outlook2003AA3

2002-2003 CLASS AA SECTION OUTLOOK

Section 3AA
This might be the year that some other school breaks the dominance of Hill-Murray and White Bear Lake. Hill-Murray (23-6-2) is the defending Section champion and finished second in the state in 2002 to Academy Of Holy Angels. The Pioneers return one of the top players in Minnesota in senior forward Garrett O. Regan. Regan had 39 goals, 35 assists last year and looks unstoppable, especially by anyone in the Classic Suburban conference. Hill-Murray lost second leading scorer Brian Kaufman but returns solid junior forward Jay Cascalenda and senior forward Tom Heimel. The defense lost alot in goalie Tony Ciro and defensemen Matt Czech and Tom Morrow. Senior Jeff Klosner is one solid returning defensemen, but the Pioneers will be rebuilding the rest of the defense.
White Bear Lake (19-9-0) might be the favorite in the Section since they were in the 1999-2000 State Bantam tournament. The Bears return a solid defense but will have a new coach who must find some scoring punch. Four senior defensemen are back in Chris Anderson, Dustin Mercado, Shawn Wight, and Luke Beaverson. Most of the group have played since they were sophomores. Senior goalie Jon Anderson in another returnee as he split time in goal last year. The Bears return #2 scorer senior Lance Malark and junior Matt Greer, but after that, the offense looks thin.
Two of the teams that could unseat the Hill-Murray and White Bear Lake are North St. Paul and Centennial. North St. Paul (19-7-1) should have one of their best teams since they last went to the State Tournament in 1981. The Polars return almost everyone from last year including five of their top six scorers. Seniors Nate Dey, Sean Garrity, and Ryan Peterson were the top three scorers in 2001-2002 while senior Joel Hanson was fifth. Senior defenseman Nate Peasley also contributed 20 points from the blue line, sixth best on the team last year. North St. Paul lost goalie Brad Smith, but junior goalie Gary Charpentier has shown alot of potential at times. The biggest obstacle for the Polars will be getting past White Bear Lake or Hill-Murray. The Bears soundly defeated North St. Paul 4-1 in the Section last year when North St. Paul had virtually the same team as they will have in 2002-2003. The Polars also lost twice to Hill-Murray last year.
Centennial (17-9-1) won the 2000-2001 State Bantam tournament and should be a fun team to watch this year. They may be a year away from challenging for the Section title as most of their best players are juniors and sophomores. Leading scorers and juniors Tom Gorowsky and Ben Ollila will return with fellow junior Ben Pendergrass and sophomore Mike Montgomery. Senior Ryan Olson and junior Greg Flynn will lead the defense and both are capable scorers. In goal, senior Dustin Thompson and junior Greg Stutz both return after splitting time in 2001-2002.
Mounds View (11-15-0) returns a very potent #1 line with their three leading scorers of senior Kent Bostrom, junior Ryan Houser, and sophomore Justin Bostrom. They're going to give many teams alot of trouble and are certainly capable surprising everyone and winning the Section. Senior Andy Edwards leads the defensemen while junior Bill Montealegre returns in goal. Montealegre has played since his freshman year.
Stillwater (8-16-2) will have seniors Phil Fox and Derrick Bohn returning along with leading scorer junior Jeff Beck. On defense, senior Dan Leopold and junior Paul Fortman are back.
Tartan (15-11-0) lost their top two scorers but returns a solid group of skaters in seniors Matt Fuerst and Mike Neurer along with juniors Ryan Bradshaw, Scott Motz, and Aaron Purpur. Senior Darren Odegard was the leading scoring defenseman last year.
Tri-City (11-15-0) plays an easier schedule than most teams in Sectionn 3AA, but a couple players to watch are senior forwards Kyle Hendrickson and Conrad Book along with returning goalies senior Brad Johnson and junior Tom Roddy.

Section 4AA
Elk River (24-7-0) has won the Section 4AA title for the past two years and has a very good chance at a three-peat. The Elks finished fifth in the State Tournament last year after getting upset by Bloomington Jefferson in the quarterfinals. Elk River lost their top scorer, senior Tim Madsen, to Tri-City of the USHL, but returns two of their top three scorers in senior Judah Birkeland along with junior Joe Long. Senior forward Matt Jackson gives the Elks an extra weapon on offense. Two-thirds of the defense graduated in 2002 with the loss of goalies Brent Solei and Dustin Hall and defensemen Barnabus Birkeland and Ben Gustafson. Elk River returns two solid defensemen in senior Carl Foss and junior Nate Prosser but will have to plug up the opening in goal.
Anoka (13-11-0) went to the State Bantam tournament in 1999-2000 and is a strong candidate to unseat Elk River. Anoka has virtually everyone back from last year after the loss of only two seniors. The Tornadoes have two solid lines consisting of all seniors, Ben Hendrick, Sean Fish, Andy LaHoud, Aaron LaHoud, Andrew Johnson, and Craig Chapman. On defense, Anoka has seniors Tim Manthey and Derek Johnson. Manthey is an All-State quality defenseman. In goal, junior Kyle Olstad returns after starting most of last year's games as a sophomore.
Robbinsdale Armstrong (18-7-2) lost two of their best forwards and coach Bruce Johnson retired plus a couple of their returnees are playing junior hockey. Josh Leddy and Joey McElroy graduated and senior forward Brett Beckfeld is at Cedar Rapids of the USHL. The top returning scorer is senior Evan Kaufmann. Senior Derek Peltier was an Honorable Mention All-State defenseman as a junior but is also at Cedar Rapids of the USHL. Goalie Michael Zacharias, one of the best senior goalies in the state, is also playing junior hockey, for Topeka (USHL). Greg Aslakson, who coached a couple years at Brainerd and was an assistant most recently at Eden Prairie, becomes the second head coach at Armstrong, following Johnson.
Osseo (21-7-0) lost big scorers Travis Morin, the StarTribune Metro Player of the Year, Nick Pernula, and Josh Williams. Senior forward Mike McStott returns with senior defensemen Jake Solberg and Jake Albers along with junior Austin Adolph. The Orioles will have some good young skaters in sophomores Jake Pernula, Justin Albers, and Case Paxton.
Maple Grove (19-7-1) lost 11 seniors off last year's team. The top returning scorer is senior Luke Palmer.
Coon Rapids (14-11-0) was a better than average team last season but lost leading scorer Joey Olson. The Cardinals return junior forward Brian Peterson and senior goalie Ash Lobejko.
Blaine (6-18-1) has had a couple of rough years since winning the State championship in 2000. The Bengals have experience in goal with senior netminder Ben Griffith, who has started since his freshman year, and junior Ronnie Druk. Senior Darrin Hansen and Taylor Rugroden are back on defense while the leading returning scorers are seniors Luke Sundeen and Kyle Savelkoul.