High School Hockey Focus: Seeding picture coming into focus in Section 1 boys hockey

Feb. 8—With 10 days remaining in the regular season, there are still plenty of teams battling for position in the Section 1A and 1AA playoffs.

The top seeds in both sections appear to be locked — No. 6-ranked Northfield is likely the top seed in 1A, with No. 12-ranked Lakeville South the likely top seed in 1AA. Coaches from the 11 Section 1A teams and eight 1AA teams will vote to seed their section tournaments on Sunday, Feb. 19. First-round play is set for Tuesday, Feb. 21, with section quarterfinals on Thursday, Feb. 23.

The annual Section Semifinal Saturday will take place at the Rochester Recreation Center on Saturday, Feb. 25. The Section 1A championship game is set for Wednesday, March 1, with the 1AA title game to follow on Thursday, March 2.

Here's a quick look at how the seedings could shake out in each section:

Northfield is a likely lock for the top seed, via its 6-0-0 record against section opponents, including shutouts against defending section champion New Prague and Albert Lea, a semifinalist last year. New Prague is expected to be the No. 2 seed, with Albert Lea at No. 3. Dodge County should be no lower than the No. 4 seed, as it has earned head-to-head wins against Faribault and Rochester Lourdes this season.

Faribault (10-10-0), La Crescent-Hokah (16-5-0) and Lourdes (8-12-0) are in the next tier, likely battling for seeds No. 5-7. Faribault defeated Lourdes 4-2 and lost to La Crescent-Hokah 3-1. That will make Thursday's Lourdes at La Crescent-Hokah game a key one in determining how those seeds shake out. The Lancers will likely lock up the No. 5 seed if they beat Lourdes. A Lourdes win Thursday means those three teams will all have split games against each other. Regardless of which team ends up at No. 5, No. 6 or No. 7, they'll make for a tough quarterfinal matchup for their opponent.

In Section 1AA, Lakeville South (15-5-1) is a clear-cut No. 1 seed. The Cougars have won nine of their past 10 games, the only loss in that stretch a 5-2 setback against No. 1-ranked Minnetonka.

Rochester Mayo's win last week against Lakeville North, coupled with Mayo's tie against Hastings earlier this season, should give the Spartans (15-4-2) the inside track for the No. 2 seed. Hastings (12-7-1) lost Lakeville North (8-12-0), but has the better record. Those teams are expected to be the Nos. 3 and 4 seeds, in some order.

The real battle comes for seed Nos. 5-7, between Century (12-9-0), John Marshall (12-9-1) and Owatonna (8-10-2). Century and JM split two regular-season meetings, with JM winning the most recent matchup, 4-1, last Saturday. Century also split its season series against Owatonna, with Century winning the most recent matchup, a convincing 5-1 decision on Tuesday night at Owatonna.

Next Wednesday's Owatonna at JM game — the only meeting this season between the teams — will be key in determining how the Nos. 5, 6 and 7 seeds shake out. A JM win against Owatonna will likely make Owatonna the No. 7 seed, with the other coaches in the section left to determine whether JM or Century should get the No. 5 spot.

Farmington (3-18-0) appears locked in to No. 8.

1. Cody Vlasaty, G, John Marshall: Vlasaty has been outstanding more often than not this season. He has helped the Rockets to six consecutive victories (playing in four of those six games), including a 4-1 win against rival Century last Saturday. Vlasaty was the difference in the game, stopping 48 of the 49 shots he faced. He made 21 saves in the third period alone. He is 9-9-1 this season, with a 3.93 goals-against average and an .897 save percentage.

2. Jacob Brown, F, Mayo: The senior forward came up big in a 5-3 win against Lakeville North last Thursday. Brown scored a goal and assisted on two others, including the game-winning goal by Matthew Siems in the third period. The win was Mayo's first against Lakeville North since 2009.

3. Teis Larsen, F, Winona: The senior has been on a tear for the Winhawks over the past two weeks. He had a hat trick in a 4-0 win at Austin on Saturday and now has 25 goals this season. In his past five games, Larsen has 16 points, including nine goals.

----1. Abby Simons, D, Dodge County: The Wildcats' junior defender capped a 35-point regular season with a goal and two assists in a 6-2 win against Robbinsdale Armstrong/Cooper on Saturday. Simons finished the regular season with 14 power-play assists, the second most in the state.

2. Avery Engbrecht, F, Winona: The junior led the Winhawks in the regular season with 19 goals and 26 points. Engbrecht has six points in the past four games, including including a goal and an assist in a 4-1 win against Austin on Jan. 31.

3. Alivia Haakenson, G, Mayo: Haakenson — half of Mayo's strong goalie tandem, along with Grace Kober —capped her regular season by making 42 saves in a 3-3 tie against Visitation. Haakenson finished the regular season with a 3.61 goals-against average and an .888 save percentage.

Winona OR Austin at Dodge County, 7 p.m. Saturday: Winona (9-13-0) hosts Austin (2-22-0) tonight in a Section 1A quarterfinal, the winner advancing to face top-seeded and No. 12-ranked Dodge County on Saturday at Kasson. A Winona win tonight will create a rematch of an early season game that saw Dodge County pull out a 4-0 win against the Winhawks. It would also be a matchup of two outstanding goalies — Winona's Aliya Gricius (9-13-0, 3.39 goals-against average, .911 save pct.) and Dodge County's Ida Huber (15-8-2, 1.78, .923). Gricius made 50 saves in the first matchup against the Wildcats, while Huber recorded one of her five shutouts this season.

----Owatonna at John Marshall, 7:15 p.m. (Rochester Recreation Center): The Huskies visit the Rockets in a matchup of Big Nine Conference rivals, a matchup that will carry a lot of weight in the Section 1AA tournament seeding process. Depending on the outcome of games this week (including Tuesday night's Century at Owatonna game, which was in progress at press time), the Owatonna-JM matchup could be for the fifth seed in the section. Next Wednesday's game is the only matchup of the season between the Rockets and Huskies.