| 2/17/2002 CLASS A SECTION OUTLOOK Section 1A Rochester Lourdes (23-1-1) is the defending champ, the favorite in the Section, and one of two favorites to win it all this year. What's amazing about Lourdes is that they could have been even better. Many of these players were on the Bantam team that won the State Bantam championship in 1999. In 2000, Lourdes made it to the State Tournament, but lost in the quarterfinals. The next year, their best player, junior defenseman Mark Stuart (who would be a senior this year), opted to play in the National Team Development Program in Ann Arbor. Still, in 2001, Lourdes made it to the State Tournament and was runner-up, losing to Benilde-St. Margaret's by a close 2-1 score. During the offseason, the Eagles lost senior defenseman Jake Taylor to the USHL and one of their top scorers, junior forward Kevin Huck, moved to the Twin Cities and enrolled at Academy Of Holy Angels. Again, Lourdes came back strong this year, but how good would they be with Stuart, Taylor, and Huck still on the team. This year, Lourdes only loss was at Sauk Rapids-Rice and they were tied by International Falls, 4-4, in the Rochester Holiday Tournament. The Eagles have beaten most of the top Class A teams including Blake, Breck, Orono, Mahtomedi, and most off all, their closest competitor, Totino-Grace, 5-3, just last week. Lourdes has alot of balance and depth. The leading scorer is senior forward Adam Gill but Lourdes gets great production from seniors Shaun Meinke, Mike Lawler, Alex Miller, and sophomore Brandon Harrington. The Eagles have four solid defensemen in seniors Charlie Cobb, Marcus Reszka, and Adam Dahl along with sophomore Josh Duncan. In goal, senior Dan Smith has started since he was a sophomore but shares time with junior Ben Alker. The success of Lourdes overshadows some other good teams from the Section. New Ulm (18-4-0) has had an outstanding season. The Eagles have lost twice to Lourdes, 7-0 and 6-1, Totino-Grace, 3-1 with an empty net goal, and an upset by Willmar. New Ulm has some great scorers in senior forwards Jamie Hoffman, Brent Clyne, Corey Schnobrich, and Scott Stueber, and junior Chris Reinarts. Senior goalies Isaac Forstner and Gary Wurtzberger split time this year as they did last year. Marshall (19-6-0) also has had a great season. The Tigers haven't played as tough a schedule as some Class A teams, but they are the best team in southwest Minnesota. Junior forward Jeff Jacobs and sophomore forward Scott Schroeder are the leading scorers. Senior goalie Tony Ortmann returned from last year. Section 2A This is a section with no ranked teams, but it will be interesting to see how one of these teams fares at the State Tournament. Each team has some exciting players. Prinecton (16-6-0) is the favorite having beaten Sauk Rapids-Rice twice and Duluth Denfeld in their only meeting. Princeton has a couple good scorers in senior forward Josh Miller and and junior forward Joey Bacon plus a top Class A defenseman in junior Karl Larsen. Sauk Rapids-Rice (14-10-1) has the distinction of the only team to have defeated Rochester Lourdes this year, 3-1 with an empty net goal at Sauk Rapids. Sauk Rapids-Rice would definitely have been the team to beat had they not lost junior forward Nate Raduns to the National Team Development Program in Ann Arbor this year. The Storm have an outstanding sophomore in Ryan Peckskamp; their leading scorer and one of the top sophomores in the state. Senior forwards Keith Schmitz and Nate Swan can also put the puck in the net. Junior Matt Wocken leads the defense. Duluth Denfeld (12-12-1) has a solid group of seniors including goalie Jeremy Allen and forwards Derek Menz and Cory Eider. Mora/Hinckley-Finlayson (13-12-0) is a long shot. Section 3A Mahtomedi and Red Wing were in the Section championship game last year and probably will be again this year. Mahtomedi (15-6-4) is a slight favorite having beaten Red Wing 5-4 in December. Mahtomedi lost to Rochester Lourdes 7-1 this year. The Zephyrs have one of the top juniors in the state in forward Brent Borgen. Borgen leads the team in scoring and is followed by sophomore forwards Ryan Gunderson and Sam Kelly. Senior goalie Jim Redpath helped Mahtomedi to the State Tournament last year and returned to start most of the games this year. Red Wing (19-5-1) is led by junior foward Tom Pohl, but the strength of the team is probably the defense. Senior defensemen Reid Cashman and Aaron Underwood can score as well as defend. In goal, senior Mike Sadowski and junior Adam Hendel have combined for 8 shutouts and have 7 other games where they limited the opposition to one goal. Chisago Lakes (17-7-1) is a long shot. Section 4A Fergus Falls (14-7-1) has won the Section for the last five years and is the favorite to make it six straight this year. The Otters beat Little Falls by a close 2-1 score in December but have shown the capability of defeating some tough Class AA teams with victories over Moorhead, Brainerd, and St. Cloud Apollo. Senior forward Ryan Miller is one of the top Class A players in the state and is complimented by senior forward Ryan Kantrud. Senior Ben Larson leads the defense while senior Tyler Ness has started most of the games in goal. Little Falls (17-8-0) has their best team ever. The Flyers are led by seniors Eric Rakow, Peter and Paul Herman as well as junior forward Bo Corrow. Freshman forward Steve Festler has been a big surprise in becoming the fifth leading scorer on the team. Sauk Centre (15-7-0) is a long shot. The Streeter Rats don't play as tough of a schedule as Fergus Falls or Little Falls but do have some solid players and are capable of giving the top teams a tough game. Sauk Centre lost to both Fergus Falls, 7-1, and Little Falls, 3-1, this season. The Streeter Rats are led by senior forward Nathan Sunderman along with forwards Adam Moritz and Andy Jenc. Junior David Engebretson is a good scoring defenseman. Next page |