One of the more interesting teams that won their way into a state tourney this year was Edgecumbe.  Edgecumbe is a District 1 Association located in the Highland area of St. Paul and plays affordable hockey emphasizing outdoor ice complete with three wooden slats for boards.  The Edgecumbe team finished four in District 8's Junior Gold B league with a 7-6-1 record and edged St. Thomas Academy 6-4 in the D8 playoff championship game.

In the Junior Gold B State Tourney played at Braemar, Edgecumbe lost a tough game to Osseo/Maple Grove Black 4-3 in the quarterfinals and to Wayzata Blue 8-4 in the consolation semifinals.  Not bad for a team from an association that plays affordable hockey by skating outside. 

Both Crookston and Thief River Falls have great arenas, not at all what one expects.  And both offer things other than hockey or sports including nice walking areas that were constantly being used.  Both concession stands had different foods than the normal concessions found in the Twin Cities arenas.  The Ralph Engelstad Arena in Thief River Falls is large and has had a positive impact on the community.  The financial's for the State Peewee AA tourney was not so much in any paid attendence. It was in the impact at the local hotels, dining places and shops.  Thief River Falls is a great place to hold a tournament.

Highland's Bantam A and Peewee A teams won state titles this year.  Congratulations to the Caps for their dual titles, but don't look for St. Paul Highland Park Scots high school's hockey fortunes to improve.  The Scots posted a 1-22-1 record this year.  They tied Pine City 6-6 and beat Waseca 4-3.  The Highland associations' 2009-2010 peewee A team made the 2010 East Regional played at Prior Lake.  The majority of those players on that team ended up playing for Cretin-Derham Hall, Hill Murray, and St. Thomas Academy.  None are playing for the Scots.

In the past two years, Minnesota Hockey has hosted 18 youth tournaments.  Ten associations have won state titles.  Edina has won five, Wayzata has won three, and Minnetonka and Highland have won two.  Osseo/Maple Grove, Lakeville, Grand Rapids, Mahtomedi, Minneapolis, and White Bear Lake have won once.

There have been 10 girls state tourneys the past two years.  Osseo/Maple Grove has won three titles, Edina has won two, and Wayzata, Rochester, Mound/Westonka-Delano, Farmington, and St. Paul Johnson have won once.  Farmington won the U12B title this year beating Wayzata Blue.

The Farmington Association's U12B team won the State U12B title this year beating Wayzata Blue.  With the three Farmington girls that competed on the association's youth peewee A team that played in the state tourney at Crookston, Farmington high school girls hockey looks good in a couple of years.

On the same day in March, gas was 15 cents cheaper in Fargo than in Moorhead.  Fargo's population is now approaching 115,000 in 2014.  Add in 30,000 for West Fargo and the North Dakota side of the Red River starts to approach 150,000 by mid-decade.  Moorhead an Dilworth on the east side are considered part of the Fargo-Moorhead Metro area.  Throw in the Moorhead and Dilworth area on the east side of the Red and the population in mid-decade will likely exceed 250,000.

Crookston is considered part of the Greater Grand Forks area.  Grand Forks has grown to over 52, 000.  Throw in Crookston and others, the Greater Grand Forks area is headed to a 100,000 by the end of the decade.  North Dakota's birth rate now exceeds their death rate by almost 2-1.  The unemployment rate is around 3%.  More than once Fargo radio was advertising a Sunday job fair promising 90% job placement.  Their state tax suplus was over a billion last year and is expected to increase with oil production hitting just under 30 million barrels a month in July 2013.

Crookston and Thief River Falls should benefit from the oil boom.

The most improved peewee AA/A teams from October to March that YHH saw were Highland, Greenway, Sartell, Rochester Red, Eagan and Eveleth-Gilbert/Mesabi East.  Highland really struggled against Osseo/Maple Grove early in the season, but improved steadily in their defensive play and on the attacks on opponent's net off the rush.  Sartell early on was a team that always appeared to be average.  Their overtime win over Orono in the South Regional was a surprise and their upset of top ranked Spring Lake Park in the opening of the state tourney was even more surprising.  The Sabres earned their third place finish at state.

Both Greenway and EGME teams were not expected to compete at the Cloquet Barn Burner.  They did very well against teams from Brainerd and the Twin Cities.  Greenway had a great line this season, fun to watch.  The Giants just played solid hockey and that was great to see.

Rochester Red's defense played great at the state and showed great improvement in the two months since they had won their own tourney.  Eagan's big guys matured but couldn't get by Rochester Red in the East Regionals.

Grant Sillanoff's three goal scoring spree in the second period of the AA championship game killed the Red's fans cheering.  They were really starting to roll until he started to score.  Loved to have heard those Rochester fans if the game had remained close. 

For most of the Minnesota hockey players, coaches, and parents; the winter season is over.  At YHH the winter season continues with post Minnesota hockey coverage that will include coverage of the U14. U16, and U18 USA Hockey National Tourneys being held in Green Bay WI in early April.  This year's top 50 peewee AA/A players will be posted in the coming week.  Later in April, summer hockey starts with coverage of selects and high performance through July.