Section 1AA Preseason Prediction
| Team | Regular Season Wins in '10-'11 | More or Less Wins in '11-'12 | Section Rank |
| Lakeville South | 14 | More | 1st |
| Lakeville North | 10 | Less | 2nd |
| Rochester Century | 10 | More | 3rd |
| Rochester John Marshall | 15 | Less | 4th |
| Rochester Mayo | 12 | Less | 5th |
| Owatonna | 7 | More | 6th |
| Farmington | 13 | Less | 7th |
| Winona | 5 | More | 8th |
| Dodge County | 15 | Less | 9th |
1. Lakeville South
F Justin Kloos (12) - 79 pts (35g, 44a)F Alex Harvey (12) - 59 pts (29g, 30a)
F John Wiitala (11) - 26 pts (7g, 19a)
- Lakeville South has been snake-bit the last two seasons by their crosstown rival Lakeville North and their goaltender Charlie Lindgren in the Section 1AA finals. Charlie Lindgren decided to fore go his senior season at North and left to play in the USHL (Sioux Falls). I am sure the Cougars would have liked one more shot at Lindgren but I am more sure that they won't be shedding any tears in his absence.
- The state's scoring champion, Justin Kloos, returns for Lakeville South and he tandems well with senior Alex Harvey.
- The Cougars do have most of the its defensive core back led by seniors Joe Freeman and Charlie Heller.
- Lakeville South should be playing at the X in March led by a senior-filled team.
2. Lakeville North
F Blake Winiecki (12) - 42 pts (21g, 21a)F Charlies Hayes (12) - 24 pts (13g, 11a)
F Evan Peterson (12) - 12 pts (5g, 7a)
- Like South, North has their own dynamic duo in Winiecki/Hayes.
- The defense was suspect last year giving up almost 36 shots per game but yet they were able to finish fifth in the Class AA state tournament. They finished with a 15-15-1 record.
- The Panthers made it to the state tournament thanks mostly to goaltender Charlie Lindgren and his brick wall impressions. He had 32 (lost 5-0), 37 (won 2-1), and 39 (won 4-3 in 3ot) saves respectively in the state tournament.
- Lindgren is now gone and the team will have to find a way to rally around Winiecki and Hayes. Tristan Hazlett and Conner Hyden, freshmen last season, should help out with scoring.
- The Lakeville North defense and the new goaltender will be looked at to step up.
3. Rochester Century
F Dominick Jacobs (12) - 21 pts (9g, 12a)F Brandon Kautz (12) - 20 pts (9g, 11a)
D Wyatt Travis (12) - 16 pts (9g, 7a)
- In the last few seasons, I have given Rochester Century more love than they end up deserving. I thought they would contend for a title last year and they were below average.
- The Panthers will return 69% of their goal scoring from last year.
- The defense should be better with most players returning from last season.
- There will be someone new in goal this season.
- The other two Rochester schools lost more to graduation so Rochester Century should be the better of the three.
4. Rochester John Marshall
F Gavin Sandwick (11) - 28 pts (11g, 17a)D Matt Broman (12) - 14 pts (7g, 7a)
D Ryan Lakin (12) - 12 pts (2g, 10a)
- The Rockets were the best team in Section 1AA outside of Lakeville last season. They had the best goals against average and gave up the least shots per game.
- This year, they will have to manage a 60% loss in goal production and a loss of most of their defensemen all due to graduation.
- A good goaltender in Bryan King has graduated.
- The Rockets will need to find someone to compliment junior Sandwick and his scoring touch while Broman and Lakin will need to captain a fresh defense. Junior Jacob Garvey will most likely be the starter in goal and should be quite capable in replacing the departed King.
5. Rochester Mayo
F Adam Alcott (11) - 23 pts (10g, 13a)F Ryan Martin (11) - 22 pts (9g, 13a)
F Steve Serratore (12) - 22 pts (8g, 14a)
- The Spartans will need to find a way to replace a 58% loss in goals from last year. Most of their d-men should be returning. Senior Michael DeBusman will most likely replace Alex VanGalder, who started 22 of the 25 regular season games last season.
6. Owatonna
F Justin Brown (12) - 16 pts (6g, 10a)F Zach Olson (12) - 12 pts (8g, 4a)
G Luke Ebeling (11) - 4 wins, 3.97 GAA, .871 save percentage
7. Farmington
D Andrew Peterson (12) - 36 pts (16g, 20a)G Victor Simones (12) - 10 wins, 3.32 GAA, .892 save percentage
F Grant Hauswirth (11) - 19 pts (6g, 13a)
8. Winona
F Ryan Grant (11) - 19 pts (6g, 13a)F Cameron Kelly (12) - 11 pts (7g, 4a)
F Skyler Grossell (11) - 10 pts (4g, 6a)
9. Dodge County
F Christian Schillo (11) - 10 pts (5g, 5a)F Jason Bueckler (12) - 7 pts (4g, 3a)
F Stefan Rechtzigel (11) - 2pts (2g, 0a)
