One of the fundamental tenets of competitive athletics states that if Team A beats Team B, and Team B beats Team C, Team A is superior to both Team B and Team C.

It’s simple. It’s pure. It’s inexorable.

Except when it’s not. But more on that later.

In mathematics, this concept is referred to as Transitive Property. According to Google, its defined as the notion that “if two numbers are equal to each other, and the second number is equal to the third number, then the first number is also equal to the third number.”

And if there are two things I don’t argue with, it’s Google and mathematics.

Speaking of arguing, every fan is guilty of attempting to integrate some level of sports-related Transitive Property when articulating why their team will, or won’t, win a certain matchup.

I’m as guilty as anyone. In fact, it was just a few weeks ago when I found myself stretching this particular theory dangerously close to its breaking point.

It all started when chatting with Owatonna boys hockey captain, Owen Beyer, about a story I was working on for this very web site. During our chat, he mentioned that preseason conference contender, Northfield, had tied both Spring Lake Park and Osseo during the Raiders 8-1-2 start leading into the holiday break. Why is this significant? Well, Owatonna also happened to square off against Spring Lake Park and Osseo during the December nonconference slate and won by a combined score of 16-4.

When I got off the phone and fired The Minnesota Hockey Hub, it took only a few clicks before I found myself plummeting down a deep rabbit hole. I started by examining every team that Owatonna had beat during its 7-0 start and then looked at the teams their opponents had defeated. And then their opponents’ opponents. And then their opponents’ opponents’ opponents.

I think you get the point.

Eventually, I decided it would fun to see just how far I could stretch the Huskies’ Transitive Property, so that’s exactly what I did. After winding my way through both MSHSL classes, navigating countless schedules and exploring every corner of the Hockey Hub, I eventually attained my goal and unearthed an interesting transitive connection leading from the Huskies all the way to the team at the top of the Class AA rankings.

That’s right, the might Minnetonka Skippers.

Being that Transitive Property is, indeed, a mathematical theory, I’m now compelled to show my work, and that’s what you will find below.

Alright, here goes nothing…

• On Dec. 29, Owatonna beat Apple Valley/Burnsville…

• On Dec. 2, Apple Valley/Burnsville beat Mankato West…

• On Dec. 14, Mankato West beat Roseville…

• On Nov. 24, Roseville beat Lakeville North…

• On Dec. 19, Lakeville North beat Hastings…

• On Dec. 28, Hastings beat Woodbury…

• On Dec. 16, Woodbury beat Forest Lake…

• On Dec. 2, Forest Lake beat Grand Rapids…

• On Dec. 15, Grand Rapids beat Eden Prairie…

• On Dec. 22, Eden Prairie tied No. 2 Wayzata…

• On Dec. 29, Wayzata tied No. 1 Minnetonka.

And if that isn’t enough, we can use the same sequence to weave a thread between the Huskies and No. 2-ranked, Warroad.

For this, I followed the same path as the first one all the way through Park Rapids before pivoting and stitching my way through another long line of teams that eventually stretched all the way north to the renowned hockey hotbed of Warraod.

Here’s what that looked like…

• On Dec. 29, Owatonna beat Apple Valley/Burnsville…

• On Dec. 2, Apple Valley/Burnsville beat Mankato West…

• On Dec. 14, Mankato West beat Roseville…

• On Nov. 24, Roseville beat Lakeville North…

• On Dec. 19, Lakeville North beat Hastings…

• On Dec. 28, Hastings beat Woodbury…

• On Dec. 16, Woodbury beat Forest Lake…

• On Dec. 2, Forest Lake beat Grand Rapids…

• On Nov. 30, Grand Rapids beat Duluth Marshall…

• On Nov. 19, Duluth Marshall beat Brainerd…

• On Dec. 21, Brainerd beat Sartell…

• On Dec. 29, Sartell beat No. 3 St. Cloud Cathedral…

• On Nov. 25, No. 3 St. Cloud Cathedral beat No. 2 Warroad.

Aside from having a little fun, I wrote this piece to illustrate just how volatile sports predictions can be, so be careful my friends.

Leave fancy things like Transitive Property to the mathmagicians.