From the top to the bottom of their lineups, Cretin-Derham Hall and Edina might have the two most talented teams in the state. Cretin-Derham Hall was Legacy Hockey’s preseason No. 1 pick in Class 2A, only to see Edina grab the top spot courtesy of its 6-0-0 start to the season.
Both teams have three losses but still sit solidly in the state’s top five — Edina (8-3-0) is No. 5 and Cretin-Derham Hall (8-3-0) is No. 2, with the winner of Thursday’s game likely to once again be a contender for the No. 1 spot.
Edina is coming off Saturday’s 2-1 triumph over No. 6 Lakeville South, a victory in which the Hornets were outshot 39-24, did all their scoring in the third period and got a monster performance from junior goaltender Robbie Clarkowski.
After registering five or more goals in each of their first five games, the Hornets are in the midst of something of a power outage. They’ve scored more than two goals just once in their last six games. Junior Minnesota commit Jimmy Clark (16 points) and senior Arizona State commit Trey Fechko (14 points) are Edina’s top scorers, with senior Willy Johnson (10 points) and junior Matt VanderVort (8 goals) also providing significant scoring punch.
Cretin-Derham Hall has won three of its last four, including a 3-2 triumph over No. 1-1A Hermantown on Dec. 23 — the Hawks’ lone loss of the season. Senior Drew Fisher leads the Raiders with 19 points. Younger brother Jake Fisher, a junior committed to Northern Michigan, has16 points.