Not much separates Lake boys' hockey leaders

It's shaping up to be quite the fight to the finish in Lake Conference boys' hockey.

Heading into this week, Rosemount, No. 7 in the Let's Play Hockey rankings, had a lean edge with a 14-2 mark in the conference. No. 10 Burnsville was right behind at 13-3, followed by No. 11 Bloomington Jefferson and No. 13 Eden Prairie at 12-3-1 records and No. 16 Eastview at 10-4-2.

Each team had four games to play in the regular season as of Monday, all within the conference.

"There is a tremendous amount of talent running through around here," Eden Prairie coach Lee Smith said. "It's a lot of good hockey, and I think it's due to the kids training hard in the offseason. They're becoming better athletes, not just better hockey players."

J.T Brown of Rosemount is having a strong season, leading the Lake Conference in goals (26) and assists (27). Jefferson's Tommy O'Donnell is tied for fourth in the league with 37 points.

In girls' hockey, section tournaments start this week with a strong west metro presence at the top of two Class 2A sections in particular.

In Section 2, undefeated Eden Prairie has the top seed, followed in order by Edina, Holy Angels, Minnetonka and Chaska. Section 2 games begin Friday at the high seed's home rink.

In Section 6, Hopkins is No. 1, with Benilde-St. Margaret's, Wayzata and Buffalo rounding out the top four. Section 6 games continue Saturday at Parade Ice Garden.

Minneapolis Edison girls' basketball player Julianne Mitchell opened the year with 75 points and 48 rebounds in the Tommies' first two games. She has not slowed much.

Through 21 games, Mitchell is averaging nearly 31 points and 20 rebounds per game. She also averages six assists, six steals and three blocked shots per game.

Edison's next game is Saturday at E.C.H.O. Charter School, before returning home to play Minneapolis Southwest on Tuesday.