Minnesota Class AA section glance: Who has a chance of making it to the state tournament?

Championship games start on Wednesday night, find out which teams have the best shot of making it to the 'X' next week in St. Paul.
The Rink Live is still learning about any weather postponements. The 8AA section final has already been pushed back and rescheduled.

Recent scores:
No. 1 Lakeville South, 6 > No. 5 Rochester Century, 0
No. 3 Lakeville North, 3 > No. 2 Rochester Mayo, 2 (OT)

Upcoming section final:
No. 1 Lakeville South vs. No. 3 Lakeville North

• 7 p.m. Thursday, March 2 at Rochester Rec Center

Champion last year in 2022: Lakeville South

Lakeville South (20-6-1) has been the dominant power in the section for the past few years, so it can be assumed that they'll come out on top once again. Lakeville North (13-14) comes in as the No. 3 seed after toppling Rochester Mayo in overtime in the semifinals. North and South have met in the section final in both 2022 and 2021 and both times South has come out on top by a couple of goals. The Cougars have already defeated the Panthers twice this season (4-0 and 4-2).

Recent scores:
No. 1 Chanhassen, 2 > No. 5 Eden Prairie, 1 (OT)
No. 2 Minnetonka, 3 > No. 3 Shakopee, 1

Upcoming section final:
No. 1 Chanhassen vs. No. 2 Minnetonka

• 7 p.m. Thursday, March 2 at Braemer Arena in Edina

Champion last year in 2022: Prior Lake

The section final in 2AA is set to be a great match-up between two very good teams. Chanhassen (24-3) and Minnetonka (25-2) have both been top teams for a majority of the year. The Storm may have a slight edge due to the fact that they are the No. 1 seed and previously defeated the Skippers 4-1 back in December, but this game could easily go either way.

Recent scores:
No. 1 St. Thomas Academy, 4 > No. 4 Eastview, 0
No. 2 Cretin-Derham Hall, 3 > No. 3 Rosemount, 1

Upcoming section final:
No. 1 St. Thomas Academy vs. No. 2 Cretin-Derham Hall

Champion last year in 2022: Cretin-Derham Hall

This is another section that will have a very good title game to be played. Cretin-Derham Hall (17-9-1) has had an up and down season in 2022-23, but have plenty of talent to get back to the state tournament after last year's appearance in 2022. St. Thomas Academy though also has plenty of talent and earned the No. 1 seed in the section with a 19-7 overall record. The Cadets and the Raiders split their games this season, with STA winning in November, 4-2, and CDH winning in December, 4-2.

Recent scores:
No. 1 White Bear Lake, 4 > No. 8 Tartan, 3 (OT)
No. 7 Woodbury, 1 > No. 2 Stillwater, 0 (OT)
No. 3 Hill-Murray, 6 > No. 6 East Ridge, 1
No. 4 Gentry Academy, 7 > No. 5 Roseville, 0

Upcoming section semifinals and finals:
No. 1 White Bear Lake vs. No. 4 Gentry Academy

• 5 p.m. on Wednesday, March 1 at Aldrich Arena in Maplewood

No. 3 Hill-Murray vs. No. 7 Woodbury

• 8 p.m. Wednesday, March 1 at Aldrich Arena in Maplewood

————————————————————————TBD vs. TBD Section Final
7 p.m. Friday, March 3 at Aldrich Arena in Maplewood

Champion last year in 2022: Hill-Murray

This section is very interesting. Any of the four quarterfinal teams could make a run to win it. It seems unlikely that seventh-seeded Woodbury (12-13-1) would make it out of their quarterfinal against reigning section champion Hill-Murray (12-13-1), but it wouldn't be too big of a surprise since the Pioneers have had a really up-and-down season. Both White Bear Lake (20-5) and Gentry Academy (18-8) have had good years, but both have also had a few stumbles as well. The Bears have the better record but both squads are riding six-game win streaks and will be tough teams to topple. It wouldn't be surprising to see any of these programs make it to the state tournament to be completely honest.

Recent scores:
No. 1 Rogers, 5 > No. 4 Centennial, 4

No. 2 Maple Grove, 6 > No. 3 Champlin Park, 2

Upcoming section final:
No. 1 Rogers vs. No. 2 Maple Grove

• 7 p.m. on Thursday, March 2 in Elk River

Champion last year in 2022: Maple Grove

It's going to be a repeat section final of last year, with Maple Grove (21-5-1) coming in as the No. 2 seed and Rogers (18-6-3) coming in with the No. 1 seed. The past few years Maple Grove have been the section champion, including last year after the Crimson's 4-2 win over the Royals in the title match. In 2022-23, Rogers won their most recent game against Maple Grove, 5-2, in February, while the two teams tied, 3-3, back in January. Could this be Rogers' year? Or will the Crimson reign supreme?

Recent scores:
No. 1 Wayzata, 5 > No. 5 Holy Angels, 3
No. 2 Edina, 5 > No. 3 Benilde-St. Margaret's, 2

Upcoming section final:
No. 1 Wayzata vs. No. 2 Edina

• 7 p.m. Wednesday, March 1 at Bloomington Ice Garden

Champion last year in 2022: Edina

Wayzata (19-6-2) has had a great season this year, aside from a rough patch in late January, but so has Edina (19-6-1), aside from starting the season 0-3. Both teams have similar records, but the edge has to go to the No. 1-seeded Trojans who recently blew out the Hornets, 7-0, just over a week ago.

Recent scores:
No. 1 Duluth East, 4 > No. 4 Coon Rapids, 1
No. 2 Andover, 5 > No. 3 Grand Rapids, 0

Upcoming section final:
No. 1 Duluth East vs. No. 2 Andover

• 7 p.m. on Thursday, March 2 at Amsoil Arena in Duluth

Champion last year in 2022: Andover

Every knew it would be Duluth East (20-6-1) and Andover (20-6-1) in the 7AA final, the only question is; who will come out on top? Andover has one of the best top lines in the state and the experience of winning the Class AA title last year in 2022, but Duluth East has had a massive season and defeated Andover, 5-1, back in December. Both teams have great scorers, so it may come down to goaltending performance.

Recent scores:
No. 1 Moorhead, 4 > No. 4 Sartell-St. Stephen, 1
No. 2 Roseau, 6 > No. 6 Elk River/Zimmerman, 1

Upcoming section final:
No. 1 Moorhead vs. No. 2 Roseau

• Thursday at 7 p.m. at the East Grand Forks Civic Arena (New date and location after it was previously set for Wednesday in Thief River Falls).

Champion last year in 2022: Moorhead

Moorhead (18-9) has been the champion of this section for a handful of years now and Roseau (17-9) has a history of coming up short in section play. That being said, this game could honestly go either way. Many are leaning towards seeing the Spuds again at the state tournament in 2023 simply because they have beaten the Rams twice already this season, 5-1 and 3-0.

A previous version of this story was incorrect. The 8AA game was postponed due to weather.