It is time to kick off the 2009-2010 season. While the summer hot topics have been residency and redistricting for the adults, the kids finally are trying out. What I have done the past few years is to summarize what is happening on the ice at the Peewee A level by organizing a discussion of the teams based on how Minnesota Hockey has organized the year end playoffs. Since I am not comparing teams across the state and trying to rank them, I call this post “Another way to look at peewee A teams”
The information in this post (and subsequent posts) is organized around the district, regional and state tournament playoff structure that has been scheduled by Minnesota Hockey for the 2009/2010 season. This is the fourth year of a four year schedule. Next year, Minnesota Hockey will announce, I assume, a new four year schedule.
To re-cap, there are 12 districts in the state. The twelve districts are divided into four regions (three districts per region). Two of the three districts in each region will send three teams to the regional tournament and one district will send two teams. The eight teams entered are divided into two pools and two teams will emerge from each region with seeds to the state. There are four regional tourneys (North, South, East and West). All regional tourneys are held on the same week end (March 6, 2010).
This year, the North Regional will have the following districts and teams: District 11 (3 teams), District 2 (3 teams) and District 12 (two teams). Stillwater will host the North Regional tourney. The South Regional tourney will have the following districts and teams: District 3 (3 teams), District 5 (2 teams), and District 4 (3 teams). Maple Grove/Osseo will host the South Regional tourney. The East Regional will have the following districts and teams: District 8 (3 teams), District 6 (3 teams) and District 1 (2 teams). Prior Lake will host the East Regional tourney. The West Regional tourney will have the following districts and teams: District 15 (3 teams), District 16 (2 teams) and District 10 (3 teams). Crookston will host the West Regional tourney.
This post will summarize action in each region (North, South, East, and West). Under each region there will be a summary of action within each district (i. e. under the North write-up there will be a summary team play within D11, D2 and D12). In each district summary, I will rate the best three or two teams in based on their most recent play. These are kids and their team play will change over the season. That is a guarantee. Most peewee teams start slow, but a few get off to a faster start if the bulk of the kids have skated summer hockey. By January play starts to even out among the competitive teams. So expect changes in teams from post to post.
The peewee season really starts to roll with the Thanksgiving Tourneys followed by Holiday tourneys over the Christmas/New Year. After the Holiday tourneys, January play turns inwards in each district as teams focus on finishing regular season play and getting ready for the district play-offs. During last season, 98 peewee A teams played in the state. I saw 86 of those teams play. Most of them I saw play twice or more. When January starts, I will add a state tournament projection to the write-up. The draw for the state tourney has already been set (opening round has North #1 versus East #2 and South #1 versus West #2 in the upper bracket; East #1 versus North #2 and West #1 versus South #2 in the lower bracket). That means around the first of the year, each post will take the projected top teams in the region’s districts and predict the top two teams to go to state from that region based on team’s current play.
To give an example of how this post works, last year Forest Lake had a good team and early on played well, looked to have a good shot at a D2 title, then fell off prior to the D2 play-offs (lost badly in January to a good North St. Paul team dominated by twins that really ate up the Forest Lake defense in beating them by a half dozen goals). Then the Lakers surprised me by eking out a spot in the East Regional by taking third in the D2 playoffs. In the East Regional tourney, they came close to going to state by almost knocking out Edina (losing 4-3 in a tough game). They were rated high at the start of the season, down in the middle, and marginally ignored at the end. Then the Lakers surprised people. That is why I like watching peewee hockey, it is kids and it is pure sport on the ice. So lets began.
North Region-This regional will be a tough one this year. D11, D12 and D2 are all tough. But with the regional being held in Stillwater, D2 teams, with three seeds, have to be the favorites with D11 (also with three seeds) pushing them. Of the two D12 teams entered, one team (Grand Rapids, Virginia or Hibbing) could emerge to challenge the others.
D11-There are four D11 associations, Duluth East, Duluth Lakers, Hermantown and Cloquet. They have one thing in common, they all field tough peewee A teams. The teams are consistently ranked in the top twenty at one time or other during the season. Last year, Cloquet and Duluth Lakers battled for the regular season title with Cloquet edging the Lakers out to take the championship by a single point. Then in the D11 playoffs, the also rans, Duluth East and Hermantown, rose up and took the two D11 seeds to the North Regional. This year appears to be no different, but the first test of strength for the D11 teams will be the initial Duluth tourney the first week in November.
D12-Last year, the dominant team and state tourney runner-up in 2008, Grand Rapids, did not make it out of the D12 playoffs. Hibbing, Virginia and that always surprising International Falls team represented D12. Hibbing came out #1 D12 team as the season ended and lost a tough opening round game to East Grand Forks 3-2. Duluth East then soundly beat them 6-0 to end their season. The Bluejackets came back beat the Falls to go out on a winning note.
Virginia played tough defense and had a winning season last year only to open regional play against the eventually state champ, Roseau. It seemed like the Blue Devils never recovered from that sound beating. The Falls seems to win only one or two games all season, but they are always the right games, the D12 playoff games. For the second year in a row, the Falls made the Regional tourney, but they need find competition during the regular season to improve their program. The fifth D12 team is Eveleth-Gilbert and the Golden Bears have been working hard to build their program in the face of a tough economy (unemployment on the range is around 20% and work in the mines is slow). It would be great to see one or two D12 have a good season this year.
D2-Two years ago in the East Regional, D2 teams (Roseville, White Bear Lake, and North St. Paul) entered the tourney all playing well, but their hockey sticks turned to chop sticks as D8 and D3 teams dominated them. Last year the D2 teams sort of snuck into the East Regional well under the D6 and D8 team’s radar and pulled off a few upsets. This year they swing from the East to the North. A solid district demonstrated by the fact that of the 8 teams playing in D2, 6 different teams have made the regional tourney in the past two years. So perhaps it is Tartan and Mahtomedi’s turn to go 10 miles “North” this year.
As always in D2, attention goes to White Bear Lake. The Bears have the history of being D2’s best and play a tough non-district schedule ending with their Moose Goheen tourney in early February that invites the reining powers in Peewee A hockey. But the tourney has been off the past few years drawing less attention. That reflects a home team that has been up and down. Last February in the Moose Goheen, the Bears soundly beat Duluth East 7-3, then lost in the semifinals to Edina 5-1 and then pushed a good Eden Prairie team before losing in double OT 5-4. Two weeks later, the Bears season was over as they failed to make it out of the district playoffs.
The Bears had company in exiting early as Roseville won the #1 spot in the D2 playoffs and also failed to advance. The Raiders play one of the more unusual schedules in that they play few tourneys during the regular season (opening with the Burnsville Thanksgiving tourney and then closing at New Hope). Mounds View had one tough team last year. They came on strong in the Bloomington Holiday tourney taking second place where their large, physical size dominated teams. Then they swept through the D2 playoffs into the East Regional only to be upended in the opening regional game by a Forest Lake (4-3 in OT) a team that they had beaten early in the month. The Mustangs then had their state tourney hopes killed with a 5-2 loss to Woodbury. The Mustang’s lost 6-2 their final season game against an Edina team that needed every goal.
Stillwater was a tough kind of team that played a tough schedule all year. The Ponies were up and down all year but put it together at the end to make the regionals and almost make the state, losing 2-1 to Woodbury in the final East Regional seeded game. Acting as the North Regional tourney host, the Ponies may have the home edge to help make a successful run this year to the state. In either way, the North Regional looks to be a treat for the fans with the seldom seen North teams playing in the Twin Cities.
South Region-D3 joins the South regional tourney this year and will bring the two heavy favorites, Wayzata and Osseo/Maple Grove. Add to that, Maple Grove will host the South tourney. Wayzata and Maple Grove/Osseo have dominated D3 the past few years and should take the seeds, but there are a couple of wrinkles in the South Region this year that could upend either of these two teams. One wrinkle is there will be a third D3 team in this regional (Hopkins/Orono/Armstrong) that could surprise either team. The second is that though the other two districts (D4 and D5) entered have not faired well in regional play, their overall level of play has improved. One of the five seeds from these two districts will be guaranteed to be in final seeded game and winning that game could carry them to state. Last year the South regional looked weak and few thought any seed to emerge would not challenge in the state, but Mpls Park proved them wrong and came within one goal of playing for the state championship.
D3-This district covers the northwest part of the cities, but like D6, D3 affiliates are being affected by re-alignments of high schools they feed. As discussed previously, the Classic Lake conference is no longer next year and the State High School League had to step in and place Edina, Wayzata, Hopkins and Minnetonka (two D3 and two D6 associations) in the Lake Conference along with 11 high schools mostly from south of the cities.
The State High School League decision prompted the existing Lake Conference schools (all except for Eden Prairie) to leave Lake Conference next year. Chaska and the new Chanhassen High School are joining the Missota Conference and the other nine are joining together to form a new conference. That leaves Eden Prairie and the four former Classic Lake Conference teams in the Lake Conference (meeting the State High School minimum of five teams needed to have a conference).
At the D3 level, only Wayzata and Hopkins are in the same conference. Maple Grove/Osseo high schools play in north suburb conferences, Orono plays in western central Minnesota conference and North Metro (Brooklyn Park) and Armstrong play in a different north suburban conference. Some re-alignment is likely that involves D3 next year.
Last year Mpls Park and Washburn, two D1 teams, joined the six D3 for regular season play. It proved to be a good move since it gave the two D1 teams a 14 game regular season schedule and added four games to the existing D3 teams. As said before, Wayzata and Maple Grove/Osseo are the clear favorites in D3. Last year Orono and Armstrong had some streaks of good play, but could not bump the top two. Hopkins and North Metro had off years.
D4-This district covers the southern part of the state except for the Highway 61 corridor along the Mississippi River that is D8’s domain. Last year, ten D4 associations fielded peewee A teams. Mankato, Luverne, Owatonna and New Prague all battled for the regular season title. Owatonna, New Prague and Mankato took the D4 playoffs seeds into the South regional at Mankato.
Mankato had their season ended in a 4-3 overtime loss to New Prague. Mpls Park then ended New Prague’s state tourney run 4-0 the next day. Owatonna worked hard especially in the run-up to the D4 playoffs and it paid off in a state tourney birth. After an opening loss to Mpls Park, they came back to beat St. Michael/Albertville, MALM and Highland Park to go to state. Unfortunately, they drew the eventual state champ, Roseau, in the opening round and lost. But they made the state.
Last year, New Ulm, Albert Lea, and Austin all had some good tourney wins but up and down years. Marshall, St. Peter and Waseca all struggled. But this district plays some good hockey and the fan support in the smaller arenas make it worthwhile to see.
D5-The past two years have seen Buffalo emerge as the strong team in the D5 wining the regular season championship and getting a bye to the regional. Unfortunately, the Bison defense could not stop New Prague in the opening round as they lost 10-8. They lost two more games to end their season.
The Bison didn’t dominate D5 as much as they were just good enough to win. Sartell, St. Michael/Albertville, MALM and Crow River all challenged the Bison at one point or another during the season. The demise the last two year’s of Mound/Westonka, the Bison’s perennial challenger, has opened the door two these other teams. St Michael/Albertville and MALM went to the South Region, but had trouble handling the D1/D4 teams. They should gain from the experience. Crow River started well, then faded late in the season. Sartell and Willmar had some good tourneys during the regular season. Mound/Westonka should rebound at some point. Hutchinson, Litchfield and River Lakes all had some good wins. D5, like D4, plays some good hockey in small town arenas and draw good fan support. Fun to see.
East Region-Last year, D2 teams surprised D6 and D8 teams in the East Regional. This year, D2 is moved to the North Regional and D1 replaces them. D1 will come into this region with only two teams so most thinking will place the battle for seeds between D6 and D8. But D1 team made the state quarterfinals last year and D8 looks to be down so it would not be surprising to see D6 teams battling for the seeds with a D1 team sneaking in. Last year, Woodbury and Edina emerged from the east. Woodbury was the state runner-up and Edina took third place.
Prior Lake, D6, will host the East Regional. Three of the four regional tourneys will be held in the Twin Cities.
D1-Last year, D1 teams played into leagues. Two teams, Mpls Park and Washburn played in D3 and two teams, Highland and Irondale played in D2. Como and Johnson did not field an A team. These teams are potentially realigning themselves. If one assumes the same four teams and alignments, then Mpls Park and Highland should prove to be the better teams. Park made the state tourney and Highland made the regionals.
Mpls Park benefited from D3 play (peewee A/B and bantam A/B teams all made their state tourneys). Unlike the home and home D3 play, Highland and Irondale only played single games with the D2 teams and augmented their season play with more tournament games. Highland worked hard and it paid off and they came within one goal (losing 5-4 to Owatonna) of making the state. D1 teams in the past have started the season later in their team selection, but have improved on that and it shows. They are becoming more competitive.
D6-With Edina and Eden Prairie leading the way, many people think that D6 is the best because of numbers and affluence. But the simple truth, it is simply the toughest district from top to bottom. It is not a two team league, year in and year out. Edina and Eden Prairie are always tough and will always be tough, but three years ago, it was Apple Valley on top and last year it was Burnsville.
Where Edina has managed to shine is to come out of the D6 playoffs and regional play to take a spot in the state tourney. Though good last year, they needed some breaks to make the East Regional and some breaks to make the state.
This year should be the Hornets year to shine with the fruits of an outstanding squirt A team from two years ago and an experienced coach. Burnsville, after winning the regular season title and beating Edina in the D6 playoff championship game, finally lost in the seed game to the state tourney to Edina 6-5 in overtime. The Blaze had the top line in the state last year and they are gone. But their coach returns and the Blaze should field a top team. They will be tested in early in their own Thanksgiving Tourney (Woodbury and Edina are entered).
Chaska became Chaska/Chanhassen last year. They had a great run at the end of the year and pressed Edina in the D6 playoffs. They should be good this year. Eden Prairie has a new coach and a good program and should contend. Eastview should also contend, coming off a good year. Apple Valley and Prior Lake had some good tourney play last year. Prior Lake was a surprising team. Minnetonka and Jefferson had off years. Shakopee had a good year and should improve. Kennedy played only a part D6 schedule.
D8-Woodbury has been the dominant team in D8 the past few years, but could be down this year, coming off a second place finish in the state tourney. Their two peewee B teams did not fair well and they have new coaching. Woodbury was not pushed hard by the other teams in D8 in part due to a split schedule. With 14 teams in D8 last year, Woodbury did not have to play all the tough teams’ home and home. That will not change this year.
Rochester, with some good returning players and coach, looks to challenge them for D8 title. Lakeville North had a strong season but after beating Inver Grove Heights three times, they finally lost two key D8 playoff match-ups to the Heights to have their season ended. Lakeville South was an up and down team and came close to making the regionals but were upended by the same Heights teams.
Inver Grove Heights is South St. Paul this year as the two associations finally agreed on a single peewee A team run out of South St. Paul. This team should have some talent, but will it be enough to repeat? Eagan had a rough year and still made the regional tourney, but failed to win a game in the regional to end their season. They have some potential and a new coach.
Cottage Grove looked good early on last year, but fell off as the season progressed. Hastings on the other hand looked poor early on and impressed especially with their team play at the end of the season. Hastings could be a surprise this year. Another team with potential to surprise is Farmington. They skated well at times, but lacked discipline to compete consistently. Another team with that capability to surprise is Rosemount. They have had a very good squirt A team the past three years and have the talent this year. Sibley (or West St. Paul) had their moments in tourneys last year. Red Wing and Northfield usually complete the D8 field.
West Region-D3 moves out this year and D16 moves in and that makes this regional as tough as last years. Joining two D16 teams will be three D10 teams and three D15 teams. But before one jumps to D16 teams battling D10 teams for the seed, remember that last year Brainerd came within a goal of beating Elk River (lost 3-2). That win would have put Brainerd in one of the seed games to the state. The year before, Little Falls, another D15 team, went to state and played well.
All that said, Blaine from D10 did take a West seed and took consolation championship at the state tourney last year. They lost to Woodbury in the opener and beat East Grand Forks and Wayzata. Roseau, eventual state champ, and East Grand Forks both from D16 made the state last year. East Grand Forks trip was the second year in a row.
What makes the West Region interesting is the unknowns. D15 has had at least one strong entry in the regionals the past few years, can they repeat this year? Which D10 teams be strong this year? Will East Grand Forks and Roseau continue to dominate D16 play this year or will a Bemidji or Thief River Falls sneak in? Crookston hosts this regional.
D10-This district had 15 peewee A teams last year and split them into two divisions, Blue and Green. The Blue division played a 21 game schedule and the Green division played a 20 game schedule. The top four teams from each division advanced to the D10 playoffs where quarterfinal play had the #1 and #4 teams from the same division meeting and the #2 and #3 teams from the other division meeting in one bracket in the opening round. Last season, Blaine took the playoff title and Elk River was the runner-up. Centennial took third.
This year Elk River and Blaine look tough again. Blaine will be tested in the Blue Division by Centennial, Andover, and Champlin Park. Two years ago, Coon Rapids had the team, but they faded last year. Anoka showed some toughness early last year, but missed the D10 playoffs by a tie breaker. Spring Lake Park moved up to peewee A last year and had a good season. St. Francis completes the Blue Division.
Over in the Green Division, Elk River dominated and looks to dominate this year. St. Cloud tried to challenge the Elks, but could only finish a respectable second. Rogers showed some talent as the year ended and had a good St. Cloud tourney, but couldn’t get out of the D10 playoffs. Cambridge/Isanti/North Branch put together a good January and made the D10 playoffs and look to improve. Princeton, Sauk Rapids and Chisago Lakes complete the Green Division.
D15-Last year, seven associations played peewee A hockey including two that moved up, Park Rapids and Pequot Lakes. This district was dominated by Brainerd last year with Alexandria, Fergus Falls and Moorhead fighting for second. The Detroit Lakes completed the D15 teams last year. Little Falls has fielded peewee A teams recently. Teams in this district tend to get on a roll late. Usually around the Holiday tourneys a strong team starts to emerge. The question is what team?
D16-The last two years, this district has been a struggle between Roseau and East Grand Forks. Roseau has won the regular season and East Grand Forks has made it to the state. Roseau is the defending state champion with a 47-4 record winning 39 of their last 40 games, but will have to replace some big guns at the forward and find a tough defense to repeat. East Grand Forks has fielded two balanced teams the past two years and that balance has carried the day. Can they field a third balanced team this year?
Bemidji came on as the season wound down and the Lumberjacks took a surprising third place in the St. Cloud tourney last year. Besides Bemidji, Thief River Falls or Crookston could surprise. Warroad, LOW, and Hallock complete the list of D16 teams last year. There are two interesting tourneys among the tourneys held by D16 associations, the Bemidji Paul Bunyan tourney over the Holidays and three weeks later Roseau’s tourney. The Paul Bunyan tourney always have an interesting mix of teams from Canada, North Dakota, South Dakota, Michigan, the Twin Cities, Duluth area, and the Range. Roseau last year drew 16 top teams with a good mix from the strong teams in the Twin Cities and from the strong teams in the north.
It is the fun time of the year for parents and their sons and daughters. So lets play hockey. See you at a rink.
Another Way to Look at Peewee A teams Oct 10
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frederick61
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Most of the teams have had at least a couple of scrimmages and we should be getting some scores in.. Cmon Freddy you should have your preseason/scrimmage top 10 out by now.. I know we all don't want to wait for the LPH rankings and yours at least have some meat behind them.EDGEworkit wrote:Where's the new update. Teams are picked for the most part.