In the upper bracket (of the upper bracket), Anoka White and neighboring Becker/Big Lake played the opening game of the B2 tourney Thursday.  Anoka White is unbeaten in D10, contending for the Peewee B2 regular season title with Anoka Maroon (also unbeaten), Elk River Red and unbeaten Coon Rapids.  Coon Rapids is leading the league with a perfect 13-0 record and 39 points halfway through the D10 schedule.

Becker/Big Lake plays in the District 5 Peewee B league and is struggling in last place with a 1-10 league record.  Becker/Big Lake Association has produced some good players over the past years.  The association switched from District 10 to District 5 two years ago.  Anoka White beat the Eagles in the opener 4-1.

In the second game of the upper “upper bracket”, Champlin Park Blue played Minnetonka Blue.  The Rebels are also contending for the D10 regular season title with a 7-1-3 league record going into the Anoka tourney.  Minnetonka Blue is leading District 6 Peewee B2 National league with a 7-1-1 record.

In the battle of the Blues, Tonka beat Champlin Park 8-1. The Skippers will play Anoka White in the quarterfinals Saturday morning.  Saturday morning, Champlin Park plays Becker/Big Lake in the consolation quarterfinals.

Coon Rapids beat North St. Paul 2-1 in the first game of the lower bracket of the “upper bracket” Thursday.  North St. Paul is struggling in the 13 team District 2 Peewee B2 league with a 2-6-1 record.

The second game of the lower bracket of the “upper bracket” Thursday matched Edina Green and Sartell.  The Green are in the middle of the D6 Peewee B2 National league with a 5-2-1 record; Sartell is leading the District 5 Peewee B2 league.  Edina beat Sartell 2-1 to set up a quarterfinal match with D10 league leading Coon Rapids Saturday morning.  Sartell plays North St. Paul in the consolation quarterfinals on Saturday.

The lower bracket games were played Friday night.  The first upper bracket game of the “lower bracket” matched Anoka Maroon and Forest Lake.  The Maroon are contending for the D10 regular season title; the Rangers are in the middle of the D2 Peewee B2 league with a 4-4-1 record.  The game went to overtime and shootout with the Maroon winning on the last goal of a 5 player shootout.  The final score was 2-1.  Both goalies played well in that game.

Hastings and Centennial Red played in the second game of the upper bracket “lower bracket”.  Hastings is leading the 11 team District 8 Peewee B2 league with a unbeaten 4-0-2 record.  Centennial Red is in the middle of the D10 Peewee B2 league with a 4-5-1 record.  Hastings used their size to beat the Red 5-1.

The Anoka Maroon and Hastings play in the quarterfinals on Saturday.  That game will match two physical teams.

Neebing Can-op Wildhawks and Eden Prairie Red played in the first game of the lower bracket “lower bracket”.  The Neebing team comes from an area just south of Thunder Bay that borders on Lake Superior.  They are the closest landfall to Isle Royale (10 miles).  The Red are 1-5-1 in District 6’s Peewee B2 National league, but Friday night they looked like world beaters.  The Eagles jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first two minutes of the game and went on to beat the Wildhawks 8-1.

The final game of the opening round matched Rogers Blue and the West Fargo Green.  Rogers Blue 7-3-2 in District 10’s Peewee B2 league and are contending for the top spot.  West Fargo Green has a 1-4 record in North Dakota’s Southeast District Peewee B league.  It was a close game with West Fargo holding on to a 1-0 lead late in the third period.  They scored the game clincher with a minute to go to win the game 2-0.

West Fargo Green will have their hands full playing the Eden Prairie Red in Saturday mornings quarterfinals.  Neebing and Rogers Blue will play in the Consolation quarterfinals Saturday.

In Thursday opening Peewee B1 games, Rosemount beat Anoka 3-2 and St. Louis Park beat Andover 5-1.  Rosemount and St. Louis Park meet in one semifinal game Saturday.  Two D10 teams Anoka and Andover play in the consolation semifinals.

The opening game of the lower bracket Friday had Champlin Park playing Eagle River Wisconsin.  Eagle River scored three minutes into the first period on a rebound shot from the crease.  Two minutes later, the Rebels tied the game on a neat backhand pass to the slot for the goal.

The game remained a tie until 5 minutes were left in the third period.  Champlin Park scored on a shot from the slot that beat the Eagle River goalie low right.  The Eagles came back to tie the game on a power play goal late in the third period.  The game went to a shootout with Eagle River wining.  Eagle River’s forwards have size and can move the puck with ease given time.

The second game matched #14 ranked Sibley Red and Des Moines Jr. Buccaneers from Iowa.  Sibley beat the Des Moines team and will play their second out of state team in the tourney, Eagle River.  The Sibley Red/Eagle River game will be one of the best peewee B1 games played Saturday at the Anoka tourney.  It will match two offensive minded teams with Eagle River holding the size and strength advantage.

If Rosemount and Sibley win their games Saturday, the Peewee B1 championship game will be all D8.

The Anoka Classic Peewee A tourney semifinals became most a D3 affair, MAML AA is the only team in the semifinals that is not from D3.  The Moose play in District 5.

YHH ranked #22 MAML AA beat host and #40 ranked Anoka AA 2-0 in a game played Thursday night.  In the second game Thursday night, St. Louis Park A beat Inver Grove Heights/South St. Paul A 2-1.  MAML AA will play St. Louis Park A in the first semifinal game Saturday; Anoka AA plays Inver Grove Heights/South St. Paul in the consolation semifinals

The opening game of the lower bracket of the peewee A tourney matched #23 ranked Crow River A and and #24 ranked Mahtomedi A.  It was a good, fast paced game with few stoppages and penalties.  The game eventually became a battle between the Tiger forwards led by Tucker Hart and Justin Daly and the Zephyrs defense led by goalie Josh Campbell.  Daly scored for the Tigers late in the second period to give Crow River a 1-0 lead.  The Tigers eventually beat Mahtomedi 2-0.

The YHH ranked #2 Mpls Storm A beat Rochester Red AA 5-1 in the final game of the opening round of the peewee A tourney Friday night.  The Red played a solid hockey game but could not overcome the size and strength of the Storm team.  The Storm deserve their #2 ranking and will play Crow River in the second semifinal game Saturday.  That is a game worth watching.  Rochester Red AA will play Mahtomedi in another good game.

If you want to see some good peewee hockey at all levels this weekend, Anoka is the place to be and it is free.