This Week in High School Hockey--February 10th Edition

The Top Ten

1. Duluth East (1)

2. Maple Grove (2)

3. Minnetonka (3)

4. Eagan (4)

5. Edina (6)

6. Hermantown (7)

7. Eden Prairie (8)

8. Moorhead (5)

9. Benilde-St. Margaret's (NR)

10. Andover (9)

The finalists for the Mr. Hockey Award were announced yesterday. We'll discuss those, as well as go over some results and upcoming games after the jump.

Key Results

Minnetonka 5 Edina 4 (OT)- The third and tiebreaking match-up between these two teams was a great game, with Minnetonka just barely pulling out the win. The Skippers look just a bit stronger, but Edina's young talent is starting to adjust to the high school game and they look ready to play their best hockey and compete with the big 3 at the state tournament this year.

Blaine 5 Moorhead 2- Moorhead had a pretty terrible week, losing to both Grand Rapids and a struggling Blaine team that bounced back from a 9-1 embarrassment against Duluth East.

Duluth East 5 Cloquet 2- In this rivalry game, Cloquet put a scare into East for two periods, but the Greyhounds depth was too much. Trevor Olson is healthy again for Duluth East and he is proving to be one of the best players in the state.

Mr. Hockey Finalists

Your ten finalists for the Mr. Hockey Award, given to the best senior skater in the state of Minnesota are:

Justin Kloos, Lakeville South(Minnesota commit)

Will Merchant, Eagan

Grant Opperman, Breck (Dartmouth commit)

Judd Peterson, Duluth Marshall (St. Cloud commit)

Jake Randolph, Duluth East (Nebraska-Omaha commit)

Charlie Sampair, Hill-Murray

Eric Schurhamer, St. Thomas Academy (Maine commit)

Jared Thomas, Hermantown (Minnesota-Duluth commit)

Dom Toninato, Duluth East (Minnesota-Duluth commit)

Michael Zajac, Eagan (Princeton commit)

Kloos is the favorite to win the award, with Jake Randolph having the best chance at pulling off an upset for the award.

There are only two finalists for the Brimsek Award, given to the state's top senior goalie. They are Moorhead's Michael Bitzer and Maple Grove's Kyle Koop.

Games of the Week

Grand Rapids at International Falls, Friday February 10th, 7:30pm, Bronco Arena

Grand Rapids got their first marquee win of the season against Moorhead last week, then immediately lost a bad one to Hibbing. They'll take on another pesky 7A opponent in this one.

This is also a weak excuse to mention that International Falls was the inspiration for the town of Frostbite Falls in the old Rocky and Bullwinkle Show.

Moorhead at Brainerd, Tuesday February 14th, 7:15pm, Brainerd Area Civic Center

Brainerd was a bit disrespected by the Mr. Hockey committee either of senior forwards Matt Pohlkamp or Mitch McLain would have been viable candidates. Here's a chance to see them against the likely winner of the Brimsek Award in Michael Bitzer. Is there a better way to spend Valentine's Day? Probably.

Eden Prairie at Minnetonka, Thursday February 16th, 7:00pm Pagel Activity Center

Eden Prairie upset Minnetonka last time these two teams played. If Eden Prairie beat Minnetonka both times they met, they might actually have argument for being the top seed in their section, despite Minnetonka being one of the top ranked teams all season long. That may not make a huge difference, but the top seed would likely draw Wayzata rather than the always dangerous Benilde-St. Margaret's in the section semifinal.