The Northwest Suburban Conference has crowned a different league champion in four of the past five years. Last year it was Maple Grove, which rolled through the regular season unbeaten. Repeating could be difficult for the Crimson, who are rebuilding after graduating 15 seniors who helped the program reach the Section 8 title game.
Tanner Skanson returns as Maple Grove’s faceoff man and his consistency in winning possession off the draw could provide relief for an inexperienced core still finding its way at the varsity level. The Crimson (0-1) fell to Irondale 8-7 in overtime last Thursday but can build off the valuable game experience that few teams have entering this week.
Osseo/Park Center hopes to surface as a contender this year behind Daman Lingasin, who is entering his fifth season on varsity. In 50 career games, Lingasin has scored 91 goals and dished 25 assists.
A win for Osseo/Park Center would level the all-time record between both teams at 8-8.