DULUTH — There’s something to be said about teams that simply find ways to win, even on nights when they aren’t at their very best. Section 7AA frontrunner Grand Rapids certainly fits that bill.
Despite their “Jekyll and Hyde” nature displayed at times, as referenced by head coach Carter Clafton in response to their inconsistent play , the Thunderhawks have come out on top in seven straight games and are a perfect 5-0 in the month of January.
Among the highlights of their impressive run are victories over Wayzata, currently the only team to beat top-ranked Moorhead this season, along with triumphs over Section 7A contenders Hibbing/Chisholm and Cloquet-Esko-Carlton.
Speaking of the loaded Section 7A field, don't look now, but the Hermantown Hawks have hit their stride over the past week after earning decisive victories over No. 7 St. Cloud Cathedral and No. 4 Warroad by a combined score of 10-1.
They leapfrog the Lumberjacks who, despite a fluky OT loss to Sartell outdoors on Hockey Day Cloquet, remain a dangerous team with an abundance of speed and skill at their disposal.
Rock Ridge slots in at No. 2 after extending its unbeaten streak to 10 games and winning streak to seven. Of the seven wins, the Wolverines have held opponents to one goal or less as a stingy defensive squad.
Duluth Marshall is a newcomer to the list after recently getting back in the win column with a 7-0 drubbing of Greenway. The Hilltoppers have plenty of firepower up front led by Bennett Scissons, along with a rock-solid goaltender in Landon Wheeler.
— Jake Pryztarski
Rules of the Five
- This list and its comments are based on games prep sports reporters Jamey Malcomb and Jake Pryztarski have watched and/or stats that have been submitted to the Duluth News Tribune.
- This is a ranking of the top five boys hockey teams in the Northland, regardless of class.
- We are allowed to be prisoners of the moment. If a struggling team gets a fun win, they might pop up on the Five and disappear the next week.
On to the ranking …
1. Grand Rapids (12-3)
I haven’t seen the Thunderhawks play since a lackluster performance against Duluth East, but they’ve won seven straight and they’re not just racking up wins against inferior teams.
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Rapids has recorded wins over a then-top 10 Class AA Wayzata team, as well as Cloquet-Esko-Carlton and Hibbing/Chisholm, both top five teams in Class A.
The assignments start to get a little more difficult, with three of their next four against White Bear Lake, Hill-Murray and St. Thomas Academy, all ranked in Class AA’s top seven or better.
Even if the Thunderhawks make it through that gauntlet with only one loss, they will have established themselves as a team to beat — not just in Section 7AA, but in all of Minnesota.
— Jamey Malcomb
2. Rock Ridge (13-3-1)
The Rock Ridge forward tandem of Caz Carlson and Grady Dimberio has been as electrifying as any in the area this season, with a combined 29 goals scored between the two.
As prolific as the duo has been, the Wolverines’ team defense deserves perhaps the most praise and will likely be the key to unlocking their first state tournament appearance come playoffs.
The Wolverines' ability to shut down opposing teams begins with goaltender Wyatt Jonassen, who has stopped 105 of his last 109 shots faced over a red-hot four-game stretch. For the season, he remains unbeaten with a 9-0-1 record while boasting a paltry 1.67 goals against average.
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On the blue line, 6-foot-5 senior Easton Walters provides some nastiness and grit to the defensive corps, as evidenced by his team-high 31 penalty minutes accumulated this season.
— JP
3. Hermantown (9-4-3)
What a difference a week makes, huh? I hate to say I was tossing dirt on the Hawks last week, but I did indicate they were in danger of not making the section final.
Since that time River Freeman had a natural hat trick — his second of the week — in an absolute dismantling of the defending Class A champion St. Cloud Cathedral. Then they went out to Warroad and put the fourth-ranked Warriors in a hurt locker.
They also allowed just one goal over those two games.
I’m sure this isn’t what the rest of Section 7A wants to hear, but the Hawks are starting to look like the team to beat yet again.
— JDM
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4. Cloquet-Esko-Carlton (13-3)
Like Andy Dufresne’s path to freedom in the tunnel escape scene from the movie “The Shawshank Redemption,” the path to a state tournament berth through the Section 7A tournament gauntlet will be every bit as arduous, but thankfully not as messy.
On the short list of teams built to pull it off come February, second-ranked Cloquet-Esko-Carlton remains near the very top.
The Lumberjacks suffered an uncharacteristic 2-1 OT loss to Sartell on Hockey Day Cloquet on Saturday before shrugging it off three days later to push Grand Rapids to the brink of defeat in a tightly-contested 4-3 loss at Yanmar Arena. The resilience shown by CEC will go a long way come playoff time.
— JP
5. Duluth Marshall (9-5-2)
Honestly, I thought that freshman goalie Kaenan Smith moving to play AAA junior hockey would make the Hilltoppers take a step back. Smith is the kind of goalie against which teams can play lights-out hockey and still end up with a 1-0 loss.
Instead, Marshall has kept up its winning ways and they’ve done it behind the scoring of junior Bennett Scissons. Scissons has 15 goals and 15 assists, giving him six more points than Hermantown’s River Freeman, someone considered among the area’s best offensive players.
Scissons was unable to play in the Hilltoppers' loss to Rock Ridge, but he could be a difference-maker down the stretch and could get the Hilltoppers back somewhere they haven’t been in a long time — Amsoil Arena.
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— JDM
The Trust Project
