The Battle for the Blue Ox is a 16 team bracket play tournament held in Brainerd, Minnesota. YHH will be there to cover it from beginning to end. At the end, the winner will take home the Blue Ox traveling trophy. Last year, Elk River lead by tournament MVP Jax Murray beat Eden Prairie to take home the Ox. This year YHH thinks a District 10 team will beat a District 6 team for the Ox. But before you skip to the end, there will be 31 other great games between teams from all over Minnesota battling.

One of the best teams this year has been Centennial. They return several second year players and have added Soren Frakie from Blaine to their mix which makes them a tough team every night in their league.

Minnetonka > Lakeville North...Tonka is a strong team top to bottom, they get a tough first round opponent in Lakeville North. The Panthers beat Edina in the first round last year and have competed well so far this year.

Brainerd > Elk River...The Warriors return a great lineup of kids from last year and have some great first years for depth. Matt Fischer and Jack Evans are players the Elks should account for and Connor Bizal is a scoring threat for Elk River. This will be an entertaining first round match up, slight edge to the home team.

Jefferson > Moorhead...will be a fun first round game between two storied programs. The Jags come in playing some great hockey lead by Hunter Jacobs and Nathan Johannes. The Spuds are untested so far this year, watch out for Carter Rangklev and Landon Overbo, both are dynamic players for Moorhead. YHH gives the slight nod to Jefferson, just like they had in the 1994 State Championship Game.

Osseo Maple Grove > Sibley...terrific match up of two teams that faced each other in the PeeWee AA third place game a year ago. Both teams have have a host of players at the Bantam level this year. Trevor Janicke (OMG) and Brendan McFadden (Sibley) are two of those young guns to keep an eye on. Tommy Winges (Sibley) and Tyler Borsch (OMG) are difference makers for their teams as well. 

Centennial > Bemidji...Arguably the best team in the tournament, the Cougars should have no trouble with the Lumberjacks. The Jacks will likely be missing Ryan Pogue and Chase Hartje from their lineup this weekend, meaning their younger players will be forced to carry the load.

Prior Lake > Hermantown...The Lakers have gotten off to a fast start winning six of their first seven games. Including nice wins over Sibley and Minneapolis. The Hawks come into Brainerd with a young team. Watch out for Tyler Watkins from Hermantown, if left unaccounted, he could put up multiple points for coach Andrews and the Hawks will advance.

STMA > Eden Prairie...Another awesome first round game in Brainerd. STMA is a very seasoned group of kids who have had a lot of success together dating back to Squirts. Zach Sjelin and Jordan Drobinski are skill players to be reckoned with and Brady Berning and Garrett Sandberg are solid on the blue line for the Knights. EP returns Jake Olson and Ryan Lesko this year. They are off to a good start as well.

Wayzata > Eastview...the Trojans are also off to a fast start with a win over Rochester and a tie against Centennial...they come in ranked fifth in Minnesota for a reason. Colin Schmidt is the definition of a Power Forward up front and Kaden Bohlsen is a highly skilled. Eastview lost star forward Nate Bordson to an injury and will miss his production. Chris Fan and Noah Desrocher will need a big game for the Lightning to win.

Minnetonka > Brainerd...Tonka has too many horses for the Warriors on Saturday.

Jefferson > OMG...might be the game of the day Saturday..Jags win in a close one.

Centennial > Prior Lake...the Cougars will have too much fire power for the Lakers. 

STMA > Wayzata...a slight upset, the Knights beat Tonka last year in the Quarters, this year they will take down Wayzata.

Jefferson > Minnetonka...The Jags and Skippers tied 3-3 two weeks ago with both teams having a shot at the end to win. Right now, Jefferson is playing as well as anyone in Minnesota, they will upset Tonka Saturday night.

Centennial > STMA...last year, STMA suffered a big loss to eventual champion Elk River in the semifinals, their fate will be similar again this year. Centennial will be the team to beat in Brainerd.

Centennial > Jefferson...More deja vu from last year. A District 10 team thwarted a District 6 team for the title. Elk River, lead by Jax Murray, outlasted a very short handed Eden Prairie team for the title. This year, Centennial will repeat what they did to Jefferson a few weeks ago and beat them 6-2 to win the Blue Ox.