Despite losing two out of three games to Omaha in November, the Shattuck St. Mary's comes into their annual Jamboree rated #1 in the nation by My Hockey Rankings. Other top teams that will pull into Faribault for a five games are the same Omaha Lancers team (#4), the Chicago Mission (#6), Chicago Young Americans (#30), Team Illinois (#42), and Team Manitoba. 

There will be some great talent on display including Minnesota commit Brannon McManus from Shattuck, Sean Dhooghe (Ohio State) and Graham Slaggert (Notre Dame) from Chicago Mission. 

Last year, Duluth East took down State Runner up Rochester 2-1 in a great Championship Game. This year there are some very nice top end teams looking to make a name for themselves. In the Black Pool, Jefferson, host Stillwater, and Duluth East will have some great battles on Friday and Saturday. In the Red Pool, St. Paul lead by Matthew Gleason will battle for the final four with with Forest Lake, Minneapolis and Rochester. 

Match ups

Minneapolis vs. St. Paul, the Storm will likely win...but it is refreshing to see such high end players like Joe Miller, Will Svenndal and Gleason lead these urban teams to high levels.

Stillwater vs. Jefferson, slight edge to the Ponies...but don't count out the Jags, they are very deep up front and have one of the state's best Goalies Basil Kamsheh. 

Prediction

Semis

Minnaepolis > Jefferson - the Storm beat the Jags 3-0 earlier this year, we look for more of the same type of game. 

Stillwater > Rochester - Rochester has had a good start and really made a name for their team last year in Stillwater. The Ponies are one of the deepest teams Stillwater has had at PeeWees in a few years, they will advance to the finals.

Finals

Minneapolis > Stillwater...the number one rated Storm is the complete package. They have size, teamwork, and most of all great talent top to bottom. If it isn't their three solid lines, it can be their talent on the blue line. Look for the Storm to prove why they are rated number 1 by the YHH staff on Sunday and win the Lumberjack.

Players to Watch: Carson Jacobs (#17) is a heckuva player for Jefferson, keep an eye on him this weekend. Axel Toft (#14) for Minneapolis is sneaky good for the Storm. Noah Tussey can be dangerous at times for Stillwater. 

The Grand Rapids PeeWee Tourney attracted some great teams with some very high end talent. In one pool it is Roseau, Burnsville, Brainerd, and host Grand Rapids. In the other pool it is Bemidji, Moorhead, St. Cloud, and Edina "A". 

Pool Winners

Each game is pivotal because there are no semifinals in the tournament. The top two pool play teams play for the hardware on Sunday. The second pool we mentioned seems like it could get nasty. St. Cloud and Moorhead are AA T10 teams and Edina "A" was undefeated until this week when they lost to Elk River 3-1 late. 

The top pool looks to be cooked a bit in favor of the Thunderhawks, they will advance with tough wins over Burnsville, Brainerd and Roseau. The Bottom pool will be a toss up. Slight edge to St. Cloud. The Huskies Nate Warner can take over a game, sometimes a whole tournament. 

Prediction: St. Cloud will beat Rapids by 3-4 goals on Sunday for the title. 

Players to Watch: Grand Rapids, Jack Peart, this kid might be the best first year PeeWee in Minnesota...supremely talented and very smart player. St. Cloud, Luke Johnson, smart player gifted with great hands and high hockey IQ. Moorhead, Caden Triggs, he is a special player that does the little things that don't show up on the score sheet.

A nice 8 team tourney set up by Sibley Hockey played primarily at the West St. Paul Arena. Here is a look at how we think things will go down this weekend on the east side.

First Round

Mounds View Irondale > Park Cottage Grove
Tartan > St. Louis Park
Sibley > Kennedy (probably a 2-0 type game)
Roseville > Hopkins

Semis

Mounds View Irondale > Tartan
Sibley > Roseville

Championship

Mounds View Irondale > Sibley

Players to Watch: Cottage Grove, Nick Pierre is a dynamic Forward who will make a team pay if they take a shift off. Oliver Moore is the best first year Squirt in Minnesota. He has great balance, speed and hockey sense, will give coaches headaches all year.