#1 Pioneers and #2 Fire will meet Saturday

No. 2 Holy Family outlasted No. 3 Centennial/Spring Lake Park 2-0 behind another strong outing from senior netminder Kayla Swartout. Swartout stopped all 32 shots she faced and the Fire got goals from Katya Sander and Taryn Richter to improve to 6-0-0 on the season. The game against the No. 2 Fire and No. 3 Cougars was one of two top 5 matchups last week.

In the other top 5 matchup, Hill-Murray maintained the top spot in the weekly Let’s Play Hockey Rankings, presented by Tradition Companies with a 4-3 win over No. 5 Edina.

The Pioneers are getting big production from freshman Hannah Rychley, who scored her team-leading ninth goal of the season, which ended up being the game winner against the Hornets.

The Pioneers led 4-1 after two periods behind goals by Elianna Engelhardt , Addy McLay, Anna Pohl and Rychley. Junior Emily Pohl, the team’s leading scorer from a year ago, assisted on three of the goals and now has 14 assists in the team’s first seven games.

Edina scored two third-period goals to make it close, but the Pioneers held on for the win.

The Fire will host No. 1 Hill-Murray this Saturday in a much-anticipated battle against the top two teams in the state. The game is at 1 p.m. at Victoria Ice Arena and will also be a Sophie’s Squad Mental Health Awareness game. For more information on Sophie’s Squad, visit www.sophiessquad.org.

Minnetonka moves up to No. 3 in the rankings this week after a pair of wins over two top Class A teams, including an 8-1 win over No. 1A Dodge County. Minnetonka junior Delaney Miller scored a natural hat trick in the first period and finished with five goals on the day. The Dartmouth commit now has 10 goals on the season. Linemate Carmen Benedict had six assists and Kennedy Hochbaum added a goal and four assists in the win. The Skippers also defeated No. 8 Orono 2-1 on goals by Hochbaum and Claire Sommerfield. They outshot the Spartans 51-9 with Orono’s Vivienne Anderson making 49 saves.

No. 9 Bemidji made a jump in this week’s rankings after improving to 7-0-0 with a 3-1 win over No. 7 Benilde-St. Margaret’s. Junior defenseman Millie Knott scored twice and junior Bailey Rupp scored her team-leading 15^th goal to lead the Lumberjacks to the win. Naomi Johnson added two assists and they outshot the Red Knights 39-28.

Benilde-St. Margaret’s dropped a spot falling to No. 8 with Bemidji getting the nod at No. 7 and Moorhead falling to No. 9.

Woodbury rounds out the Top 10 by staying put after a pair of wins last week.

LPH Rankings 12/2/25

Presented by:

Other Teams Receiving Votes: Gentry Academy, Alexandria, Roseville/Mahtomedi, Eden Prairie, Stillwater, Brainerd, East Ridge. Eagan, Prior Lake, Duluth.

Top 20 Match Ups this week

Tuesday

South St. Paul at #1AA Hill-Murray

#3AA Minnetonka at Buffalo

#4AA Centennial/Spring Lake Park at Elk River/Zimmerman

Eden Prairie at #6A Maple Grove

#8AA Benilde-St. Margaret’s at #11AA Andover

#10AA Woodbury at Park Cottage Grove

North Wright County at #13AA Wayzata

#20AA Apple Valley at #14AA Lakeville North

Cretin-Derham Hall at #15AA Mounds View/Irondale

Rock Ridge at #17AA Grand Rapids/Greenway

Lakeville South at #19AA Northfield

Thursday

#17AA Grand Rapids/Greenway at #??A Proctor/Hermantown

#10AA Woodbury at #??A Orono

Winona at #19AA Northfield

Friday

#4AA Centennial/Spring Lake Park at #6AA Maple Grove

#9AA Moorhead  at #11AA Andover

#20AA Apple Valley at Alexandria

Saturday

#1 Hill-Murray at #2 Holy Family

#3AA Minnetonka at #13AA Wayzata

Eden Prairie at #5AA Edina

#9AA Moorhead at Elk River/Zimmerman

Forest Lake at #10AA Woodbury

#14AA Lakeville North at Rosemount

#15AA Mounds View/Irondale at Roseville/Mahtomedi

Gentry Academy at #18AA Roseau

#17AA Grand Rapids/Greenway at Northern Tier