Blaine has made two straight trips to the state tournament, a run that snapped Champlin Park's three-year stretch of dominance in Section 7.
Wednesday's regular-season meeting of these rivals may very well serve as an early season preview of what has become a hotly contested section battle for a state tourney berth, which sets the stage for our Top Game of the Week.
The Bengals return the state's eighth-leading scorer from last year in Abby Jones, who finished her junior season with 56 goals. The senior should remain a constant offensive threat for Blaine this season. Ava Engler may benefit from of some defensive scheming against Jones and could improve on her 24 goals from last season.
A potential concern for the Bengals is the graduation of goalie Sarah Ganley, but if junior Autumn Graleske can step up and provide some quality play in front of the goal, Blaine may well equal Champlin Park's run of three straight trips to the state tournament.
The Rebels enter this season looking to make up for losing 86 total goals to graduation. One forward they can rely on to help make up the difference could be last season's third-leading scorer Josie Johnson, who tallied 20 goals. Champlin Park has a history of producing talent, so the void at the hub of the offense could be filled seamlessly as the season goes on.
On the defensive side, the Rebels should benefit from the return of Quiana Walton, who posted the ninth-best goals-against average in the regular season (7.19) last year.