"A lot of parity; a lot of depth," Minnetonka's Eric Johnson boasted last weekend.

Sure, Johnson could have been talking about his Skippers, who entered this week 13-1-1 down the regular-season stretch after a 2-0 loss to Benilde-St. Margaret's on Dec. 10. But those words came after Johnson was asked to assess his section.

"Just a good area for hockey," he continued. "There is no sleeper. Each team has great goaltending and a couple of scorers. We play each other enough where, come this time of year, you're getting high-level games with high-level hockey."

Buffalo, which received the No. 6 seed, is a 13-victory team.

"It's pressure time," Johnson said.

The defending Class 2A champion Skippers received the No. 2 seed in Section 6. The top nod went to Benilde-St. Margaret's, which finished the regular season 21-3-1 despite being without sophomore forward Caitlin Reilly since late December because of a broken ankle. Reilly scored 16 goals in 10 games before her injury.

Reilly has been able to skate, and begged to get into the lineup for last weekend's regular-season finale. But coach Dave Herbst elected to wait until Saturday's section tournament opener against North Metro at Parade Ice Garden.

"That will give us a little extra boost," Herbst said.

Sophomore Kelly Pannek led the Red Knights with 43 goals and 24 assists. She and Reilly skate on separate lines, Herbst said, which will make the team that much stronger for the playoffs.

With Benilde as the top seed, Herbst and his staff will have the last change opportunity following every whistle.

"Two lines that can score, that's going to be a big plus for us," Herbst said.

Last year's Section 6 final came down to Minnetonka and Benilde-St. Margaret's, and it wasn't much of a fight. The Skippers scored three second-period goals en route to a 4-0 shutout.

The Red Knights turned the tables this year, winning 2-0 on Dec. 10.

Neither team has forgotten.

"I have to make sure the kids aren't overlooking anything, but the kids really want another shot at Minnetonka," Herbst said. "They remember last year, and they want 'em. It's good to see that. If we do, it should be a great game. Two top teams going at it."

Radloff returns home

Orono received the No. 2 seed in Class 1A, Section 5 and earned a first-round bye. That means coach Keith Radloff's team doesn't play until Tuesday, when he could see a lot of familiar faces staring back at him.

After helping Orono gets its girls' varsity program off the ground in the late 1990s, Radloff spent 11 years at Blake before taking over as head coach back in Orono this season. The Spartans' semifinal opponent will be the winner of Thursday's game between No. 3 Blake and No. 6 Holy Angels.

"I told [Bears coach] Brano [Stankovsky] I've been scouting them for 11 years so we're ready to go," Radloff said. If Blake wins, "we could give them a good game if we play well."