CLASS A BOYS RANKINGS PRESENTED BY:
Hermantown, with a win over Cretin-Derham Hall (No. 10AA) and a tie against Hill-Murray (No. 5AA), move into the top spot in Class A Rankings. PHOTO BY JEFF ANDERSON, LET’S PLAY HOCKEYSt. Cloud Cathedral upended East Grand Forks 5-2 Saturday behind a stellar group effort and a hat trick from junior winger Joey Gillespie. Cathedral’s win was an early statement that they have skill, depth and good goaltending. They also might have the best sophomore defenseman in the state in Griffin Sturm.
Griffin Sturm anchors a defense on a St. Cloud Cathedral team that beat top-ranked East Grand Forks 5-2 Saturday. PHOTO BY BRYAN ZOLLMAN, LET’S PLAY HOCKEYDespite all that, they were edged by perennial Class A power Hermantown in this week’s Class A Rankings presented by Tradition Companies. In a close vote, Hermantown edged the Crusaders for the top spot after a win and a tie against two Class AA top 10 squads. On Friday the Hawks defeated No. 10AA Cretin-Derham Hall 2-1, and on Saturday they staked themselves to a 3-0 lead over No. 5AA Hill-Murray in the first period. But the Pioneers rallied to tie it and it ended it a 3-3 stalemate.
East Grand Forks, meanwhile, fell to No. 3 in the rankings after their loss to St. Cloud Cathedral.
Warroad jumps to No. 4 after a high-scoring win over Mahtomedi 7-6 in overtime. The Zephyrs fall from No. 3 to No. 6.
Orono, with a win over Northfield, comes in at No. 5 and Northfield drops from No. 6 to No. 7.
Cloquet/Esko/Carlton breaks into the Top 10 at No. 9 and Little Falls makes a big leap from No. 13 to No. 19 after defeating Alexandria who dropped from No. 8 to No. 14.
Still plenty of hockey left to play, but it looks as though Class A is shaping up to give hockey fans an entertaining winter with a slew of several teams who could end up hoisting the championship trophy come March 9.
Class A Boys Rankings – Dec. 5, 2023
Presented by TRADITION COMPANIES
| Team | Record | Last WK | |
| 1. Hermantown | 1-0-1 | 2 | |
| 2. St. Cloud Cathedral | 3-0-1 | 4 | |
| 3. East Grand Forks | 4-1-0 | 1 | |
| 4. Warroad | 2-1-0 | 5 | |
| 5. Orono | 3-1-0 | 7 | |
| 6. Mahtomedi | 1-3-0 | 3 | |
| 7. Northfield | 3-1-0 | 6 | |
| 8. Thief River Falls | 1-1-1 | 9 | |
| 9. Cloquet/Esko/Carlton | 2-0-0 | 13 | |
| 10. Monticello | 2-1-0 | 11 | |
| 11. Hibbing/Chisholm | 3-3-0 | 10 | |
| 12. Northern Lakes | 3-0-0 | 14 | |
| 13. Little Falls | 2-2-0 | 19 | |
| 14. Alexandria | 1-1-1 | 8 | |
| 15. Delano | 1-2-0 | 12 | |
| 16. Proctor | 3-1-0 | 15 | |
| 17. Dodge County | 3-1-0 | 17 | |
| 18. Fergus Falls | 1-1-0 | 16 | |
| 19. Minneapolis | 2-1-0 | 18 | |
| 20. Luverne | 3-0-0 | NR | |
Other Teams Receiving Votes:
Breck, La Crescent-Hokah, New Ulm, Chisago Lakes, Mankato East, Crookston,
