The best teams in boys hockey endure difficulties, face challenges

Uneasy lies the head that wears the hockey crown. OK, so that's not exactly as Bill Shakespeare wrote it. But the phrase fits as we move down the home stretch of the boys hockey regular season.

Wayzata, the No. 1 team in the Let's Play Hockey coaches rankings much of the season, has gone backward the past several weeks, from 1 to 2 to 3 to 6. That's what a 0-4-1 stretch will do. Of course, the Trojans still have perhaps the state's best goalie in senior Will Ingemann. And showing well against their final three opponents — No. 19 Eden Prairie, No. 5 Rogers and No. 2 Edina — could move the Trojans back toward the top.

Warroad, still tops in Class 1A and still unbeaten (23-0), almost lost both distinctions in games against East Grand Forks. The Warriors and Green Wave played a home-and-home series on Monday and Tuesday this week.

Two goals from Murray Marvin-Cordes helped Warroad turn a late 2-2 tie into a 4-2 sigh of relief on the road Monday. About 24 hours later, the Warriors escaped with a 3-2 home victory. Marvin-Cordes again scored a third-period goal.

Let's not rule out a third meeting in the Section 8 finals.

Keeping it outstate … How about Duluth East reclaiming relevancy? The Greyhounds, under first-year coach Steve Pitoscia, are 12-1-1 in the past 14 games and emerging as a threat to challenge defending Class 2A state tournament champion Andover in Section 7. Fittingly, the surge began with a 5-1 defeat of the Huskies on Dec. 20.

Solidify those line combinations and shorten those benches, coaches. It's almost playoff time.

By Let's Play Hockey (released Feb. 7)

1. Minnetonka (19-2); 2. Edina (15-4-1); 3. Andover (17-5-1); 4. Chanhassen (19-2); 5. Rogers (14-4-3); 6. Wayzata (15-5-2); 7. Benilde-St. Margaret's (15-6); 8. Maple Grove (16-5-1); 9. St. Thomas Academy (16-6); 10. Lakeville South (15-5-1).

11. Cretin-Derham Hall (15-7-1); 12. White Bear Lake (15-5); 13. Holy Family (16-5); 14. Shakopee (14-6); 15. Champlin Park (14-8); 16. Duluth East (16-6-1); 17. Hill-Murray (10-10-1); 18. Moorhead (12-9); 19. Eden Prairie (10-10-1); 20. Centennial (13-7-1)

Class 1A

1. Warroad (23-0); 2. Hermantown (19-2-1); 3. Orono (18-4); 4. Mahtomedi (13-8); 5. East Grand Forks (12-10); 6. Hibbing-Chisholm (13-7-1); 7. Detroit Lakes (14-4-1); 8. Northfield (16-5); 9. Delano (12-10); 10. New Ulm (19-3-1).

11. Two Rivers (15-7-1); 12. Fergus Falls (12-7-2); 13. Little Falls (14-8-1); 14. St. Cloud Cathedral (12-10); 15. Minneapolis (12-7-2); 16. Duluth Denfeld (12-10-1); 17. Alexandria (8-12-1); 18. Luverne (15-6-1); 19. Rock Ridge (12-8-1); 20. Providence Academy (13-9)