #17 Waseca, 12/28 vs Bismark (N.D.) 

The Prowlers reemerge into the Top 20 and while the record is ugly, all the losses are to good teams and the Northern Lakes win is better than most in this area has and the tight losses with Warroad and Detroit Lakes as well seem to indicate they are shifting into normal form. We’ll learn more about this team this week with a game vs Waseca that could allow them to jump up more in these rankings and be .500 heading into the new year. 

 

20. Chisago Lakes (5-3-1) 

Past Week Results: W 10-0 Northern Edge, W 4-1 Becker/Big Lake, L 2-4  Hudson (Wis.)

Upcoming Schedule: Idle 

The Wildcats continue their trend of doing exactly what a team in this portion of the rankings would be predicted to do on paper. This week they took down weaker Conference opponents before losing their big test vs a Wisconsin Power. Overall, it's still really hard to know who Chisago Lakes is but they benefit from not struggling like some of the other teams below them at any point this year and they should stay put into 2025 as they are taking the Holiday Break off. 

 

Next Five Notable Teams 

River Lakes (4-2-2)- The Stars got whooped on the road but the Defending Champs St Cloud Cathedral in their only action of the week. It's the first time all year that River Lakes has just been blown out. It does drop them out of the Top 20 for now but this is still going to be a pesky opponent for any Class A team to play. 

 

Alexandria (2-6-0)- Alexandria lost in their only game of the week as they were beaten in a competitive game with Detroit Lakes. Yes, the record is ugly but six losses to SCC, Detroit Lakes, Orono, Northern Lakes, Bemidji & Sartell are all quality and they were in every game except vs the Lightning. This program is always a slow starter it seems and then takes off after christmas going to bet that is the case this year again and leave them here for now. 

 

Rochester Lourdes (5-3-1)- The Eagles are young and improving team to keep an eye as they started slow out of the gate at (0-2-0) but they have played really good hockey since going (5-1-1) in their last 7 games that includes a win over Providence Academy and a controversial overtime loss to #16 Proctor. This is a team down south in Section 1A to keep an eye on as we head into 2025. 

 

Providence Academy (5-3-1)- The Lions are one of this year's biggest surprise teams as many, including myself, left them for dead after having graduated their do it all Mr Hockey Finalist this offseason. However, this is a young team improving nightly and they are unbeaten in their last 4 games which included a tie with Minneapolis and win over Southwest Christin/Richfield this week. Don't overlook the Lions in 2A; they are going to be pests come playoff time. 

 

Crookston (6-3-1)- The Pirates had another up and down week as they did take care of business starting the week vs Grafton (N.D.) but they were then hammered on the road by Thief River Falls which puts a major dent in their hopes of getting home ice for the Section 8A Quarterfinals. They will have an interesting game with Waseca this coming week to see how they stack up with another Top 20 team at the moment and give them a chance at that big win that has eluded them so far. 

 

Class A Section by Section Rankings Week #5

Section 1A Ranking (12/22/24)

1- Northfield Raiders (7-2-1)

2- Waseca Bluejays (7-0-1)

3- Dodge County Wildcats (2-4-0)

4- Albert Lea Tigers (3-3-0)

5- Rochester Lourdes Eagles (5-3-1) 

6- Winona Winhawks (5-3-0)

7- La Crescent-Hokah Lancers (3-3-0)

8- Austin Packers (5-3-0)

9 - Faribault Falcons (1-6-0)

10- Red Wing Wingers (0-8-2) 

 

1A Summary -Northfield went .500 outside the section. Waseca got Section 1A win over La Crescent. Dodge County got a big Section 1A win over Albert Lea. Rochester Lourdes got Section 1A win over Red Wing. Austin & Winona  both got wins outside of the section. Faribault was idle on the week due to a weather PPD game. 

 

Section 2A Ranking (12/22/24)

1- Delano Tigers (5-3-0)

2- Orono Spartans (5-4-2)

3- Minneapolis (7-1-3)

4- Providence Academy Lions (5-3-1)

5- Mound Westonka White Hawks (5-5-0)

6- Breck Mustangs (1-5-0)

7- Litchfield Dassel Cokato Dragons (2-5-0)

8- Hutchinson Tigers (1-6-0)

 

2A Summary- Delano went (1-1-0) in Top 15 matchups outside the section. Minneapolis settled for Section 2A ties with both Orono & Providence Academy to stay at the three seed for now. Breck got the Section 2A win over Litchfield Dassel Cokato. Hutchinson got their first win of the season outside the section and Mound Westonka went .500 outside the section. 

 

Section 3A Ranking (12/22/24)

1- Luverne Cardinals (7-0-1)

2- Mankato West Scarlets (4-5-0)

3- Mankato East Cougars (4-5-0)

4- Minnesota River Bulldogs (4-3-0)

5- New Ulm Eagles (4-3-0)

6- Marshall Tigers (4-7-0)

7- Worthington Trojans (2-5-0)

8- Windom Eagles (1-7-0)

9- Fairmont Cardinals (0-6-0)

10- Redwood Valley Cardinals (0-8-0)

 

3A Summary- Luverne picked up a Section 3A win over Windom but the Eagles did get a 3A win over Redwood Valley. Mankato West got the important 3A win over Mankato East. Minnesota River got a 3A win over Marshall. Worthington got the 3A win over Fairmont. New Ulm went winless in their only game outside of the section. 

 

Section 4A Ranking (12/22/24)

1- Mahtomedi Zephyrs (3-7-1)

2- Chisago Lakes Wildcats (5-3-1)

3- Southwest Christian/Richfield Stars (4-3-0)

4- St Paul Academy Spartans (3-5-0)

5- Simley Spartans (4-5-0)

6- South St Paul Packer (3-4-1) 

7- St. Paul Highland Park Scots (3-5-0)

8- Bloomington Kennedy Eagles (0-6-0)

 

4A Summary- Mahtomedi went (0-2-0), Chisago Lakes went (2-1-0) and  Southwest Christian Richfield went (1-1-0)  outside of the section this week. South St Paul got an important Section 4A win over St Paul Highland Park. Simley got a win outside the section and St Paul Academy & Bloomington Kennedy both went winless outside of the Section this week. 

 

Section 5A Ranking (12/22/24)

1- Monticello Moose (8-0-0)

2- St Cloud Cathedral Crusaders (4-3-2)

3- Little Falls Flyers (3-3-1)

4- River Lakes Stars (4-2-2)

5- Pine City Dragons (5-2-1)

6. Princeton Tigers (4-6-0)

7- Becker/Big Lake Eagles (1-5-1)

8- Sauk Rapids Storm (3-3-1)

9- Mora/Milaca Mustangs (4-6-0)

 

5A Summary-  Monticello got a big early 5A win over Princeton but the Tigers rebounded with a 5A win over Mora/Milaca. St Cloud Cathedral got a 5A win over River Lakes. Pine City & Becker/Big Lake both got a 5A win over Sauk Rapids. Little Falls lost their only game of the week outside the section. 

 

Section 6A Ranking (12/22/24)

1- Northern Lakes Lightning (4-3-0)

2- Alexandria Cardinals (2-6-0)

3- Fergus Falls Otters (4-3-0)

4- Morris/Benson Storm (3-6-0)

5- Breckenridge/Wahpeton Blades (4-4-1)

6- Willmar Cardinals (3-5-0)

7- Prairie Centre North Stars (5-4-0)

8- Wadena Deer Creek Wolverines (2-4-0)

 

6A Summary- Northern Lakes & Alexandria both lost their only game of the week outside the section. Prairie Centre went unbeaten outside of the section to get back above .500. Morris/Benson, Breckenridge/Wahpeton & Willmar all went .500 outside of the section.Wadena Deer Creek lost their only game outside the section.  Fergus Falls was idle due to a weather PPD of their only game. 

 

Section 7A Ranking (12/22/24)

1- Cloquet/Esko/Carlton Lumberjacks (8-0-0)

2- Hermantown Hawks (5-2-2)

3- Hibbing/Chisholm Bluejackets (7-4-0)

4- Proctor Rails (6-4-0)

5- International Falls Broncos (4-1-0)

6- Greenway Raiders (3-5-0)

7- North Shore Storm (3-6-0)

8- Moose Lake Rebels (5-4-0) 

9- Ely Timberwolves (3-4-0)

 

7A Summary- Cloquet/Esko/Carlton went (2-0-0), Hermantown went (1-1-0), and Hibbing went (0-2-0) outside of the section this week. Proctor & Ely both picked up a 7A win over Greenway this week. North Shore won their only game of the week outside the section. International Falls & Moose Lake both went .500 outside the section. 

 

Section 8A Ranking (12/22/24) 

1- Warroad Warriors (4-3-1)

2- Detroit Lakes Lakers (6-1-1)

3- East Grand Forks Greenwave (4-5-1)

4- Thief River Falls Prowlers (3-5-0)

5- Crookston Pirates (6-3-1)

6- Red Lake Falls Eagles (8-1-0)

7- Bagley/Fosston Eagles (5-3-0) 

8- Park Rapids Panthers (3-6-0) 

9- Kittson County Central Bearcats (1-5-1)

10- Lake of the Woods Bears (1-7-0)

8A Summary- Warroad got an 8A win over Thief River Falls but the Prowlers came back and got an 8A win over Crookston.  East Grand Forks & Detroit Lakes both went unbeaten outside of the section. Red Lake Falls got Section 8A wins over both Lake of the Woods & Park Rapids. Bagley/Fosston got the 8A win over Kittson County Central.