1. Hill-Murray (4-0) 

The Pioneers topped Rogers 13-1 and River Cities 9-2 last week. The usual suspects - Jaycee Chatleain and Emily Pohl - have combined for 22 points so far this season, and Forest Lake transfer Hannah Rychley has provided supplemental scoring with five goals and eight points through four games. 

2. Holy Family (2-0) 

Holy Family’s 3-2 win over No. 4-2A Edina tops No. 3-2A Centennial/Spring Lake Park’s tie with No. 6-2A Minnetonka and pushes the Fire into the No. 2 slot. The Fire will take on perennial Class A contenders Holy Angela and Warroad this week. 

3. Centennial/Spring Lake Park (2-0-1) 

Despite beating Rosemount (revenge game) and Forest Lake last week, the aforementioned tie with Minnetonka bumps the Cougars down to No. 3-2A behind Holy Family. Kaia Weiland would have earned First Star of the Game if the award existed in the Minnetonka game, stopping 35 of 37 shots. 

4. Edina (2-1) 

The loss to Holy Family hurts, but that’s life in the big city. 

A trip north to Proctor/Hermantown resulted in a 2-1 win, in which the Hornets outshot the Mirage 40-15. Hopkins/Park and No. 9-2A Farmington are on the docket this week for the Hornets. 

5. Maple Grove (3-0) 

Surprisingly, the Crimson is 3-0 without recording a single goal in the first period so far this year. 

The Queens of the Fast Finish edged River Cities 3-1 in their lone game last week, with junior forward Hadley Bakker scoring her team-leading fifth goal of the season in the victory and Harper Wineke chipping in a goal and a helper. 

This type of win feels very Maple Grove-y. 

6. Minnetonka (1-0-1) 

Tied Centennial/Spring Lake Park, but did put 37 shots on goal and appear to have found a replacement for 2025 Jori Jones Award winner Layla Hemp in junior Ty Jabs, who made 25 saves on Saturday. 

7. Moorhead (2-2) 

The Spuds won both games they played last week, downing Buffalo and Northfield after opening the season with top-ranked Hill-Murray and No. 5-2A Maple Grove. Numbers don’t mean much with such a small sample size in the early stages of the season, but five of the six goals the Spuds allowed last week came in the third period. 

8. Benilde-St. Margaret’s (3-0) 

The Red Knights are undefeated, but wins over Minneapolis and New Prague last week don’t brew my coffee. In a head-to-head matchup with Moorhead, I’m picking the Spuds. 

9. Farmington (2-0) 

Farmington lost three South Suburban Conference games last season, including one against Rosemount in November. A year later, the Tigers have beaten the Irish as many times as they did all last season, scoring seven times en route to a 7-3 win to put a bow on a 2-0 start to the year. 

10. Mounds View/Irondale (4-0) 

This week could be my one chance to rank Mounds View/Irondale this season, and I’m taking it. Picking the tenth-ranked team is a little like picking your favorite cavity - it’s painful, reminds you that you’re getting older, and could end up being very expensive in the long run. 

MVI (not sure on the nickname) is 4-0, and junior forward Sarah Johnson is one of the state’s best-kept secrets. Johnson has 10 goals and 17 points through four games this season, and is on pace to score more goals this season than she has in her first three varsity campaigns combined. 

CLARIFICATION: The cavity comment was a reference to how difficult or "painful" it was for me to pick a single team for the No. 10 slot for this week. In addition to Mounds View/Irondale, I considered Alexandria, North Wright County, Forest Lake, Stillwater, Apple Valley, and Andover. 

1. Warroad (2-0) 

The Warriors move to 2-0 after a 1-0 win over Westonka/Southwest Christian, a game that pitted childhood friends Izzy Marvin and Larry Olimb against each other in an early battle of Class A stalwarts. In keeping with Warhead’s tradition of strong schedules, the Warriors travel to No. 2-2A Holy Family this week, then take on 2025 Class A State Tournament participant River Lakes the very next night. 

2. Dodge County (3-0) 

The Wildcats beat Winona, Cloquet-Esko-Carlton, and a plucky Duluth squad in the span of four days last week, and will not face a ranked team until Nov. 25. That should give Dodge County time to continue tinkering with line combinations in the wake of last year’s offensive catalyst Nora Carstensen’s graduation. 

3. Breck (2-0)

A three-goal third period gave Breck a 4-2 win over Blake last week, reigniting a rivalry that had been dormant since the Bears opted up to Class AA years ago. The Mustangs should be 5-0 by the time we meet next week, with games against Gentry Academy, Visitation, and Lakeville South on deck. 

4. Marshall (3-0) 

Thanks in part to Orono’s loss to Blake and Proctor/Hermantown’s loss to Edina, Marshall creeps past the Bears and the Mirage and into the fourth spot. The Tigers earned a 3-2 win over Lakeville North last week, a team that has real Class AA State Tournament aspirations coming out of Section 3AA. 

5. Blake (2-1) 

Janie McGawn emerged victorious in a duel of two of the best Class A goaltenders in Minnesota last week, stopping 34 of 35 shots in the Bears’ 2-1 win over previous No. 4-1A Orono. The Bears host Holy Angels and travel to Blaine this week. 

6. Proctor/Hermantown (1-2) 

A heroic effort from Suri Langley kept the game close in the Mirage's loss to No. 4-2A Edina, with Langley stopping 38 of 40 shots in the 2-1 loss. The Mirage will face Moose Lake on Tuesday, then No 7-1A Orono comes to town in a game that could chart a course of how the rankings shake out for the rest of the season. 

7. Orono (2-1)

The Spartans are still adjusting to life without Zoe Lopez, Macy Rasmussen, and Maddy Kimbrel, and the tough schedule as usual is doing its job in preparing the team for the postseason without much worry about its place in the rankings. The Spartans will face their third ranked opponent this week on the road at Proctor/Hermantown. 

8. Westonka/Southwest Christian (1-1-1) 

Savannah Blahowiak stopped 27 of 28 in the White Hawks’ loss to top-ranked Warroad, and will face North Shore and Rock Ridge on a northern swing after Thanksgiving. The second period has been a bugaboo (SOMEONE FIND ME A NEW THESAURUS) for the White Hawks thus far, as five of the team’s seven goals allowed have come in the second frame. 

9. Albert Lea (3-0) 

With the graduation of offensive dynamo Mika Cichosz to Minnesota State, the Tigers are looking for a new running mate(s) for Morgan Goskeson. Look no further than Haley and Hanna Austinson, who have combined for eight goals and 14 points last week, as the Tigers won three games in four days. 

10. Mankato East (2-0-1) 

Back-to-back wins to start the season for the Cougars? Cool. 

Needing two goals in the last six minutes of regulation to force a tie with Minnesota River? Not as cool, but better than a loss. Goals from Laina Peterson and Ella Fugazzi kept the Cougars from taking their first loss of the season, as they faced an outstanding 43-save effort from Minnesota River’s Annika Magelee. 

Up next is the Cougars’ second game against Rochester Century/John Marshall in nine days on Thursday, then a Saturday tilt with South St. Paul.