outlook2003AA7

2002-2003 CLASS AA SECTION OUTLOOK

Section 7AA
Cloquet/Esko/Carlton (18-6-6) was a bit of a surprise last year as Section 7AA champs. The Lumberjacks lost heavily on defense in First Team All-State goalie Josh Johnson and Second Team All-State defenseman Matt Maunu along with solid defenseman Brandon Sell. CEC will have to plug up the hole in net but standout senior defenseman Nate Wood returns with senior Chris Hudspith. The Lumberjacks should be strong on offense. CEC has their top two scorers back in senior Mike Erickson and junior Allen Raushel. Seniors Matt Brenner and Mike Twaddle are very capable of having big seasons and juniors Dan Singpiel and Nick Lee showed some promise as sophomores last year.
Duluth East (17-7-4) lost all of their big scorers. Nick Licari, Nick Nelson, and Tommy Kolar all graduated along with fourth leading scorer Byran Olds. Also gone is top defenseman Mike Stellmaker and #1 goalie Dustin Aro. The Greyhounds strength appears to be their defense. Seniors John Jacques and Eric Dahlberg along with sophomores Phil Johnson and Chris Johnson are back.
The Gino Guyer era at Greenway (18-7-1) is over, but the Raiders might bounce back and surprise some teams this year. Guyer was Mr. Hockey of Minnesota in 2002 and the catalyst of the offense. In addition, Greenway lost another Division 1 forward in Andy Sertich. There is a solid group of returnees, but it remains to be seen how well they will perform without Guyer and Sertich. Seniors Corey Carlson and Jamie Guyer are back with junior Joe Schuster. Senior defenseman Andrew Guyer returns and is a superb offensive defenseman. Senior Tom Sobtzak is back in goal after getting the starting position midway through his sophomore season.
Grand Rapids (12-7-7) returns three good scorers to watch, senior Nick Hiipakka, junior Alex Goligoski, and sophomore Mark Columbus.
Forest Lake (17-8-2) returns some key players from last year's team. Senior goalie Brett Sawyer may be the best goalie in the state. Leading scorer senior Matt Stendahl returns with senior forward Ryan Shelafoe. On defense, top defenseman, senior Jeff Stone is back along with senior Clint Blum.
Brainerd (11-14-1) lost Honorable Mention All-State forward JP Platisha but returns one solid line in seniors Chris Mattson, Tony Parrish , and Jason Roberts. Senior Zach Toms heads up the defense that will be looking for a new goalie.

Section 8AA
One of these years, Alexandria is going to make it back to the State Tournament and this could be the year. The Cardinals (20-8-0) finished second to Moorhead in Section 8AA last year and were the runner-up to Eden Prairie in the 1999-2000 Bantam Tournament. Both goalies return in seniors Steve Niblett and Wade Loch. On defense, seniors Nolan Kriel and Jeff Schutte are back with junior Jackson Kriel. The offense looks solid with five forwards returning who scored in double figures last year. Seniors Derek Roers, John Ryan, and Phil Toft look to improve along with juniors Shawn Bitzan and Dusty Clarquist. Clarquist is the Cardinals leading returning scorer although Roers probably would have been the leading returning scorer, but he missed several games at mid-season because of a concussion.
St. Cloud Apollo (19-7-0) should be the favorite this year if everyone returns. Apollo was probably the best team in Section 8AA last year for most of the season but faded badly at the end, losing four of their last five games. During the regular season, the Eagles edged Section 8AA champion Moorhead at home and split with Section runner up Alexandria, narrowly losing at Alexandria in overtime. Apollo eventually lost to the Cardinals in the Section semifinals. Apollo had two of the top forwards in the state in seniors Mike Howe and Matt Hartman, but Howe is playing for River City in the USHL and Hartman is playing for Sioux City, also of the USHL. Add junior defenseman Jim Henkemeyer to the USHL list as he is currently with Sioux Falls. Without those three, the Eagles won't have much offense. Apollo's top returnees will be on defense. Senior Bob Berg scored nine goals from the blue line last year and senior Jason Polikowski returns as well. Sophomore Jeff Bandar got the starting goalie spot three games into the 2001-2002 season and played soundly.
Moorhead (23-5-2), last year's Section 8AA champs, was a senior-laden team and faces some rebuilding this year. The biggst loss may be All-State Honorable Mention goalie Chad Beiswenger. Senior Bryan Becker returns to lead the offense while senior Jace Foss anchors the defense.
St. Cloud Tech (16-9-1) returns their top two scorers, but they may be hard pressed to equal last year's record. Top scoring senior forwards Travis Winter and Keith Grant are back and hope to get some support from juniors John Swanson and Aaron Poole. Junior Nathan Schraut will lead the defense and senior goalie Vincent Wheeler started almost all games last year.
Bemidji (7-17-0) should do much better than last year. The Lumberjacks return their top five scorers on offense in seniors Mike Hendricks, Derek Hanson, Joey Eichstadt, and Nate Weossner along with sophomore Jesse Echternach. On defense, seniors Tyler Truax and Matt Crotteau are back with junior Bryan Martinka. Junior goalies Jake Reierson and David Goldberg both saw action last year; however, the best goalie in the state, Joe Fallon, played for Rochester of the USHL last year. Fallon would be a senior this year.
Roseau (10-17-0) was probably better than last year's record because the Rams lost many close games, so it could be hard for Roseau to approach ten wins again this year. Roseau has a couple of Division 1 prospects in seniors Adam Castle and KC Stahlberg. Junior Caleb Erickson will lead the defense that will have a new goaltender.
Monticello/Annandale/Maple Lake (9-15-2) will be led by senior leading scorer Danny Couette and second leading scorer senior defenseman Corey Karkhoff. Senior Nick Lee and junior Kyle Anderson also return on the offensive side. Junior goalie Sam Schroeder returns for his second year in goal.
River Lakes (5-16-1) returns their top three scorers in senior Kyle Curran, junior Mike Anderson, and sophomore Andy Schramel. Junior goalie Blake Theisen started almost every game in goal last year.