The Stillwater PeeWee AA/A Lumberjack Cup looks to be a great little tournament for a lot of teams with something to prove.  The AA Division has 8 teams who will play 3 pool play games and at least one bracket play game prior to a champion being decided on Sunday.

Black Pool

Duluth East - Eastview - Forest Lake - Sartell

A great pool of teams all with their own story to tell this weekend.  Duluth East had a great run in November performing really well on a Northwest Minnesota swing.  The Hounds followed it up with solid play in the Spirit of Duluth, but not a lot of wins. Eastview has been better than most have expected and have really challenged top tier teams so far this year. Forest Lake struggled out of the gate, but has improved steadily under Todd Gutterman's coaching. And finally Sartell is one of the top PeeWee A teams in Minnesota that is trying to make a name for itself in the AA pool this weekend.

Outlook: The favorite has to be Duluth East. Despite a slight set back this past weekend at home, we think the Hounds will win their pool and face a tough team in the semifinals on Sunday. The other team coming out of pool play is a toss-up. Any of the three teams could squeeze in.  We think it will be Eastview, but don't count out Sartell.

Red Pool

Stillwater - St. Cloud - Rochester - Bloomington Jefferson

They'd be better calling this pool the Dead Pool than the Red Pool.  Each of these teams brings a host of great individual players to the LJ Cup. Rochester is the headliner at 12-1-1 and ranked high in both our NOW and Staff Rankings.  But don't count out St. Cloud, the Huskies have quality wins over Lakeville North and Farmington and have some really nice young talent on their roster. Jefferson has had an up and down season so far, beating good teams Eastview and Woodbury but also falling to a few teams they shouldn't, too. Host Stillwater has enough ties to start a men's clothing store. The Ponies are 6-7-7 to start the year. They are one of a few teams to beat top 10 Minnetonka and a huge resume of ties with quality competition as well. This should be a good set of pool games to watch. Thumbs up to the Tournament Committee for not slanting the pools in the favor of the Home team.

Outlook: Rochester is the heavy favorite in this pool. But they will be tested in all three of their pool play games.  Stillwater looks to be a solid number two coming out of the Pool Play, but don't count the Jags out (just ask Woodbury) or St. Cloud, the Huskies can get hot in a hurry. 

Final Four 

Duluth East > Stillwater
Rochester > Sartell

Championship

Rochester > Duluth East

Outlook: Should be a great final no matter who makes it. If it is Rochester and Duluth East it will be a great match up of two high-end outstate teams that will likely be contenders for a state title in March. Right now, Rochester has a bit more polished resume against high end Minnesota teams.  A lot could change after this weekend. A lot of teams have a lot to prove.