One Hockey Super Rink Tourney

One Hockey Super Rink tourney consisted of 12 tournaments from Squirts to Midgets.  In all, 87 teams participated with each team playing 5-7 games.  The tournament was held Friday to Monday with the majority of the games played at the 8-sheet Super Rink facility in Blaine.  Additional games were played at Centennial, Brooklyn Park, and Fogerty ice arenas.  Most of the 87 teams were from out of town.

Always in search of competition, the Super Rink with its 8-sheets offers youth hockey the opportunity to play good competition over a single weekend by expanding the number of teams that can participate.  That allows tourney promoters and sponsors to create levels tournaments that better match the teams entered.  The One Hockey tourney played last weekend had 12 championships ranging from squirt to U18.  With travel costs always increasing, the opportunity to play a single large tourney against equal competition becomes important in helping players develop.

During a large tourney like this, the local area gets a boost in its economy. This weekend’s One Hockey Tournament generated an estimated $600, 000 of new business for the Blaine area.  It is a win-win situation for all those involved.

But mostly, this weekend was a win for Minnesota Hockey.  Things are always changing in youth hockey at the team level.  Roughly every two years, the players mature and move to the next level.  Clearly this season, the Edina peewee AA team is the #1 peewee team in the USA, and the Hornets maybe the #1 peewee A team in North America.  Lakeville North, NOW #15 ranked bantam AA team in the state, moved up to play Midget Minor and had a good tourney playing top ranked U16 AA teams in the nation, and finally Faribault MN based Shattuck easily won their tourneys.  Shattuck draws players from Minnesota and the USA to form their teams and plays Minnesota teams on a regular basis.  Their teams consistently compete for national titles at the U18, U16, and U14 levels and usually win.

U16 AA Tourney

Two of the ten teams entered in the U16 AA tourney were ranked in the top 30 (of over 400) Midget U16 AA teams in the USA, the Chesterfield Falcons ranked #31 and the Geneva Cyclones ranked #26.  Two were from Texas, the Dallas Oilers (currently leading the Dallas Stars Traveling Hockey League Minor Midget Green League) and the Texas Jr. Brahmas who play in the DSTHL Minor Midget AA league.  Park City Utah Association’s Midget Minor team was entered along with the San Jose Jr. Sharks U16 AA team.

Lakeville North Bantam AA posted a 4-2 record, won the #2 seed to the semifinals played Monday, and ended the tourney tied for third.  The Panthers won two games on Friday beating the Leafs Hockey Club from Illinois 6-0 and the Geneva Illinois Cyclones 4-1.  Saturday they split two games beating the Texas TX Jr. Brahmas 6-1 and losing to the Dallas TX Hockey Club 4-1.  Sunday they beat the Park City, Utah Ice Miners 5-3 to advance to Monday’s semifinals.  They lost to Geneva (the team they beat earlier) 5-2 Monday morning and ended the tourney tied for third place.  Geneva beat Chesterfield MO Falcons 2-1 to win the U16AA tourney.

Lakeville North is currently in third place trailing Lakeville South and Woodbury in Minnesota Hockey District 8 Bantam A league.  They have beaten Eagan 6-1 and Woodbury 2-1 in their last three games.  They lost to Lakeville South 5-3.

2001 AAA Tourney

Two peewee AA Minnesota team played in the 2001 AAA tourney, NOW ranked #1 Edina and #20 ranked Blaine.  Both teams had a good tourney, Edina won the championship beating the Thunder Bay Kings 3-2 (Canada).  The Kings played a three game series with Duluth East AA after the first of the year beating the Hounds twice 5-1 and 4-1; tying once 2-2.  The Kings are ranked #13 in all Canada 2001 AAA teams.

One of the entries was from Latvia, the Latvia Bauer Selects. They took the #3 seed into the semifinals and lost to the Thunder Bay Kings 3-1.  In early tourney play, Latvia beat the Green Bay WI Gamblers 12-2, the Golden State CA Elite Eagles 8-5, and the Anchorage AK Northstars 7-1.  They lost to Edina 10-1 and to Blaine 3-1. 

Edina won all seven games.  They beat the #19 ranked Chicago Young Americans twice 8-0 and 5-0; beat the Thunder Bay Kings 9-4 and 3-2; beat the Anaheim Wildcats 10-1, beat the Anchorage AK Northstars 10-1, and beat Latvia 10-1.

Blaine took fifth place.  Besides beating Latvia, the Bengals beat the Green Bay Gamblers 2-1 and the Golden State Eagles 3-1.  Blaine lost to Anaheim Wildcats 2-1 and the Chicago Young Americans 4-0.

The opening minutes of the first period game saw the puck moving mostly in the neutral zone.  Both teams had scoring opportunities, but halfway through the opening period, the Hornets’s Grant Silianoff beat the CYA defense in neutral ice, soloed down the slot, and beat CYA’s goalie with a hard shot going left at the top of the crease.  Edina led 1-0.  After that goal, the CYA defense contracted.  The Chicago team played tough defense, but it resulted in most of the rest of the first period played in the CYA zone.  Edina led 1-0 at the end of the first period.  The Hornets outshot Chicago 14-3 in the period.

Three penalties slowed Chicago in the second half.  They opened the period playing defensively with Edina controlling the puck in the CYA’s zone.  An Edina penalty four minutes into the period, provided some relief, but CYA pulled a needless ruffing penalty one minute into their power play.  Edina returned to the attack.  Halfway through the second period, Chicago picked up the pace and started to pressure Edina in the Hornet’s zone.  It also led to a CYA penalty with under 4 minutes left in the period.

Chicago killed that penalty, but drew a second penalty a minute later with 30 seconds left in the second period.  The Hornets scored a controversial goal 10 second later.  A shot from the left faceoff circle hit Edina’s Aaron Frenkel in the right skate redirecting the puck toward the CYA goalie.  The goalie, attempting to make the save, drove the puck into the net with his skate for the Edina score.  Ben Brinkman got the goal, Peter Colby got the assist.  The period ended with Edina up 2-0.

The game opened up in the final period.  Passing disappeared.  Both teams attacked by having individuals breaking through their opponent’s defense.  Four minutes into the period, the Hornets drew a hooking penalty.  Chicago, still trailing 2-0, loaded up on the power play and moved the puck into the Hornets’ zone and pressured the Hornets net, but could not get a shot off (CYA put only 2 shots on net in the third period). With the penalty winding down, Edina’s Aaron Frenkel beat the Chicago defense in the neutral zone and soloed in on the CYA goalie.  Frenkel broke right at the top of the crease and beat the goalie putting the puck just inside the right post.  The Hornets led 3-0.

The Chicago Young American team sagged after the third goal.  Their defense gave up another goal on a nice 2-on-1 rush by Edina with under four minutes left in the period.  The Hornets Liam Malmquist got the score; Mason Nevers and Silianoff got the assists.  Ninety seconds later, the Hornets scored again on another 2-on-1 rush.  This time Jett Jungels got the score; Mike Vorlicky the assist.

Thunder Bay beat Latvia 3-1 in the other semifinal game played Monday morning.  The Kings took a 2-0 first period lead on goals by Joseph McCollum and Christian Veneruzzo.  Latvia cut the lead to 2-1 at the end of the second period on a goal by Aleksandrs Biskins.  Levi Siau scored the insurance goal halfway through the third period to end the scoring 3-1.  Edina went on to beat Thunder Bay 3-2 in the championship game Monday afternoon.

What’s Next?

Blaine returns to District 10 play league leading Elk River Thursday is a must win for the third place Bengals in the chase for the regular season championship.  Blaine will open play in White Bear Lake’s Moose Goheen Peewee AA tourney January 31 against Minnetonka.

The Edina Peewee AA team returns to District 6 action this week playing Eden Prairie and Owatonna.  The Eagles are returning from a disappointing Roseau Tourney, losing to Osseo/Maple Grove 5-2 and Moorhead 9-5 after beating Hermantown 6-0 in their opening game.  Chaska AA beat Sibley 3-2 to win the tourney; a surprising Brainerd beat OMG 5-4 for third place.

An Observation

The Edina Association’s peewee AA team, clearly, has to be considered the best peewee team in the USA at this time.  One could argue that the Minuteman Flames (Elite) 2001 AAA from Marlborough MA is better with a 44-1-1 record, but the Flames have only a single win over a High Performance League team, the Chicago Mission 2-1 in a game played last October.  In January, Edina has beaten the #11 (Canada) Toronto Young Nationals 5-3, #6 Colorado Thunderbirds 5-2, #13 Honeybaked 5-4, #15 LA Jr. Kings 4-3, the #19 Chicago Young Americans twice 8-0 and 5-0, the #13 (Canada) Thunder Bay Kings twice 9-4 and 3-2, and the Latvia Bauer Selects 10-1.  They tied #8 ranked Belle Tire 2-2.

The Toronto Young Nationals just split a weekend series with Canada’s #1 ranked team Mississauga beating the Senators 3-2 and losing 2-0.  A case can be made today, that the Hornets are the #1 peewee team in North America.  Now all they have to do is win Minnesota’s Peewee AA crown in March.

A Second Observation

USA Hockey has split youth levels along competitive lines by establishing organization and association hockey that assumed kids would develop, but those who wanted to excel in the sport could migrate to organizations.  That has happened everywhere in the USA except in Minnesota and cities and towns along Minnesota borders in North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa, and Wisconsin.  It has not happened because Minnesota Hockey has sustained the interest in youth hockey by having a sufficient numbers of teams at various levels to allow competitive hockey.

But the USA approach to youth hockey has a continuing negative effect on the growth of hockey, it cuts the roots out of association and high school hockey because the system allows the better players to hop from organizational team to organizational team.  Hence the top hockey league at the youth level has only six teams and their best competition is to play each other.

Now their best competition is to play an Edina team.  Other Minnesota peewee teams such as Andover AA played well in losing to the Hornets 2-1.  Blaine competed well in the same tourney Edina won.  The Edina AA team has not buried all the competition in Minnesota.  They may not win the District 6 playoffs and get an at-large seed to a tourney.

What is happening in Minnesota is that kids and parents on their own initiative are finding ways to skate competitively all year round, that includes places like Luverne, Fergus Falls, Virginia, and Red Wing.  The quality of play had gone up in the state as a result and the play of not only Edina, but Lakeville North Bantam AA in a Midget Minor tourney and the play of the Blaine’s peewees at the 2001 level show that.

One thing older people have that younger people don’t is the actually experience of having living through a time and witnessed an event personally.  Thirty years ago, the level of play of Minnesota Hockey compared to AAA organizational hockey would be equivalent of a peewee B team playing a peewee AA/A team today.  Today the Minnesota Hockey teams are starting to excel period.  In this corner of YHH, that is good for Minnesota Hockey if the result of the improved play can built upon to expand the competition within the state and not have it narrowed to six teams.