Morning: Red Wings down the Hawks

Last weekend the Blackhawks had their top players in tow and outplayed and outscored the Red Wings in their scrimmage. Saturday the roles were reversed, the Red Wings had big men Jaxon Nelson and Aaron Grounds aboard. For much of the game they were paired together with Ryan Lesko. When that trio was on the ice, the ice became very slanted. On top of those three, Max Jennrich played amazing for the Wings "scoring" one and assisting on another. The Hawks on the other hand were missing stars Griffin Ness, Peter Tabor and Hayden Brickner.

In the middle of the first half, Jennrich got a stretch pass from Lesko and made a pretty move on Hawks goalie Keegan Karki. Jennrich shot it on net and hit the post. The whole building saw it hit the post and come out, except the official on the scene. The Hawks would tie it a few minutes later when Highland Forward Jack Kubes would get loose in front and beat Ben Beattie top shelf. The Wings would pick up two goals late in the half one on a seeing eye shot through traffic by STMA's Caden Sigerud and another on a rebound by Grounds to give the Wings a 3-1 lead at the half.

In the second half, the Hawks would rally. But they could not solve Wings Goalie Nick Konkel. The shots in the second half were even, but Konkel would be forced to make some spectacular first and second attempts to keep the Hawks at bay. With the Hawks pressing and picking up some momentum, Wings winger Max Jennrich got loose down the right side 2 on 1. Jennrich sauced a pretty pass to a wide open Jaxon Nelson who made no mistake with it and buried it to give the Wings a commanding 4-1 lead. 

Morning: Bruins hold off Habs

In the other affair accross the hall at Bielenberg, the Bruins took on the Canadiens. In a very tight game, the Bruins scored first late in period when Orono's Jack Suchy snuck one past Max Eilefson right in front of the net on a scrum. In a very tight checking and close defensive battle, the Canadiens carried the play but were unable to get a break or a golden opportunity to score. Bruins Goalies Andy Beran and Todd Scott turned away 22 shots to get the collective shut out. Tonka's Ryan Elder got the insurance Empty Net goal late for the B's. Final score 2-0.
 

Afternoon: Leafs leave the Bruins behind

The afternoon game between the Leafs and Bruins was a tale of two teams. The Leafs showed up with nearly a full squad (18 for 20 Rostered players) and Bruins were down to only 12 Skaters and 1 Goalie. Austin Pratt was the headline player YHH was very interested in seeing lace up the skates. And he did not disappoint. Unlike most big man, Pratt is not afraid to over step his bounds with his body and can shoot the puck with authority. 

Late in the first, Lakeville's Dawson Klein got a pass at the point from Leaf Defensive partner Tyler Dingmann and he rifled a quick shot past Summer hockey teammate Todd Scott to give the Leafs a 1-0 lead. A few minutes later, Pratt got into the act when he got loose 1 on 0 against Scott, he faked backhand and quickly went forehand to give the Leafs a 2-0 lead at the break. YHH cameraman Greg Krier exclaimed, "wow!"

The second half was more of the same, Pratt would score two more times for the Hat Trick and Dingmann would collect three more assists. The Leafs would pepper Scott with 43 shots and walk away with a 7-0 win.

Afternoon: Habs have their way with Hawks

After tough losses in the morning, both the Canadiens and Hawks looked to rebound. The Hawks got out to an early lead when Edina's Bjorn Swanson scored for the Red and Black. But OMG's Tyler Borsch would answer 13 seconds later to tie it for the Canadiens. The Canadiens at this point would slowly begin to take over the game. Andrew Urban scored one of his three followed by Bloomington's David Beacom to make it 3-1. With 30 second left in the half, Max Borst would score for the Hawks to make the score interesting going into the break...3-2 in favor of the Canadiens. 

In the second half, it was the Wayzata/Edina show. Urban (Wayzata) scored for the Canadiens, then Crosby (Edina) answered for the Hawks to make it 4-3. Then the accounting firm of Phillips, Urban and Phillips would tally the last three for the Canadiens to make the final 7-3. 

1. Austin Pratt, Leafs - Hat Trick was only beginning of what his accomplishments were. He won puck battles, played physical and set up his teammates all day.

2. Andrew Urban, Canadiens - Hat Trick and playmaker...was a YHH Sleeper player after last week, he's not a sleeper anymore.

3. Clayton Phillips, Canadiens - One observer said of Phillips, "I'd pay to watch that kid play.." Had a pair of goals and won several battles. 

4. Max Jennrich, Wings - always seemed to have the puck in space or an opportunity to score. Prettiest pass of the day to Nelson for a one timer.

Unsung Heroes

1. Zach Zemlak, Leafs - fun kid to watch...type of player that always seems to make the right play at the right time. 

2. Nick Konkel, Wings - made some key saves at key moments for the Wings in their win over Hawks.

3. Jack Kubes, Hawks - despite being undersized, showed a lot of grit along the boards.

4. Jacob Erickson, Wings - not flashy, but was the hardest working kid on the ice for either team in the morning game. Had a pretty assist on a feed to Lesko late in the game.