Thanks to the best senior class of players in southern Minnesota history, this part of the state is not just on the map, it could factor in the state-title picture in both Class A and AA.

"I think with the depth of this class, it's definitely the best I've seen in my 10 years of coaching," Dodge County coach Jeremy Gunderson said. "It's great to see the South rising."

The establishment of quality girls hockey programs in southern Minnesota hasn't been easy and it didn't happen overnight. It took the dedication of school administrators, coaches, players and many committed hockey parents.

This season figures to be the culmination of that hard work.

"You could see it coming," Gunderson said. "For USA Hockey, the peak of participation for girls hockey was with those (1996 birth-year players). From the time most of these girls were seventh-graders, you could see they were very talented."

City improves

Right here in Rochester, Century and John Marshall/Lourdes figure to be as strong as ever. Century's contribution to the elite senior class is Katie Aney, and the Panthers have an impressive eight seniors on the roster.

When the Rochester city programs split, there were many lean years at Century. Dan Maidl was there for the worst of times. He said he remembers going to youth games where his teams lost 20-0. But he didn't give up and his positive attitude never changed. Now Maidl is enjoying the best team in Century history. The Panthers were 14-10-1 last season and figure to be even better in 2013-14.

They started the season off right, with a victory over traditional power White Bear Lake.

"I always believed we would get here," Maidl said. "Those first four years we improved, but it didn't always show up in the win column. Now, I truly believe we're a top team in the conference and section."

Maidl said the turnaround has involved many factors, including a local offseason league run by Gunderson.

"Jeremy is a great promoter of the sport in southern Minnesota, and that four-on-four league he runs is big because previously the girls had to drive to the Cities to get something like that," Maidl said.

Rockets soaring

JM/Lourdes doesn't have a truly elite senior skater, but the Rockets do feature five experienced seniors.

JM/Lourdes also had some lean years when the programs split. The Rockets' turnaround started a few seasons ago, and new coach Bob Montrose has helped accelerate that progress. JM/Lourdes went 18-9-0 last season, and the Rockets also figure to be better in 2013-14.

At Dodge County, the Wildcats have had solid regular-season records for years, though that hasn't translated to Class AA postseason success. But last season, the Wildcats finally got over the hump. They not only won a playoff game, they knocked off Lakeville South and advanced to the section finals, falling 3-2 to Lakeville North. North went on to finish third at state.

After last season's 21-6-1 record and section-finals appearance, Dodge County has state-tournament dreams this season. With a loaded team returning, it seems like a very reachable goal.

Dodge County has a pair of elite seniors in Darby Dodds and Emily Gunderson, and they have a handful of other players with Division I aspirations.

Class A power

Red Wing has been a force in Class A for four years now. But that wasn't always the case. The Wingers had seasons in the early 2000s when they struggled to win a single game.

Coach Scott Haley has helped turn the program into a perennial Class A contender. The Wingers finished third at state last year, and they moved Paige Haley on to play for the Gophers.

The Wingers contribute two more Division I players to this year's amazing senior class in Nicole Schammel and Emily Stegora. Both have committed to Minnesota State, Mankato.

"When I first came here, Dodge County, Century and Red Wing were at the bottom of the barrel," Haley said. "It's nice to see how far we've all come."

Haley believes there's still a lack of respect for southern Minnesota hockey from the Twin Cities schools.

"It's helped getting kids from down here placed in the National Team camps, with the two on my team and (Dana) Rasmussen and (Katie) Robinson from Dodge County, plus there was a girl from Mankato and one from New Ulm on there," Haley said. "I think the attitude is changing. But we need to be consistent to really get it to change."

Spartans improving

Even Rochester Mayo, which is a rebuilding program, has a couple of talented seniors in Kali Aldrich and Sara Brakke.

The talent doesn't stop there, though, for southern Minnesota. Winona has Carly Moran, Abby Sawyer and Jessica Cole provide Owatonna with a pair of talented seniors who will play in college, and senior Anna Anderson is Albert Lea's all-time leading scorer.

While 2013-14 figures to be a big season for girls hockey in southern Minnesota, Gunderson said it's important for the upswing not to be a "one-year wonder."

"We are raising some eyebrows now, but we have to be consistent," Gunderson said. "Looking at what we have coming up in the youth systems in Rochester, Red Wing and here at Dodge County, we have a great future, and I think we will continue to compete with the best teams in the state."