The Northern Bantam A Regional tournament is taking place in Thief River Falls. The games will be played at the historic Huck Olson Memorial Civic Center. This regional tournament will bring some of the best hockey players up to TRF, including a couple NOW Prospects. A couple of the teams are on a hot stream right now, and can be really dangerous at the Huck. Those teams have potential to grab a seed to the State Tournament in Duluth. Lets take a look at what Teams To Watch thinks on each team and the winner of each game. 

Game 1: Warroad vs Greenway - Warroad and Greenway have not faced off against one another this year. The Warriors are led by Carter Pelland, a really agressive, strong player, and also goaltender Joseph Jaques, who has came up big for Warroad. Greeenway has gone 15-15-4 this season, including a big win over Hibbing. Looking at previous scores, both teams have played EGF and stayed within one or two goals. This game could bounce either way, and it will depend on which team competes until the final buzzer. 

Prediction: Warroad

Game 2: Little Falls vs Hibbing - These two teams have not yet seen each other on the ice this year. Little Falls has been playing impressive hockey lately, winning their last five games. Behind the success has been forward Mario Filippi and defenseman Landon Johnson. Both of these players have been outstanding this season, helping Little Falls win many games. Hibbing has one player that stands out from everyone else though, and that is goaltender Ryan Ullan. Ullan played on the Hibbing BAA team last year, and had a solid year for them, taking them to the final game in regions. At the end of his first twenty-six games this year, Ryan had an impressive 93.1% for his save percentage and he stopped 945 out of the 1,014 he faced. That's quite a performance, and he will need to play like that to help Hibbing advance to State.  

Prediction: Little Falls 

Game 3: Virginia vs Crookston - Virginia has been on fire lately for Bantam A. They won the District 12 tournament, beating Greenway (8-3) in the championship. Virginia lost one of the best 00's in the state, as he moved up to the High School level, but that hasn't stopped this team from competing. Crookston hasn't had the best year this season. Barely squeeking out of District 16, the Pirates have looked up to a couple players to lead the team. One of those players is Cade Salentine, the goalie. He had an unforgetable performance vs Moorhead AA, making 106 saves. Another key player for Crookston is Benny Trostad, a smart defenseman. Benny has really helped the Pirates this season. 

Prediction: Virginia 

Game 4: Alexandria vs East Grand Forks - These two squads faced off early in November, and Alexandria won 6-2. Alexandria has one of the best first years in the state on their roster. That player is NOW Prospect Ben Doherty. Ben is one of the best 00's we have seen. Ben also has help from other first year Jack Westlund, who also is a NOW Prospect. When these two players are hot, they can be really dangerous for the Cardinals. East Grand Forks has been a really great team this year. East Grand Forks got second seed out of District 16. Teams To Watch got a chance to see EGF play a geam this year, and there was one player that caught our eyes. We learned that player was Coby Stauss. Coby is a big player, who has a cannon. Coby will for sure help East Grand Forks during regionals. 

Prediction: Alexandria 

Final Four: Little Falls > Warroad, Virginia > Alexandria 

Championship

Little Falls > Virginia - Virginia has won twice this season over Little Falls, (5-3) and (5-4), but it is hard to beat a team threee times in a row. 

Consolation Championship: Virginia > Alexandria 

MOVING ON TO STATE:

#1 Seed - Little Falls

#2 Seed - Virginia