Another Way to Look at PeeWee A Hockey (Dec. 9)

By frederick61

There is “change” trying to be brewed all over this country. Now there are off-ice changes brewing in Minnesota Hockey (district re-alignments being proposed, kid eligibility rules being written). But there is also change “on-ice”. The “off-ice” has to be addressed because the current Minnesota Hockey schedules for state level tourneys expire. The March 2010 tourney is the last one scheduled. And that is good policy. Minnesota Hockey has to address district and association alignments since populations shift and economy changes need to be part of the process in determining the new schedules for the next few years.

But it is the “on-ice” changes that interest this column. And there is the start of change from the “old guard” PeeWee A teams to a “new guard”. The question is how subtle is that “on-ice” change. Most districts are seeing improved play overall. The result is PeeWee A hockey this year is more balanced then in the past years. There are still some “one-sided” games. But these involve teams that trying to get their PeeWee A team going usually after playing B-level the year before. The emergence of a “new guard” would be great for PeeWee A hockey. It simply says no matter how good their program no association can relax from year to year. That has happened in past years.

North Region - D11 had the first of two back to back tourneys this weekend. Four D11 teams were paired against four teams from outside D11. The D11 teams won their opening quarterfinal games and played each other for first, second and third place. The Duluth Lakers took first beating a surprising Saint Paul Saints team 6-3, beating Hermantown 7-4 and Cloquet 5-2 in the championship game. Cloquet made the final game by beating Apple Valley 4-2 and Superior 4-3. Hermantown beat Superior for third place 4-3. The Hawks beat Alexandria in their opener 4-2.

Now the same D11 teams plus Duluth East get to repeat the test of this past weekend except there are more and more tougher teams entered in the Spirit of Duluth tourney.

Now the big question is, can D11 repeat the Hermantown tourney in the Spirit of Duluth this weekend? Five D11 teams, three with their own pool and two with a shared pool take on eleven teams from across the state and Thunder Bay Canada in the Spirit tourney. Duluth East, Stillwater, Orono and Grand Rapids form one pool. Hermantown, Cloquet, Mpls Park and White Bear Lake are in another pool. The Duluth Lakers play Blaine, Minnetonka, and Osseo/Maple Grove their pool. Superior draws Wayzata, Thunder Bay and Centennial.

Duluth East should be the standard bearer this week for D11. They beat the Duluth Lakers 4-1 last week after taking a western trip over the Thanksgiving holidays winning 5 of 6 games (losing only 3-2 to Moorhead). With 20 kids on the Hounds roster, playing a potential 5 game weekend should be in their favor. Orono, also in their pool, has a 15 kid roster (including two goalies).

Last week, Protor beat Eveleth-Gilbert 8-2, played Rice Lake, Wisconsin and Cloquet. The Rails travel to Detroit Lakes on the weekend to play Fargo Flyers, Detroit Lakes, and Bismarck in the Lakers tourney.

Despite the Duluth Lakers win at Hermantown, Duluth East still takes the #1 seed. After a shaky season opening, the Hounds have gone 8-1-1 in their last 10 games and have beaten the Lakers twice, Hermantown once and tied Cloquet. The trouble in D12 is that they play each other a number of time. It is hard to beat a team 4 or 5 times in a season, especially at playoff time. The Lakers have certainly earned the #2 seed this week, but it is a coin flip between Hermantown and Cloquet this week. The zinc penny came up the Hawks. They get the #3 seed.

D12 - Grand Rapids took a tour to the cities and lost three games, a tough one to Coon Rapids 4-3, a bad one to Blaine and another though one to one of the top teams in the state, Osseo/Maple Grove 3-0. The Thunderhawks travel to Duluth to play in the Spirit this weekend. They draw Orono, Stillwater and Duluth East (chance to avenge an earlier 5-1 loss to the Hounds). International Falls beat Greenway 3-0 and Hibbing 3-2 in a D12 games before losing to Roseau 2-1. Hibbing also lost to the Roseau 7-2 this past week. The Falls continues to win this year. Maybe the Broncos are back. Greenway’s loss to the Falls was their first D12 loss.

Hibbing hosts their tourney this weekend. The Bluejackets play Greenway, Virginia, and Irondale. Eveleth-Gilbert is the fifth team entered. The Golden Bears play Irondale, Virginia and Greenway. International Falls travels to Detroit Lakes this weekend to play in the Lakers tourney. The Falls draw Crookston, River Lakes, and the Mandan Braves in pool play. The Falls and Grand Rapids appear to be on top of the D12 standings.

Grand Rapids retains the #1 seed this week. On their cities trip, they played two tough teams well. They will be tested again at the Spirit. The #2 seed this week goes to International Falls. Simply put, the Broncos beat the Bluejackets last week. Hibbing and Greenway look to contend while the Virginia Blue Devils continue to struggle.

D2 - White Bear Lake had their unbeaten D2 record spoiled by a loss to Highland Central last week. The Bears took another hit when Roseville tied them this week 4-4, but the Bears came back to beat Stillwater beat 4-2. This weekend the Bears are at the Spirit of Duluth tourney. They draw Mpls Park and two D12 teams, Cloquet and Hermantown. Besides White Bear, Stillwater played Mahtomedi and lost to Hudson, Wisconsin 2-0. They travel to Duluth and play Duluth East, Orono and Grand Rapids.

Tartan takes a quarter circle run on Interstate 494 to Wakota to play in South St. Paul’s tourney this week. They play St. Francis in the opening round. Mounds View continued their up and down season. They played in Orono’s tourney this week, beating Northern Lakes then losing to eventual champion Crow River 4-3 and Orono in the third place game. The Mustangs lost two tough D2 games to Forest Lake 4-2 and 2-1 prior to traveling to Orono. It doesn’t get easier for the Mustangs this week. They play Highland Central and Mahtomedi in D2 action.

Roseville had a good week, beating Tartan 7-0 and Irondale 5-1 besides tying White Bear Lake. They play a single game this coming week against Forest Lake before taking a northern tour. Mahtomedi played Stillwater and beat Irondale 6-3 last week. This week they play the St. Paul Saints and Mounds View before traveling in two weeks to play in a Fargo Tourney. The Zephyrs are in a virtual tie atop D2 with White Bear Lake this week.

The two victories over Mounds View may have Forest Lake on the right path. The Lakers play Highland in D2 action this week. North St. Paul has struggled this year, but the Polars travel to Albert Lea to play in their tourney. In pool play, they draw Faribault, New Ulm and Mason City Iowa.

Despite White Bear first loss and tie in D2 this week, the Bears came back to beat Stillwater. Stillwater remains a question mark. One would think both teams would be running away from the other D2 teams. But two pesky teams, Mahtomedi and Roseville, are hanging in the chase. Mounds View has slid losing their last three D2 games and having to play Highland, Mahtomedi and Stillwater in their next three games. Forest Lake has made a small move and is still part of the chase. Only Tartan and North St. Paul seem out of the running, but they still are dangerous teams.

The #1 seed this week is tough choice. Highland maybe the best team playing D2, but will have to collect their regional seed from the D1 playoffs. That leaves the Bears on top of D2 with the #1 seed. One has to resort to flipping the old zinc penny to decide the #2 seed. It came up Stillwater with Mahtomedi taking the #3 seed. Both White Bear Lake and Stillwater have a shot at taking their pool in the Spirit of Duluth. That is a challenge. But the Zephyrs have been tough this year and both Roseville and Forest Lake are starting to make some moves.

East Region - An interesting question this week to ponder in the East is was it smart for Highland to schedule Edina this month (or for Edina fans, was it smart for the Hornets to schedule Highland this month). Both coaches recognize that there is a strong possibility that the two teams will meet in the East Regional. Should Highland have “lain in the weeds, waiting to strike in March” or should the Hornets ignore the Caps as just another team to beat? This game is a great game for the kids to learn and it is good to see the teams play.

So what teams are starting to emerge from the three districts in this region? D6 looks the most set with Edina, Burnsville and Eden Prairie; but that is just a challenge for the other six D6 teams. D8 also looks set with Woodbury, Lakeville South and Rochester, but that said, can’t you hear the big cats roar (Tigers and Panthers) and the Irish “getting their dander up”. D1 also looks set with Highland Central and Mpls Park, but that just heats the Saint’s halo and has the Knights sharpening their spears. See how settled this region is in March, that is when it counts.

D1 - Three of the four D1 teams are playing in tourneys this weekend. Mpls Park travels to Duluth to play in the Spirit tourney. The Storm draw White Bear Lake, Hermantown and Cloquet in pool play. Last week the Strom beat North Metro 3-1 in D3 action and played Minnetonka. Currently, Mpls Park has a loss to Wayzata and a tie with Osseo/Maple Grove in D3. A win over OMG next week would put the Storm in the middle of the D3 title chase with those two teams.

Highland Central has continued their winning ways. They took the Red Wing tourney championship beating Austin, Red Wing and Farmington. Last week, they beat White Bear Lake in D2 action. The Caps play Moundsview and Forest Lake in D2 action this week. They are unbeaten this season and take on top rated Edina between the year end holidays.

Irondale continues to struggle, but has an opportunity this week to strengthen their play at the Hibbing tourney. They draw Eveleth-Gilbert and Hibbing in pool play. The Knights lost to Roseville and played Mahtomedi in D2 action this week. The Saint Paul Saints play in South St. Paul’s tourney this week drawing Red Wing in the opener. Last week the Saints beat Tartan 2-0 in D2 play and played in Hermantown’s tourney, losing to the eventual champion Duluth Lakers 6-3 and losing to Alexandria 6-3 before beating Fargo North 5-2.

Highland Central keeps the #1 seed goes this week and could take the #1 seed in D2 also this week. The Storm takes the #2 seed. The Spirit of Duluth tourney will challenge the Storm. The Saints are getting better; a good run at South St. Paul would be nice to see. Irondale should do well at Hibbing. Overall things are looking good for the D1 teams.

D6 - Two Sundays ago at the Burnsville tourney; Edina and Burnsville skated in the championship game. Edina jumped off to a 3-0 lead and fought off a Burnsville rally to win 6-4. Four days later at the same Burnsville arena, the same two teams clashed in a key D6 game. It was a repeat as Edina jumped off to a 2-0 lead and Burnsville fought back to tie the game 2-2 only to lose 3-2 when the Hornets scored with two minutes to go in the game. As if to add insult to injury, the Burnsville high school team lost a regionally broadcast game in the same arena to Edina on the Tuesday between the two peewee A loses.

Edina went on to beat Chaska 8-0 and Jefferson 9-0 last week. This week the Hornets play Eastview and Kennedy in D6 and have a third and deciding game against the 97 Fire. The Hornets have split two games with the Fire losing 6-4 and winning 9-4.

Edina sits on top of D6 with a perfect 6-0 record with a third of the season gone. Eden Prairie is their closest challenger. Eden Prairie beat Eastview 3-1. The Eagles have only one D6 loss. They play Jefferson this week. The Eden Prairie loss was Eastview’s second D6 loss dropping them into a tie with Burnsville. The Lightning play Edina and Prior Lake/Savage this week.

Burnsville plays Prior Lake/Savage, Jefferson, Apple Valley and Kennedy in D6 this week plus a return game with Woodbury before taking a break from D6 play for the rest of December. In two weeks the Blaze will travel to Grand Rapids to play East Grand Forks in the opening round of the Star of the North tourney. Apple Valley traveled to Hermantown and made it to the consolation championship. The Eagles lost a tough opening game to Cloquet, beat Fargo 8-1 and lost to Alexandria. Valley returns to D6 action this week with the unenviable task of playing Burnsville, Edina and Eden Prairie.

Jefferson struggled this week losing to rival Kennedy 4-3 besides Edina. This week the Jags play Eden Prairie, Burnsville, Farmington, and Eastview. Minnetonka returned to D6 action playing Chaska. This week the Skippers play Eden Prairie and travel to the Spirit of Duluth tourney. In pool play, they draw Osseo/Maple Grove, Blaine and the Duluth Lakers. They are the only D6 team in the Spirit tourney this year.

Edina ends a long string of games this weekend after playing Kennedy. Starting the week the Hornets have won 13 in a row and haven’t lost in the past month. Their schedule slows a little, but the Hornets have added games in the next two weeks with Highland Central and STMA. This will be the “old guard” playing the “new guard” and should be good games to see. The Hornets keep the #1 seed, and it’s a coin flip for the #2. The Blaze still hold that D6 victory over Eden Prairie and until the Eagles beat them, they are #2. The Eagles are #3. Eastview looks to be the only challenger with Jefferson struggling and Minnetonka “AWOL”. A good Spirit tourney could change that for the Skippers.

D8 - Minnesota Hockey this January is addressing re-districting for next year. One of the potential changes proposed affects D8. Under the one proposal, a new district, D9, would be created with the following associations: Mankato, Faribault, New Prague, Owatonna, Albert Lea, Waseca, Austin, Montgomery, Rochester, Red Wing, Winona, Northfield, La Cresent, and Dodge County. There would be a new D8 consisting of Lakeville, Woodbury, Eagan, Cottage Grove, Farmington, Rosemount, Hastings, Sibley, Inver Grove Heights, South St. Paul, Apple Valley, Como/Johnson and Eastview. Associations in D4 would then be New Ulm, St. Peter, Marshall, Fairmont, Luverne, Windom, Redwood Falls, Sleepy Eye, and Worthington. Interesting?

But in D8 action this week, Lakeville South continued their success. After tying Rochester 2-2 and beating South St. Paul 7-0, on Saturday the Cougars beat Woodbury 4-3 in a “messy” game. Both teams underperformed, but the Cougars “underperformed less” and came away with a key victory that prevented the Royals from opening a lead in the D8 standings. These teams are now in a virtual tie with Rochester who beat Rosemount 3-2 also on Sunday. Not too far behind these three teams are Farmington, Rosemount and South St. Paul.

South St. Paul tied Eagan 2-2. This weekend, the Packers host their tourney, opening play against Spring Lake Park. Saint Paul Saints and Red Wing play in the other bracket game. In the upper bracket, Sibley and Cottage Grove meet in the opening game and St. Francis and Tartan play in the second game.

Woodbury has a busy schedule this week. The Royals play Burnsville, Lakeville North, Hopkins and Sibley. Lakeville North also plays Farmington in D8 action. Lakeville South has a single game with Edina on Sunday at Marriuci. That game is played after the Woodbury/Hopkins game. Rochester travels to Moorhead on the weekend. In pool play, they take on Buffalo and Grafton North Dakota.

Hudson upset Stillwater last week 2-0. They also played Hastings. Farmington had a great Red Wing tourney. They took second place, beating New Prague 3-0, North Metro 5-1 before losing to Highland Central 3-2. The Tigers play Burnsville, Hastings, Lakeville North and Jefferson this week.

After hosting their own tourney last weekend, Red Wing travels to South St. Paul for their tourney. They play the Saint Paul Saints in their opener. Dodge County lost to Sibley 7-3 last week. This week they travel west on Highway 14 to Owatonna and play Luverne in the opening round. Northfield also plays in the Owatonna tourney opening against Sioux Falls.

Lakeville South and Woodbury split their two D8 games this year each winning one game. Both teams deserve the #1 seed, but the Cougars only tied a tough Rochester team. They still trail Woodbury in points (factoring in games played), so Woodbury takes the #1 seed and Lakeville South the #2 seed. Both teams are struggled this week and will have chances to straighten themselves out. The Royals take on Burnsville and the Cougars take on Edina.

Rochester had two good games tying Lakeville South and beating Rosemount. They take the #3 seed. But Farmington, Rosemount and Lakeville North are in the chase. D8 remains a tough district this year.

South Region - The South Region consists this year of D3, D4 and D5. These districts cover the southwestern part of Minnesota including the Twin Cities western suburbs. For what ever reason (perhaps because of the new North Star Light Rail) this year these three districts could be the “new guard” of Minnesota Youth Hockey. Two teams, Orono and St. Michael/Albertville, epitomized that “new guard” as they fought it out on chilly Saturday night in Orono’s tourney. It was a great game with STMA winning in OT 4-3.

D4, D5 and other teams like Orono have been ignored in the past, but anybody who loves hockey as a sport, would have enjoyed that Saturday game (including the wood fire). The highly competitive skills and coaching was demonstrated by both teams in that game. At least for this week, there is a “new guard” and they will be tested. Orono plays in the Spirit of Duluth this weekend, STMA plays Osseo/Maple Grove this week and plays Edina at 6:45 PM at Breck (in Breck’s great new arena) on Dec 17.

Two more D3 teams, Osseo/Maple Grove and Wayzata, join Orono play this week in the Spirit of Duluth tourney. D4 is also busy hosting two tourneys this week, at Albert Lea and at Owatonna. Six D4 teams play in the Albert Lea tourney with two tough outsiders, Coon Rapids and North St. Paul. At Owatonna, three D4 teams (New Prague, Luverne and Owatonna) take on three teams from out of state including the Kansas City Stars currently ranked #2 in the nation among AA Major Peewees. Two D8 teams, Northfield and Dodge County, complete the field.

In the South Region, D3 has the depth over D4 and D5. D3 at this point has strong teams from top to bottom, but can send only three teams to the region. In D4 (with three seeds) teams are still struggling. Their performance this week in their tourneys will be indication of D4 strength. D5 has only two seeds and looks strong enough to have four or five competitive teams come March.

D3 - Orono hosted their tourney this week, beating team MALM (Monticello-Annandale-Maple Lake) 7-0 before losing to STMA in the semifinals. The Spartans beat Mounds View 5-0 for third place.

For most of this past decade, Orono has been one of the best positioned associations in the state, playing a rugged D3 youth program against some of the largest associations in the state and then playing Class A high school hockey. Their high school teams played in the state 4 out of 5 years as Section 6A champs until they were moved to Section 2A with tougher teams including Breck and Blake. In a few years, their current peewees should help Orono challenge again. But this week, the peewees head to Duluth and the Spirit tourney. They draw Duluth East, Stillwater and Grand Rapids in pool play.

Osseo/Maple Grove beat Armstrong Cooper 7-1, a touring Grand Rapids 3-0 and Eastview 4-3 this week. OMG play at STMA this week and then travel to the Spirit of Duluth tourney. OMG draws Minnetonka, the Duluth Lakers, and Blaine. Wayzata, after an off week, play in the Spirit. They draw Superior, Thunder Bay and Centennial. The Centennial game will be a re-match of the Eden Prairie semifinal game the Trojans won 7-1.

North Metro lost to Mpls Park 2-1 in D3 action took the consolation title at Red Wing losing to Farmington and New Prague before beating Austin. The Pirates have the next week off. Hopkins won their first D3 game beating Armstrong 4-1 and played Champlin Park. They also have next week off. Armstrong has scheduled a western trip this weekend to Alexandria and Grand Forks.

Osseo/Maple Grove remains unbeaten on top of D3 this week. Their only D3 blemish is a 2-2 tie with Mpls Park. Wayzata, Mpls Park and Orono each have one loss. The other teams have more then one loss. Hopkins has the potential and their second place showing in their own tourney indicates that they will compete.

OMG rapped out a couple of wins this week and Wayzata rested. Despite the Trojans win at Eden Prairie two weeks ago, OMG holds the D3 win over the Trojans and takes the #1 seed this week. Wayzata takes the #2 seed. Orono comes off of their second straight tourney with a third place and takes the #3 seed. The Spirit of Duluth tourney results will spin these seeds around, especially if Orono does well. Oddly enough, Hopkins is not scheduled to play in another tourney this year. Will that help the Royals at D3 playoff time in February?

D4 - As the D4 teams get ready to play in their tourneys next week, it is worthwhile to discuss the change in the D4 playoff format this year. The top two teams in each division qualify for the playoffs. Teams finishing third or lower must play-in (in the East, the lower three teams and in the West the lower four teams). In the qualifying part of the playoffs, the #3 plays the #6 team, the #4 team plays the #5 team at the higher seeds ice in the West; in the East, the #3 team gets a bye while the #4 team hosts the #5 team.

The six teams in the district playoffs at St. Peter will be divided into two pools; American (West #1 versus East #2 and #3) and National Division (East #1 versus West #2 and #3). The two pool winners will play for the D4 #1 and #2 seeds to the South Regional. The two pool runner-ups will play for the #3 seed to the South Regional. The pool tie breakers are not known at this time. First and second place in the East and West are the prize.

In the East, Faribault remains on top. The Falcons took a southern D4 trip, beating Owatonna 4-3, losing to Mason City 4-3 and played Albert Lea. This week the Falcons play in the Albert Lea tourney drawing New Ulm, North St. Paul and Mason City in pool play. New Prague remains unbeaten in D4 and don’t return to league play until mid-December. The Trojans took third in the Red Wing tourney losing their opener to Farmington, beating North Metro and Red Wing. The Trojans play in the Owatonna tourney this week drawing a tough Kansas City Stars in the opening round.

Albert Lea hosts a good tourney this week. Eight teams, two pools, open play on Friday. One pool has host Albert Lea, Austin, Coon Rapids and Waseca. The second pool has Faribault, New Ulm, North St. Paul and Mason City. The Albert Lea Thunder plays the Bismarck Bobcats (North American Hockey League) in Albert Lea on Friday and Saturday nights during the tourney for those who still didn’t get enough hockey at the tourney.

Owatonna has their tourney this weekend. The Host opens play on Friday against Waterloo Iowa. In the other side of the bracket, Luverne plays Dodge County. The Kansas City Stars return to Minnesota with hopes to add a second tourney title to the one they got in Mankato. The Stars play New Prague in the opener in the lower bracket. Sioux Falls and Northfield complete the tourney field.

Marshall travels to Moorhead to play in their tourney. In pool play they draw a Fargo team and Andover. Mason City Iowa by beating Faribault last Friday has moved into a tie with the Falcons in D4 East.

In the West Division, Mankato beat Waseca 8-0 and Luverne 4-2 last week. The Mavericks have a single D4 game against St. Peter this week. St. Peter looks to be the principle Maverick challenger beating Marshall 7-1 and New Ulm 8-1, but they lost to Owatonna 5-0 at Owatonna. The Cardinals return there this week to play in Owatonna’s tourney.

New Prague may have lost to Farmington this week, but that lost does not take away the #1 seed. Mankato takes the #2 seed and Faribault the #3 seed this week. Their only challenger at this point looks to be St. Peter, but Owatonna may be coming together as a team. Luverne will be tested in the Owatonna tourney.

D5 - Just went D5 starts to have some order, Sartell gets upset this week in a penalty filled game at River Lakes 3-1. That was the Sabres’ first lost this year. Then Crow River is one of two D5 teams (STMA was the other) tangled in the Orono tourney championship game.

But this week, STMA rolled into a wall. After beating Buffalo 7-0, the Knights rolled into Orono. In a tough opening game, they beat Prior Lake/Savage 2-1. The Lakers jumped to a 1-0 lead and the Knights came back to tie it at the end of the first period. Both teams skated well in a physical game played by two physical teams. In the third period, the Knights scored the winning goal and then went into a defensive shell and hung on for the win. The Lakers came close to tying the game more then once. With less then 10 seconds remaining, a Laker forward had a shot at open net only to have the puck take a crazy bounce over his swinging stick. STMA went on to win a great OT game over Orono 4-3 in the semifinals and played Crow River in an all D5 finals.

Then the Knights hit a wall and lost to the Tigers in the championship game. Crow River got to the finals by beating Warroad 7-0 and Mounds View 4-3.

Buffalo travels to Moorhead this weekend. Hutchinson tied St. Peter 4-4 and beat Kennedy 4-2 and played Litchfield. MALM lost to Mound Westonka 2-1 and played in the Orono tourney losing to Orono 7-0, losing to Prior Lake and played Northen Lakes. MALM showed good team discipline against Prior Lake before giving up two quick goals at the end of the first period. The Stars did not recover from that.

STMA beat two tough teams Orono and Prior Lake in the Orono Tourney and may have the best player in the state. But they lost to Crow River. The Orono champs deserve the #1 seed this week. STMA takes the #2 seed and Sartell the #3 seed. D5 has a number of other tough teams in their league (Buffalo, Hutchinson and Mound Westonka). Picking the #3 seed is difficult, but a single loss to River Lakes can’t keep Sartell from taking it.

West Region - In two districts in this region, D10 and D16, two good teams appear to be emerging (Elk River and Andover from D10; East Grand Forks and Bemidji from D16). If their coaches could play the regional today, they probably would go for it. But this is peewee A hockey and developing kids play great and then not so great as they grow and learn. No one knows what will happen in March. But with just a single loss (to Wayzata), Elk River still looks dominant. The Elks play Andover this week.

The play in D15 is wide open. Detroit Lakes, Moorhead, Alexandria, and Brainerd are challenging each other. Schedule quirks and upsets abound. That makes D15 a fun district to watch. It’s like being on a roller coaster.

D10 - To show how odd the D10 schedule is this year, look at the number of teams above .500 as of 12/8. Of the fourteen teams playing peewee A, only three teams has a record above .500 (Andover, Elk River, and Rogers). Two teams are at .500 Champlin Park and Centennial. One team, Blaine, has played two games.

Elk River and Andover are still unbeaten in D10. The Elks are 5-0 and Andover is 6-0. The Elks hold a single point edge in “unfairplay” points. But this week, the two teams meet in Elk River to answer the question, “will the Elks have competition in D10 this year?” Both teams tuned up for that game last week against D10 teams. Andover beat Anoka 3-0 and Champlin Park 10-3. Elk River beat Centennial 3-1. Besides Andover, the Elks play Osseo/Maple Grove this week. Andover travels to Moorhead to play in the Spuds tourney. They draw Marshall and the Fargo Flyers who are 9-0-1 on the season.

Centennial head to Duluth to play in the Spirit tourney. They draw Wayzata, Thunder Bay and Superior in pool play. Besides losing to Elk River, Centennial tied Spring Lake Park 2-2 and beat Coon Rapids 7-1. Coon Rapids beat Grand Rapids last week and travel this week to Albert Lea. They play Waseca, Albert Lea and Austin in pool play.

Blaine beat Spring Lake Park last week 5-4. Spring Lake Park tied Centennial 2-2, tied St. Cloud 3-3 and beat CINB 10-1 in D10 action. This week they travel to South St. Paul, playing the host in the opening game of what maybe the best game of the tourney. St. Cloud also tied Anoka 2-2 last week. This week they play Champlin Park.

Rogers remains on top of the Green Division, barely on top. They lost to Anoka 5-1 and Chisago Lakes 3-1 last week. This week they play Champlin Park. Where the Blue Division looks to be the domain of two teams, Elk River and Andover; the Green Division looks wide open. No team has taken control nor appears to be positioned to take control of the Green.

Elk River is still solidly #1 in D10 this week. Andover remains the #2 seed. Though these two teams will tangle in the next few days, Elk River should remain on top. With the Green Division in disarray and both Champlin Park and Centennial struggling, the zinc penny flip came up Anoka. The Tornadoes won two of three this week, their lone loss was to Andover.

D15 - Moorhead hosts their tourney this week. It is a twelve team, four pool tourney with each team playing two Sunday games. The twelve teams will all end up being placed from 1-12. One pool has Grafton, Buffalo and Rochester; another has Brainerd, Chisago Lakes and Littleton Colorado. A third pool has Moorhead, the Dakota Lazers, and Omaha. The fourth pool has the Fargo Flyers, Andover and Marshall. The Spuds last week beat Crookston 3-1, Prairie Centre 10-0 and Thief River Falls 5-2. The Spuds are a perfect 3-0 in D15 play, but Detroit Lakes leads the league.

The Lakers are top with a 6-1 record and have a single D15 game this week at Wadena this week. After this week, they play almost the rest of their D15 games at home.

Detroit Lakes is hosting its own tourney this weekend. Teams entered are the Bismarck Admirals, the Bismarck Blades, the Mandan Braves, the Fargo Flyers, Wadena, Crookston, Proctor, Prairie Centre, International Falls, JVC Prowl (Jamestown North Dakota), and River Lakes. Alexandria continues to play well. At Hermantown, the Cardinals lost their opener to Hermantown 4-2, but came back to take the consolation championship beating the Saint Paul Saints 6-3 and Apple Valley 7-2. This weekend they host Sartell and Armstrong in a pair of tough games.

Brainerd lost to Bemidji 6-0 last week. This week they play in the Moorhead tourney. Northern Lakes (Crosby/Pequot) played in the Orono tourney losing to Mounds View and losing to Warroad 5-0 and played MALM. Prairie Center draws Wadena, JVC Prowl, and the Bismarck Blades at the Detroit Lakes tourney. Fergus Falls plays Fargo Angels and the Fargo Raiders this weekend.

Moorhead takes the #1 seed, but they will be challenged. Alexandria based on their play at Hermantown take the #2 seed and Detroit Lakes takes the #3 seed. Brainerd drops out, but a respectable showing at Moorhead will change that. This district remains wide open.

D16 - Bemidji went on its own roll last week. The Lumberjacks beat Roseau 10-0, lost a close overtime game to East Grand Forks 5-4, beat Detroit Lakes 6-2 and beat Brainerd 6-0. With Bemidji’s Paul Bunyan tourney three weeks away, this maybe Bemidji’s year in D16. They play Hallock and East Grand Forks this week. The Green Wave added two more wins to their OT win over Bemidji on the weekend, beating the Grand Forks Seawolves and Thief River Falls 11-4, to remain unbeaten. This week, they play Roseau and the Grand Forks Greyhounds. East Grand Forks plays Burnsville in the Grand Rapids Hall of Fame tourney in two weeks.

Roseau bounced back from the Bemidji loss to string three wins together. The Rams beat Hibbing 7-2, International Falls 2-1 and LOW 11-2. They play Hallock this week before hosting EGF in what is the most interesting game in D16 this week.

Warroad played in the Orono tourney this past weekend. They lost their opening game to eventual champion Crow River 2-0, beat Northern Lakes 5-0 and played Prior Lake in the consolation finals. Crookston travels to Detroit Lakes to play in their tourney. The Pirates draw International Falls, the Mandan Braves and River Lakes in pool play. LOW goes north to Kenora to play in their tourney. Thief River Falls plays Bemidji and Crookston this week.

East Grand Forks is unbeaten and continues to look good, but a shaky overtime win over Bemidji, means that the Green Wave will be challenged in D16. Still they take the #1 seed this week and Bemidji takes the #2 seed. These two teams meet again in two weeks. Crookston looks to be a potential challenger. The Detroit Lakes tourney will be a good test. Roseau won three out of four games last week and could give East Grand Forks problems when they meet in Roseau on Sunday.

Another Way to Look at PeeWee A Hockey (Dec. 2)

By frederick61

For the past two years, I have been posting a running commentary on PeeWee A Hockey in Minnesota on a youth hockey forum. The commentary assesses PeeWee A hockey teams across the state and groups that assessment by four regions as defined each year by Minnesota Hockey. Minnesota Hockey does that for purposes of establishing a state tourney format and tournament draw. This allows all associations that play peewee A hockey a means of participating.

It has been suggested that this commentary should be in Let's Play Hockey. When I asked LPH, to my surprise and pleasure, they agreed. The electronic version of the article is longer and more detailed. It covers all four regions. The thought is to select a single region each week and print that and a reference will be made where the full electronic version can be read.

For those readers unfamiliar with the format used here, it is simple. The four regions Minnesota Hockey has established in their handbook. Each region has three districts (the North region this year consists of D2, D11, and D12; East has D1, D6 and D8; South has D3, D4 and D5; and the West has D10, D5 and D16). Each district has two or three seeds to their region. Each week in this article team play in all districts will be summarized and the top two or three teams be given the seed for the week.

One region printed in LPH until all four have been printed. Because of all the turkey day tourney action in the cities revolved around D6 and D8, the East Region was chosen this week to be printed.


North Region - Both D11 and D12 district teams skipped the Thanksgiving holiday tourneys. Six of the eight D2 teams played in four different tourneys. Mounds View co-hosted the Super Rink tourney with Irondale. The Mustangs took third and Tartan took the Consolation Championship. Roseville struggled at Burnsville, but were a better team then the final scores would indicate. Stillwater and White Bear Lake made it to the consolation round Sunday at Eden Prairie. Forest Lake played at Hopkins.

D11 - The D11 teams did not play any tourneys. They have two local tourneys on the two weekends, Hermantown’s tourney and the Spirit of Duluth. Hermantown beat Hibbing 10-3. The Hawks also beat Superior in D11 action 4-2. This week they host their own tourney, playing Alexandria in the opening game. The St. Paul Saints play the Duluth Lakers in the other bracket game. In the lower bracket Superior takes on the Fargo North Raiders and Apple Valley plays Cloquet. With four teams from D11 entered, this tourney could be a early season view of the D11 playoffs “sans” Duluth East. The Duluth Lakers had a busy week winning three games. They beat two D11 teams Grand Rapids 2-1 and Hibbing 7-3. In D11 play, the Lakers beat Cloquet 3-0 before losing to Duluth East 4-1. The Lakers play in the Spirit of Duluth tourney next weekend and follow that with a Monday D11 game with Superior.

The Spirit of Duluth tourney will have at least these 15 teams; Duluth East, Cloquet, Duluth Lakers, Hermantown, Superior (that makes all D11 teams entries except Proctor), Wayzata, Blaine, Thunder Bay, Minneapolis Park, White Bear Lake, Orono, Stillwater, Osseo/Maple Grove, Minnetonka and Centennial. But that is next week's discussion.

Duluth East took a swing through D15 playing Brainerd and splitting two games with Moorhead losing 3-2 before beating them the next day 6-2. Along the way, the Hounds beat Grand Rapids 5-1. Last week Proctor played games with Eveleth-Gilbert, Rice Lake Wisconsin and Cloquet.

Duluth East remains on top for the second straight week, taking the #1 seed. Hermantown takes the #2 seed and the Duluth Lakers the #3 seed. With two tourneys in the next two weekends, a lot more will be known about D11

D12 - Grand Rapids lost to the two Duluths this weekend (Duluth East and the Duluth Lakers). The Thunderhawks make a cities tour through D10 this weekend playing Coon Rapids, Blaine and Osseo/Maple Grove. International Falls opened their season play. The Broncos beat Virginia 5-0 and Lake of the Woods (LOW) 6-2. They lost to “one bridge away” Fort Frances 4-0 (Who had to pay the $6 (US) toll?). That win over Virginia is impressive.

Virginia continues to struggle, but the Blue Devils came back to beat Eveleth-Gilbert in D12 action. This week, they play Wadena and Greenway. Hibbing lost to the Duluth Lakers and Hermantown last week. The Blue Jackets play three games; Greenway, Roseau and International Falls this week. The game with the Broncos should be an interesting early season D12 test.

Grand Rapids retains the #1 seed this week. Their trip through D10 will be a good early season test for the Thunderhawks. The #2 seed still goes to Hibbing, but the Bluejackers will be tested this week against Roseau and International Falls. The Falls takes the #3 seed. They beat Virginia. The question now is how strong Greenway is. They play Hibbing.

D2 - White Bear Lake had a good run in the Eden Prairie tourney, beating Eagan 4-3, losing to Centennial 3-1 and beating Minnetonka 3-2. Those two wins gave them a ticket to Sunday’s consolation round, but the Bears ran into a tough Elk River team and lost 4-1. The Bears returned to D2 action Monday, playing a tough Highland Central team. They jumped out to a 2-0 lead on some nice passing plays resulting in quick shots that turned into goals. But Highland’s size and skill wore the Bears down and they lost 4-2.

At the Eden Prairie tourney, Stillwater was the mirror image of the Bears. In their pool, the Ponies beat Mpls Park 4-0, beat Omaha 6-1 and lost to Eden Prairie 3-2 (a tie would have eliminated the Ponies). The Ponies also advanced to Sunday’s consolation round, but were eliminated by Lakeville South 4-3. Stillwater returned to D2 action Monday and beat Roseville 5-1.

Mounds View opened their tourney beating Princeton 5-3. The Mustangs lost to Champlin Park 4-1 in the semifinals and came back to take third place beating CINB 7-3. Mounds View plays Forest Lake and D15 Northern Lakes in the opening round of Orono’s tourney this week. Tartan lost to Champlin Park in their opening game, but came back to take consolation beating Princeton and St. James Canadians by identical 3-2 scores. Forest Lake opened their tourney action at Hopkins losing 3-1 to Rogers.

Roseville ran into an unusual problem. They lost to Lakeville North in their opening game at Burnsville 4-2. Tied with Lakeville North late in the third period, Lakeville North scored their winning goal with a Panther forward lying on top of their goalie. The goal was scored from the slot. The Raiders went on to lose to Hudson 5-1 and to Edina 7-2 to end their tourney. In the Edina game, Roseville were playing the Hornets close when it happened again. Edina scored with a Hornet player lying on top of their goalie. Roseville plays Tartan, Irondale and Forest Lake this week.

North St. Paul played Mounds View and Mahtomedi this week. Next week they play Cottage Grove and Tartan. Mahtomedi gets rolling again after a week off. They play games against Stillwater, Irondale and the St. Paul Saints.

Last week, D2 looked like a battle between two teams, White Bear Lake and Stillwater. Fortunately for both, Highland Central cannot contend for the D2 title. The Capitals may sweep their eight game D2 schedule (Stillwater was a “no show” last week).

Both the Bears and the Ponies had almost identical Eden Prairie tourneys, but the Ponies had stiffer competition. This week Stillwater takes the #1 seed. White Bear takes the #2 seed. The #3 seed is one to throw darts at. Mounds View and Forest Lake continue struggle. North St. Paul and Tartan seem to be just getting going. That leaves Roseville or Mahtomedi. The Zephyrs get the nod and the #3 seed this week. Roseville played well at Burnsville, but the Zephyrs won the Spring Lake Park tourney two weeks ago.


East Region - The East Regional PeeWee A tourney (as all PeeWee regional tourneys) will be an eight-team, two-pool tournament. D6 representing the Twin Cities southwestern suburbs will send three teams to the East this year; D8, representing the Twin Cities southeastern suburbs and the Mississippi River Valley will send three teams to the East this year; and D1 representing the Twin Cities will send two representatives.

On the surface, the two East seeds to the state tourney should go to two teams from D6 or D8. However do not ignore D1, they have two good teams who can threaten to take one of the East seeds come March. D6/D8 teams battled it out this week in two tourneys, Eden Prairie and Burnsville, to determine who the best is. D6 came out on top, winning first, second and fourth in Burnsville and second at Eden Prairie. D8 could take only a sixth place finish at Eden Prairie. Round one goes to D6.

D1 - Two of the four D1 teams played in tourneys over the Thanksgiving holiday. Minneapolis Park, a team that plays a D3 and D1 schedule, had a rough week. The Storm made it to the state tourney last year and came close to making it to the championship game. After getting off to a fine start (tying Woodbury and Osseo/Maple Grove) earlier in the season, the Storm lost a tough D3 game to a highly-ranked Wayzata team, 5-0 last week. Playing in the Eden Prairie tourney, the Storm lost their first two games to Stillwater 4-0, host Eden Prairie 6-1 before soundly beating Omaha.

Highland Central (St. Paul) took the week off after an impressive tournament in Superior beating a tough Dryden AA PeeWee Paperkings team 5-3 in the championship game last week. This week the Capitals came to play. They beat White Bear Lake in D2 action 4-2 in a very good game for both teams. Highland Central is a strong team. The Caps head this weekend to Red Wing. They open tourney play on Saturday in games against the host and Austin. Farmington, North Metro and New Prague are also entered in what should be a tough tournament.

Irondale played in the Super Rink tourney. As co-host to the turkey day tourneys at the Super Rink, the Knights lost three straight to Princeton 2-0, St. James Canadians 4-0 and Cambridge/Isanti/North Branch (or CINB) 3-1. Last week, the Knights also lost a D1 game to Highland Central. The Saint Paul Saints (combined St. Paul Johnson and Como team) played two games last week losing to St. Francis 5-2 and beating Tartan for their first D2 win 2-0.

With two seeds up for grabs in D1, the #1 seed goes this week to Highland Central. The Caps are for real and they should do well in Red Wing. They beat White Bear. The #2 seed is Minneapolis Park. The Storm are struggling a little, but they have played against the top teams in the state. This is only early December.

D6 - D6 had two good tourneys going this weekend at Eden Prairie and at Burnsville. Sixteen teams entered the Eden Prairie tourney including three of the nine D6 teams. Eden Prairie took second. The Eagles won their pool beating Omaha 7-0, Minneapolis Park 6-1 and Stillwater 3-2. In the championship round, the Eagles beat Osseo/Maple Grove in the semifinals before losing to Wayzata 5-4 in the championship game. The Eagles are in the top third of D6. Minnetonka and Chaska/Chanhassen did not fair as well as the Eagles in the tourney. Minnetonka lost two, one goal, games to Centennial 2-1 and to White Bear Lake 3-2 before beating Eagan. Chaska/Chanhassen lost their first two games to Lakeville South 5-2 and Osseo/Maple Grove 4-1 before beating Blaine 3-1.

At Burnsville, twelve teams played for four spots in the championship round determined by “silver stick” scoring method. Burnsville quickly grabbed their spot beating Rosemount 6-2, Andover 5-1 and Hasting 3-0. Edina did the same beating Hudson, Wisconsin, 3-0, Lakeville North 8-0 and Roseville 7-2. The third pool started off as if Woodbury would match Burnsville and Edina, but after beating Anoka 5-1, the Royals were upended by Jefferson 4-3. The Royals almost came back to take the top pool spot in the final round, leading Eastview 2-1 with 5 minutes left, when their game crashed. The Royals had 38 minutes in penalties called in the final 5 minutes. That killed their opportunity to advance. Eastview beat the Royals 3-2 and took the third spot. A surprisingly tough Andover team took the fourth spot.

On Sunday, Edina took the championship first beating Andover 5-1 and then beating Burnsville in tough evenly fought game, 6-4. Burnsville had advanced by beating Eastview 6-1. The Championship game was a well skated for a fifth game on a weekend and both coaches worked their game strategies well. Their top lines dominated in the scoring. The winning goal came late in the third off a shot that climbed the goalie and found a small opening to drop in the net. The sixth goal was the longest open net shot possible. Andover took third place beating Eastview. Jefferson, after an opening loss to Eastview 5-2, beat Woodbury and Anoka 7-3 to finish the tourney strong.

Kennedy went south to Mankato to play in the Mavericks tourney. They opened pool play tying Mankato 3-3 beating Waterloo Iowa 8-2 and Sioux Falls South Dakota 6-0. Sunday, the Eagles took the runner-up spot in the tourney, beating D4 Luverne 5-2 before losing to the Kansas City Stars 6-1. Prior Lake/Savage lost to Lakeville North 7-5 last week and then played in the Hopkins tourney beating D5 Mound/Westonka 5-2 before losing to Orono. Apple Valley skipped the turkey day tourneys this year, lost to Farmington in their only game.

Edina continues on a grueling schedule coming off their tourney win to play three tough D6 games this week. They will return to the Burnsville arena on Thursday to take on the Blaze in the game that really counts. Before that, the Hornets play Chaska and then end the week at Jefferson. The Blaze play only the Hornets so they have time to re-coup. Eastview and Eden Prairie tangle in another key match-up.

To the victor, go the spoils. This week, Edina has the #1 seed in D6. Burnsville takes the #2 seed (the Blaze beat Eden Prairie 2-0 two weeks ago) and Eden Prairie takes the #3 seed. It is tough to find a challenger to these three teams this week. Jefferson came to life in the Burnsville Tourney. Eastview looks to be the closest and making the championship round at Burnsville is not easy. The Lightning could challenge. Minnetonka lost two close ones at Eden Prairie, maybe the Skippers should still make a move. Prior Lake/Savage has given Burnsville their only D6 loss. Chaska has started slow the past two years and come on strong at the end of the season, but right now D6 looks to have three top teams.

D8 - The district has 14 PeeWee A teams from Minnesota and one from Wisconsin. Three of the PeeWee A teams (Red Wing, Dodge County and Northfield) are playing an independent schedule this year. Eight of the D8 teams played at Burnsville or Eden Prairie this weekend. Lakeville South had the most success of the D8 teams. At Eden Prairie, the Cougars barely missed getting into the championship round. They beat Chaska 5-2, Blaine 8-3 and tied Osseo/Maple Grove 5-5. Unfortunately, the Cougars allowed too many goals and Osseo advanced; but the Cougars did play on Sunday in the consolation round, beating Stillwater 4-3 before losing to Elk River 4-1.

Woodbury did not play on Sunday in the Burnsville tourney. They beat Anoka 5-2, lost to Jefferson 4-3 and to Eastview 3-2. This week the Royals play Eagan and Lakeville South in a re-match. Ten days ago, the Royals beat Lakeville South 6-3. Lakeville South also plays Rochester this week.

Hudson did well in the Burnsville tourney losing to Edina 3-0, beating Roseville 5-1 before losing to D8 rival Lakeville North 5-2. A victory over North would have given the Raiders a spot in the championship round on Sunday. Lakeville North struggle in the tourney though they won two games beating Hudson and Roseville 4-2. A tough loss to Edina took the Panthers out of the tourney.

Hastings is another team that starts slow, but two weeks ago, they went North and did well beating D12 teams Virginia, Hibbing and Grand Rapids before narrowly losing to White Bear Lake on a Sunday stop off. They played Burnsville tough in the Blaze’s tourney, losing 3-0. They also lost to Andover 6-3 and Rosemount 7-1. Rosemount took a tough Wayzata “to the mat” to the PIC 10 days ago, losing on a last minute goal 2-1. But the Irish just did not have it the Burnsville Tourney, losing to the Blaze 6-2 beating Hastings and losing to Andover 8-2.

Eagan and Rochester played in the Eden Prairie tourney. Eagan lost White Bear Lake 4-1, lost to Minnetonka, and tied pool winner Centennial 2-2. Going into the tourney, Rochester must have felt like the mouse trying to avoid being stomped on by two elephants. They were pooled with Elk River and Wayzata. They beat Arapahoe Colorado 6-1 and then lost to the Elks 6-0 and to the Trojans 4-1 and showed respectability. Rochester returns to D8 against Lakeville South and Rosemount this week.

Farmington beat Apple Valley last week. This week the Tigers play Blaine and then drop into the Red Wing tourney playing New Prague and North Metro. Sibley lost to Eagan last week. They take the coming week off. South St. Paul after being off last week plays Eagan. The Packers host their tourney in two weeks.

Dodge County, one of the three independent D8 teams beat Austin last week, then lost to Faribault 3-1 and Red Wing 5-1. Red Wing, another independent, tied Albert Lea this week 1-1 besides beating Dodge County. They play the third D8 independent this week, Northfield at Northfield in the arena that people either love or hate (it is “funky”). Northfield beat Waseca 6-0, played Austin and played New Prague last week. Besides Red Wing, Northfield plays Owatonna this week.

Lakeville South had a good turkey day holiday, almost good enough to earn back the #1 seed, but Woodbury despite the Jefferson loss, still is #1 this week, the Cougars #2 seed. These two teams will settle “who is #1” themselves on Sunday. The real question is who gets the #3 seed. Rosemount had the seed last week, but struggled in the Burnsville tourney. Eagan may have be turning the corner (a good trip to Grand Forks followed by some good games in the Eden Prairie tourney), but they will take on Woodbury this week. Rochester got beat by top teams, but showed they are to be respected. Don’t forget Farmington. The #3 seed this week goes to Rochester (and they will play Lakeville South this week).


South Region - Osseo/Maple Grove and Wayzata played in the Eden Prairie Tourney. Wayzata took first and Osseo/Maple Grove took third. Wayzata beat Elk River in a match-up of the top teams in the state in their pool opener. At Hopkins, Orono and Hopkins played for the Championship. Orono won. If you are a D3 fan, stand up and shout. That is almost a perfect turkey day tourney scenario.

Over in D4, Mankato, Luverne, St. Peter and Albert Lea played in the Mankato tourney. Luverne and Mankato made it to the Sunday semifinals. St. Michael/Albertville was the only D5 team in tourney action. The Knights took the consolation title.

D3 tourney action is not over. This week Orono hosts their tourney. North Metro travels to Red Wing in tough tourney with D1 Highland and D4 New Prague. D3 looks solid this week and that will make life difficult for D4 and D5 teams in the South region.

D3 - In D3, Wayzata didn’t need to send in a Trojan horse to take the Eden Prairie tourney, they just came, saw, and conquered beating Elk River 4-1, Arapahoe Colorado 8-0 and Rochester 4-1 in pool play. In Sunday’s championship round, they beat Centennial 7-1 and Eden Prairie 5-4. They rest this week before traveling to the Spirit of Duluth.

Osseo/Maple Grove took their pool beating Blaine 8-1, Chaska 4-1 and tying Lakeville South 5-5. In Sunday’s opening semifinal, OMG lost to host Eden Prairie 3-0 in a game that OMG dominated containing most of the play in their offensive zone. But they couldn’t score and gave up two goals on rushes. They beat Centennial 3-1 for third place. During the tourney, OMG also hosted the Roseau Rams beating them 9-0. OMG returns to D3 action against Armstrong this week. They also have games with visiting Grand Rapids and Stillwater.

Orono won the Hopkins tourney. They beat Mound/Westonka, Prior Lake/Savage, and Hopkins. Hopkins got to the finals beating STMA and Rogers. This week Orono hosts their tourney opening against MAML. Prior Lake/Savage plays STMA in the other bracket game. In the other bracket, Mounds View plays Northern Lakes and Warroad plays Crow River.

Hopkins plays Armstrong in D3 action and Champlin Park. North Metro takes on Mpls Park in a D3 game and then travels to Red Wing to play Farmington and New Prague in pool play.

Orono team snuck out on top of D3 early, but undefeated (but once tied in D3) Osseo/Maple Grove has moved to the top. OMG got there by beating Wayzata 3-2 before the turkey holidays. Unlike past years where D3 was dominated by Wayzata and OMG, this year Orono, Hopkins and Mpls Park pose threats and can win the regular season title. All of these teams have less then two losses.

Still Wayzata and OMG take the #1 and #2 seeds based on their performance at Eden Prairie. With their win at Hopkins, Orono takes the #3 seed. Oddly, the Knights have a chance to repeat their performance at Hopkins in their tourney playing Prior Lake/Savage or STMA if they get to the semifinals.

D4 - In the East Division, three teams, New Prague, Faribault and Mason City, have separated themselves. Faribault and New Prague are both undefeated sitting 4-0. The Falcons beat Owatonna 9-1 in league play last week and play three games this week visiting Owatonna, Mason City and Albert Lea. Winning those three games will really separate the Falcons from the rest of the field. New Prague skips D4 this week to play in the Red Wing tourney. At last count the Trojans were down to 10 players due to some injuries. They will be playing two tough games, Farmington and North Metro, in pool play.

Mason City Iowa has proven very competitive in D4 this year. They lost their D4 opener to Faribault 3-2 and that is their only D4 loss. They will be playing Waseca also this week in addition to the key match-up against Faribault.

Albert Lea was the sole D4 East entrant at Mankato and they lost all three games to Luverne 6-0, St. Peter 6-1 and Kansas City 8-0. Their weekend game with Faribault at home will be important to them. Owatonna has struggled. This week they play Luverne and Northfield. They have their tourney coming up in two weeks.

Austin is playing PeeWee A after being gone for a year. They are struggling in the East division. This week the Packers play in Red Wing drawing the Host and what could be one of the top teams in the state, Highland Central.

The West Division in D4 staged their own mini-show down last week called the Mankato tourney. The host opened pool play tying Kennedy 3-3, beating Sioux Falls and beating Waterloo Iowa 5-1. In Sunday play they lost in the semi’s to Kansas City. Kansas City took on three D4 teams in pool play beating St. Peter 4-2, Luverne 5-0 and Albert Lea 8-0. Illogically, that evening, Luverne beat St. Peter 4-3.

Mankato is unbeaten in the D4 West, winning their first two games. This week the Mavericks play Waseca, Albert Lea and Luverne. The Luverne game should be a good test for both teams. Luverne plays Owatonna in D4 action also this week. One of St. Peter/LeSueur losses is to Marshall. They will have a chance this week to avenge that loss. They also play New Ulm. New Ulm and Marshall are struggling the past two weeks. Waseca continues to struggle.

The #1 seed this week remains with New Prague. But the Trojans will have their hands full at Red Wing especially if they are short players. Mankato takes the #2 seed and Faribault the #3 seed this week. They have challengers in Luverne and St. Peter. This district is wide open at this time

D5 - So who is the only undefeated team in D5. Buffalo, STMA, Mound Westonka? No, they all lost in D5 to Sartell. The Sabres are 6-0 in D5 and hold victories over those three teams. They upended STMA 5-2 last week. As Gomer says “surprise, surprise” (only you have to imagine the accent). The Sabres have yet to lose a game period. This week, they play River Lakes and Willmar in D5 action and should continue their streak.

Still, St. Michael/Albertville rolls. After losing to Sartell, the Knights beat Willmar and traveled to the Hopkins tourney. They lost the opener to a tough Hopkins team 3-2, beat Forest Lake 5-1 and Coon Rapids 7-2. This week they play Buffalo and then really step up, taking on Osseo/Maple Grove at home. Buffalo plays only STMA this week as they prepare for the Moorhead tourney in two weeks.

Hutchinson has gotten off to a good start winning 4 of their first 6 games. Last week, they beat MALM 11-3. This week they play Litchfield, St. Peter and Kennedy and will be tested. Mound/Westonka has played well against some tough teams, but has a tough schedule this year. They play a full 18 game D5 schedule and a 7 game D3 schedule. At the Hopkins tourney, they lost their first two games to Prior Lake/Savage and to Coon Rapids. This week, they play MALM and River Lakes. They will be an interesting team to watch.

Crow River plays in the Orono tourney this weekend and draws Warroad, perhaps the most interesting game played this week. MALM joins Crow River at Orono giving D5 three of the eight teams entered.

Almost every time it happens, the top seed goes to the winner of a key match-up. Sartell won the key match-up beating STMA this past week, but the Sabres will have to do better to take the seed from STMA. This week the Knights keep the #1 seed, Sartell takes the #2 seed. Buffalo gets the #3 seed. But one can sense that D5 is volatile this year. With some key games this week, including STMA playing Osseo Maple/Grove, next week may show more stability.


West Region - D10 teams dropped into Eden Prairie and Burnsville tourneys last week and did well. Elk River and Wayzata fought it out as if they knew the winner would take the championship and the loser the consolation championship at Eden Prairie. The Elks lost 4-1 and took the consolation title. Wayzata took first. In D16, East Grand Forks won their tourney and Roseau took a trip to the cities, winning two of five games. D15 had a quiet week. Clearly Elk River looks to be on top in this region and the Green Wave from EGF are looking good. And other teams are becoming competitive.

D10 - Will Elk River have a challenger in the D10 Blue? Both Elk River and Andover has opened the D10 season with four straight wins. This week the two teams meet in Elk River to answer that question. The Elks lost their opening game in the Eden Prairie tourney to Wayzata 4-1 and swept the rest of the games to end up with the consolation title. The Elks beat Rochester 6-0, Arapahoe, White Bear Lake 4-0 and Lakeville South 4-1. In D10 action before the tourney, the Elks beat Chisago Lakes 8-0.

Andover went to Burnsville and did well, making the semifinals on Sunday. They beat Hastings 6-3, lost to Burnsville 5-1 and beat Rosemount 8-2. In the semifinals they lost to Edina 5-1 and beat Eastview for third place. Andover plays Anoka and Champlin Park in addition to Elk River this week. Centennial, also from the D10 Blue Division, had a good Eden Prairie tourney taking their pool by beating Minnetonka 2-1, White Bear Lake 3-1 and tying Eagan 2-2. Unfortunately, the Wayzata eliminated them in the semifinals 7-1. Centennial lost the third place game to Osseo/Maple Grove.

Another D10 Blue team, Blaine struggled at Eden Prairie, losing to Osseo/Maple Grove 8-1, Lakeville South 8-3, and Chaska 3-1. Anoka in the D10 Blue played in the Burnsville Tourney. They lost to Woodbury, Jefferson and Eastview. Coon Rapids played at Hopkins losing to Orono, beating Mound/Westonka and losing to STMA in the consolation finals.

Champlin Park, in the D10 Green Division, took the Super Rink title beating Tartan 3-0, Mounds View 4-1 and St. Cloud 2-1. They play Andover this week in D10 action. Rogers sits on top of the D10 Green, but struggled at Hopkins. After beating Forest Lake, they lost to Orono and played Prior Lake/Savage in the third place game. Rogers takes on Anoka and Chisago Lakes in D10 action this week.

Andover continues to impress. They will be tested playing Champlin Park and Elk River this coming week. But Elk River is still solidly #1 in D10 this week. Andover remains the #2 seed. Champlin Park has played the Elks close and this week they took the Super Rink tourney that makes them the #3 seed. Centennial made a reasonable run at Eden Prairie, but still sits a notch below these three teams. Rogers could still take the top spot in the Green Division. That seed going into the D10 playoffs good give them a nice path to a regional ticket.

D15 - This week Brainerd stayed home and played four games losing to Duluth East 7-1, Detroit Lakes 4-1 and Roseau 6-4 before beating Wadena 9-1. The Warriors entertain Bemidji this week. Moorhead stayed home and split two games with Duluth East winning the first 3-2, losing the second 6-2. The Spuds beat Alexandria 3-2 in D15 play and lost to Bemidji 4-1. This week the Spuds play Crookston, Prairie Centre and Thief River Falls.

Detroit Lakes could contend this year in D15. In addition to beating Brainerd, the Lakers lost Alexandria 9-3 and beat Fergus Falls 5-1. This week they travel to Bemidji to play the Lumberjacks. Fergus Falls plays Prairie Centre this week as they prepare to play in the Moorhead tourney. Alexandria has gotten of to a good start this year. They travel to Hermantown and will play the host in the opening game of their tourney this week.

Crosby/Pequot Lakes are the Northern Lakes Lightning this year. They travel to Orono this week to play in their tourney. The Lightning opening game is against Mounds View.

The #1 seed this week stays with the Spuds. Brainerd and Alexandria take the #2 seed and the #3 seed, respectively. This season is just beginning to roll in D15, and the seeds are wide open.

D16 - East Grand Forks hosted their hockey tourney this past week. Off the ice, they were probably very gracious, but on the ice the Green Wave rolled. In pool play the beat APHA 9-3, Fort Francis 9-0 and Winnipeg East 5-1. In the Championship game the EGF beat APHA again 8-2. The APHA Rangers are the Winnipeg city 2009 champions. This week the Green Wave play Bemidji, the Grand Fork Seawolves and Their River Falls. This big game for the Green wave will be in two weeks when they travel to Roseau.

Roseau traveled to the cities to open their season. Before they left, they notched their first D16 win beating Hallock 8-4. The Rams won 2 of 5 games on the trip, beating a Colorado team in a shotout at Mariucci 6-5 and Brainerd 6-4. They lost to Rogers 5-3 and were soundly beaten by Osseo/Maple Grove and the 97 Fire. The Rams play Hibbing, International Falls, LOW and Bemidji this week.

Bemidji beat Greenway and beat Moorhead 4-1 last week. They will play Roseau, East Grand Forks, Detroit Lakes and Brainerd this week in a real tester for the Lumberjacks. They should do well.

Thief River Falls entertained Duluth East last week. This week the Prowlers play Grafton, Moorhead and EGF. Crookston delivered the opening shot going into Roseau and beating the Rams 8-5 two weeks ago. The Pirates had an off week, but this week play Hallock and Moorhead. Warroad head south to the Orono tourney. They will play Crow River in the opener. It will be an interesting game.

East Grand Forks continues to look good and right now they own the #1 seed in D16. Bemidji stepped up to knock off Moorhead and have earned the #2 seed this week, Crookston takes the #3 seed, but Roseau remains an unknown commodity to be watched the rest of this season.

The Minnesota Wild in the Offseason

Below is a look at the offseason so far for the Minnesota Wild:

April 13: Jacques Lemaire steps down as head coach
April 16: Wild owner Craig Leipold announces that the organization will not renew the contract of President and General Manager Doug Risebrough
April 20: Defenseman John Scott re-signed to one-year contract
April 24-May 8: Josh Harding, Morten Madsen, Antti Miettinen, Peter Olvecky and Marek Zidlicky participate in the 2009 World Hockey Championships in Switzerland
April 24: Right wing Carson McMillan signed to entry-level contract
April 27: Goaltender Niklas Backstrom named a finalist for the Vezina Trophy
May 22: Chuck Fletcher hired as new general manager
June 15: Fletcher announces that Assistant General Manager Tom Lynn will not be retained
June 16: Todd Richards hired as new head coach
June 26: Wild acquire 16th, 77th and 182nd overall picks in the NHL Entry Draft from the New York Islanders in exchange for the 12th overall pick
June 26: Eden Prairie defenseman Nick Leddy selected with 16th overall pick of the NHL Draft
June 27: Center Kyle Brodziak and the 161st overall pick acquired from the Edmonton Oilers in exchange for picks No. 99 and 133
June 27: Wild drafts goalie Matthew Hackett, left wing Kristopher Foucault, right wing Alexander Fallstrom, goalie Darcy Kuemper, forward Jere Sallinen, left wing Erik Haula and center Anthony Hamburg on the second day of the NHL Entry Draft
June 29: Wild makes qualifying offers to restricted free agents Kyle Brodziak, Robbie Earl, Josh Harding, Danny Irmen, Benoit Pouliot and Clayton Stoner
June 30: Jim Mill named new assistant to the general manager
July 1: Free agent defenseman Greg Zanon signed to three-year contract
July 1: Free agent right wing Martin Havlat signed to six-year contract
July 1: All-star free agent forward Marian Gaborik signs contract with the New York Rangers
July 2: Mike Ramsey and Dave Barr named assistant coaches
July 3: Free agent defenseman Shane Hnidy signed to one-year contract
July 7: Long-time left wing Stephane Veilleux signs as a free agent with the Tampa Bay Lightning
July 7-12: Wild holds development camp for team prospects
July 8: Free agent defensemen Jamie Fraser and Jaime Sifers signed to one-year contracts
July 8: Long-time defenseman Kurtis Foster signs as a free agent with the Tampa Bay Lightning
July 9: Defenseman Tyler Cuma signed to an entry-level contract.
July 15: Restricted free agents Robbie Earl, Danny Irmen, Benoit Pouliot and Clayton Stoner accept qualifying offers
July 17: Right wings Duncan Milroy and Jon DiSalvatore, and goaltender Wade Dubielewicz signed to one-year contracts
July 23: Restricted free agent center Kyle Brodziak signed to three-year contract
July 23: Free agents Nathan Smith and Ryan Lannon signed to one-year contracts
July 28: Brent Flahr named new assistant general manager
July 29: Restricted free agent goaltender Josh Harding signed to one-year contract

WCHA to Add Bemidji State and Nebraska-Omaha

In a move predicted in our previous post, the WCHA will admit Bemidji State and Nebraska-Omaha, the Duluth News Tribune reports. The newspaper is reporting that the Beavers and Mavericks will be the 11th and 12th WCHA teams, beginning with the 2010-11 season, one year earlier than expected.

This development comes just two weeks after UNO hired former University of North Dakota head coach Dean Blais as the Mavericks' new bench boss. Sources told Let's Play Hockey that part of Blais' negotiations with UNO centered around the Mavericks accepting the WCHA's offer to switch conferences from the CCHA.

The WCHA has scheduled a media teleconference for 5 p.m., (CT) today.

Blais to be Named New UNO Head Coach, Switch to WCHA Expected

Former University of North Dakota head coach and current Fargo Force (USHL) head coach and GM Dean Blais will be named the new head coach at the University of Nebraska-Omaha at a 2 p.m., press conference today (link).

Sources tell Let's Play Hockey that as a part of Blais' negotiations with UNO for the position, the Mavericks will accept the WCHA's offer to switch conferences from the CCHA. The earliest UNO could join the WCHA would be in 2011-12, giving the league 12 teams with the expected addition of Bemidji State.

A native of International Falls, Blais played college hockey at the University of Minnesota, followed by a three-year pro career with the Dallas Black Hawks (CHL). He returned to the U in 1976-77 as an assistant coach before becoming the head coach at Minot High School from 1977-80. Blais then spent eight seasons as an assistant coach at North Dakota. From 1990-94, Blais returned to high school hockey as head coach of Roseau (1990-91) and International Falls (1992-94).

Blais went back to Grand Forks as head coach in 1994, staying in that position until 2004. During his time with the Fighting Sioux, Blais helped UND to a pair of NCAA titles (1997, 2000) and five WCHA championships, while compiling an overall record of 262-115-33.

In 2004, Blais left the college ranks to become an associate coach with the Columbus Blue Jackets for two seasons. He then spent one season in player development with the NHL franchise. Since 2007, Blais has been the head coach and general manager for the USHL's newest team, the Fargo Force. Blais helped the Force to a runnner-up finish in the USHL's Clark Cup finals in the team's first year of competition.

He left North Dakota for the NHL’s Columbus Blue Jackets, for whom he worked in player development and as associate head coach. He then returned to North Dakota and spent last year as the head coach and general manager of the Fargo Force, the United States Hockey League expansion team that beat the Omaha Lancers in the playoffs and reached the Clark Cup finals.

Blais is set to replace longtime UNO head coach Mike Kemp who was promoted to associate athletic director under new athletic director Trev Alberts.

Todd Richards to be Named New Wild Head Coach

Sources are telling Let's Play Hockey that former Golden Gopher and NHL defenseman, and current San Jose Sharks assistant coach Todd Richards will likely be named the new Minnesota Wild head coach in the near future. A native of Crystal, Minn., and considered an up-and-coming young coach, Richards was the head coach for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins when current Wild GM Chuck Fletcher was an assistant GM with the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Clearly, Fletcher's familiarity and comfort level with Richards played a major role in the decision on who best to replace Jacques Lemaire behind the Wild bench. Since the hiring of Fletcher as GM, Richards was considered the frontrunner for the Wild head coach position.

Assistant coach Matt Shaw and goaltending coach Bob Mason are expected to be back for the 2009-10 season. As reported, assistant coach Mario Tremblay will not be part of the new coaching staff. It's unclear at this time if assistant coach Mike Ramsey will be behind the Wild bench for his 10th season.

Richards bio from the San Jose Sharks:

Todd Richards just completed his first season as a National Hockey League assistant coach and his first season working with Sharks Head Coach Todd McLellan. In his new role, Richards will be in charge of the power play and work with McLellan on forward lines and matchups.

Richards spent the last two seasons as head coach of the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in the American Hockey League where he led the team to a berth in the Calder Cup Finals last season after winning the AHL’s East Division regular season title.

Richards ended his stint with the Baby Pens ranked first in franchise history with 98 wins (51 in 2006-07 and 47 in 2007-08) and in winning percentage (.653, 209 of 320 points). He also was named head coach of the PlanetUSA Team at the 2007 Rbk Hockey/AHL All-Star Classic in Toronto, leading his team to a 7-6 victory over the Canadian squad.

Before Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, Richards served as an assistant coach (2002-06) with the Milwaukee Admirals. During his time in Milwaukee, the Admirals won two West Division titles (2003-04 and 2005-06) and made two trips to the Calder Cup Finals, winning the AHL title in 2003-04.

A former defenseman, Richards captured several other championships throughout his career, including a pair of Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) Championships with the University of Minnesota (1988 and 1989), the 1991 Calder Cup with Springfield, the 2001 Turner Cup (International Hockey League) in Orlando, and he even brought home a Swiss-B League title with Servette Geneve in 2002.

Richards was drafted by the Montreal Canadiens in the second round (33rd overall) of the 1985 NHL Entry Draft and made his NHL debut with the Hartford Whalers in 1990-91, playing eight games over the next two seasons and posting four assists. He also appeared in 11 Stanley Cup Playoff games with Hartford, adding three assists.

During his four seasons at the University of Minnesota, he was named a member of the WCHA Second All-Star Team for three consecutive seasons (1986-87, 1987-88 and 1988-89) and was team captain during his senior season.

Following his stints in the Montreal and Hartford organizations, the native of Crystal, Minn. joined the IHL’s Las Vegas Thunder and was named the league’s top defender in 1994-95. He spent the next six seasons with the Orlando Solar Bears, captaining the squad for four seasons and winning the IHL Championship in 2000-01, the league’s final year of existence.

Richards concluded his playing career with Servette Geneve of Switzerland in 2001-02, where he was he was also named the league’s top defenseman.

Richards and his wife Maryann have two sons: Zachary and Justin.

A Wild Coach Candidate: Don Jackson

From all reports, new Minnesota Wild GM has begun narrowing his search for Jacques Lemaire's replacement as Wild head coach. Reportedly, former Gopher and current San Jose assistant Todd Richards is the frontrunner for the job. Other candidates mentioned have included Pierre Page, Craig MacTavish, Peter Laviolette, Newell Brown, Paul MacLean, Kevin Constantine, Mario Tremblay, John Torchetti, Kevin Dineen and Scott Arniel.

Not mentioned yet, but who seems to be a viable and qualified candidate is former Minnesota North Star and two-time Stanley Cup Champion with the Edmonton Oilers Don Jackson. After a 10-year NHL and CHL playing career as a defenseman (315 career NHL games, 16 goals, 52 assists, 640 penalty minutes), Jackson has been behind the bench for several NHL, ECHL, IHL and European teams for 19 years and counting. A graduate of Bloomington Kennedy High School and Notre Dame, Jackson is currently the head coach of the Eisbären Berlin in the German Ice Hockey League.

Jackson began his coaching career as the head coach of the Knoxville Cherokees (ECHL), followed by a two-year stint as an assistant with the Quebec Nordiques. He went back to the minor leagues as a head coach for three years in the IHL and CHL before returning to the NHL in 1997-98. For the next seven seasons, Jackson was an assistant coach with Pittsburgh (1997-2000), Chicago (2000-01) and Ottawa (2001-04).

The NHL lockout in 2004-05 forced Jackson to a coaching role in Europe. Page, then the head coach in Berlin, hired Jackson to coach defensemen late in the 2004-05 season. Jackson then became the head coach of the DEG Metro Stars in Dusseldorf, Germany, before heading back to Berlin as the head coach for the 2007-08 season. With Jackson behind the bench, Berlin has won the past two German Ice Hockey League Championships.

An offensive-minded coach, Jackson seems to be a strong candidate for the Wild opening. He's a Minnesota native, a former NHL player and a successful veteran coach with loads of experience. Fletcher would be wise to give Jackson a look as the search continues for Lemaire's replacement.

Wild Get Their New GM...Gaborik Signing Next?

Now that the Minnesota Wild has reportedly hired current Penguins Assistant GM Chuck Fletcher as the new General Manager in St. Paul, attention turns to securing Jacques Lemaire's replacement behind the bench and re-signing free agent superstar Marian Gaborik.

Though many believe Gaborik is as good as gone, don't be surprised if the Wild announce the signing of the star forward. The organization really wants Gaborik to return next season and for years to come. Now that the GM is in place, the only hold-up is the approval of the new coach.

Gotta Support The Team

A Vote for Hockey

In this week's edition of TIME Magazine, contributing writer Joel Stein has been given one last chance by his editor to write about hockey in his column and as a result he will have to prove its excellence as a sport. Joel must prove to America that hockey is relevant, and if he is unsuccessful (per a vote on TIME.com) then Joel will be banned from writing about the sport ever again!

Stein gets Wayne Gretzky, Clerks director Kevin Smith, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman and three-time Stanley Cup champion Brendan Shanahan on the record to support his case. Given the current NHL playoffs, now more than ever is the time to argue about hockey’s relevance and importance as a sport. Stein’s column and the poll to ban him from writing about hockey is on TIME.com and on stands in the latest issue of TIME.

Go here to read Stein's column and cast your vote in favor of hockey.