Minnesota boys and girls hockey top games of the week (Feb. 7-12)

Minnetonka and Edina boys face off, while Benilde-St. Margaret's and Hill-Murray girls battle

Steve Jacobson | Feb 7, 2023

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Boys hockey

Minnetonka (19-2) at Edina (15-4-1), 2/11 at 7 p.m.

Minnetonka and Edina, part two, is the game of the week here at SBLive Sports Minnesota.

Minnetonka shut out Edina on January 19, 4-0, and have won ten straight games. The Skippers have outscored opponents 52-9 in that ten game stretch. They have outscored opponents on the season by an average of 4.78 goals for to 1.14 goals against. The goalie tandem of Kaizer Nelson and Hunter Bauer could lead them to another easy win in this one.

The Hornets are coming off a back-to-back against a hot Hill-Murray team in which they won both games by a score of 2-1.

Edina will be looking for revenge in this one and need to make up some ground to keep pace with Minnetonka and Wayzata in the division.

Andover (16-5-1) at Maple Grove (16-5-1), 2/11 at 7 p.m.

Andover has won nine games in a row and have to travel to face Maple Grove on Saturday. Andover has outscored opponents in its last nine games by an unreal score of 67-7. The Huskies have beat up on a lot of their lesser opponents the last nine games, but Maple Grove is easily the most difficult matchup for the Huskies the rest of the way.

Maple Grove has had a tough run the last few weeks. The Crimson have lost two out of three games against solid teams in Centennial and Rogers. The Crimson have one of the more talented rosters in the state but have gone through tough stretches of poor goaltending and scoring lulls. This one could easily be the game of the week.

Benilde-St. Margaret’s (14-6) at Orono (18-3), 2/7 at 7 p.m.

Benilde-St. Margaret’s is 10-2 in its last twelve games and seem to be getting hot down the stretch. The Red Knights are coming off a disappointing loss to Eden Prairie, 2-0, on Saturday but have been one of the more consistent teams in the last few months. They travel to face old rival Orono on Tuesday in another fantastic matchup this week.

Orono is sitting behind Benilde-St. Margaret’s and Chanhassen in the Metro West conference and will likely need this one in order to have an opportunity to win the conference with a game against Chanhassen on Saturday. Orono’s three losses on the year were against Warroad, Chanhassen and Hermantown. The next few weeks for these teams may determine a lot in the playoffs.

Rogers (14-3-3) at Duluth East (15-6-1), 2/11 at 2 p.m.

Rogers is building their playoff resume as they come down the stretch to end the 2022-23 season. The Royals have been on fire the last month, having only lost one game to Buffalo on January 30th. The Royals have two extremely impressive victories over Centennial and Maple Grove the last few weeks and now travel to face one of the most underrated teams in the state in Duluth East.

Duluth East started the season out about as poorly as you could. The Greyhounds started the season 1-4 and have since gone 14-2-1. The Greyhounds still need a signature win on the season and Rogers provides them the perfect opportunity.

Mahtomedi (12-8) at Two Rivers (15-5-1), 2/7 at 7 p.m.

Mahtomedi has started to slip in the last few weeks. The Zephyrs have gone 1-4 in their last five games, which has been their toughest stretch of the season. The Zephyrs were in prime position in their conference but have since slipped to fourth place behind the team they face on Tuesday.

Two Rivers is sitting ahead of Mahtomedi in the standings currently and are 5-2 in its last seven games. The Warriors have faced much less difficult competition than the Zephyrs and do not have a signature win on their schedule this year.

Mahtomedi will need to press down the stretch to keep pace in its conference after the last month and Two Rivers may pose a challenge to its slumping squad.

Girls hockey

Benilde-St. Margaret’s (15-7-2) at Hill-Murray (21-2-1), 2/7 at 7 p.m.

Benilde-St. Margaret’s and Hill-Murray is one of the only regular season games left that means something. The Red Knights and Lady Pioneers face off in the girls game of the week.

Most girls teams have started their playoffs, but this one could possibly shake up playoff positioning down the stretch for both teams. Hill-Murray has an obvious advantage in this one, but Benilde-St. Margaret’s has shown enough glimpses to possibly keep this one close. The Lady Pioneers defeated the Red Knights 6-1 back on December 28th.

East Ridge (14-10-1) at Roseville/Mahtomedi (17-7-1), 2/10 at 7:45 p.m.

Section 4AA quarterfinal

East Ridge and Roseville/Mahtomedi faced off just a few days ago and will face off again in the Section 4AA Quarterfinal. Roseville/Mahtomedi was victorious in that one by a score of 2-0.

The Raptors started out the year incredibly hot and struggled in the middle part of their season. They recovered, but still had issues stringing together victories. Roseville/Mahtomedi had a similar season, going on multiple winning streaks followed by multiple losing streaks.

This one could be a toss up between these two teams that are very familiar with each other.

Woodbury (16-8-1) at Stillwater (18-7), 2/11 at 8 p.m.

Section 4AA quarterfinal

Woodbury and Stillwater should likely be the most competitive playoff game this week. The Royals lost to the Ponies by a score of 5-3 back on January 17th and 8-1 on December 6th. The Ponies may have the Royals number at this point.

The Ponies resume is fairly impressive, but they struggled down the stretch to end the regular season. The Ponies drew one of the tougher teams in the first round of the playoffs, but they have had success against the Royals this season.

Brainerd/Little Falls (13-9-3) at Bemidji (13-8-4), 2/7 at 7 p.m

Section 8AA quarterfinal

Brainerd/Little Falls and Bemidji battled to a 0-0 tie on December 20th and seems to be an even first round matchup.

Bemidji-Little Falls has had a more consistent stretch of games and Bemidji has struggled immensely to string together any wins at the end of the season. Look for the “upset” in this one with Brainerd/Little Falls coming out ahead of an ice cold Bemidji team.

Delano-Rockford (12-12-1) at Mound-Westonka/Southwest Christian (17-8), 2/11 at 7 p.m.

Finding the fifth game with all the playoff matchups this week proved difficult. Delano-Rockford and Mound-Westonka/Southwest Christian wrap up the week on Saturday evening.

Delano-Rockford’s longest win streak on the season sits at two games and they have completely struggled to put together a string of games to build momentum. They sit at 12-12-1 and have scored 53 goals and given up 54 goals. The most balanced season that can be.

Mound-Westonka/Southwest Christian may have the longest name in the state and they may have an opportunity to stick around deep into the playoffs this year. The White Hawks have gone 7-3 in their last ten games after struggling earlier in the season. The White Hawks are getting hot at the right time and Delano-Rockford may struggle to keep up in this one.

Published Feb 7, 2023

STEVE JACOBSON