Four youth hockey associations (Burnsville, Mounds View, Eden Prairie, and Hopkins) will put tournaments in the Twin Cities this weekend.  Last year, collectively, those four associations held 25 tournaments for teams from levels U10/Squirt to U14/Bantam over the Thanksgiving Holiday.  A total of 225 teams and 3500 players, coaches, and refs participated.

The tourneys dominate the Twin Cities landscape and help drive Black Friday business as approximately 10,000 parents and grandparents are often committed to spend most of Friday out of the house at these tourneys with time to fill between games.

That happens on Saturday and Sunday also.

It certainly helps the local restaurants and hotels.  And it helps the arena’s and the hockey districts.  The tourneys collectively spent well over a $100,000 on ice last year.  They also spent around $50,000 on refs that usually furnished by the districts in which the tourney is held.  That doesn't count the revenue from the rink concession stands that go wild during these tourneys.

As for game attendence, a low estimate for last year’s tourneys attendance to the over 400 games played is 90,000 fans.  The tourneys have become a “large family get together”.

Two tourney's are previewed in this post; Mound's Views and Hopkins.  Both associations put on tourneys and commit each team in their program to play in that tourney.  As a result, fans following their teams will get a good view of where each associations' program is at.  Mound's usually results in 8, 8-team tourneys being played simultaneously at the single Super Rink complex of eight sheets.  Hopkins has 11 8-team tourneys typically played at the Hopkins Pavillion and the two Minnetonka sheets.  

Mounds View’s Super Rink Spectacular Peewee A Tourney

The upper bracket of the Mustangs 8 team peewee A tourney matches Forest Lake AA versus North Metro A and Mounds View A versus St. Michael/Albertville.

Four years ago, the STMA Knights burst on the Minnesota peewee hockey scene and ended up being one of the top ranked teams behind the play of Brandon Zajicek (now a junior playing on Shattuck’s Midget AAA team).  They have been a top peewee AA/A team since and made it to last March’s Peewee AA State Tourney semifinals before losing to Wayzata.  But this year, the Knights have struggled in the early season playing few games and have only one returnee from last year’s state semifinal team.  This makes them the most interesting team to watch in Mound View’s Tourney. 

STMA's opponent, Mound View, is a team with a number of first year players that struggled in the early going posting an 0-5 record.  Still the Mustang's teams have always played tough in their own tourney.  This should be a close game.

The other upper bracket quarterfinal game matches Forest Lake AA versus North Metro A.  North Metro’s peewee B’s made it to the state tourney last year at Cottage Grove and this year’s peewee A team has had some success in the early season.  The Pirates are a smaller, feisty team, that checks well.  Forest Lake AA struggled at the Big Pumpkin Tourney at the end of October but have played well in D2 posting a 1-3-1 record.  All the Rangers' D2 games have been close.

Both upper bracket quarterfinal games should be close; the nod here goes to STMA over Mounds View and Forest Lake over North Metro.  In Saturday's semifinal game Forest Lake beats STMA to go to the championship game. 

The lower bracket has Chaska Chanhassen A playing Eagan AA and Northern Lake A playing Rogers A.  Chaska A is running away with the D6 regular season peewee A title and it is early in the season.  The Hawks have posted a nearly perfect 5-0-1 (17 of 18 points).  Their only blemish is a 3-3 tie with Minnetonka A.  Eagan AA could be the sleeper this year in D8.  The Wildcats have posted a 5-1-1 record in the early going losing a close game to Sibley 4-2 and tying Rosemount 3-3 in their last two games.

In the second lower bracket game, Northern Lakes A (a team out of the Pequot Lakes area that plays in District 15) is matched against Rogers A (out of northwestern Twin Cities suburbs that plays in District 10).  The Northern Lakes Lightning are usually slow starters.  This year they posted a 3-4-1 record.  Last weekend the Lightning beat Park Rapids A 8-2 and Moorhead A 5-3 and lost to Alexandria 11-1 in D15 games.  Rogers AA won their first D10 game last week beating Centennial AA 5-0 and has good potential to develop into a top contender by the end of the year.  They have played close games in posting a 1-4-1 D10 record.

Eagan AA should beat Chaska A, but it will be a close game; Northern Lake’s defense will struggle against Rogers and the Royals win.  That sets up a semifinal between two AA teams, Rogers and Eagan.  The pick here is Rogers but it is a tough one (should have trotted out the old penny for a coin flip).

Sunday’s championship game between Rogers and Forest Lake goes to the Royals.  They are an improving team.  The third place game goes to Eagan, beating STMA.  Chaska A beats Mounds View to win the consolation title.

Best Game to Watch

There are two games to watch at the Super Rink this week in the peewee A tourney.  The Chaska A versus Eagan AA played at the Super Rink on Friday at 10:45 AM will match an A team versus AA team and show the depth of the Chaska program this year.  The second game is Saturday’s semifinal between Rogers AA and either Chaska A or Eagan AA.  Rogers has the talent and has been improving; this game will be a milestone for the Royals in the early season.

Hopkins Peewee A Thanksgiving Tourney

Upper bracket play matches Edina A/Orono A and Eden Prairie A/St. Louis Park A.  The lower bracket has Hopkins A playing Anoka AA and Shakopee A playing Highland A.

Edina A is the defending tourney champs.  Last year they beat Orono A 4-2 in the semifinals on their way to a championship win over Rosemount AA 3-1. This year have sputtered in the early going posting a 7-3-2 record.  The Hornets opened their season against the same Orono team they will meet at Hopkins beating the Spartans 4-2.  On a trip to St. Cloud last weekend, Edina A ended up tying St. Cloud A 4-4 and losing to Sartell 4-3.  Last March’s State Peewee A runner-ups, Orono, have been up and down in the early season.  In their last four games, the Spartans are 2-0-2, beating St. Louis Park 5-3 and North Metro 4-1 and tying Delano Area 3-3 and OMG AA 3-3.  The Spartans are a solid team with potential.

Eden Prairie A has posted a 1-6-1 record in the early season.  The Eagles lone win was a 3-2 victory over Chisago Lakes.  They did tie Minnetonka A 1-1 last weekend so they can be tough.  St. Louis Park is 4-4 on the season and 2-2 in D3 play.

Edina A should edge Orono in their quarterfinal game but it will be a tough game with Orono’s size.  St. Louis Park should beat Eden Prairie A.  In the upper bracket semifinals, the Hornets should beat the Orioles to move into the championship game.

In the lower bracket’s first game, Anoka A and Hopkins A meet.  Hopkins has posted a 1-2-1 record in D3 play, tying a tough Armstrong team 2-2, than losing to St. Louis Park 7-1.  Anoka A has posted a 3-0-1 record in D10 play beating Andover A 3-2 and Chisago Lakes 2-1 last weekend.  Shakopee and Highland meet in the second game.  Shakopee has struggled in the early going posting a 2-3 record.  They beat Kennedy a week ago 6-2.  Highland has been busy and has posted a 12-4-1 record in the early season playing some of the top teams.  Last night the Caps lost to Osseo/Maple Grove 7-0.  Last weekend, Highland lost to Rochester AA 6-3 and beat Mahtomedi 4-0.

Anoka should beat host Hopkins and Highland is the favored to beat Shakopee.  That sets up a semifinal game between Anoka and Highland; the Caps prevail.

In Sunday’s championship game, the Hornets should beat the Caps.  In an early season game like this the Caps have to be quicker to keep up with the speedier Edina team.  St. Louis Park edges Anoka to take third place; Orono beats Hopkins to win the consolation title.

Best Tourney Game to Watch

The quarterfinal game played between Edina A and Orono A is the best game of this tourney. Orono and Highland teams are both large and both play a similar style.  This game will test Edina A’s speed against a big team.  For us at YHH, unfortunately, this game tests the reporting, it is played at 10:30 AM on Friday forcing a choice between that game and Eagan AA/Chaska A at the Super Rink.