Much has been said about the competitiveness of girls' hockey in the Lake Conference. The results of conference play have emphasized the league's unparalleled strength.

In nonconference games, the five teams in the league — Eden Prairie, Edina, Hopkins, Minnetonka and Wayzata — have a combined record of 67-7-3. Two teams, Hopkins and Wayzata, were undefeated when playing teams outside the Lake.

In the most recent Let's Play Hockey state rankings, all five teams were ranked among the top seven in Class 2A, led by top-rated Minnetonka.

Eden Prairie, which has the most nonconference losses with four, is in first place with a 5-2 conference record. The Eagles have a balanced offense, a commitment to defense and better-than-expected goaltending from the tandem of Whitney Padgett and Alexa Dobchuk.

On the other end is Wayzata, which has a 15-0-1 nonconference record but has lost five consecutive league games. All six of the Trojans' losses have come within the conference.

First place was on the line Tuesday when Eden Prairie played host to Minnetonka in the conference finale. The Eagles were tied with Hopkins at the top of the standings with 10 points, but Hopkins' conference season is over. Minnetonka was one point behind with nine points.

Kennedy peaking

The move from Class 2A to 1A for the Bloomington Kennedy boys' hockey team was seen as a positive thing by Kennedy supporters. If recent results hold true, that assessment appears spot on.

For years the Eagles have struggled against bigger schools, often getting overmatched in section tournament play. They still play most of their regular-season games against 2A teams as members of the South Suburban Conference. With a record of 8-10-1 through Monday, they have absorbed the expected losses. But they broke out of a five-game slump with three consecutive victories in an eight-day span, highlighted by a 2-1 victory over intradistrict rival Jefferson on Saturday.

Hank Roers and Jory McWilliams scored second-period goals for the Eagles and goalie David Johnson stopped 43 of 44 shots for Kennedy, which beat Jefferson for the first time since 2000.

With playoffs coming up soon, the Eagles appear to be rounding into postseason shape.

Worth noting

• Edina senior Buzz Rehnberg won the 50- and 100-yard freestyle events at the Class 2A True Team state swimming and diving meet Saturday at the University of Minnesota.