For the past 15 years, the Minnesota Blades and the Machine Orange have dominated off-season youth hockey in Minnesota. Both programs have lists of former players that have gone onto fruitful college and professional careers. They are the pioneers of "AAA" hockey in the state. They have attracted the top metro area players to train with them and help them win just about every important tournament in Minnesota and several hundred more outside of the state. Recently, the 2000 Machine Orange won three straight titles (and lost this year in the final) of the North American Hockey Classic in Winnipeg...the 2002 Blades just completed the repeat in Winnipeg in June. 

Over time there have been many organizations that have gunned to be the third group in Minnesota behind the Blades and Machine. But none has really succeeded. In recent years, the luster of playing for the Blades and the Machine has lost a bit of it's shine. More elite players have chosen to stay closer to home and play with more local organizations rather than the 800 pound gorilla teams like the Blades and Machine. Organizations that have begun to make a dent are the Euro Americans based in Maple Grove (drawing mostly from Osseo Maple Grove and several other Northwest Suburbs) and Miracle Gold based in Blaine (drawing mostly from the North and East Suburbs). There are two new groups coming onto the scene next year (Tommy Chicago's and Steeldogs) that will likely draw elite players to the East and South Metro. 

The first group to crash the party was the 2002 Euro American Red. And they crashed it in a big way. Tipping over garbage cans, breaking windows, and stealing hand towels all the way to the Caribou Cup Championship Sunday with a 3-1 win over the Machine Orange. They went 6-0 on the weekend including two wins over the aforementioned Blades once in Pool Play and again Sunday in the semifinals.

The legacy of the Blades and Machine is not something that can be lost in one weekend, but there is now hope for a solid #3 in every age group. Having a solid #3 and #4 speaks volumes for how far our already strong state has come - in terms of high end depth of players we are developing in Minnesota.

00: Team Pugi > Competitve Edge (7-4)

Prediction: CORRECT

01: Sweet Hands > Machine Orange (4-2)

Prediction: CORRECT

02: Euro Red > Machine Orange (3-1)

Prediction: INCORRECT

03: Machine Orange > Miracle Gold (7-1)

Prediction: CORRECT

04: MN Blades > XP Selects

Prediction: CORRECT

05: MN Blades > Euro Red (8-2)

Prediction: CORRECT