1. Centennial/Spring Lake Park (18-2-1) 

The Cougars can’t stop winning. They just can’t. A 9-1 win over Rogers was followed by their second win of the season over Holy Family, this one coming in overtime over the weekend. Andover and Minnetonka are on the docket this week, and Laini Gnetz should be back in the lineup after winning gold with Team USA at the Under-18 Women’s World Championships. 

2. Holy Family (18-2) 

The Fire earned quality wins over Class A programs Dodge County and Westonka/Southwest Christian last week before the loss to the top-ranked Cougars. Gamebreakers Maddy Kimbrel and Katya Sander return to the lineup, adding a boost before games with Orono, Prior Lake, and No. 3-2A Hill-Murray this week. 

3. Hill-Murray (18-2-1) 

A dominant 4-0 win over Bemidji was followed by a curious 2-2 tie with Warroad over the weekend, as the Pioneers headed north to Bemidji's Sanford Center for the 218 Sports Showcase. The tie with the Class A Warriors isn’t cause for concern, but surely, the Pioneers will be thrilled to have Emily Pohl back in the lineup. Pohl finished tied for second among Team USA skaters with six goals and 15 points during the U18 Women’s Worlds. 

4. Minnetonka (14-1-5) 

The Skippers tied rival Edina 1-1 and then blasted North Wright County 9-0 last week. Kennedy Hochbaum, Claire Sommerfeld, and Delaney Miller have all now surpassed the 30-point mark, making the Skippers one of two teams in the Lake Conference to have three players reach that threshold. 

5. Edina (12-4-3) 

Someone (not me) should check the archives to find the last time the pair of Lake Conference powers had combined for eight ties in a season, as the Hornets and Minnetonka reached that mark last week in the aforementioned 1-1 draw. The Hornets topped Eden Prairie after the tie with the Skippers, and will take on Buffalo, Warroad, and Maple Grove this week. 

6. Wayzata (16-3-1) 

A few words ago, I mentioned that Minnetonka was one of two Lake Conference teams with three players reaching 30 total points. 

CLIFFHANGER. 

The Trojans are the other one. Julia Ostapeic (42 points), Noelle Noble (35), and Ava Molde (31) make up the tripod of 30-pointers. 

Wayzata blanked Buffalo and North Wright County last week, giving the Trojans three straight shutouts and running Kylie Jaksha’s season total to seven blank sheets. 

7. River Cities (13-7) 

The Blades downed Anoka 7-0 and Rogers 10-3 last week, paced by Sydney Burnevik and June Semling, who combined for 17 points across the two games. After last week, Burnevik and Semling have now reached the 40-point mark for the season. 

Benilde-St. Margaret’s and Mounds View/Irondale are on tap for this week. 

8. Woodbury (21-0-1) 

The Royals beat East Ridge, Lakeville South, and Cottage Grove by a combined score of 15-2 last week, and are (on paper) likely to finish the regular season undefeated. Youngsters Maddie Mills and Callie Pettengill each picked up an assist in the wins last week, giving the Royals 10 players with 10 or more points on the season. 

The Woodbury coaching staff won’t overlook the next three opponents - Forest Lake, Mounds View/Irondale, and River Cities - but a betting man (which I’m not, because I miss the old days of having a bookie named Chuckie St. Paul or Billy Duluth who I would make my wagers through) could plunk down a c-note on the Royals gearing up for another run as Section 4AA’s top seed. 

9. Bemidji (15-4) 

After being shut out by Hill-Murray, the Lumberjacks bounced back with a 5-2 win over Orono. Leading scorer Bailey Rupp will be (hopefully, not sure what flight the Minnesota contingent is on) after her tour of duty with Team USA, just in time for Tuesday’s date with Moorhead. That game will, in all likelihood, decide the top seed in Section 8AA. 

10. Moorhead (10-7-2) 

Maple Grove falls out after losing to an unranked and sub-.500 Eden Prairie, and Moorhead slides back in after beating Section 8AA rival Alexandria 4-1 last week. Had the Spuds played and won their scheduled game against Benilde-St. Margaret’s over the weekend, their case for being ranked would be even stronger. By that same token, had the Red Knights peeled the Spuds, their case for No. 10 would be in play. 

That game was postponed, and I’m not sure if it will be played, based on the age-old factors of time and geography. 

1. Breck (17-1-1) 

Normally, tying a top-three Class AA team might be cause for bumping up in the Class A rankings, but all the Mustangs did last week to hold on to No. 1 was beat Benilde-St. Margaret’s, North Shore, and Proctor/Hermantown. Three quality wins trump one quality tie. That’s math, baby. 

The Mustangs have shown rare depth this season for a relatively smaller program with no designated feeder system, although you could argue that half the youth associations in the north metro stock the Breck stables. 10 players have 10 or more points through 19 games. 

2. Warroad (17-3-1) 

The Warriors turned on the jets and cruised past Orono 6-3, then tied Hill-Murray a day later as part of the 218 Sports Showcase in Bemidji. 

The tie against the Pioneers showed real mettle, as the Warriors battled back after going down 2-0 after the first period, and I’d buy someone a Gatorade to know what the coaching staff said to the team heading into the second. Payton Rolli finished with 38 saves in the 2-2 draw. 

3. Blake (17-4) 

The Bears swept South St. Paul, Gentry Academy, and Delano-Rockford last week, which should lock up the No. 1 seed in Section 4A with four games to play in the regular season. The Bears will travel to Moorhead on Jan. 24 for their next game. 

4. Dodge County (13-4-1) 

The Wildcats continued their trend of beating the teams they should beat and hanging with teams in the Class AA top 10, falling to No. 2-2A Holy Family and beating Blaine by shutout. The Wildcats will take on Gentry Academy, Northfield, and Moose Lake Area this week. If you’re looking for numbers to chew on, the Wildcats have scored a single goal in all five losses this season. 

5. Proctor/Hermantown (13-5-2) 

Taylee Manion returns to the Mirage lineup this week after winning gold with Team USA, just in time for what should be another top-seeded run in the Section 7A playoffs. The Mirage beat Cloquet-Esko-Carlton and Apple Valley last week before having its three-game winning streak snapped in a 5-1 loss to No. 1-1A Breck. 

6. Mankato East (18-1-1) 

Two games, two shutouts for Mankato East, as the Cougars eased past Mankato West 8-0 and New Ulm 7-0. We’ve mentioned scoring depth a couple of times in the last 1,100 words, and the Cougars have it in spades. Eight players have recorded 25 or more points, and the team is averaging more than seven goals per game. 

7. Marshall (18-4) 

The Tigers thumped New Ulm 9-1 in their lone game of the week, and Brooklyn Mauch had her seventh game of the season with five or more points, totaling five goals and eight points in the win. With 57 goals and 87 points with four guaranteed games to go, 100 for the season is within range for the uncommitted junior forward. 

8. Westonka/Southwest Christian (10-7-3) 

Looking back, I may have been able to write the same capsule a dozen times for the White Hawks during the preseason, copied and pasted each week, and wouldn’t have been that far removed from reality. The White Hawks eked out a 3-2 win over Hutchinson, then took Holy Family to the brink of disaster before falling 1-0. Emma Covell had 36 saves in the loss to the No. 2-2A Fire. 

A close win against a Class A foe, then a close loss against a Class AA power. A tale as old as time. 

9. Luverne (13-7) 

You didn’t forget about the Cardinals, did you? 

The longtime darlings of box score watchers and monthly subscribers of Contextless Scoreboard Aficionado are back in the hunt, defeating Albert Lea 7-4 and South Central 20-0 last week. Ellie Van Batavia’s five goals and 10 points against South Central give her the second-most points in a single game all-time, right behind Section 3A rival Marshall’s Brooklyn Mauch, who recorded 11 points in a win over Windom Area last season. 

Fairmont, Northern Lakes, and Princeton/Big Lake/Becker are on this week’s slate. 

10. Orono (9-11-1) 

Orono stays, and I don’t want to hear about it. 

The Spartans dipped below the .500 mark with two losses over the weekend against Warroad and Bemidji, but remain in the top-10. Why? Because last week’s No. 9 North Shore lost to unranked South St. Paul, and of the teams vying for the last spot - North Shore, Minnesota River, Chisago Lakes, etc., Orono would be my pick in a head-to-head with any of them. 

Orono’s strength of schedule is a double-edged sword. It’s no fun to lose, but they’ll be better prepared for the postseason because they play teams like Minnetonka, Moorhead, and Hill-Murray. 

The Spartans’ geography helps with scheduling - they’re within driving distance of the majority of top-10 teams across both classes, and even a trek to Dodge County for a weeknight game isn’t out of the question. 

I also understand that these luxuries don’t apply to all teams. Luverne has to beg teams to put them on its schedule, or make the drive to the South Dakota border, which faraway teams won’t do unless they can get multiple games out of a Friday/Saturday split. 

The Cardinals are trying. They made the trip to Stillwater and took the Ponies to overtime on Dec. 29. 

For the foreseeable future, the scheduling deck is stacked against rural teams, with Warroad being the exception, with all the traveling the Warriors do. 

And now I’ve said quite enough about the subject. 

No major movement after this past week. Then #6 OMG beats then #5 Stillwater Red and they do the rankings dosey doe. Edina remains undefeated, not sure we've ever seen a team last this long at the 15A level in our 15 years of rankings. The Hornets keep on rolling, they beat OMG Sunday to claim their fourth (of four) tournament title.

We have some stability in the top 3 this week as Chaska/Chanhassen, Rochester, and Edina (White) stay in that order. Rochester finishes near the top of another tournament this weekend in the Shannon Cup, tying in the standings with new Top 10 entrant #10 Eagan. After picking up the win in Stillwater at Skate for the Roses, Bloomington/Eden Prairie Red rockets up to #4. Another new Top 10 debutant is #9 Wayzata Gold, who had a solid week. The bottom of these rankings is very volatile, making it difficult to choose between several teams.

There are so many great teams at this level. Each week, it seems there are battles all over the state. 

Here is an illustration. Orono-Westonka ties #4 OMG, beats CENT/SLP and the Valkyries, but loses to Warroad. Go figure.

Shakopee-Prior Lake beats a very good Elk River team in Bemidji. They jump into the T10. Apple-Valley-Eastview wins the Skate for the Roses, we are keeping close tabs on the Valkyries. #2 Wayzata won the Breezy Point tournament over a scrappy Marshall team.

The top 4 remain unchanged this week, but keep an eye on #3 Cannon River, which posted three ties on the week. The tie with Edina Gold is nice to see, but tying unranked Eagan/Inver Grove, and Waseca gives me some pause. Hutchinson moves up to #5 this week with Skate for the Roses Champions Orono/Westonka nipping at their heels at #6 via the Tigers' head-to-head win over them. Roseville/Mahtomedi Silver moves up a couple of spots to #7 after defeating now #8 Wayzata Gold. Farmington isn't currently listed as having played games in 2026, but its website says they have, so this may be the last week the lack of reported results slides.

Edina White goes down in Cabin Fever championship to Chaska Chan who has won eight out of its last nine games. The Stormhawks enter the Staff top-10 for the first time this year. 

Speaking of Champions. Orono-Westonka went east and won the Skate for the Roses with two nice wins over T10 Stillwater and Cottage Grove.

Bemidji remains undefeated at 16-0-2 with only two SOL/ties on the year so far.

The theme in the third week of the season for the Girls B divisions is stability at the top. This division is no stranger, as #1 and #2 remain the same in Woodbury Gold and Osseo/Maple Grove Black, respectively. Osseo Maple Grove wins their own tournament in the Cabin Fever Classic. Eagan/Inver Grove Heights Blue slides up to the #3 spot after winning the Spartacats Spectacular. Eden Prairie makes a big splash after their Sparacats Spectacular runner-up finish. After trying to decipher some of the strengths of schedules and thought, flipping Waseca and Cannon River to the bottom seems to make sense, but it is definitely up for interpretation in the coming weeks.