On Sunday, the Board of Directors of Minnesota Hockey (MNH) almost unanimously approved a new format for seeding their Regional Tournaments for Bantam AA and PeeWee AA. Last season due to the expansion to AA and A formats, there was some consternation about how AA bids to regions were distributed and where teams were sent for their team’s chance at the State Tournament. To fix this problem and build a more exciting format for the players, coaches and fans of youth hockey in Minnesota, the Board approved the following “NCAA” format. Tim Timm, the Chairman of the Tournament Committee and District Director for NW Suburbs District 10 said Saturday when speaking to the District Directors, “our committee wanted to preserve a regional feel to the State Tournament, but all the while getting the best teams in each year…” To see a full release by Minnesota Hockey, Go Here.
In the plan, the four northern districts (11, 12, 15, and 16) will have an eight team, double elimination tournament with two teams sent to State. While the remaining six seeds will be distributed to the remaining eight districts (mostly metro, plus District 9…Rochester was the only team in District 9 to file for AA status). Also note, District 5 is also considered Southern, with many of those associations from as far away as 1-2 hours of Downtown Minneapolis.
North Region
•Districts 11, 12, 15 and 16 – they have 8 teams
•Double-elim bracket – 2 teams advance to state
The Southern Regions will have approximately 34 teams and need to trim their number of teams to 24. Similar to the NCAA hockey or basketball tournament, each District Champion gains an automatic bid to Regions (seven districts, seven bids). The remaining 17 bids will be selected by a Selection Committee composed of a Chairman, Tournament Committee Members, Seven Southern coaches (one from each District) and two District Directors. All names of Selection Committee members will be made public mid season. The Bids will be announced on Monday, February 24, complete with pre-determined sites, parings, game times, etc.
Southern Regions (South, East, West)
•Districts 2, 3, 5, 6, 8, 9 and 10 – they will have approximately 34 teams
•The top 24 teams participate in Regions
•Three double-elim brackets
–Two teams advance to state from each Region
Hypothetical Seeding for next season:
North
D11#1 vs D15#2
D12#1 vs D11#3
D15#1 vs D11#2
D16#1 vs D12#2
Southern Regions
South East West
#1 vs #24 #2 vs #23 #3 vs #22
#9 vs #16 #8 vs #17 #7 vs #18
#6 vs #19 #5 vs #20 #4 vs #21
#10 vs #15 #11 vs #14 #12 vs #13
Other Notes of Interest
Proposal to allow Cross-Ice Mite tournaments was passed. Associations will be allowed to host Mite Tournaments where score is kept and trophies awarded. Teams will be discouraged from traveling outside a 30 miles radius for a tournament.
-Proposal to put on Regional State tournaments for Squirts and U10 was tabled until 2014-15. MNH cites added administrative cost and burden.
An official release expected soon from MNH on all items proposed and approved this past weekend in St. Louis Park.
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