| 2/20/2007 CLASS A SECTION PREVIEW Section 1A Albert Lea (18-7-0, #1 seed), finished tied for second in the Big Nine Conference, split with Mankato West, defeated New Ulm and Marshall, defeated Rochester John Marshall and Rochester Mayo in conference play, lost two close games to Big Nine Conference champion Rochester Century, lost to Rochester Lourdes. Top players � senior forward Mark Walton, junior defenseman Adam Royce. Mankato West (18-6-1, #2 seed), finished sixth in the Big Nine Conference, split with Albert Lea in conference play, defeated Marshall, did not play New Ulm, top scoring line is all juniors. Top players � junior forwards Ricky Litchfield, Corey Leivermann, and Ryan Anderson. New Ulm (12-9-2, #3 seed), finished first in the South Central Conference, lost to Rochester Century, defeated Rochester Mayo, did not play Rochester John Marshall. Top players � senior forwards Jordan Trullinger and Brad Clyne. Marshall (17-8-0, #4 seed), finished first in the Southwest Conference, lost in overtime to Albert Lea, lost to Mankato East, split two close games with New Ulm. Top players � junior forward Tony Krogen, senior forward Taylor Mellenthin, senior defenseman Matt Boerboom. Section 2A Duluth Marshall (19-4-2, #1 seed), defending Section 2A champion, finished third in the Lake Superior Conference, defeated Duluth Denfeld and Sauk Rapids-Rice, lost to St. Cloud Cathedral 2-1 at St. Cloud, tied St. Thomas Academy and Hermantown, three other losses were to Class AA teams. Top players � senior forwards Jack Connolly and Bob Gutsch, junior defenseman Dino Jacques. Duluth Denfeld (17-7-1, #2 seed), finished fourth in the Lake Superior Conference, lost to Duluth Marshall in conference play, defeated St. Cloud Cathedral and Sauk Rapids-Rice, Jake Johnson is one of the top junior forwards in the state. Top players � Johnson, junior forward Chris Stafne, sophomore forward Codie Hotchkin. St. Cloud Cathedral (19-3-3, #3 seed), finished second in the Wright County Conference, defeated Duluth Marshall 2-1, lost to Duluth Denfeld, tied Sauk Rapids-Rice, freshman defenseman Nate Schmidt suffered wrist injury in game 12 and just recently returned for the final two games of the regular season. Top players � senior defenseman James Olmscheid, senior goalie Alex Hess, Schmidt. Sauk Rapids-Rice (15-8-2, #4 seed), lost to Duluth Marshall and Duluth Denfeld, tied St. Cloud Cathedral. Top player � senior forward Travis Peckskamp. Section 3A St. Thomas Academy (19-4-2, #1 seed), defending Section 3A and State Class AA champion, finished tied for first in the Classic Suburban Conference, defeated Richfield twice in conference play, defeated Rochester Lourdes and Red Wing in December, tied Duluth Marshall, had four losses and one tie versus Class AA teams. Top players � junior forward Nick Larson, sophomore forward Anders Lee, freshman forward Ryan Walters, junior goalie Aaron Crandall. Rochester Lourdes (20-3-1, #2 seed), lost to St. Thomas Academy, tied Red Wing, defeated Richfield, only other losses were by one goal to St. Cloud Cathedral and International Falls. Biggest wins were over Totino-Grace and Breck. Top players � senior forward Brandon Bahnemann, sophomore forward Tyler Voigt. Red Wing (15-9-1, #3 seed), finished third in the Missota Conference, lost to St. Thomas Academy, tied Rochester Lourdes, did not play Richfield, not a high scoring team. Top players � sophomore forward Blake Schammel, senior defenseman AJ Knapp. Richfield (16-9-0, #4 seed), finished third in the Classic Suburban Conference, lost to St. Thomas Academy twice in conference play, lost to Rochester Lourdes, did not play Red Wing, won 12 of their last 14 games losing only to St. Thomas Academy and Hill-Murray. Top players � sophomore forward Cole Gunner, senior forward Greg Scanlon, junior forward Brock Hill. Section 4A Little Falls (22-3-0, #1 seed), defending Section 4A champion, finished first in the Central Lakes Conference, defeated Fergus Falls and Sartell-St. Stephen each twice in conference play, split with Morris/Benson Area, top scoring team in the state led by junior forward Jared Festler, Festler set state records for goals and points during the regular season, 62-47-109. Top players � Festler, sophomore forward Ben Hanowski, junior forward Beau Hanowski. Fergus Falls (14-10-0, #2 seed), finished third in the Central Lakes Conference, lost twice to Little Falls, defeated Sartell-St. Stephen twice, did not play Morris/Benson Area. Top players � junior forward Cody Peck, senior forward Cody Koski. Morris/Benson Area (19-3-0, #3 seed), split with Little Falls, lost to Sartell-St. Stephen, did not play Fergus Falls, late season 9-7 win over Little Falls was their biggest of the year. Top player � senior forward Tony Schultz. Sartell-St. Stephen (10-15-0, #4 seed), finished tied for seventh in the Central Lakes Conference, lost at Little Falls twice and Fergus Falls twice in conference play, defeated Morris/Benson Area. Top player � senior defenseman Fred Bidinger. Section 5A Mahtomedi (16-9-0, #1 seed), finished fourth in the Classic Suburban Conference, defeated Breck twice, split with Blake, defeated Totino-Grace, one of the surprise teams of season that was not rated in the Top 20 preseason poll. Top players � senior forwards Mike Tracy and Travis Saltz. Breck (16-9-0, #2 seed), finished first in the Tri-Metro Conference, lost to Mahtomedi twice, split with Blake, defeated Totino-Grace in overtime, lost close games to Duluth Marshall and Rochester Lourdes, young team, five of their top forwards are freshmen or a sophomore. Top players � junior forward Fredrik Strand, senior forward Matt Cosgriff. Blake (14-10-1, #3 seed), defending Section 5AA champion, finished second in the Tri-Metro Conference, split with Mahtomedi and Breck, defeated Totino-Grace 4-3. Top players � junior forward Jack Barnes, senior forwards Stephen Steinhauser and Mike Louwerse. Totino-Grace (17-8-0, #4 seed), finished tied for first in the North Suburban Conference, finished first in the Kiwanis/Wells Fargo Hockey Festival (Class A), lost to Mahtomedi by a two goals, lost to Blake by a goal, lost in overtime to Breck, biggest win was over Class AA Benilde-St. Margaret�s. Top players � senior forward Tony McDonald, sophomore forward Dan DeLisle, senior goalies Jack Ries and Kevin Drakulic. Section 6A Orono (18-6-1, #1 seed), defending Section 6A champion, finished first in the Wright County Conference, defeated New Prague/Montgomery-Lonsdale and Faribault, defeated Mound-Westonka twice during conference play, defeated St Cloud Cathedral, Mahtomedi, Totino-Grace, lost one goal games to Warroad and Breck. Top players � senior defenseman Pat McClure, senior forward Adam Randall. New Prague/Montgomery-Lonsdale (19-6-0, #2 seed), finished second in the Missota Conference, lost to Orono 5-4, defeated Faribault 4-2, defeated Mound-Westonka 2-1, finished second in the Little Falls Tournament (to Little Falls). Top players � senior forward Ryan Witty, sophomore forward Tyler Lapic. Faribault (16-8-1, #3 seed), finished fifth in the Big Nine Conference, lost to Orono and New Prague/Montgomery-Lonsdale, did not play Mound-Westonka, finished third in the Little Falls Tournament. Top players � junior forward Grant Pavek, sophomore defenseman Seth Helgeson. Mound-Westonka (12-12-1, #4 seed), finished fourth in the Wright County Conference, lost to Orono twice in conference play, lost to New Prague/Montgomery-Lonsdale, did not play Faribault. Top players � junior forward Zach Johnson, sophomore forward Riley Horgan. Section 7A Hermantown (23-0-2, #1 seed), defending Section 7A champion, finished second in the Lake Superior Conference, only undefeated team in Class A, defeated Hibbing/Chisholm and Virginia/Mountain Iron-Buhl in overtime, defeated International Falls in a one goal game 3-2, also defeated Duluth Denfeld, Sauk Rapids-Rice, and Hermantown, only ties were with Duluth Marshall and Cloquet/Esko/Carlton. Top players � junior forward Drew LeBlanc, senior forward Ryan Schmidt, senior defenseman Chad Huttel, senior goalie Nathan Hardy. Hibbing/Chisholm (19-4-2, #2 seed), finished tied for first in the Iron Range Conference, lost to Hermantown in overtime, defeated Virginia/Mountain Iron-Buhl and International Falls each twice in conference play, lost to three Class AA teams. Top players � junior forward Anthony DeCenzo, senior forward Brendan Kapella. Virginia/Mountain Iron-Buhl (16-9-0, #4 seed), finished tied for fourth in the Iron Range Conference, lost to Hermantown 4-3 in overtime, lost twice to Hibbing/Chisholm, split with International Falls, dealt Little Falls one of their three losses on the season, Nico Sacchetti is the top Class A junior forward in the state. Top players � Sacchetti, senior forwards Mark McGillivray and Cody McNamee, senior defenseman Scott Kishel. International Falls (15-10-0, #4 seed), finished third in the Iron Range Conference, lost to Hermantown, lost to Hibbing/Chisholm twice in conference play, split with Virginia/Mountain Iron-Buhl in conference play, finished second in the Kiwanis/Wells Fargo Holiday Festival by defeating Rochester Lourdes but losing to Totino-Grace. Top players � junior forward Jake Youso, junior goalie Brady Hjelle. Section 8A Warroad (16-8-1, #1 seed), finished third in the Mariucci Conference, defeated East Grand Forks twice in conference play, split with Thief River Falls, did not play Park Rapids, lost to Hibbing/Chisholm, defeated Orono, lost to Roseau twice 3-1 and 5-3, Aaron Marvin is the top Class A senior forward in the state. Top players � Marvin, junior forward Bryce Ravndalen East Grand Forks (12-12-1, #2 seed), finished fifth in the Mariucci Conference, lost twice to Warroad, defeated Thief River Falls twice, tied Park Rapids. Top player � junior forward John Grabinski. Thief River Falls (11-12-1, #3 seed), defending Section 8A champion, finished fourth in the Mariucci Conference, split with Warroad and lost twice to East Grand Forks in conference play, defeated Park Rapids, defeated Blake, tied Moorhead, lost close games with Totino-Grace, International Falls, Virginia/Mountain Iron-Buhl, and Duluth Marshall. Top players � senior forward Corey Horien, senior defenseman Michael Benedict. Park Rapids (17-5-3, #4 seed), finished third in the Mid-State Conference, lost to Thief River Falls, tied East Grand Forks, did not play Warroad. Top player � junior forward Zach Lehrke. |