2000: As seen above, the Machine lost a heartbreaker in their quest to win the North American four straight times. The Orange seemed a bit snake bit all weekend long, losing leads on innocent plays gone bad, what seemed like all weekend. 

2001: The Blades beat YHH pick, Notre Dame Junior Hounds in the Quarterfinals and ended up losing to tourney Runner-Up, Oshawa in the semis 3-2.

2002: The Blades squeaked out a heartbreaker over the Machine on Saturday nigth, Carson Bantle scored with 13 seconds left to beat the Orange. In the title game, the Blades flexed their muscle and beat the Edmonton Jr. Oilers 3-0, CJ Zins had a G and A.

Players to Watch

Luke Kron for the 2002 Blades had a great weekend netting seven points including five goals. 
Payton Matsui for the '00 Machine had a great weekend for the Machine. The fiery little man, shrugged off defenders and was able make plays all weekend.
2000 Blades Goalies - Major Junior scouts left Winnipeg singing the praises of both Ben Beattie and Keegan Karki. Beattie got a big W for the Blades versus The Alberta Alliance and Karki came up big in a 2-2 tie versus the Manitoba Selects...the Blades ended up losing to the tourney Champs Sask Extreme Stars 3-2. 
Isaac Howard, the Hudson native had an amazing 12 goals for Team Minnesota (Brick)...he is the full package and will give the best Brick teams trouble in Edmonton.

Minnesota has had some legendary coaches on the national and international scene. But several unsung heroes at the youth and high school levels. Many who rarely make it past regions or the state tournament (Roy Nystrom from Albert Lea HS) and some that rarely lose (Keith Jungels, Edina Youth and MN Machine). 

But what makes these coaches great is not their record, it is their ability to get players buy into a system. One former NHLer turned coach said recently, "I finally saw my team start doing the little things that make you successful...blocking shots, winning battles, doing things that were good for us...but not necessarily good for them."

Minnesota is a prized jewel to have so many great volunteer (or very low paid) coaches who love the game and want to pass it on to the next generation, or in Nystrom's case several genearations.

Thank you to all team managers, clock/box volunteers, and locker room moms/dads. You guys all make this a great state to play the game.

At a recent District 3 Meeting there was a proposal to legislate how larger associations declare their team declarations. The proposal essentially focused on the three large associations in D3: Minneapolis, Osseo Maple Grove and Wayzata, associations who typically carry more than six teams per level. 

It was agreed upon at this meeting that teams with 6 or more teams must field a AA and an A team. One provision was left off of the original proposal allowing for only 1 Squirt A team at the Squirt level. 

Commentary: Two Thumbs up...

The Minnesota 2003's (MN3's) recently competed in the North American Hockey Classic in Winnipeg Manitoba Canada June 5-8, 2014.  The Minnesota 2003's were 5-0-0 and won the Championship game over the Northern Wings to bring home GOLD to Minnesota. This elite girls hockey team comprised of 2003 birth year girls that both live and play hockey in the state of Minnesota.  With a focus on sportsmanship, academics and athletic excellence, the MN3's team is a great example of youth sports.  After the championship game the MN3's invited the Wings to take a group photo with the American flag. 

YHH will cover the HP Select 15 Camp in St. Cloud...as the state's best 15 year olds toil to get their shot at the final list of 20 players who go to the USA Hockey Camp in New York.