Duluth Icebreakers 12A Championship game

[READYtoPLAY]

First of all what a great tournament compitition wise. I know the difficulty in putting a massive schedule together for this tournament, but in all respects to 11-13 year old girls you cannot expect them to play two championship caliber games in one day and with their second opponent only playing one game. Centennial’s girls woke up at 6 A.M. to prepare for a 8 o’clock first game against #3 Osseo/Maple Grove, the game was a very high tempo game with only 1 goal scored. Very exhasting! then the Cougars had a little more than 2 hours to eat and rest then be back to the rink for the second game against #2 Edina. I don’t want to take anything away from the Hornets as they are a very deserving team to be the tounament champs, but they didnt have to be up early or play their bracket final and get minimal rest and try to compete in the championship game. I feel Edina too was cheated out of Centennials very best. My point is that the tournament officials should have seen this and corrected the schedule to make it fair to both teams.

[GREEN MONSTER]

I agree, and if you truly had only two and a half hours between ice times, then the tournament is in direct violation of Minnesota Hockey's rule regarding Payer Rest (See Below). To that, the 4 game format was great to see, as some, not all, but some are tired of 5 game weekends where the championship games are the 5th game and often times the second game of the day. Resulting in some tired athletes and not the best hockey one would expect from a championship game. I for one am for the 4 game weekend and having all things equal on Sunday. Meaning all games played prior to Sunday and all teams having played the same number of games. That being said, Wayzata at the 14U level had to face a very tough Osseo Maple Grove team on Sunday prior to playing the Thunder Bay Queens for the overall championship and puled out a win. In my final thoughts, GO GREEN!!

Per the Minnesota Hockey Handbook:
J. Team Rest - Teams shall not participate in more than two (2) on-ice activities per day, nor shall they
participate in more than one tournament at a time (no overlapping days). On-ice activities include games,
exhibition games and/or practices. There shall be a minimum of three (3) hours between on-ice activities
on the same day and ten (10) hours between on-ice activities on consecutive days. The time is from the
end of one on-ice activity to the beginning of the next.[/quote]

[luckyEPDad]

The Centennial/OMG game started at 8:00 am. The championship game was scheduled for 1:30 pm. That should have been a 4+ hour rest. What happened?

[READYtoPLAY]

From the end of the first game to start of the second there was 4 hours. I was stating that by thr time Centennial left the arena, packed up there hotel, ate and had to be to the next arena a hour early for the next game it boiled down to 2 hous to try to rest. Like I said Edina is very deserving and I'm not trying to take that away from them. As a parent/coach wouln't you want to see a game like that played on equal terms or how would you feel if you played a fresh top ranked team after beating another top ranked team. The chances of winning both games are not to high. The game started on clean ice and around the halfway point of the second Centennials girls hit the wall and Edina scored their 3 goals. I'm not saying Centennial would have won the game, but it would have been a more competitive game and not decided on exhaustion. Otherwise it was a great weekend, and you won't find a more competitive field of 12A teams.

[RealisticRonnie]

It kind of sounds like you're making an excuse off exhaustion. I wouldn't take anything away from either team. They both played four games and Edina's depth might of been the deciding factor. Remember, Edina played OT and shootout the night before. It looks like the best team won. I would 100% agree that both semis should be Sunday or both on Saturday.

In the Championship game the Hornets outshot Centennial in all three periods not just after the middle of the second. Centennial also scored their goal in the 3rd...how did they do that if they were exhausted.

Centennial is a good team and only getting better. #7 is as good a 12U as there is in Minnesota. As defending champions they will be a tough team to dethrone.

[peskycardinal]

To a top 10 team, the only championships that should really matter are in Districts, Regions, & State. All other tournaments are a chance to measure yourself against the top teams around. Judging by the play of Edina, Elk River, OMG, Blaine, and Centennial over the weekend, I would say mission accomplished. They are all worthy of their high rankings. I am sure the girls had a great time and look forward to the tournaments at the end of the season.