Why Every Team Can Win Class A Section 1 in 2026-27
Editor’s note (Sept. 10, 2026): Faribault will not field a varsity boys hockey team in 2026-27, which leaves eight of the nine teams previewed below. This piece is kept as originally published. Read the full story here.
Every fanbase believes this is their year, and honestly? In Class A Section 1, more than a few of them have a real case. And with Waseca’s 88-point superstar off to the NTDP, the field is more open than it looked in June. Here’s the best-case scenario for all nine teams chasing a section title in 2026-27. (We are assuming all eligible players are returning to their high school teams, if that’s not the case drop us an email ftphockey@gmail.com)
Waseca
Waseca’s case got harder in a hurry. Griffin Storey and his 88 points are gone to the USA Hockey National Team Development Program U-18 team, and losing the best player in the section is exactly the kind of blow that ends a title dream before the puck drops. So why can Waseca still win it? Because Henry Huttemier (55 points), Otto Schoenrock (49) and Cash Lynch (36) all return from a 20-win team, and that is a better top three than seven of the other eight teams here can put on the ice. Because Josiah Schmidtke is back in net after a .914 save percentage and 6 shutouts, and section titles get won by goaltenders more often than by 88-point forwards. And because Huttemier and Schoenrock now inherit the minutes, the power play and the matchups Storey used to soak up. They took Dodge County to overtime in last year’s semifinal with Storey. If they get back there without him, nobody is calling it a fluke.
Dodge County
Dodge County brings the section championship trophy back to Kasson, and they do it the same way they did last year — timely defense, a goaltending tandem that’s been there before, and just enough offense from Camryn Koch and Nolan Steele to make up for losing program legend Gabe Coshenet. Champions know how to win close games, and nobody in this section has more recent practice at exactly that than Dodge County.
Northfield
Twenty-one wins. Four losses. One overtime tie. Northfield was, by a wide margin, the best team in Section 1A for five months last season — and the only game that didn’t go their way was the one that mattered most. That’s not a fluke, that’s a program letting one bad night define a great season. With Miles Kennelly entering his junior year fresh off a 52-point sophomore campaign, and a deep senior class of bantam call-ups ready to fill the gaps left by graduation, Northfield isn’t rebuilding — they’re reloading, and they’re not making the same mistake twice.
Rochester Lourdes
Everyone’s talking about who Rochester Lourdes lost. Nobody’s talking enough about Gavin Groettum and Charlie Kor, a pair of returning defensemen who combined for 40 points last season and form one of the most underrated blue lines in the entire section. Pair that with Jaxson Keefe’s playmaking up front, and Rochester Lourdes has exactly the kind of veteran core that makes deep section runs. All they need is for Brayson Magle to be even half as good as the goaltender he’s replacing — and Lourdes has shown all year they know how to win in front of good goaltending.
La Crescent-Hokah
Ben Schoepel and Archer Semling were the best 1-2 punch nobody talked about last season, and they were doing it as sophomores playing in the shadow of three graduating seniors. Now it’s their team. La Crescent-Hokah proved in the section playoffs they can find another gear when it matters, knocking off Faribault before running into a buzz saw against Northfield. With a full season as the focal point of the offense, Schoepel and Semling have nowhere to go but up — and a deep, hungry program is right there with them.
Albert Lea
Why does Albert Lea win it? Because they return the best 1-2 scoring punch of any team in the section that ISN’T currently ranked among the favorites. Casey Ulve and Drake Sternhagen combined for 109 points last year and somehow weren’t even the headline of their own team — that title belonged to graduating senior Zaden Brua. Now Albert Lea’s two most dangerous scorers get the whole stage to themselves, with a freshman phenom in Fletcher Pirsig breathing down their necks for a roster spot. Albert Lea has the offense to outscore anybody on a given night, and that’s exactly the kind of team nobody wants to see in a single-elimination bracket.
Winona
Winona has been here before — quietly. Kaden Grass and Brennan Hines combined for 45 points last season and didn’t even need a full senior class to do it. Add in a deep group of sophomores-turned-juniors who already have varsity miles on them, and a goaltender in Cayden Lingen who posted a sparkling .827 save percentage and an undefeated record in his sample size, and Winona has more pieces in place than their 11-15 record last year would suggest. Underestimate Winona in a playoff bracket at your own risk.
Red Wing
Red Wing’s case is simple: Brody Peterson and Carter Sloan were a combined 49-point nightmare for opposing defenses as sophomores, and now they’re the unquestioned focal point of the offense as juniors. A young, hungry Red Wing team that’s been building toward this for two years finally has its shot to surprise people — and nothing fuels a section run quite like a team nobody circled on their schedule in August.
Faribault
Faribault canceled its 2026-27 varsity season in September because of low participation. The section below is kept as originally published in June.
Every section needs its Cinderella, and Faribault has exactly the formula for one. CJ Callan delivered a .902 save percentage as a true freshman behind a team that had almost nothing else going right — now imagine that same goaltending with even a modest step forward from the program around him. The entire forward corps returns intact from last season. Sometimes all a team needs is for the bounces to start going their way, and Faribault’s foundation in net says they’re closer to that breakthrough than their record last year would ever suggest.
The Pick
All nine teams have a case, and Storey’s departure just made the argument a lot more interesting. Ours: Northfield was the best team in Section 1A for five months last season and now gets a Miles Kennelly junior year to go with it. Dodge County still owns the trophy and the championship experience that comes with it. Waseca has been building toward this season for four years and still has the depth to win it — losing Storey costs them the safety net, not the roster. Call it Northfield by a nose, with Dodge County and Waseca right behind. That’s why we play the games.
Statistics referenced reflect the 2025-26 regular season and Section 1A playoffs as covered in our individual team previews. Have something for us? Our email is always open ftphockey@gmail.com
