As the regular season in Minnesota girls high school hockey has come to an end, The Road to St. Paul and the state tournament begins. First up, a preview of the eight Class A sections.
Starting out small is Section 1, with only four teams. The top two seeds are Albert Lea and Austin. Get ready for an I-90 showdown in the section finals.
The top seed in Section 2 is the Mankato East/Loyola Cougars. They are on a five game winning streak and the only section team with a winning record. But look out for second seeded Litchfield/Dassel-Cokato and third seeded Minnesota River.
It will be a two team race in Section 3 between the top seeded New Ulm Eagles and the second seeded Luverne Cardinals. Both enter section play with identical 21-3 records. New Ulm is on a roll, winning their last seven games. They beat Luverne twice in the regular season 7-3 and 6-0. Is a third meeting possible in the section finals.
Could there be a changing of the guard in Section 4? That's right. There's a new number one seed and it's not the South St. Paul Packers. And the new top seed in Section 4 is the Simley Spartans. The Packers are the second seed. They were the last team to beat the Spartans 2-1 on December 23. Could a rematch be possible in the section final?
Section 5 looks like a three team race with the top seeded Orono Spartans, the second seeded Mound-Westonka Whitehawks and the third seeded Holy Angels Stars. The Spartans enter section play winning 11 of their last 12 games. The Whitehawks are on a three game winning streak following losses to Simley and Holy Family Catholic. But look out for Holy Angels\. The Stars are on a five game winning streak and have lost twice to Orono in the regular season. Who will come out of this section? Find out in the section finals.
The pairings have not been released for Section 6 but it looks like the Fergus Falls Otters will be the top seed. The Otters have won six of their last seven games. Also in the hunt is the Willmar Cardinals.
Heading north to Section 7 where the defending Class A champion Proctor/Hermantown Mirage is the top seed. Mirage fans, before you start making your hotel reservations in downtown St. Paul, there's tough competition coming your way in the second seeded Duluth Marshall Hilltoppers and the third seeded Cloquet-Esko-Carlton Lumberjacks who are on an 11 game winning streak. The Mirage has played a tough nonconference schedule this season with losses to Edina, Andover and Eden Prairie. Their only loss to an outstate team was 1-0 against Warroad November 13. Which team will make the trip down I-35 to St. Paul? It's a tough northern section to watch.
Wrapping up the Class A preview is Section 8 with the Warroad Warriors without a doubt the top seed. If you read the girls hockey rankings in your local paper or online, you've noticed that the Warriors have been the dominant team in Class A this season. Two of their three losses were to the top ranked Class AA team the Andover Huskies. Can they get by the Crookston Pirates en route to another trip to the X?
Next up, the eight Class AA sections.
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