Another way to look at peewee A teams (part 3)

[frederick61]

Jan 13, 2008

The following summarizes the Districts by top teams and what they have done in the last week and what they will be doing this week. I have grouped the Districts into the Regions they will be playing to go to state. I have then ranked the top teams in each region. The top two of each region go to state. The projected state peewee A tourney draw is shown at the end of this post.

North Region (at Cloquet Feb 29 to March 2): The North Region will be composed of two D10 teams, three D11 teams, and three D12 teams. The rankings are unchanged this week. Cloquet beat Elk River 6-3 in their own tourney ten days ago to re-establish themselves as one of the two seeds in the North Region. Grand Rapids lost two out three games in the cities including 3-1 to Coon Rapids.
1-Coon Rapids*
2-Cloquet*
3-Elk River
4-Grand Rapids
5-Hermantown

North Region is summarized by districts below.
D10 Summary: Winner of the regular season gets guaranteed Runner-up or #2 Seed. The D10 Tournament Champion will go to the region as the #1 seed. But only 8 of the 12 peewee A teams will be seeded (1-8) in the double elimination tourney. Coon Rapids maintains a one game lead over St. Cloud and a four game lead over Blaine. Still looks like a two team race for the guaranteed seed between Coon Rapids and St. Cloud with Coon Rapids having the edge. After this week Elk River and St. Cloud are so close that they both have been included as possible #2 Seeds.

D10-#1-Coon Rapids (Last week: lost to Blaine 4-1 in the first of their two games, beat St. Cloud 3-2 in key D10 game and beat Grand Rapids 3-1; Coming week: Play Elk River).
D10-#2-Elk River (Last week: beat St Frances/North Branch 12-0, played in the Governor’s Cup Tourney, beat North St. Paul 3-1, lost to Woodbury 1-0, and played Bloomington Kennedy for third; Coming week: play Eden Prairie and Coon Rapids)
D10-#2-St. Cloud (Last week: lost to Coon Rapids 3-2; Coming week: play in own tourney, in pool play draw Hopkins, Bemidji and Rogers.)

D11 Summary: No change as these three teams will be playing for the three D11 seeds. But Cloquet looks like it may have found its stride, putting together some wins. A tough pool at the Roseau Tourney this week will determine how far they have come. Hermantown is still struggling, but maybe Duluth East turned a corner in winning the Brainerd Tourney. East will tested soon, playing in the Duluth Tourney this week.

D11-#1-Cloquet (Last week: beat Duluth Lakers 7-1; Coming week: play in Roseau Tourney, draw Eden Prairie, Roseau and Grand Rapids in pool play.)
D11-#2-Hermantown (Last week: beat Superior 5-4, played in own tourney lost to Moundsview in opener 4-3, beat St. Michaels 10-0, and beat EGF 5-4 to win consolation. Coming week: play Virginia)
D11-#3-Duluth East (Last week: beat Armstrong 2-1 in a shootout in the opening game of Brainerd Tourney, beat Blaine 4-3 and beat Andover 3-0 for the Championship; Coming week: play in Duluth Tourney, in pool play draw Stillwater, Woodbury and Eastview)

D12 Summary: No change. Grand Rapids remains unchallenged in this district.
D12-#1-Grand Rapids (Last week: Lost to Wayzata 4-1, beat Jefferson 6-3, lost to Coon Rapids 3-1; Coming week: play Hibbing and play in Roseau Tourney. In pool play draw Roseau, Eden Prairie and Cloquet.)
D12-#2-Virginia (Last week: played in own tourney, Queen City (beat Irondale 7-2, played Northfield, Eveleth and International Falls; Coming week: Play International Falls and Hermantown)
D12-#3-Hibbing (Last week: Play International Falls, played in Brainerd Tourney, lost to Andover, beat River Lakes and played Rosemount for consolation title; Coming week: Play Grand Rapids).

East Region (at St. Louis Park Feb 29 to March 2): The East Region will be composed of two D8 teams, three D3 teams, and three D2 teams. Wayzata was idle this week and Lakeville South remained unbeaten in D8. Woodbury won two important D8 games and was looking to take the title, but Eagan may just have walked off with the D8 title. Lakeville South appears to be in a funk. The D2 teams keep beating each other up each other. There are a lot of good teams in this region, it remains tough.
1-Wayzata*
2-Woodbury*
3-Lakeville South
4-Eagan
5-North St. Paul

East Region is summarized by districts below.
D8 Summary: After all is said and done, there will only two teams from D8 going to the East Regional. There are 15 peewee A teams eligible for D8 playoffs and Eagan, Lakeville South, Woodbury, Sibley, Rochester Red, Lakeville North are capable of wining the tourney.

Four teams, S. St. Paul/Inver Grove Heights, Rosemount, Hastings, Rochester Black are threats. If that isn’t enough, Winona usually comes out of the south and raises trouble with these teams. Finally Northfield may have the best player in the D8. The 15 peewee A coaches will each have a vote that ranks all D8 teams (except for their own team). League wins may not matter. But the integrity of those 15 coaches will be tested.

When those votes are totaled, all 15 teams will be seeded based on the results. Since only 12 teams will go to Hasting, the three lowest have to then inform the D8 officials if they want to continue in the playoffs. For those teams that do, they will play the lower seeded teams. If all three chose to play, then the seed #12 will play seed #13 for the #12 seed, seed #11 will play seed #14 for the #11 seed and seed #10 will play seed #15. It will be interesting. (One side point, some D8 information I read indicated there maybe 17 peewee A teams in the playoff, but I can only pick out 15 based on the current Minnesota Hockey alignment.)

Eagan’s league win over the Rochester Red puts them in a strong position to win the regular season title with two games left. Lakeville South has 6 games left (SSP/IGH(twice), Sibley, Woodbury, Hastings, and Hudson) and can catch Eagan only if the Wildcats falter.

Woodbury has 3 games left (Lakeville South, Rosemount and Sibley) and end league play on Jan 28 and needs Eagan to falter also. Eagan play has improved since the Woodbury game, but still needs to be tested as it will in the Duluth Tourney this week. Lakeville South placed only fourth in the Hermantown Tourney and needs some wins. Woodbury took the Governors Cup Championship and this week’s #1 Seed.

D8 #1-Woodbury (This week: played in Governor’s Cup, beat Highland 4-1 in the opener beat Elk River 1-0 and Prior Lake 4-1 in the championship game; Coming week: play in Duluth Tourney, in pool play draw Duluth East, Stillwater and Eastview.)
D8-#2-Lakeville South (This week: Beat Jefferson 4-1, Played in Hermantown Tourney, beat Duluth Lakers 8-2 in opener, lost to Anoka 3-2 and lost to Moundsview 5-4; Coming week: play SSP/IGH, Edina, and Sibley)
D8-#3-Eagan (Last week: Beat SSP/IGH 4-2, beat Sibley 6-2, and beat Rochester 1 (Red) 2-1 in what could be the deciding game for the Wildcats to win regular season title. Play in the Duluth Tourney, in pool play draw Duluth Lakers, Wayzata, and Thunder Bay)

D3 Summary: Unchanged. Wayzata and Maple Grove are clear favorites for two of the three seeds, Hopkins looks the best of the rest but could be challenged by Orono and Armstrong for the third seed.
D3-#1-Wayzata (Last week: Beat North Metro 5-1 and Grand Rapids 4-1; Coming week: play Hopkins and play in a Duluth Tourney, draw Thunder Bay, Eagan and Duluth Lakers)
D3-#2-Maple Grove (Last week: Played in the Hastings Tourney, in pool play beat Cottage Grove and the Fire to play for the Championship game. Beat Hastings to win the Big Chill title. Note that the Fire ended up playing for 5th place in this tourney. Coming week: Play Orono and draw Burnsville, Mpls Park, and Moorhead in pool play in the St. Cloud Tourney)
D3-#3-Hopkins (Last week: lost to Mound Westonka 1-0 and lost to Mpls Park 5-4; Coming week: play Wayzata and Faribault and draw Bemidji, Rogers and St. Cloud in pool play in the St. Cloud tourney.)

D2 (Playoffs Feb 15 to Feb 24). D2 Summary: White Bear Lake is leading the league by one game with three games to play. Yet here they have been given no respect because of their play outside the league. Their last three games are against N. St. Paul, Tartan and Moundsview. With the league as balanced as it is, the District 2 play-offs will be a wild affair.

North St. Paul #1 this week because they beat Roseville a week ago, and Roseville remains #2 because they have been playing well in the league and in scrimmages the past few weeks. Forest Lake maybe on a roll, on a winning streak and coming off an idle week; but they have a tough week ahead. White Bear Lake will have another chance to prove themselves in their own tourney Feb 1. Until then and next week, who knows?

D2-#1-North St Paul (Last week: played in Johnson Tourney and lost to Elk River 3-1, beat Highland 4-1, beat Mahtomedi 4-2 for Consolation Title; Coming week:)
D2-#2-Roseville (Last week: Beat White Bear Lake 3-1; Coming week: play North Metro)
D2-#3-Forest Lake (Last week: idle; Coming week: play Moundsview, N. St. Paul, and the Rochester Tourney, draw Cedar Rapids in the opener).

South Region (at Chaska Feb 29 to March 2): The South Region will be composed of three D6 teams, two D4 teams, and three D1 teams. The D6 look to be the toughest in this region, but the D4 and D1 teams are getting their game going. The overall rankings this week:
1-Edina*
2-Eden Prairie*
3-Apple Valley
4-Mpls Park
5-Faribault

South Region is summarized by districts below.
D6 (Playoffs Feb 9 to Feb 17). D6 Summary: This district remains too tough to call. Both Edina and Eden Prairie have opened a small gap, but Apple Valley stills has a shot. In the D6 playoff format, all three seeds are up for grabs. The playoff is a 6 team double elimination tourney.

The top 5 teams are seeded, the sixth spot goes to the winner of a three team, three game single elimination playoff. The bottom three teams are eliminated based on league play. Edina, Eden Prairie and Apple Valley look to have three of the five seeds; but Chaska, Jefferson, Burnsville, Prior Lake, and Minnetonka are all in the chase. The first and second place finishers in the league draw a bye in the first round of the double elimination tourney.

D6-#1-Edina (Last week: beat Kennedy 9-2 and beat Burnsville 3-0; Coming week: play Lakeville South and the Fire)
D6-#2-Eden Prairie (Last week: beat Minnetonka 2-1 and Chaska 2-0; Coming week: Play in Roseau Tourney, draw Grand Rapids, Cloquet and Roseau)
D6-#3-Apple Valley (Last week: Beat Minnetonka 5-3; Coming week: Play Chaska and play in the St. Cloud Tourney, draw Alexandria, North Metro and Grand Forks.)

D4 Summary: D4 is combined with D8, but not for playoffs. Faribault and Mankato look to be the best, New Prague has challenged. All three teams are close, but Faribault has the record (unbeaten in league play) and has potential. They get the #1 seed this week by virtue of beating Mankato this past week.

Mankato and New Prague are too close to call at this point, so they are rated equal this week. D4 has two seeds this year to the South Region. There are 10 teams competing for those two seeds. Albert Lea has been playing better in the last month and Luverne could also mount a challenge.

D4-#1-Faribault (Last week: beat Red Wing 4-1, Mankato 4-3 and Owatonna 5-1: Coming week: Play in Willmar tourney draw New Ulm, Marshall, and Willmar)
D4-#2-New Prague (Last week: lost to Highland 4-3 and played Luverne and tied Eastview 0-0; Coming week: play Northfield and Albert Lea )
D4 #2-Mankato (Last week: Lost to Faribault 4-3 and beat Albert Lea 1-0; Coming week: Play in Rochester Tourney, draw S St. Paul/Inver Grove Heights in opener.)

D1 Summary: D1 got going this past week. Mpls Park beat neighbor Hopkins, Highland played well in the Governors Cup playing Woodbury to a draw for half a game before losing. Irondale played in the Queen City tourney winning two and losing two. Irondale could start pressuring the other two this week, Mpls Park will be carrying the D1 flag in the St. Cloud Tourney. Washburn is starting to roll.

D1-#1-Mpls Park (Last week: beat Hopkins 5-4 and Washburn; Coming week: play in St. Cloud Tourney, draw Burnsville, Maple Grove and Moorhead).
D1-#2-Highland (Last week: beat New Prague 4-3 and played in Governors Cup, lost to Woodbury 4-1, lost to N. St. Paul 4-1 and played St. Paul Johnson; Coming week: play Irondale)
D1-#3-Irondale (Last week: Beat St. Paul Johnson 5-2, played in Queen City Tournament, lost to Northfield 5-2, beat Eveleth 10-2, beat International Falls 5-3 and lost to Virginia 7-2; Coming week: play Como, Washburn and Highland)

West Region(at Brainerd Feb 29 to March 2): The West Region will be composed of two D5 teams, three D15 teams, and three D16 teams. In the overall rankings this week, Roseau remains on top. Roseau plays in their own tourney this week and have set up a pool that contains four potential state tourney entries (or half of the state tourney). That will be a good set of games.

On the surface, EGF struggled in the Hermantown Tourney but they carried the D16 flag well, contending in every game. But can EGF improve in the remaining month? Little Falls won the Hermantown tourney beating a tough D10 team. Little Falls has become a contender and get one of the seeds this week. Fergus Falls falls to fifth.
1-Roseau*
2-Little Falls*
3-Mound Westonka
4-EGF
5-Fergus Falls

West Region is summarized by districts below.
D5 (Playoffs Feb 17 to Feb 24). D5 summary: The D5 playoff format automatically seeds the conference winner in to the Region. The conference winner does not play in the playoffs. The remaining nine teams are seeded. The playoffs are then a single elimination bracket tournament with the lowest two seeds playing for a spot in the quarterfinals. Mound Westonka and Buffalo are in a dead heat for the title, but watch out for Sartell.

D5-#1-Mound Westonka (Last week: Beat Hopkins 1-0, play Crow River and MAML; Coming week: play St. Michael’s)
D5-#2-Buffalo (Last week: Played in the Thief River Falls Tourney, drew TRF in opener; Coming week: play MAML, Litchfield (twice)

D15 summary: Little Falls is set to emerge as the league champion. They have an insurmountable lead in D15 with three games to go over Fergus Falls and Moorhead. Fergus Falls has a hold on second and Moorhead could fall out of the picture altogether if another D15 team starts to play well. Little Falls won the Hermantown tourney.

D15-#1-Little Falls (This week: Beat Moorhead 7-0 and Alexandria 8-0, played in Hermantown Tourney, beat St. Michael’s in opener 8-2, beat Moundsview 3-2 and Anoka 5-2 to emerge as champion; Coming week: )
D15-#2-Fergus Falls (This week: Beat the Fargo Angels 6-0, played in the Thief River Falls Tourney, drew Mandan in opener (TRF, Buffalo, Jamestown, Fort Francis, and Mandan are in the tourney with them); Coming week: idle)
D15-#3-Moorhead (Last week: Lost to Little Falls; Coming week: play in St. Cloud Tourney draw Mpls Park, Maple Grove and Burnsville in pool play.)

D16 Summary: Roseau looks to be the best with some pressure from EGF. The TRF tourney could be interesting. But with over half of the D16 league games played, the teams are separating with Roseau on top. EGF looks to be separating itself from the middle pile of Crookston, TRF and maybe Warroad. The others have fallen out of contention for the moment.

D16-#1-Roseau (Last week; beat Fort Francis 4-0, beat LOW 9-2, and Crookston 8-1; Coming week: play in their own tourney, draw in pool play Cloquet, Grand Rapids, and Eden Prairie)
D16-#2-East Grand Forks (Last week: beat TRF 7-4 and played in Hermantown Tourney, lost to Anoka 5-4 in opener, beat Duluth Lakers 7-2 and lost to Hermantown 5-4; Coming week: play Grand Forks Sugarkings, Grand Forks Wheatkings and Devils Lake)
D16-#3-TRF (Last week: played in their own tourney, drew Buffalo in opening game; Coming week: )

Projected State Tourney Team draw, W1 versus S2, N1 versus E2, S1 versus West 2 and E1 versus N2
Roseau vs Eden Prairie (no change from last week)
Coon Rapids vs Woodbury (Lakeville South dropped out)
Edina vs Little Falls (the Flyers beat out the Otters this week)
Wayzata vs Cloquet (no change from last week)

[Bronc]

Jan 13, 2008

The following summarizes the Districts by top teams and what they have done in the last week and what they will be doing this week. I have grouped the Districts into the Regions they will be playing to go to state. I have then ranked the top teams in each region. The top two of each region go to state. The projected state peewee A tourney draw is shown at the end of this post.

North Region (at Cloquet Feb 29 to March 2): The North Region will be composed of two D10 teams, three D11 teams, and three D12 teams. The rankings are unchanged this week. Cloquet beat Elk River 6-3 in their own tourney ten days ago to re-establish themselves as one of the two seeds in the North Region. Grand Rapids lost two out three games in the cities including 3-1 to Coon Rapids.
1-Coon Rapids*
2-Cloquet*
3-Elk River
4-Grand Rapids
5-Hermantown

North Region is summarized by districts below.
D10 Summary: Winner of the regular season gets guaranteed Runner-up or #2 Seed. The D10 Tournament Champion will go to the region as the #1 seed. But only 8 of the 12 peewee A teams will be seeded (1-8) in the double elimination tourney. Coon Rapids maintains a one game lead over St. Cloud and a four game lead over Blaine. Still looks like a two team race for the guaranteed seed between Coon Rapids and St. Cloud with Coon Rapids having the edge. After this week Elk River and St. Cloud are so close that they both have been included as possible #2 Seeds.

D10-#1-Coon Rapids (Last week: lost to Blaine 4-1 in the first of their two games, beat St. Cloud 3-2 in key D10 game and beat Grand Rapids 3-1; Coming week: Play Elk River).
D10-#2-Elk River (Last week: beat St Frances/North Branch 12-0, played in the Governor’s Cup Tourney, beat North St. Paul 3-1, lost to Woodbury 1-0, and played Bloomington Kennedy for third; Coming week: play Eden Prairie and Coon Rapids)
D10-#2-St. Cloud (Last week: lost to Coon Rapids 3-2; Coming week: play in own tourney, in pool play draw Hopkins, Bemidji and Rogers.)

D11 Summary: No change as these three teams will be playing for the three D11 seeds. But Cloquet looks like it may have found its stride, putting together some wins. A tough pool at the Roseau Tourney this week will determine how far they have come. Hermantown is still struggling, but maybe Duluth East turned a corner in winning the Brainerd Tourney. East will tested soon, playing in the Duluth Tourney this week.

D11-#1-Cloquet (Last week: beat Duluth Lakers 7-1; Coming week: play in Roseau Tourney, draw Eden Prairie, Roseau and Grand Rapids in pool play.)
D11-#2-Hermantown (Last week: beat Superior 5-4, played in own tourney lost to Moundsview in opener 4-3, beat St. Michaels 10-0, and beat EGF 5-4 to win consolation. Coming week: play Virginia)
D11-#3-Duluth East (Last week: beat Armstrong 2-1 in a shootout in the opening game of Brainerd Tourney, beat Blaine 4-3 and beat Andover 3-0 for the Championship; Coming week: play in Duluth Tourney, in pool play draw Stillwater, Woodbury and Eastview)

D12 Summary: No change. Grand Rapids remains unchallenged in this district.
D12-#1-Grand Rapids (Last week: Lost to Wayzata 4-1, beat Jefferson 6-3, lost to Coon Rapids 3-1; Coming week: play Hibbing and play in Roseau Tourney. In pool play draw Roseau, Eden Prairie and Cloquet.)
D12-#2-Virginia (Last week: played in own tourney, Queen City (beat Irondale 7-2, played Northfield, Eveleth and International Falls; Coming week: Play International Falls and Hermantown)
D12-#3-Hibbing (Last week: Play International Falls, played in Brainerd Tourney, lost to Andover, beat River Lakes and played Rosemount for consolation title; Coming week: Play Grand Rapids).

East Region (at St. Louis Park Feb 29 to March 2): The East Region will be composed of two D8 teams, three D3 teams, and three D2 teams. Wayzata was idle this week and Lakeville South remained unbeaten in D8. Woodbury won two important D8 games and was looking to take the title, but Eagan may just have walked off with the D8 title. Lakeville South appears to be in a funk. The D2 teams keep beating each other up each other. There are a lot of good teams in this region, it remains tough.
1-Wayzata*
2-Woodbury*
3-Lakeville South
4-Eagan
5-North St. Paul

East Region is summarized by districts below.
D8 Summary: After all is said and done, there will only two teams from D8 going to the East Regional. There are 15 peewee A teams eligible for D8 playoffs and Eagan, Lakeville South, Woodbury, Sibley, Rochester Red, Lakeville North are capable of wining the tourney.

Four teams, S. St. Paul/Inver Grove Heights, Rosemount, Hastings, Rochester Black are threats. If that isn’t enough, Winona usually comes out of the south and raises trouble with these teams. Finally Northfield may have the best player in the D8. The 15 peewee A coaches will each have a vote that ranks all D8 teams (except for their own team). League wins may not matter. But the integrity of those 15 coaches will be tested.

When those votes are totaled, all 15 teams will be seeded based on the results. Since only 12 teams will go to Hasting, the three lowest have to then inform the D8 officials if they want to continue in the playoffs. For those teams that do, they will play the lower seeded teams. If all three chose to play, then the seed #12 will play seed #13 for the #12 seed, seed #11 will play seed #14 for the #11 seed and seed #10 will play seed #15. It will be interesting. (One side point, some D8 information I read indicated there maybe 17 peewee A teams in the playoff, but I can only pick out 15 based on the current Minnesota Hockey alignment.)

Eagan’s league win over the Rochester Red puts them in a strong position to win the regular season title with two games left. Lakeville South has 6 games left (SSP/IGH(twice), Sibley, Woodbury, Hastings, and Hudson) and can catch Eagan only if the Wildcats falter.

Woodbury has 3 games left (Lakeville South, Rosemount and Sibley) and end league play on Jan 28 and needs Eagan to falter also. Eagan play has improved since the Woodbury game, but still needs to be tested as it will in the Duluth Tourney this week. Lakeville South placed only fourth in the Hermantown Tourney and needs some wins. Woodbury took the Governors Cup Championship and this week’s #1 Seed.

D8 #1-Woodbury (This week: played in Governor’s Cup, beat Highland 4-1 in the opener beat Elk River 1-0 and Prior Lake 4-1 in the championship game; Coming week: play in Duluth Tourney, in pool play draw Duluth East, Stillwater and Eastview.)
D8-#2-Lakeville South (This week: Beat Jefferson 4-1, Played in Hermantown Tourney, beat Duluth Lakers 8-2 in opener, lost to Anoka 3-2 and lost to Moundsview 5-4; Coming week: play SSP/IGH, Edina, and Sibley)
D8-#3-Eagan (Last week: Beat SSP/IGH 4-2, beat Sibley 6-2, and beat Rochester 1 (Red) 2-1 in what could be the deciding game for the Wildcats to win regular season title. Play in the Duluth Tourney, in pool play draw Duluth Lakers, Wayzata, and Thunder Bay)

D3 Summary: Unchanged. Wayzata and Maple Grove are clear favorites for two of the three seeds, Hopkins looks the best of the rest but could be challenged by Orono and Armstrong for the third seed.
D3-#1-Wayzata (Last week: Beat North Metro 5-1 and Grand Rapids 4-1; Coming week: play Hopkins and play in a Duluth Tourney, draw Thunder Bay, Eagan and Duluth Lakers)
D3-#2-Maple Grove (Last week: Played in the Hastings Tourney, in pool play beat Cottage Grove and the Fire to play for the Championship game. Beat Hastings to win the Big Chill title. Note that the Fire ended up playing for 5th place in this tourney. Coming week: Play Orono and draw Burnsville, Mpls Park, and Moorhead in pool play in the St. Cloud Tourney)
D3-#3-Hopkins (Last week: lost to Mound Westonka 1-0 and lost to Mpls Park 5-4; Coming week: play Wayzata and Faribault and draw Bemidji, Rogers and St. Cloud in pool play in the St. Cloud tourney.)

D2 (Playoffs Feb 15 to Feb 24). D2 Summary: White Bear Lake is leading the league by one game with three games to play. Yet here they have been given no respect because of their play outside the league. Their last three games are against N. St. Paul, Tartan and Moundsview. With the league as balanced as it is, the District 2 play-offs will be a wild affair.

North St. Paul #1 this week because they beat Roseville a week ago, and Roseville remains #2 because they have been playing well in the league and in scrimmages the past few weeks. Forest Lake maybe on a roll, on a winning streak and coming off an idle week; but they have a tough week ahead. White Bear Lake will have another chance to prove themselves in their own tourney Feb 1. Until then and next week, who knows?

D2-#1-North St Paul (Last week: played in Johnson Tourney and lost to Elk River 3-1, beat Highland 4-1, beat Mahtomedi 4-2 for Consolation Title; Coming week:)
D2-#2-Roseville (Last week: Beat White Bear Lake 3-1; Coming week: play North Metro)
D2-#3-Forest Lake (Last week: idle; Coming week: play Moundsview, N. St. Paul, and the Rochester Tourney, draw Cedar Rapids in the opener).

South Region (at Chaska Feb 29 to March 2): The South Region will be composed of three D6 teams, two D4 teams, and three D1 teams. The D6 look to be the toughest in this region, but the D4 and D1 teams are getting their game going. The overall rankings this week:
1-Edina*
2-Eden Prairie*
3-Apple Valley
4-Mpls Park
5-Faribault

South Region is summarized by districts below.
D6 (Playoffs Feb 9 to Feb 17). D6 Summary: This district remains too tough to call. Both Edina and Eden Prairie have opened a small gap, but Apple Valley stills has a shot. In the D6 playoff format, all three seeds are up for grabs. The playoff is a 6 team double elimination tourney.

The top 5 teams are seeded, the sixth spot goes to the winner of a three team, three game single elimination playoff. The bottom three teams are eliminated based on league play. Edina, Eden Prairie and Apple Valley look to have three of the five seeds; but Chaska, Jefferson, Burnsville, Prior Lake, and Minnetonka are all in the chase. The first and second place finishers in the league draw a bye in the first round of the double elimination tourney.

D6-#1-Edina (Last week: beat Kennedy 9-2 and beat Burnsville 3-0; Coming week: play Lakeville South and the Fire)
D6-#2-Eden Prairie (Last week: beat Minnetonka 2-1 and Chaska 2-0; Coming week: Play in Roseau Tourney, draw Grand Rapids, Cloquet and Roseau)
D6-#3-Apple Valley (Last week: Beat Minnetonka 5-3; Coming week: Play Chaska and play in the St. Cloud Tourney, draw Alexandria, North Metro and Grand Forks.)

D4 Summary: D4 is combined with D8, but not for playoffs. Faribault and Mankato look to be the best, New Prague has challenged. All three teams are close, but Faribault has the record (unbeaten in league play) and has potential. They get the #1 seed this week by virtue of beating Mankato this past week.

Mankato and New Prague are too close to call at this point, so they are rated equal this week. D4 has two seeds this year to the South Region. There are 10 teams competing for those two seeds. Albert Lea has been playing better in the last month and Luverne could also mount a challenge.

D4-#1-Faribault (Last week: beat Red Wing 4-1, Mankato 4-3 and Owatonna 5-1: Coming week: Play in Willmar tourney draw New Ulm, Marshall, and Willmar)
D4-#2-New Prague (Last week: lost to Highland 4-3 and played Luverne and tied Eastview 0-0; Coming week: play Northfield and Albert Lea )
D4 #2-Mankato (Last week: Lost to Faribault 4-3 and beat Albert Lea 1-0; Coming week: Play in Rochester Tourney, draw S St. Paul/Inver Grove Heights in opener.)

D1 Summary: D1 got going this past week. Mpls Park beat neighbor Hopkins, Highland played well in the Governors Cup playing Woodbury to a draw for half a game before losing. Irondale played in the Queen City tourney winning two and losing two. Irondale could start pressuring the other two this week, Mpls Park will be carrying the D1 flag in the St. Cloud Tourney. Washburn is starting to roll.

D1-#1-Mpls Park (Last week: beat Hopkins 5-4 and Washburn; Coming week: play in St. Cloud Tourney, draw Burnsville, Maple Grove and Moorhead).
D1-#2-Highland (Last week: beat New Prague 4-3 and played in Governors Cup, lost to Woodbury 4-1, lost to N. St. Paul 4-1 and played St. Paul Johnson; Coming week: play Irondale)
D1-#3-Irondale (Last week: Beat St. Paul Johnson 5-2, played in Queen City Tournament, lost to Northfield 5-2, beat Eveleth 10-2, beat International Falls 5-3 and lost to Virginia 7-2; Coming week: play Como, Washburn and Highland)

West Region(at Brainerd Feb 29 to March 2): The West Region will be composed of two D5 teams, three D15 teams, and three D16 teams. In the overall rankings this week, Roseau remains on top. Roseau plays in their own tourney this week and have set up a pool that contains four potential state tourney entries (or half of the state tourney). That will be a good set of games.

On the surface, EGF struggled in the Hermantown Tourney but they carried the D16 flag well, contending in every game. But can EGF improve in the remaining month? Little Falls won the Hermantown tourney beating a tough D10 team. Little Falls has become a contender and get one of the seeds this week. Fergus Falls falls to fifth.
1-Roseau*
2-Little Falls*
3-Mound Westonka
4-EGF
5-Fergus Falls

West Region is summarized by districts below.
D5 (Playoffs Feb 17 to Feb 24). D5 summary: The D5 playoff format automatically seeds the conference winner in to the Region. The conference winner does not play in the playoffs. The remaining nine teams are seeded. The playoffs are then a single elimination bracket tournament with the lowest two seeds playing for a spot in the quarterfinals. Mound Westonka and Buffalo are in a dead heat for the title, but watch out for Sartell.

D5-#1-Mound Westonka (Last week: Beat Hopkins 1-0, play Crow River and MAML; Coming week: play St. Michael’s)
D5-#2-Buffalo (Last week: Played in the Thief River Falls Tourney, drew TRF in opener; Coming week: play MAML, Litchfield (twice)

D15 summary: Little Falls is set to emerge as the league champion. They have an insurmountable lead in D15 with three games to go over Fergus Falls and Moorhead. Fergus Falls has a hold on second and Moorhead could fall out of the picture altogether if another D15 team starts to play well. Little Falls won the Hermantown tourney.

D15-#1-Little Falls (This week: Beat Moorhead 7-0 and Alexandria 8-0, played in Hermantown Tourney, beat St. Michael’s in opener 8-2, beat Moundsview 3-2 and Anoka 5-2 to emerge as champion; Coming week: )
D15-#2-Fergus Falls (This week: Beat the Fargo Angels 6-0, played in the Thief River Falls Tourney, drew Mandan in opener (TRF, Buffalo, Jamestown, Fort Francis, and Mandan are in the tourney with them); Coming week: idle)
D15-#3-Moorhead (Last week: Lost to Little Falls; Coming week: play in St. Cloud Tourney draw Mpls Park, Maple Grove and Burnsville in pool play.)

D16 Summary: Roseau looks to be the best with some pressure from EGF. The TRF tourney could be interesting. But with over half of the D16 league games played, the teams are separating with Roseau on top. EGF looks to be separating itself from the middle pile of Crookston, TRF and maybe Warroad. The others have fallen out of contention for the moment.

D16-#1-Roseau (Last week; beat Fort Francis 4-0, beat LOW 9-2, and Crookston 8-1; Coming week: play in their own tourney, draw in pool play Cloquet, Grand Rapids, and Eden Prairie)
D16-#2-East Grand Forks (Last week: beat TRF 7-4 and played in Hermantown Tourney, lost to Anoka 5-4 in opener, beat Duluth Lakers 7-2 and lost to Hermantown 5-4; Coming week: play Grand Forks Sugarkings, Grand Forks Wheatkings and Devils Lake)
D16-#3-TRF (Last week: played in their own tourney, drew Buffalo in opening game; Coming week: )

Projected State Tourney Team draw, W1 versus S2, N1 versus E2, S1 versus West 2 and E1 versus N2
Roseau vs Eden Prairie (no change from last week)
Coon Rapids vs Woodbury (Lakeville South dropped out)
Edina vs Little Falls (the Flyers beat out the Otters this week)
Wayzata vs Cloquet (no change from last week)

I haven't seen Coon Rapids play this year, but hear a lot about them. Edina has the most speed and skill I have seen this year, but doesn't seem to always bring it's lunch bucket.

Wayzata is big with skill.

Woodbury is extremely well coached, well rounded with skill and role players.

Grand Rapids & EP big and smart.

Definently haven't seen the rest of the teams like you (although most of them).

That Roseau Tournament should show a lot of insight of how the teams rank.

Good info.

[tomASS]

typically you do not hear very much about any Coon Rapids team.

Are they rebuilding their program or is there a new influx of kids into the area? I seem to see their name quit frequently performing well this year at this level.

[tomASS]

fredrick61

one of your posts is more informational than a couple weeks of Let's Play Hockey. Your passion and enthusiasm for this age and playing level is very commendable.

I see you are more into quality posts versus quantity. That being said I have never read an entire post of yours. However I do try to use them as reference material if I am seeking info. As you have probably noted by now, I do better with more pictures and less words.

The state should get you a free pass for the regional and state tourney games for your effort this half-winter. Or, one of these Pee Wee parents should leave a will call ticket at any game you decide to attend.

[Nobodyonya]

Coon Rapids at this level has been good ever since the Mite level. We have been playing these kids for 4-5 years now and they are exceptional.
Nine or ten of these players on this team have played together on the same team since Mites. There is not 1 standout they all seem to contribute in 1 way or another. Just by playing them year after year you better have your game face on when opposing them. From my perspective they have 3 solid forwards that can put the puck away and if I have my facts straight 1 is a 1st year Peewee, but is in his 2nd year at the A level. Defense wise they are solid, but is dominated by #16. Otherwise the remaining teams in the Association are average by viewing there website

[elliott70]

fredrick61

one of your posts is more informational than a couple weeks of Let's Play Hockey. Your passion and enthusiasm for this age and playing level is very commendable.

I see you are more into quality posts versus quantity. That being said I have never read an entire post of yours. However I do try to use them as reference material if I am seeking info. As you have probably noted by now, I do better with more pictures and less words.

The state should get you a free pass for the regional and state tourney games for your effort this half-winter. Or, one of these Pee Wee parents should leave a will call ticket at any game you decide to attend.

Just get me name and mailing address.

[tomASS]

there you go fredrick61 - all one has to do is ask. Better Pm him.

Elliot - a true plaid gentleman of the hockey world

[elliott70]

Of course, all the analysis in the world does not give you those upset games. About 4 years back the top 2 D16 teams lost int he semis and did not make it to regions and of course did not make it to state.

Of course one of those teams made up for it last year by making it to HS state and not losing there.

[tomASS]

Of course, all the analysis in the world does not give you those upset games. About 4 years back the top 2 D16 teams lost int he semis and did not make it to regions and of course did not make it to state.

Of course one of those teams made up for it last year by making it to HS state and not losing there.

and that's why we play the game and what makes it so great.

[frederick61]

fredrick61

one of your posts is more informational than a couple weeks of Let's Play Hockey. Your passion and enthusiasm for this age and playing level is very commendable.

I see you are more into quality posts versus quantity. That being said I have never read an entire post of yours. However I do try to use them as reference material if I am seeking info. As you have probably noted by now, I do better with more pictures and less words.

The state should get you a free pass for the regional and state tourney games for your effort this half-winter. Or, one of these Pee Wee parents should leave a will call ticket at any game you decide to attend.

Just get me name and mailing address.

tomAss and Elliott70, I really appreciate the positive comments. As we get closer to the State Tourney, I may take you up on your offer-if nothing else, just to meet you. Thank you for your offer.

[hockeydad79]

Coon Rapids at this level has been good ever since the Mite level. We have been playing these kids for 4-5 years now and they are exceptional.
Nine or ten of these players on this team have played together on the same team since Mites. There is not 1 standout they all seem to contribute in 1 way or another. Just by playing them year after year you better have your game face on when opposing them. From my perspective they have 3 solid forwards that can put the puck away and if I have my facts straight 1 is a 1st year Peewee, but is in his 2nd year at the A level. Defense wise they are solid, but is dominated by #16. Otherwise the remaining teams in the Association are average by viewing there website

This is a great group of young players, they always work hard. I just hope that they can stay together and continue to develop as they get older

[egf hockey1]

District 15: Little Falls and Fergus Falls leap frogging Moorhead is a bit of a surprise, but the way all the teams have been playing it looks pretty acurate. Even though Moorhead is slipping, I would not want to see them in my bracket come playoff time. Is Brainerd playing in Districts or are they taking the automatic #3 seed to regions?

Predictions:
#1 - Little Falls
#2 - Moorhead
#3 - Brainerd (auto bid for hosting regions)

District 16: Roseau is tough, should make regions. EGF, Crookston, Warroad and TRF should battle for 2 remaining spots. It looks like EGF will end up playing Crookston in the #2 - #3 game in Crookston, could be tough. D16 is double elimination this year which should help bring the deeper teams to Brainerd.

Prediction:
#1 - Roseau
#2 - East Grand Forks
#3 - Crookston (playing at home for districts)(probable easier road in losers bracket)

WEST REGION BRACKETS

Red
D5 #1 Mound Westtonka
D15 #2 Moorhead
D15 #3 Brainerd
D16 #2 EGF

Blue
D5 #2 Buffalo
D15 #1 Little Falls
D16 #1 Roseau
D16 #3 Crookston

To State
Red #1 EGF over Blue #2 Little Falls
Blue #1 Roseau over Red #2 Moorhead

Just my predictions, should be good districts and regionals. Good Luck to all!

[5thgraders]

[quote="Nobodyonya"]Coon Rapids at this level has been good ever since the Mite level. We have been playing these kids for 4-5 years now and they are exceptional.
Nine or ten of these players on this team have played together on the same team since Mites. There is not 1 standout they all seem to contribute in 1 way or another. Just by playing them year after year you better have your game face on when opposing them. From my perspective they have 3 solid forwards that can put the puck away and if I have my facts straight 1 is a 1st year Peewee, but is in his 2nd year at the A level. Defense wise they are solid, but is dominated by #16. Otherwise the remaining teams in the Association are average by viewing there website[/quote] Good yes exceptional no they are a couple of years off from being able to say that.

[elliott70]

District 15: Little Falls and Fergus Falls leap frogging Moorhead is a bit of a surprise, but the way all the teams have been playing it looks pretty acurate. Even though Moorhead is slipping, I would not want to see them in my bracket come playoff time. Is Brainerd playing in Districts or are they taking the automatic #3 seed to regions?

Predictions:
#1 - Little Falls
#2 - Moorhead
#3 - Brainerd (auto bid for hosting regions)

District 16: Roseau is tough, should make regions. EGF, Crookston, Warroad and TRF should battle for 2 remaining spots. It looks like EGF will end up playing Crookston in the #2 - #3 game in Crookston, could be tough. D16 is double elimination this year which should help bring the deeper teams to Brainerd.

Prediction:
#1 - Roseau
#2 - East Grand Forks
#3 - Crookston (playing at home for districts)(probable easier road in losers bracket)

WEST REGION BRACKETS

Red
D5 #1 Mound Westtonka
D15 #2 Moorhead
D15 #3 Brainerd
D16 #2 EGF

Blue
D5 #2 Buffalo
D15 #1 Little Falls
D16 #1 Roseau
D16 #3 Crookston

To State
Red #1 EGF over Blue #2 Little Falls
Blue #1 Roseau over Red #2 Moorhead

Just my predictions, should be good districts and regionals. Good Luck to all!

Looks great to me!

[frederick61]

District 15: Little Falls and Fergus Falls leap frogging Moorhead is a bit of a surprise, but the way all the teams have been playing it looks pretty acurate. Even though Moorhead is slipping, I would not want to see them in my bracket come playoff time. Is Brainerd playing in Districts or are they taking the automatic #3 seed to regions?

Predictions:
#1 - Little Falls
#2 - Moorhead
#3 - Brainerd (auto bid for hosting regions)

District 16: Roseau is tough, should make regions. EGF, Crookston, Warroad and TRF should battle for 2 remaining spots. It looks like EGF will end up playing Crookston in the #2 - #3 game in Crookston, could be tough. D16 is double elimination this year which should help bring the deeper teams to Brainerd.

Prediction:
#1 - Roseau
#2 - East Grand Forks
#3 - Crookston (playing at home for districts)(probable easier road in losers bracket)

WEST REGION BRACKETS

Red
D5 #1 Mound Westtonka
D15 #2 Moorhead
D15 #3 Brainerd
D16 #2 EGF

Blue
D5 #2 Buffalo
D15 #1 Little Falls
D16 #1 Roseau
D16 #3 Crookston

To State
Red #1 EGF over Blue #2 Little Falls
Blue #1 Roseau over Red #2 Moorhead

Just my predictions, should be good districts and regionals. Good Luck to all!

Thank you for the insight. One question I have is that TRF has surprised me the past two weeks by first winning their own tourney and then beating Eden Prairie 2-1. I have a lot of respect for the Eden Prairie team. Is TRF coming alive as the playoffs draw near?

[SuperStar]

F61 - I will have to agree with you on TRF - EP outplayed them pretty bad, but ended up losing 2-1 - TRF did what the had to do and capitalized.

They blocked more shots in front of the net in a PeeWee game than I have seen in a long time - Thier goalie played very well too and #8 had a couple very nice shots to win it.

[watchdog]

ive been telling people all year that d16 is and can be tuff. the core group of this district is tuff and gritty. you have to bring your game to the ice or you may end up on the losing end even if you are a more skilled team. roseau has the best team in this district but they also know that at any time these teams could get ya on one. superstars discription of the ep game is dead on.

[GF Hockey #2]

TRF comes to GF tonight to play the Wheatkings so if they are playing well it should be a good game.

Unfortunately my other son is playing at the same time (one of the other GF teams) so it will be tough to watch both games even though they are at the same place (Purpur/Gambucci).

I will let you know what I think of how they played.

The Wheatkings did beat EGF last Friday but I hear that both teams played terrible. 3-2.