Rochester Mayo coach Lorne Grosso, the only coach in the Spartans' 49-year existence, is retiring after the season. Check the MN Hockey Hub and Thursday’s Star Tribune for a story and photos on Grosso. Star Tribune photo by Aaron Lavinsky
As we enter the second full week of January and temperatures plummet, things are starting to heat up in the section tournament seeding and conference races.
Up north, Hermantown and Greenway meet in a game crucial to the Class 1A, Section 7 seeding process, and Bemidji and East Grand Forks meet for a second time this season after skating to a 1-1 tie earlier in Mariucci Conference action.
In the Twin Cities, Minneapolis faces St. Paul Johnson, while Blaine embarks on what could be a telling week as the Bengals face rivals Elk River and Centennial in games that are sure to affect the Northwest Suburban Conference standings.
In the Lake Conference on Saturday night, Eden Prairie hosts Minnetonka and Edina hosts Wayzata in two critical league games, while Aldrich Arena will simultaneously host a significant Metro East Conference showdown between Hill-Murray and St. Thomas Academy.
West of the metro, Orono heads to Delano in a contest heavy with implications for the Class 1A, Section 2 and Wright County Conference standings.
And in southern Minnesota, we have our game of the week between Rochester Mayo and Albert Lea. The matchup features two coaching legends who are both about to hang it up after a combined 99 years behind the bench and nearly 1,400 total victories.
Tab over to see details on each game.
Tag(s): Home Big Nine Albert Lea Rochester Mayo Iron Range Greenway Lake Superior Hermantown Mariucci East Grand Forks Metro East Hill-Murray St. Thomas Academy Northwest Suburban Northwest Suburban - North Blaine Elk River/Zimmerman Wright County Delano Orono Greenway Minneapolis Lake Eden Prairie Edina Minnetonka Wayzata Tri-Metro St. Paul Johnson