outlook2003A5

2002-2003 CLASS A SECTION OUTLOOK

Section 5A
The Class A State champion came out of Section 5A for the fourth consecutive season in 2001-2002. Will 2002-2003 bring a fifth straight State champion?
Totino-Grace (27-2-1), the defending Class A State champs, lost four of their top players but still returns plenty of talent. Even so, they may have only a 50-50 chance of getting out of a tough Section.
Gone is leading scorer Nick Miller, forward Jason Riess, goalie Kevin Piper, and top defenseman Tim Serie. That's an extremely good foursome; however returning on offense are the #2 and #4 top scorers from last year. Senior forward Dan McCauley netted 34 goals and 33 assists a year ago and will be one of the top players in Class A. Senior forward Trevor Graham was the #4 scorer in 2001-2002 with 25 goals and ended the season with four tallies in the State tournament including the game winning goals in both the semifinal and championship games. Alex Arnason and Jason Anderson are the top junior forwards while sophomore Trent Graham was one of the top freshmen in the state last year. On defense, senior Greg Peterson is a top-notch blueliner and seniors Ben Cattoor and Nic Carmen return, but the Eagles will break in a new goalie.
Blake (22-5-0) lost to Totino-Grace in the Bob Nelson Holiday Tournament and didn't get a chance for a rematch when the Bears were edged by Breck in overtime in the Section 5A semifinals. Blake lost alot but still has a powerhouse team. Head coach Jeff Lindquist moved over to coach Bloomington Jefferson and is replaced by John Hamre, mostly recently an assistant coach for the National Team Development Program in Ann Arbor, MI. Blake returns leading scorer junior Andrew Schremp along with high scoring forwards senior Brendan Kennedy and junior Wil Engasser. Junior forward JT Wyman also played well as a sophomore last yeaar. On defense, the top two scorers return in junior Rob Page and senior Ryan Halsorson. The Bears also have both goalies back with senior Dan Feinberg and junior Justin Kowalkoski who split time in net last year.
Breck (17-10-1) came on strong in the second half of the season last year and lost to Totino-Grace in the Section 5A championship game, 3-1. The Mustangs had three of the best underclassmen in the state last year, but not all of them may return this year. Junior forwards Casey Parenteau and Dustin Fulton were a couple of Breck's top scorers last year along with sophomore Andrew Birkholtz. Parenteau is currently playing for Green Bay in the USHL. Breck lost two defenseman and both goalies. Senior Tyler Kettlekamp is the top returning defender.
Did Benilde-St. Margaret's (11-14-1) underachieve last year or were they really only a .500 team? The determining factor was probably when Jake Schuman opted to play in the UHSL last year instead of finishing his senior year at BSM. He would have been a steadying influence on a relatively young team. The Red Knights still look to have a good group of skaters. Senior forwards Chris Myhro and Ian Schaser will be back to pace the offense. Junior forward Josh Pauer was tied for the team lead in goals last year with 16 and expect some good offense from seniors Brian Sefton and Justin Green. Highly-touted defensmen juniors Blake Friesen and Greg Battani are back with junior Derek Johnson. The goaltending should fall into the hands of junior Austin Ledo who played part-time last year after transferring from Woodbury.
St. Louis Park's (10-16-0) fantastic freshman of a couple years ago are now juniors and should challenge for the title of this tough Section. They would like to break up the dominance of the private schools from Section 5A. The Orioles lost only two seniors from last year. Juniors BJ Bayers and David Martinson were the top scorers a year ago. Senior Brian Rose and juniors Alec Rabine and RJ Tolchiner can also be counted on to provide some offense. Senior Joe Kesely played both forward and defense last year. Senior defenseman Matt Woodard is currently skating for Danville in the NAHL and may not return. Junior Lucas Johnson and senior Chris Flatten return to bring plenty of experience on defense. Also, senior goalie Ben Levy is back after starting every game in 2001-2002.
Spring Lake Park (11-13-1) lost almost everyone. Second team All-State forward David Backes graduated along with two other top scoring forwards, four defensemen, and the starting goalie. Junior Jarrod Palmer has gone to Ann Arbor to join the NTDP team. The top returnee is senior forward DJ Clark.
Richfield (12-14-0) lost alot from last year on both offense and defense. The top returnee is senior forward Frank Fraizer. Senior forward Nick Ames transferred back to Academy Of Holy Angels. Ames played his sophomore year at Academy Of Holy Angels before transferring to Richfield last year for his junior season.

Section 6A
Orono (20-10-1) was one of the surprise teams in Class A last year as the Spartans finished in sixth place at the State tournament. Orono lost their top scorer, Casey Dynan, and top defenseman, Andrew Engebretson, but returns two thirds of their #1 line. Returning are senior Jonathan Skoog and junior Pat Dynan. Junior defenseman Eric Fleming played well last year and senior goalie Ryan McClure is back.
Shakopee (18-10-0) had their best team ever last year and were runners-up in the Section for the second consecutive year. The Sabres even had a 2-0 lead in the the Section championship game before eventually losing 4-2 to Orono. Shakopee lost alot of offense including four-year standout TJ Phillips. #2 scorer junior Jesse Rife is back to team up with senior Kirk Hovde. Shakopee should be tough defensively as everyone returns. Seniors Jason Young, Chris Carlson, and Zach Menden are back along with sophomore Brent Brodersen. Junior goalie Kyle Ratalsky gained experience last year.
New Prague/Montgomery-Lonsdale (13-13-0) is a team on the rise and could be the early season favorite in Section 6A. The Trojans were only a .500 team last year, but would have undoubtedly challenged for the Section championship had not their two best players gone elsewhere. In 2001-2002, senior forward Nathan Ries played at Danville in the NAHL and junior Jim Kilpatrick was in his second year with Academy Of Holy Angels. This year, all of NPML's forwards return since the only seniors last year were on defense. Returning are seniors Dan Witty, Brett Puffer, and Dustin Fritz, juniors Drew Fautsch and Kirby Pumper, along with sophomore Matt Ambroz. Junior defenseman John Edwards was the leading scoring defenseman last year and sophomore goalie Dan Sacco started every game in goal.
Prior Lake (12-12-1) did not score many goals last year and relied on the play of goalie Joe 'Boomer' Buechler. Buechler is a junior, already with two years of varsity experience. Sophomore defenseman Nick Henkemeyer was the Laker's leading scorer last year as a freshman. Senior forwards Dan Melton and Erik Hol along with junior forward Mike Gilbert are all a year older and may be able to provider more scoring this year.
Hutchinson (10-15-0) returns a solid starting group. Senior forwards Ben Bruhn, Nick Hantge, and Nick Buytaert should provide the scoring. Senior Tyler Bonderson will lead the defense with two returning goalies, seniors David Winn and Dusty Robb. Winn started most of the games last year.
Mound-Westonka (7-16-3) also a solid starting core. Senior forwards Zach Zilka, Matt Manuel, and Nick Rieger will lead the offense. The White Hawks best player is junior defenseman Tyler Veit.
St. Michael-Albertville (9-16-1) returns leading scorer junior Kyle Rogers.