A scream for attention in the boys hockey state rankings goes unheard

I traveled to Luverne back in 2016. Lovely town. Great rink, too. Blue Mound Arena, built in 1991 in basketball country amid disparaging comments from locals such as "that thing will be full of corn in two years."

Respect has been hard to come by in extreme southwestern Minnesota, a reality made evident in the recent Let's Play Hockey coaches rankings.

Luverne is 13-0, the lone undefeated team in Class 1A. Yet the Cardinals hold the No. 16 spot.

Then at No. 5 sits defending state tournament champion Mahtomedi (7-8). A difference in strength of schedule plays a massive role in this case, no doubt. But what will it take for Luverne to crack at least the top 10? At some point, the Cardinals' body of work will be impossible to ignore despite whatever asterisks are attached.

Boys hockey state rankings

By Let's Play Hockey

Class 2A

1. Minnetonka (14-0-1); 2. Wayzata (12-0-2); 3. Edina (13-2); 4. Chanhassen (12-4); 5. Benilde-St. Margaret's (10-3-1); 6. Rogers (10-4-2); 7. Maple Grove (9-4); 8. St. Thomas Academy (10-5-1); 9. Eden Prairie (10-4); 10. Shakopee (12-3-1).

Class 1A

1. Warroad (13-3-0); 2. Hermantown (11-3-2); 3. St. Cloud Cathedral (12-4-1); 4. East Grand Forks (11-5-1); 5. Mahtomedi (7-9); 6. Northfield (10-1-2); 7. Orono (10-4); 8. Delano (9-5-1); 9. Monticello (13-2-0); 10. Proctor (12-5-0).