Roseville girls' hockey coach Vic Brodt offered up some knowing humor when asked about the pluses of having the No. 1 ranking in the state's toughest section.
"We have the last line change," he said. "Other than that, I don't think that being No. 1, 2, 3 or 4 makes a whole lot of difference."
Section playoffs begin this week in girls' hockey, and Brodt's Raiders face the daunting task of conquering Class 2A, Section 4. The top four seeded teams are all ranked among the top 10 in the most recent Let's Play Hockey state rankings: Roseville (No. 1), Hill-Murray (7), White Bear Lake (8) and Stillwater (10).
Roseville (22-2-1) and Hill-Murray (20-5) each ride an 11-game winning streak into the postseason but both are wary of defending state champ Stillwater (15-8-2), which has won its past two playoff meetings with both the Raiders and Pioneers.
Teams capable of pulling upsets include No. 5 seed North St. Paul and No. 6 Cretin-Derham Hall, which beat Hill-Murray and Stillwater, respectively.
Roseville, which begins play on Friday, united Gophers recruit Bethany Brausen (53 points) and Kayla Capistrant (44) and added speedy Nicki Barnett to form a potent first line. Brodt plans to start junior goaltender Jenna Boss on Friday and, if necessary, go with undefeated sophomore Erika Allen in the semifinals.
"They are both comfortable and playing well. We're confident in whoever is in there," he said.
Class 2A, Section 6 Last season, Minnetonka lost to Edina in the Section 2 championship game. Realignment moved the Skippers, ranked No. 2 in the state, to Section 6 where they will likely see second-seeded and No. 6 ranked Hopkins for the right to advance to state.