Normally the weekend after Thanksgiving is a little slower on the youth hockey front. But the calendar this year had Thanksgiving run only a week between big tournaments rather than two. 

Our day of coverage began early...hitting the association owned Orono Ice Arena for a match up of two top PWA teams in Minnesota.  Home and host team Orono versus visiting Warroad.  It was an exciting back and forth battle. Orono held the lead most of the game, but Warroad battled to tie it each time. Both teams had goal scoring heroes.  The Warriors' Grant Slukynski had a hat trick. Not surprising, considering Grant over 100 goals last year as a Squirt and won the YHH Wiz Wyatt Player of the Year Award.  The Spartans' loaded with several big names and a great resume presented another big name to watch. Ben Quinlivan had a hat trick for his team scoring three clutch goals for the Spartans.  One was a pretty top shelf goal, the next was pretty forehand fake to the back hand and finally the hatty was a rebound goal to give his team the lead for good.

We also saw Moorhead's PWA team take on Delano. Another up and down game.  Delano jumped out early and got a 4-0 lead. Down 4-0, Moorhead battled back and gained confidence as the game wore on.  Final score was 5-2. Delano's Garrett Pionmieni shined for the Tigers as did the Thingvold brothers for the Spuds.

As the day progressed up in Duluth, we could not take our eyes off of the final action leading into Bracket play. First in the PeeWee division. #1 Edina advanced with a closer than expected 5-2 win over Duluth East.  Minnetonka also advanced with a win over Centennial 8-0. Prior Lake also advanced with a 5-1 win over Wayzata.

It wasn't that easy in Pool C.  With two 3:00 games - OMG/Elk River and EP/Cloquet...each team who won would need help to advance as top seed.  OMG got up early 2-0, but Elk River fought back and tied it at 2. Late in the second, OMG pulled away to a 5-2 lead. Trading two late goals ended the game  at a 6-3 in favor of OMG. In the other game, Cloquet was down 3-2 late and facing only a consolation game scored with :10 to go to advance to Consolation Bracket.

Sunday Games: 

Prior Lake v. Edina (Edge Edina)
OMG v. Minnetonka (Edge Tonka)

In the Bantam division, each division was like Pool C of the PeeWee division. Almost all games had meaning, with several having Bracket implications. In Pool A, the Madison Capitals knocked off surprising Burnsville 4-2 and advancing to Bracket Play.  In Pool B, Edina took out Centennial in an elimination game 10-4 to advance.  In Pool D, Blaine owned their own destiny with a win over Eden Praire.  Having lost star Defenseman Nick Lieverman, Eden Prairie would need to lean on super start Nolan Sullivan and Casey Mittelstadt to win. Blaine would jump out early and gain a 2-0 lead.  EP would battle back to tie, 2-2. Blaine would take two separate leads at 3-2 and 4-3 before the Eagles put their foot on the gas and came back and won with a game winning goal by Casey Mittlestadt in the third winning 6-4 with an empty net insurance goal from James Erwin. EP advances.

Pool C had even more drama than the PeeWees. Anoka, after beating Stillwater earlier in the day owned their own destiny if they could beat Thunder Bay and Stillwater could hold of 1-1 Minnetonka.  The Tornadoes got out to a 2-0 lead in the first period. The second period was scoreless.  Meanwhile back at Fryeberger, Stillwater was struggling with Minnesonka. After two periods, Anoka was looking good. Stillwater put things into high gear and scored 3 unanswered goals to beat Tonka 5-2. Meanwhile back at Sill Arena, Anoka was just about to score it's third goal on a pretty counter attack breakaway goal with 8:00 to go. Thunder Bay would answer at the 6:00 to make it 3-1.  Then TB would make it interesting scoring with 2:30 left.  Anoka would hold them off until Thunder Bay pulled their goalie and Anoka couldn't clear the zone and TB capitalized to tie it with :36 to .  Tied at 3-3 and facing no other choice but to win to advance, TB pulled their goalie. The ramifications for this were huge.  If the game ended in a tie, Stillwater would advance. If Anoka were to get an empty net goal, the Tornadoes would advance. Anoka controlled the draw, but could not muster a decent scoring chance. With less than :20 to go, TB gained the Anoka zone got the puck the net and Thunder Bay got a break and scored with :10 to go to win.  Anoka went from a Bracket seed with 3:00 to go to a second seed with :30 to go, to out twenty seconds later.  A devastating loss for the Tornadoes.

Sunday Games:

Eden Prairie vs. Madison Capitals (Edge to Mad Caps)
Stillwater vs. Edina (Edge to Stillwater)