Going into Saturday night's last game of the regular season between Faribault and Owatonna it seemed clear cut. The winner would be the No. 3 seed in the Section 1 Class A Tournament beginning Wednesday. After all, both teams had 30 points in the Big Nine Conference playing the same opponents.

Faribault head coach Ali Miller was right.

During our Faribault Coaches Show at Basher's on Saturday, Miller told me that's how it would logically shake out, but added anything can happen when the coaches email in their seeds.

Sunday when Miller texted me the seeds I have to admit I was scratching my bald head.

Faribault had just defeated Owatonna to split with them during the season and finished with 32 points in the Big Nine. Owatonna had 30 points. Faribault finished with a 17-6-2 overall record and was 15-4  in the Big Nine. Owatonna finished with a 17-8 record and had a 12-5 Big Nine record.

Yet here's how the section seeds fell out:

  1. Northfield
  2. Red Wing
  3. Owatonna
  4. Faribault
  5. Austin
  6. Waseca
  7. Albert Lea
  8. Winona.

The Big Nine co-champions with 36 points each were Rochester John Marshall (15-2), Northfield (12-3) and Red Wing (9-3).

Owatonna lost twice to John Marshall and Faribault defeated them in a four-point game. Owatonna beat Northfield in a four-point contest while Faribault lost a four-point game to Northfield. Owatonna lost to Red Wing 6-2 and Faribault lost to Red Wing 4-3 in overtime. Both Faribault and Owatonna lost to Austin.

The Falcons' Big Nine losses were to Red Wing, Owatonna, Northfield and Austin. The Huskies' Big Nine losses were to Red Wing, Faribault, Austin and John Marshall twice.

Looks pretty even doesn't it? Then why wouldn't you use conference standings to determine the higher seed?

These are games against the same opponents.

It appears the coaches seeded Owatonna above Faribault because Owatonna beat Northfield and Faribault lost to Northfield and totally ignored the rest of the Big Nine results.

The overall records of the teams were:

  • Northfield 16-9
  • Red Wing 16-8-1
  • Owatonna 17-8
  • Faribault 17-6-2
  • Austin 14-11
  • Waseca 14-10-1
  • Albert Lea 3-20-2
  • Winona 1-24-1

I recall saying during the broadcast some coaches might argue Owatonna had a tougher nonconference schedule.

The Minnesota-Scores website has their QRF formula for Section 1 Class A with:

  1. Red Wing
  2. Faribault
  3. Northfield
  4. Owatonna
  5. Austin
  6. Waseca
  7. Albert Lea
  8. Winona

That's not me, it's an independent site that has developed their formula for determining the strongest teams and of course strength of schedule is a component of that.

Going into the Saturday season finale, Let's Play Hockey magazine had Red Wing ranked ninth, Owatonna 16th, Northfield 17th and Faribault 20th in Class A. I sincerely hope this was not a factor in the seedings, but it is a fact and I feel obligated to point out all the facts.

Miller is the only female head coach in the section. In fact, Miller is the only female head coach in the Big Nine.

Waseca is the only team in this section that is not in the Big Nine. The only teams in the section the Bluejays played were Albert Lea and Winona.

Red Wing could have made a case to be the top seed if you go by strength of schedule, but if that's what they used in the determination of the three seed they better use it to determine the others.

Some people will say it's not that big a deal three seed versus four, but that's not the point.

Why do you play a conference schedule if you don't use the standings to determine the seed when all but one of the teams is out of the same conference ?

I also do not understand how the school with the third-largest enrollment in the Big Nine (according to the MSHSL website) is in Class A.

I'm still scratching my bald head.

What do you think?

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