1. Edina (2-0) 

A pair of textbook wins start the season for Edina, as the Hornets blank Rogers 8-0 and thump visiting Class A power Proctor/Hermantown 6-1. 

Whitney Horton leads the team in scoring through two games with six points, followed by Lorelai Nelson with five. The Hornet defense also held Rogers to just two shots on goal in the season-opener. 

2. Hill-Murray (3-0) 

A 4-2 win over Class AA top-10 team Moorhead was followed by a 7-0 victory over Eden Prairie and an 8-2 win over Champlin Park/Coon Rapids, two teams that could be ranked if our ratings ran further down than 10. 

The duo of Jaycee Chatleain and Emily Pohl have lived up to their billing as one of the top units in the state, with each entering the week with three goals and seven assists apiece. 

3. Centennial/Spring Lake Park (3-0) 

The Cougars have a win over a top-10 team (Maple Grove) and a second win over a 2024 Class AA State Tournament participant (Rosemount) to start the year, plus a dominant 5-0 shutout over Stillwater. 11 players have recorded a point already for the Cougars, with Katie Ball and Teagan Kulenkamp leading the way with five points each. 

4. Minnetonka (3-0) 

The Skippers have yet to allow a goal through three games to start the year, anchored between the pipes in all three contests by Minnesota commit Layla Hemp. The win over previously third-ranked Andover pushes the Skippers to No. 4-2A, and a Nov. 19 date with No. 3-2A Centennial/Spring Lake Park offers a premium chance to vault into the top three. 

5. Andover (1-1) 

The Huskies have not scored a goal in their last five periods, last getting on the board in the first period of their 1-0 win over top-five Class A team Holy Angels. Losing to Minnetonka is nothing to lose sleep over, but the Huskies need goals - and fast. 

6. Maple Grove (2-1) 

Both Maple Grove and Moorhead have a loss against the top-three team, but the Crimson get the nod over the Spuds based on a 3-0 win over preseason No. 6-2A Benilde-St. Margaret’s. Sophomore Bella Prosser has filled in seamlessly for departed Dani Strom, stopping 88 of 94 shots so far, including a 30-save shutout in the win over the Red Knights. 

7. Moorhead (3-1) 

The memory of the season-opening 4-2 loss against No. 2-2A Hill-Murray has been softened by a 4-0 win over Alexandria, a 6-0 victory over Buffalo, and a 6-1 win over Elk River. Ms. Hockey hopeful Olivia Kortan leads the Spuds with five goals and 12 points thus far, and Nov. 23 will offer another chance at a top-10 win when Benilde-St. Margaret’s comes to town. 

8. Benilde-St. Margaret’s (1-1-1) 

The Red Knights certainly aren’t hurting for shots on goal, having pumped 140 on opposing netminders through three games. The frustrations on the BSM bench likely come from throwing 86 shots on net against Maple Grove (3-0 loss) and Orono (2-2 tie) in its last two games, but goalies can’t keep putting up these kinds of numbers against the Red Knights…can they? 

9. Farmington (2-0) 

A 7-2 win over Owatonna and a 5-3 win over Shakopee should be expected for a young - but oddly, experienced - Tiger squad. Traveling to South Suburban Conference rival Apple Valley (3-0) this week should offer the Tigers a better gauge of where they are in this young season. 

10. Holy Family (2-1) 

The Fire made a northern Minnesota swing over the weekend and came away with a 3-1 loss against No. 1-1A Warroad, in which the Fire and Warriors were tied 1-1 until the 10:28 mark of the third period. Holy Family fans can also daydream about how the game may have played out had the Fire not taken four penalties in the third period of the loss. 

Game two featured a 2-0 win over preseason No. 7-2A Roseau. The Fire was scoreless until the third period, but it held a Roseau team with no shortage of offensive firepower to just five shots in each of the first and second periods en route to outshooting the Rams 39-19. 

The Fire could jump in the rankings again with a win over No. 5-2A Andover on Nov. 21. 

1. Warroad (3-0) 

The Warriors have a win over a top-five Class A team (Proctor/Hermantown), a top-10 Class AA team (Holy Family), and a 6-1 victory over Class AA program Lakeville North. It's hard to imagine a better start than that in Hockeytown. 

There's only one game on the Warroad docket this week, as highly touted Orono makes the trip north. 

2. Dodge County (3-0) 

The Wildcats are three games into a five-game homestead to start the season, and the faithful who make the pilgrimage to Kasson have been treated to three victories, including Friday's 3-2 overtime thriller against top-10 Class A team Breck. Maysie Koch scored the game-winner for the Wildcats against the Mustangs, and nine Wildcats have recorded goals so far. 

3. Holy Angels (3-1) 

Since opening the season with a 1-0 loss against No. 5-2A Andover, the Stars have defeated South St. Paul 5-1, Chisago Lakes 7-0, and Blake 4-2, with the South St. Paul win particularly gratifying as a victory over a section opponent. 

Freshman Geni Nelson has been a standout for the Stars, scoring two goals and adding five assists to lead the team in scoring with seven points. 

4. Orono (2-1-1) 

The Spartans started the season with a 5-2 win over Eden Prairie and a 5-0 shutout of Simley, but a 2-0 loss to rival Mound Westonka/Southwest Christian brought Orono back to earth and a 2-2 tie with No. 8-2A Benilde-St. Margaret's hinged on a 54-save performance by sophomore goaltender Viv Anderson. It's early, obviously, but there's still work to be done in Orono. 

5. Proctor/Hermantown (2-2) 

Ranking Proctor/Hermantown each week could be enough to make my pesky ulcer explode. 

Being running-timed by Warroad and five-goal'd by Edina are not good results, but they came against the No. 1 team in each class. Throw in a 2-1 win over preseason No. 7-2A Roseau, and the Mirage has all the trappings of a top-five lock for the season. 

Should the Mirage play to its potential, it could be 8-2 when it travels to Orono in early December. 

6. Mound Westonka/Southwest Christian (2-1) 

Welcome back, Ali Butler. 

The junior defender missed all but two games last season and is already making up for lost time, recording a goal and three assists through MWSWC's first three games to tie for the team lead with four points. 

Holy Family transfer Savannah Blohowiak has been a revelation in net for the White Hawks, stopping all 58 shots she's faced. Blohowiak finished the 2-0 upset win over preseason No. 2-1A Orono with 33 saves. 

7. Breck (2-1) 

Had the Mustangs pulled off the upset over Dodge County in overtime on the road, the top-five could have been rocked to its core. Nevertheless, Breck is a team bursting with potential, and taking last year's Class A State Tournament runner-up to an extra session is evidence of that fact. 

A Nov. 19 date with No. 4-1A Orono is one of the week's best matchups, regardless of class. 

8. Albert Lea (4-0) 

Albert Lea edges South St. Paul here because of wins over 2024 Class A State Tournament team Luverne and 2024 section finalist River Lakes. The Tigers have allowed one goal in four games, while senior defender and Minnesota State commit Mika Cichosz ranks among the state's leading scorers with eight goals and 16 points. 

9. South St. Paul (3-1) 

The Packers shook off the season-opener, a 5-1 loss to Holy Angels, and then tallied three straight wins over Delano/Rockford, Hibbing/Chisholm, and Rock Ridge. 

The well-known trio of Alida Ahern, Bailey Vesper, and Lily Pachl have played well, as expected, but junior Addi Barone has impressed early with three goals and five points for the Packers. 

10. Marshall (3-0) 

Willmar was ranked No. 10 on Wednesday, and by Thursday evening, Marshall had set ablaze to the preseason rankings, blanking the Cardinals 3-0 before beating Fergus Falls 4-2 and Delano/Rockford 5-3. 

Brooklyn Mauch and Peyton DeMuth are tied for the team's scoring lead with six points each, and goaltender Lily Stelter has stopped 43 of 48 shots so far. 

There are a few traditional powers in the 15A ranks each year. The most prominent is Edina Green.

Editorial Note: Unfortunately some of the top talent departs too soon to girls high school hockey. As a result, the number of great teams gets limited to a few handfuls compared to a few armfuls. 

The first two weeks of rankings is more of a best guess than a message from the mountain top.  We gave teams a higher ranking this week, less points for wins, more points for strength of schedule. 

Buffalo and OMG don't have gaudy records, but they are lining up and competitive with the top-10.

Alexandria is our No. 1 team in our week 1 rankings; the Cardinals are 11-0 and have 65 goals for and only 5 goals against. No. 4 Eagan/Inver Grove Heights has only played two games so far but have impressed in those two games by outscoring opponents 12-1. No. 6 Central MN Riverblades (Black) is a team to keep your eye on this season; they had a very 2-3 loss to No. 1 Alexandria. 

There is a lot of parity this year in 12A. Not even two or three top teams...there look to be a bunch. 

Edina get crowned in week one coming off their win at the Andover Fall Classic Sunday. The Hornets have four losses in the young season, but pulled it together come tourney time.

We see you Farmington and Alexandria. Strength of schedule is more important than W/L.

No. 1 River Lakes has impressed early with an average goal differential of 5.36. The No. 2 team is Osseo/Maple Grove (White) who is right behind River Lakes in our first installment of our rankings.  No. 6 Bemidji is a team to potentially watch out for this season. Luverne is just outside of the rankings but are close to making the jump into the T-10.