| 2/17/2002 CLASS AA SECTION OUTLOOK Section 1AA Austin (15-8-0) is the defending champ and looked like the team to beat when the season started. The Packers chances of repeating diminished when senior forward Josh Hansen bolted to the USHL on Jan. 24. Austin, even after losing Hansen, still has enough firepower to win the Section. The Packers lost twice to Mayo this year but beat Rochester Century twice. Senior forward Brandon Schaefer is their top scorer and junior Eric Hansen is a high scoring defenseman. Rochester Mayo (16-6-0) is the favorite having beaten everyone else in the Section including a 3-2 overtime win over Lakeville. Mayo has a good #1 line featuring a couple of the top scorers in the state, junior Scott Thauwald and senior Tim Gerlesberger. The Spartans also have a couple good defensemen that can score in seniors Andrew Gastineau and Eric Canzanello. Lakeville (10-13-1) has a record under .500 but gave Apple Valley their only loss on the season. Lakeville plays in a tougher conference, the Lake Conference, and is capable of beating anybody from the Big 9 conference. Rochester Century (16-6-0) has a solid group of seniors and played in the Section championship game last year. They have a good chance to make it to the championship game again this year. Owatonna (13-12-0) is a long shot. Section 2AA Hastings (10-14-1) is the defending champion and has won the Section for the last four years. Hastings was the pre-season favorite, but no on expected Roseville (23-1-1), who was moved to Section 2AA from Section 3AA, to be better than they were last year after losing their leading scorer, Mr. Hockey, Marty Sertich. Roseville is the favorite in the Section and one of the favorites to win it all this year. Roseville is solid up and down their lineup and has plenty of depth. Senior forward Mark VanGuilder and junior Mike Sertich are the leading scorers. Seniors Nick Klaren and Tom Koeck are solid defensemen. Senior goalie Tom Anderson has been the starting goalie for the past two years after splitting time as a sophomore. Roseville will get their toughest competition from Cretin-Derham Hall (23-3-0). CDH has been runner-up to Hastings three of the past four years. CDH hasn't faced alot of tough teams this year, but they played well in losing twice to Eastview and did defeat Academy Of Holy Angels. CDH has two solid lines featuring junior Matt Bohlig and senior Cullum Buetow-Staples. Senior goalie Matt Weyandt has seven shutouts this year. Hastings has struggled with injuries this year but has a solid #1 line that can cause problems for other teams at tournament time. Senior forward Nick Harris was one of the top scorers in the state last year but separated his shoulder early in the season. Junior forward Jesse Polk picked up the scoring slack this year. Park-Cottage Grove (9-15-1) is a long shot. Section 3AA This Section has been Hill-Murray and White Bear Lake for many years and still is, since Roseville was switched to Section 2AA. Both Hill-Murray (18-5-2) and White Bear Lake (17-8-0) are solid teams this year but not Top 10 caliber in the state. White Bear Lake is the favorite in the Section. Hill-Murray has a rather deceptively good record but they haven't played alot of top teams. They split with Duluth East this year but lost to White Bear Lake and Bloomington Jefferson. The Pioneers have a solid top line with big scorers senior Brian Kaufman and junior Garrett O. Regan. The defense has be solid and senior Tony Ciro has two years experience in goal. White Bear Lake is not flashy but consistent. They don't have the big scorers that Hill-Murray does, but they do have many skaters who can score on any given night. Seniors Ryan Carter, Brian Slattery, junior Lance Malark, and sophomore Matt Greer are the top scorers. Juniors Chris Anderson and Dustin Mercado anchor the defense. Centennial (16-8-1) and North St. Paul (18-6-1) are long shots to win the Section. North St. Paul has several great juniors and should be better next year. Centennial's best players are underclassmen and is probably a year or two away from challenging. Section 4AA Any one of six teams could win the Section although Osseo (19-6-0) and Elk River (19-6-0) are the favorites. Osseo split during the season with Elk River, 2-1 and 0-3. Osseo senior forwards Travis Morin and Nick Pernula are a couple of the best in the state. Senior forward Josh Williams was switched to defense to bolster the blueline. Elk River is the defending Section champ. Their best forwards are juniors Tim Madsen and Matt Jackson. Senior Barnabus Birkeland is a top notch defenseman and seniors Brent Solei and Dustin Hall have split time in goal as they did last year. Maple Grove (18-6-1) was the early season surprise, starting out 10-1-0. They split with Elk River but lost to Osseo twice. The Crimson were runners-up in the Section 1998 and 1999 and are capable of getting to the championship game again. Coon Rapids (14-10-0), Anoka (13-10-1), and Robbinsdale Armstrong (17-6-2) are long shots but could get hot enough to win the Section. Coon Rapids has a bunch of seniors, including Joey Olson and Ryan Rolhf, who started getting experience as sophomores. Anoka has a young team that is probably a year away from challenging for the title. Armstrong has some great scorers in seniors Josh Leddy and Joey McElroy with juniors Brett Beckfeld and Evan Kaufmann. Junior Michael Zacharias is a goalie that could hot for the playoffs. Next page |