Several teams from Minnesota made the trek to Winnipeg this weekend in their quest for the vaunted "Champions" jersey and to see how they rank with the top teams from Western Canada.  Here is a look at how they have done through Saturday.

2000

Blades: Went 2-1-1 and qualified for the final 4. They play the Sask Extreme Stars who tied the Machine Orange in the final two minutes Saturday. Easily the best MN story of the weekend. Hats off to all three units Offense, Defense and Goaltending. Nate Bordson leads the Blades with 3G/2A.

Machine: Not the best weekend by the Orange standards. To date they haven't lost, going 2-0-2. Losing two late leads may actually be the motivation for them to complete a four year run as champs at the NAHC. Payton Matsui leads the Orange with six points and Todd Scott has 1.75 GAA.

2001

American Stars: Went 1-2-1 in pool play. Were competitive in one loss and a tie and played two more lopsided games in a win and a loss. Judd Caufield and Nik Norman have combined for 17 points this weekend.

Blades: Took second in their pool and faced tourney favorite Notre Dame in the Quarterfinals. Jake Hale scored the GWG in OT to help them to the win. They were one goal away from the championship losing 3-2 to the Oshawa Jr. Generals.

Machine: Went 1-3 in pool play..played competitively in all three losses. The Orange seems to lack that one big scorer to get them over the top. Tyler Rollwagon had 5G/3A to lead the Orange this weekend.

2002

Blades: They won their pool going 3-0 and then knocked off metro rival the MN Machine 2-1 on a last minute goal by Carson Bantle in the Semifinals to qualify for the championship. The Blades will take on the Edmonton Jr. Oilers whom they beat 6-3 in Pool Play.

Machine: Took second in their pool, losing only to the 2K2 Warriors 4-3 in a close game. Tristan Broz, Stevan Blauert, and Jack Reimann all have six points to date for the Orange.

2003

Blades: Went 1-3-0 in pool play. The YHH pick to win is likely to have the longest ride home from the 'Peg. Despite going 1-2, the Blades still had their destiny in their own hands heading into their game with the South Sask Selects. That is where they ran into the Cole Sillinger show. Sillinger had 1G/4A in a 6-1 win over the Blades. Chaz Lucius and Jack Harvey each have seven points to date for the Blades.

Machine: The Orange have impressed this weekend going 2-2 losing to the Manitoba Xtreme and the BC Bears, two teams that could face off in the finals. Edina's Jackson Borst and Charlie Lindberg each have five points so far for the Machine.

2004

Team Minnesota: Have gone 2-1-1 so far and get to play a Pool Play Brick Opponent on Sunday (Sask Jr. Brick). Not a bad weekend if they can pull out the win.

Why Optimism: some could argue that for Team MN not to qualify for the Final Four of the NAHC is a bad sign for their fortunes in Edmonton. But if you look closely at this team, I think there is a lot of hope for their run. In this tourney, they lost a lead to Team Alberta in a 60 minute game. The Brick plays 39 minute games. They lost to the Chicago Bulldogs Selects who is arguably the best team in North America (Brick or Non-Brick). This team will train together the next two weeks and really gel. The last two Brick teams have peaked in Edmonton, so will this one. 

Why Not: Their pool is Murderer's Row. Not only do they get three time Defending Champion Toronto Bulldogs, they get the BC Jr. Canucks who have some well regarded talent and some bona fide stars as their non-province affiliates. To top it off, throw in the Boston Jr. Bruins who won the Coast to Coast a couple weeks ago and the Winnipeg Jr. Jets and this will be one tough pool to get to the magic 4 wins they will need to make the final 6.