The rubber hit the road Saturday in the Blue Bracket at the Blue Ox in Brainerd. YHH saw some great games in both Brackets. 

Morning Quarterfinals:

Eden Prairie beats Centennial in OT

A back and forth battle between two top teams, Eden Prairie got a big goal from Casey Mittelstadt in overtime to advance the Eagles to the semifinals versus D6 rival Prior Lake.  Graham Brickner lead the Cougars with 2 Goals.  Jake Olson added a pair of goals for the Eagles.

Prior Lake ousts Hermantown, 5-1

Chase Gackle scored two goals and lead the impressive and undefeated Lakers to a nice win over Hermantown Saturday. Ryan Murray and Cole Wagner each had a goal and assist for Prior Lake as they advanced to a showdown with Eden Prairie on Saturday night.

Elk River knocks out Lakeville North 7-1

Number one rated Elk River has walked through the Minnesota competition so far this year.   Scoring in bunches from three solid lines has been the modus operandi for the high powered Elks.  Saturday was no different against Lakeville North.  The Elks were lead by Max Michaelis who had 2 Goals and 3 assists.

STMA takes down Minnetonka 2-1

In a great game between two very young Bantam teams, STMA scored two goals, one by Caden Sigerud (birthyear '00) and Ryan Copeland early and then hung on, literally and won 2-1. Minnetonka could not solve STMA goalie Todd Scott ('00) until late in the game when K'Andre Miller ('00) fired a slap shot home past a sprawling Scott to narrow the score to 2-1.  But that was it, the Skippers couldn't muster another goal past the defensive minded Knights.

Semifinals

Game 1: Eden Prairie and Prior Lake played one of the best games of the tourney Saturday.  Wide open games usually mean big scores.  This game broke conventional wisdom, it was low scoring with very few great scoring chances. EP scored early when rising star Jake Olson scored for the Eagles.  But the Lakers answered right back  late in the first when Chase Gackle scored on the power play.  The second period was scoreless and almost all of the third was too, until Henry Burke scored a beautiful back door powerplay goal with 20 seconds left. The real story of the game was the 42 save performance by EP Goalie Thomas Moschet.  Another factor was a 12 minute penalty (2 +10) assessed to Prior Lake superstar Ryan Murray in the third period keeping him out of action down the stretch. Sidebar: Game hero Burke when asked for a postgame picture refrained from the spotlight exclaiming, "...it was a team win, I'd like to celebrate with them." 

Game 2: Elk River downed STMA in convincing fashion.  The first period resembles more of a backyard brawl, with both teams trying to impose their physical will upon another.  Both teams garnered cheers from their loyal fan bases with big hit after big hit. Once the game settled in, Elk River showed why they are to be feared all season.  They have superstars like Jax Murray who make plays night in and night out. Tonight was no different, Murray beat STMA star goalie Todd Scott short side on a pretty move that got the Elks going. The first period was all Elks, they pressured the Knights the entire period amassing 16 shots on Scott. The score was 1-0.  In the second, the Elks really got it going when Nick Stevens scored to make it 2-0. The Elks would add two more before the Knights got on the board when Garrett Sandberg scored from the point.  The Knights had a brief spell of energy after the Sandberg goal and began to challenge Elk River. But just when you thought there might be a game, John Greniuk lit the lamp for the Elks to make it 5-1. By now the game was just a matter of how much the game would be decided by.  Jax Murray would add two in the third and get the hat trick for a final score of 7-1. 

Predictions

Champ: The car guy Don Rutman picked the Elks and I picked Eden Prairie. So far our picks are looking good. On paper, the Elks are loaded with scoring and depth.  EP down to 11 skaters looked weary at the end of their battle with Prior Lake.  The Eagles have had great goaltending this weekend and have been tested in all 3 games this weekend. The first period will be a great indicator of how the game will turn out. If the Eagles can take the Elks first punch, look for this to be a great game Sunday afternoon. YHH thinks the car guy will be gloating next week, Elks 4-1.

THE GAME CAN BE VIEWED LIVE ON YHH VIA THIS LINK

Third: Prior Lake > STMA (talent + experience beats will 9 times out of 10)

Consolation: Hermantown > Minnetonka (very tough to call)

White Bracket: Grand Rapids > Edina (could be the best game of the day, two very talented teams that aren't afraid to mix it up)