We are back today for another conference preseason preview; today we are continuing our coverage with the IMAC. The IMAC contains, Breck, Blake, Providence Academy, St Paul Academy, Minnehaha Academy. These schools are all private schools. I will be giving the top 3 teams I think for this conference, and try to predict their record and top scorers. The IMAC isn’t a very solid conference, as it is pretty top-heavy with Blake and Breck every year. These teams only have non-conference games out as of now, so I will only be going over the projected finish. For these predictions/rankings, I am going off of player losses, how the team did last year, and what players they return. Providence Academy is slotted at #3, but we are only covering the top 2 for this smaller conference.
#1- Blake
Last Season Conf. Record- (9-1) Overall Record- (15-4-0)
2nd Place Finish IMAC
Lost in Section 6AA Quarterfinal to Benilde
Key Player Losses: Connor Mahony- Forward (13 Points), Max Breon- Forward (12 Points), Jack Richardson-Defense (10 Points)
Key Players Coming Back: Jake Svenddal Jake Svenddal 6'1" | Defense Blake | 2022 MN – Senior Defense (17 Points), Carter Krenke- Senior Forward (16 Points), William Matzke- Senior Forward (12 Points),
Projected First Line: Forwards- Carter Kranke (16 Points), William Matzke (12 Points), Rowan Heithoff (10 Points)
Defenseman- Jake Svenddal Jake Svenddal 6'1" | Defense Blake | 2022 MN (17 Points), Eli Daniel (8 Points)
This Blake team returns their top 2 producers last year, and also return a lot of solid middle pieces. Blake had an okay season last year, they are just in the toughest sectional in the state and got bounced in the quarters to Benilde. Blake doesn’t lose anyone too important this year, and most likely will gain some solid transplants into the private school. I see Blake being near the top of their section this year, but not too sure confident with their chances of winning the conference. My prediction as of now is that they bow out in either the semifinal or quarterfinal in their section. This team will be a team to watch though, as they do have high potential. Wouldnt be surprised if they make a deep run into the sections and steal a game from Edina or Benilde and possibly make state. We need to see it come to fruition before being confident in a state pick, as the section is very tough. I will stick with the semifinal loss as of now, nut with a .750 regular-season record
Playoff Prediction- Loss in Section 6AA semifinals
#2- Breck
Last Season Conf. Record- (5-1) Overall Record- (15-6-0)
1st Place Finish IMAC
Lost in 2A Section Final to Delano
Key Player Losses: Beau Courneya- Forward (46 Points), Jake Silverman- Forward (22 Points), Jake Hanson- Forward (20 Points), Zach Sinople- Forward (14 Points), Dylan Halliwill- Goalie (7-4)
Key Players Coming Back: Jack Kernan Jack Kernan 6'0" | Forward Maple Grove | 2023 State MN – Junior Defense (22 Points), Carter Theissen- Senior Defense (22 Points), Josh Hanson- Senior Forward (9 Points)
Projected First Line: Forwards- Too tough to predict
Projected First Line: Defense- Jack Kernan Jack Kernan 6'0" | Forward Maple Grove | 2023 State MN (22 Points), Carter Theissen (22 Points)
This team is really losing a lot this year, but the IMAC doesn’t have much depth to rank Breck any lower. With these private schools, and especially Breck the x-factor will be the new players that are coming up. Can they replace all that they lost especially forwards last year? They return one of the best D pair and a solid goalie in the state, but without good scoring forwards that doesn’t mean much. I am hesitant to give a bullish prediction on this team, as I am in the middle of where I think this team stands in A. They will for sure be better than the #3 IMAC- Providence academy, but I personally don’t think they will make it to state this year. They can make it for sure if they have good new pieces for their team, but as of now, I’m predicting no.
Playoff Prediction- Loss in Section 2A semifinals