New YHH Insider 

On the second level of the West Edmonton Mall, there is a Tim Horton's. Its line seemingly never ends, and the cacophony of noise is almost enough to drown out the concert-sized speakers that hover above the mall's Ice Palace rink.

Perched royally in a chair right on the edge of the glass partition that separates coffee-lovers from an icy fall, a woman watches Brick Invitational games. She clutches a tournament program in one hand, a ball-point pen in the other. 

She is not a player's grandmother, at least no player participating this week. Originally from Quebec, she has been an Edmontonian, moving there with her husband in 1973 during one of Alberta's oil booms. She is a Canucks fan, her husband an Oilers supporter. 

And she has thoughts about the teams participating in The Brick. She makes notes in her program and showered kudos upon the 2011 Connecticut Jr. Rangers for their "gritty" performance in last week's championship win over the Western Selects. 

She knows more than you and I combined. Maybe one day, I'll suggest a Twitter handle for her. For now, I'll be content with waving and saying hello each time I run (take the escalator) up to Level 2 for a double-double. 

Team Pennsylvania may be the most exciting team here 

Team Pennsylvania, with the Pittsburgh Penguins logo on one shoulder and the Philadelphia Flyers' wing on the other, is 0-3 through Tuesday at the Brick Invitational. 

That said, there's not a team I would rather watch, nor a group that's provided as much excitement over the past two days. 

Since an opening 7-1 loss against Montreal, Team Pennsylvania has played the BC Junior Canucks and Team Brick Alberta to the hilt. Against the Junior Canucks, Team Pennsylvania scored twice in the final seven minutes to send the game into overtime tied ay 3-3, then navigated two overtime periods before falling in a shootout.

Facing host Team Brick, a 14-save performance from Jake Amacher kept the score 0-0 until the final two minutes of play, when Team Brick capitalized and added an insurance goal for a 2-0 win. 

Team Pennsylvania will face the Connecticut Jr. Rangers, Boston Junior Bruins, and Saskatchewan Jr. Pats over the next few days to close out its Brick experience.

Top-five dishes since arriving in West Edmonton 

1. Flat-iron steak with seasonal vegetables (Chop Steakhouse) 

2. Elk lasagna (Homefire Grill)

3. Chicken adobo (Mye's Ribs Filipino Kitchen - West Edmonton Mall)  

4. Caesar salad (Chop Steakhouse) 

5. Classic beef donair (Prime Time Donair - West Edmonton Mall)

Top-five jerseys spotted (so far) 

1. BC Junior Canucks (blacks) 

2. Team Brick Alberta (whites) 

3. Team Minnesota (greens) 

4. Saskatchewan Jr. Pats (navy) 

5. Montreal Canadiens (whites)  

Obligatory Team Minnesota Update 

It had to happen eventually, so let's be thankful it happened in the round-robin portion of the tournament. 

Team Minnesota is now officially 3-1 in the Wigston Conference, falling in overtime against a never-say-die Toronto Pro Hockey squad on Wednesday morning. 

Team Minnesota scored first, then Pro Hockey tied the game in the second period, sending the contest into the third frame right where it started. Two goals by Jack Allgood, including a goal off a face-off after a gorgeous feed from Austin Jarvi, gave Team Minnesota a 3-1 lead heading into the final minute of play. 

However, with 38 seconds left in regulation, Toronto's Calum Reilly pulled Pro Hockey within one. 37.5 seconds later, Grayson Mancari tied the game, setting the stage for overtime. Mancari would play the hero again for Toronto, netting the game-winner.