Cadets off to strong start with five straight wins

#1 St. Thomas Academy (5-0-0)

St. Thomas Academy is off to a raucous start with five straight wins to start the season. Last week their win over formerly No. 1 Rogers lifted them into the top spot and as long as they keep winning it will be hard for another team to leapfrog them.

This past week the Cadets had another convincing win over Centennial, 6-0, and a lopsided win over Simley 18-0. The Cadets strength of schedule has not equaled those of Edina and Hill-Murray, but its about to get tougher.

They will meet up with last year’s state runner-up Chanhassen this week before taking on Two Rivers early next week. Then it is Lakeville North, Edina and Moorhead to finish out the season.

The Cadets are deep. Newly hired coach Mark Strobel, a former state champion with Hill-Murray, has them firing on all cylinders. Jackson Rudh is off to a big start with 19 points (10G, 9A) in five games. Michael Mikal has four goals and 12 assists and Will Dosan has eight goals and four assists. Patch Cronin anchors the blue line has a pair of goals and six assists through five games.

The Cadets have outscored opponents 53-5 so far and will look to continue their domination into next week.

#2 Hill-Murray (4-0-0)

Unless STA loses, the Pioneers will have to wait until Jan. 7 when they meet up with the Cadets at Aldrich for a classic match up. Strobel will be coaching against the team he played for and captained 30-plus years ago.

Last week, the Pioneers beat No. 12 Maple Grove 6-1. Graham Greeder (Minnesota State) had three assists as he continues to elevate his game as one of the top senior defenseman. Alaska-Fairbanks commit Landon Cottingham is also a top D-man who had a goal and an assist in the win and gives the Pioneers a dynamic duo on the blue line.

Boden Sampair and Brady McElmury each had a goal and an assist and Grayson Hangii stopped 24 shots to earn the win.

Like STA the Pioneers have so far dominated opponents, outscoring them 29-6. Also like STA their schedule will get tougher with Wayzata (Dec. 19) and White Bear Lake (Dec. 21) slated for next week.

#3 Moorhead (4-1-0)

Carver Hasbargen scored a late third-period glasses to lift the Spuds over No. 14 Minnetonka 3-2. The Spuds improved to 4-1-0 and have played one of the tougher early schedules with wins over Edina, Grand Rapids and Andover. Thy lost their opener to Wayzata 3-2 in overtime.

Mason Kraft is off to a great start with 11 points through the first five games against those strong opponents. Brooks Cullen has 11 points and Zac Zimmerman 10.

#4 Edina (3-1-0)

It doesn’t matter where the Hornets fall on a weekly basis because come section playoff time they will be the team to beat in Section 6AA.  The defending Class AA champions were able to double up on No. 11 Benilde-St. Margaret’s 4-2 even though they were outshot 30-21. The win included an empty net goal. The Red Knights led 2-1 heading into the third period when Casey Mason tied it up on a power play. Mason West then put the Hornets ahead with his fifth goal in four games.

Section 6AA looks to be a grinder again with four of the top 12 teams in this week’s rankings in that section. That will mean three very good teams will stay home in early March. The question is what team will be the one making their way to the X?

#5 Stillwater (5-0-0)

Section 4AA is no slouch either with three teams in the top 10 and two in the top five. Stillwater continued their hot start with another pair of wins including a 3-0 win over No. 17 Eden Prairie. They have also beaten top 20 teams Minnetonka and Maple Grove.

The Ponies are getting balanced scoring and have a good mix of senior leadership with Blake Vanek, Matthew Volkman and Brody Dustin and some solid young talent with sophomores Luca Jarvis and Tate Batchelor.

Volkman leads the team with 12 points. The Ponies will get a good test Saturday when they face No. 7 Rogers in Rogers.

LPH Class AA boys Rankings Presented by Tradition Companies