Roseville tied its East Region upper bracket final with a single second left on the clock and went on to win in overtime over Bloomington Jefferson to advance as the region’s top seed. Five of the Raiders’ 11 losses on the season came against Peewee AA teams, and the Raiders have not lost in over a month. Roseville has posted nine shutouts this year. Warroad avenged an earlier loss to Proctor in the first round of the region tournament with a 7-3 win over the Rails in the lower bracket final. In eight of their last nine games, the Warriors have scored five or more goals, and have proven adept at winning high-scoring affairs The Warriors have faced Roseville one other time this season, falling to the Raiders 4-0 on Jan. 18.

Since a 4-3 loss to Northfield on Feb. 4, Faribault has piled up nine straight victories, including three decisive victories during the South Region tournament. The Falcons defeated New Ulm-Sleepy Eye 8-2, Mankato 5-1, and Sartell 7-2 during region play, and are one of the few teams with less than 100 goals allowed in over 40 games. Minneapolis bounced back from a 5-2 loss to Delano in the West Region upper bracket final with a 7-2 win over Little Falls in the elimination game. The runners-up of this year’s Lumberjack Cup have won six of their last eight games and have lost just twice since Jan. 5. 

Delano comes into the weekend as one of the hottest teams in the state, going 15-0-1 since Jan. 5 and rolling through the West Region. The Tigers defeated Northern Lakes 6-1, Little Falls 9-3, and Minneapolis 5-2 during region play. Sartell edged Northfield 3-2 in overtime in the lower bracket final of the South Region, and the Sabres have won eight of their last nine games. Two of those wins, including the state-tournament clincher, have come in overtime. The Sabres average of 5.2 goals-per-game. 

East Grand Forks has won 10 consecutive games since a 7-6 overtime loss to Bemidji and rolled through the North Region on their way to state. The Green Wave shut out Eveleth-Gilbert-ME 9-0 before beating Thief River Falls 6-3 and Proctor 6-0 in the upper bracket final. All five of the Green Wave’s losses have been by two goals or less, with four of those losses being by a single goal. Bloomington Jefferson escaped an emotional East Region with a pair of thrilling games, falling to Roseville in overtime before squeaking by Edina 6-5 in overtime during the lower bracket final. The Jaguars have gone 3-3 in their last six games, with all three losses being by two goals or less.