Skippers carry four straight shutouts into this week

Two new teams entered the Top 10 this week, and there is a new No. 2 in the Let’s Play Hockey Class AA Boys Rankings.

Minnetonka has not just become tough to beat, they’ve been tough to even score on. They completed their fourth straight shutout with a 4-0 win over Buffalo on Saturday. That followed a 6-0 win over No. 7AA Stillwater on Tuesday. They also defeated Shakopee and Rogers by scores of 3-0 the week prior.

The Skippers are loaded on the blueline with stalwart defenders in Tate Hardacre, Gavin Karl, Danny Browning and others. Evan Enck and Chase Jerdee have combined in net for a .962 save percentage. Jerdee owns three of the team’s four shutouts this season.

The Skippers are strong up front as well and have eight players who have scored multiple goals already this season.  Caden Lindsay leads the team with four goals and Liam Schultz, Max Aronson, Cash Hardie, and Ethan Sturgis have three each.

The Skippers will battle two ranked opponents this week when they travel to play at No. 18AA Prior Lake Thursday and at No. 15AA Wayzata Saturday. The big game looming is Saturday, Dec. 20 when they travel to Moorhead to take on the No. 1 Spuds.

Hill-Murray was bumped to No. 3  after they skated to a 1-1 tie with Mahtomedi and then beat Rogers 1-0. They are getting great goaltending form Grayson Hanggi, but have struggled offensively so far with just 11 goals in their first four games. They will likely have a bigger offensive output tonight when they play Tartan.

If any team is providing offense, it is No. 4AA St. Thomas Academy. They have benefitted from playing some conference games early but have outscored opponents 47-4 in their first six contests. Cole Braunshausen is off to a hot start with 12 goals and 11 assists already and freshman Maverick McKinnon is off to a great start as well with 14 points (6-8-14).

But the Cadets will have their hands full this week when they play No. 6A Blake Thursday and No. 3AA Hill-Murray Saturday at Aldrich Arena in a much-anticipated match up.

Edina jumped to No. 5 this week after Maple Grove tumbled from No. 4 to No. 7. The Crimson dropped their first game of the season in a 5-4 loss to No. 18AA Eden Prairie in overtime. Edina, meanwhile, beat No. 17AA Benilde-St. Margaret’s 4-2 for their third straight win. One of Edina’s two losses did come to Maple Grove on Nov. 22, 4-3.

Stillwater jumped to No. 6 despite their loss to Minnetonka. They rebounded with a 10-1 win over Woodbury and continue to play solid defense, holding opponents without a big M on their jersey to just seven goals in five games. Senior netminder Gavin Bajda has stepped in nicely and sports a .922 save percentage.

Holy Angels stayed at No. 9 and Shakopee climbed from No. 11 to No. 8 this week with a wins over No. 1AA Hibbing/Chisholm and No. 10AA Rosemount, who has since fallen to No. 13.

The Sabres have been getting strong defense and goaltending having allowed just five goals in their four wins on the season. They beat Hibbing/Chisholm 4-2 and Rosemount 2-1. Senior netmimnder Niklas Huson made 24 saves against the Bluejackets and also turned away 19 shots against the Irish. He has a .941 save percentage entering this week.

Rogers jumped to No. 10 after a 1-0 loss to No. 2AA Hill-Murray, who slid a spot to No. 3 after they tied Class A Mahtomedi 1-1 last Wednesday.  Tyler Bacon turned away 36 shots against the Pioneers for the Royals, who also beat Buffalo and Wayzata last week. In the three games they allowed just three goals. Bacon has played in all eight games and sports a .927 goals against average.

The top of Class AA still belongs to Moorhead who improved to 5-0-0 with a convincing win over St. Michael-Albertville. Zac Zimmerman had two goals and two assists, Joey Cullen dished out three assists, Tyden Bergeson and Brandon Mickelson added a goal and an assist and Max Cullen chipped in a pair of goals and an assist to lead the Spuds. Moorhead will travel to Alexandria Thursday then Grand Rapids on Saturday. The big match up coming up is Saturday, Dec. 20 against No. 2 Minnetonka in Moorhead.

Let’s Play Hockey Class AA Boys Rankings

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Other Teams Receiving Votes: Andover, Elk River/Zimmerman, Rock Ridge, Lakeville South, Farmington, Holy Family, Bloomington Jefferson, Champlin Park, Totino-Grace, Forest lake, Grand Rapids, Bemidji, St. Michael-Albertville.