First Year Bantam Goalie Zach Stejskal carries Grand Rapids to Bantam AA state title. The Thunderhawks had a good season and were getting warmer with each week. Meanwhile, Stejskal was getting hotter. Lead by Freshmen stars Micah Miller and John Stampohar, GR got even better when Stejskal kept his team in big games the second half of the season...eventually becoming the most valuable player on the state championship team in Rogers. During the post-season, Stejskal was awarded the YHH Goalie of the Year Award.

White Bear Lake wins PeeWee B state title. After an above average season, the Bears got hot winning nine straight games to end the season. Three to win the District 2 Championship, three to take the Regionals and finally three more to win the state tourney over Edina.

Osseo Maple Grove SQA goes undefeated. Squirt A Crimson are the fourth straight team to have accomplished this feat at the Squirt A level in Minnesota. Lead by the top line of Brock Faber (Wiz Wyatt Player of the Year), Justin Janicke and Kyle Kukonnen, the Crimson steam rolled the competition all season winning the Edina Invitational, the YHH Squirtacular, the Moose Goheen, and finally the Fargo International.

Youth movement. With over 40 top Minnesota High School eligible players gone to Junior Hockey, the doors flung wide open for younger players to make their mark in Minnesota High School Hockey. Several top underclassmen lead their teams in scoring and several more made an impact on the big stage including Freshman Henry Enebak who had an overtime GWG for Lakeville North in their Quarterfinal win over Roseau.

Oshie, Oshie, Oshie! Warroad's TJ Oshie scores five of seven times to help Team USA beat Russia in a Shootout in the 2014 Winter Olympics. Oshie was an instant national hero moments later. If you look closely at Oshie after he scored the eventual GWG, he immediately pointed at the team's Goalie, Jonathan Quick, who had just faced and stopped Ilya Kovalchuk on his side of the ice.

Two Highland Central teams win State at PeeWee A and Bantam A. In 2013, Minneapolis won the PeeWee A state tournament marking the first time in the Tuuk blade era that an urban team had won a state title. In 2014, Highland Central one upped their neighbors to the west and won two titles. A great accomplishment by an association that has battled the last 10 years for numbers and credibility. Neither was the favorite that weekend, the Bantams beat Edina on Friday and then District 3 teams Delano on Saturday and Wayzata in the final on Sunday in Coon Rapids. The PeeWees knocked off Edina on Friday and then Sartell on Saturday to gain the final. And in the Championship they beat District 2 rival Mahtomedi for the blue ribbon in Crookston.

Woodbury Bantam AA comes out of nowhere to qualify for state. Possibly one of the best stories of the year. Woodbury was an 11 to 20th rated team all year. They were competitive with the top teams but never consistent enough to crack the top 10. At the East Region in Cottage Grove, the Predators won three straight one goal games to make it to state. First STMA on Friday, then top rated Elk River on Saturday followed by an epic 1-0 win over Minnetonka on Sunday morning.

Big Year for Casey MIttelstadt. Bantam Player of the Year Casey Mittelstadt commits to the U of M prior to skating his first Varsity shift for Eden Prairie. What a year for the hard working goal scorer. After leading his Bantam team in scoring and winning the YHH Bantam Player of the Year, Mittelstadt went onto be a top scorer in the Upper Midwest Elite League and subsequently receive and accept a scholarship offer to play for Don Lucia and the Gophers.

Minnesota Hockey approves teams Tier I status and Before/After Status. For the 2014/15 season, MN Hockey allowed new affiliates to play Tier 1 Hockey. Shattuck St. Mary's has played for years as had a few affiliates have played Tier 1 "Before" the season. This year, affiliate organizations that applied were accepted for Full Tier 1 status (Bauer Emerson) and Before and After status which will allow for more Minnesota access to play in the USA Hockey National Championships. Stay tuned to YHH in 2015 on how these teams and this policy evolves.

SSM wins U14 and U18 National title on same day. The Shattuck St. Mary's Bantam (U14) and Midget (U18) teams chock full of MInnesota players won their respective National titles last March in Green Bay. Homegrown stars Ryan Norman, Rem Pitlick and Lawrence Jungwirth lead the Sabres to the U18 title. Meanwhile, local Minnesota kids like Scott Reedy, Grant Mismash, and Austin Pratt all were key contributors on the Bantam run to the title as they knocked off the Chicago Mission. 

Eastview's Patrick Schoonover passes away while playing in Brainerd. After scoring his only goal of the season, Schoonover passed away during a game played at the Battle for the Blue Ox in Brainerd. His passing sent shock waves through the entire hockey community and was incredibly hard on all hockey families within the area. A huge shout out to the entire hockey community who rallied around the Schoonover family in their very difficult time.

MN Bantam Elite League is launched. With 120 of the state's best second year Bantam hockey players all assembled in the same league. Every weekend in August and September was filled for the top players to showcase their skills against one another in front of Division 1 and Junior Hockey scouts. Tyler Watkins from Hermantown was the league MVP and his team that represented the North won the League's first title.

Maddie Rooney plays boys Varsity at the highest level. Andover Senior Goaltender, Maddie Rooney, who lined up with the boys her entire youth career was up for the task to do it again as she forfeited her chance to play girls this year. Rooney, a UMD commit and a third team All State selection last year for the Huskies has done a great job for the Northwest Suburban team. She is 3-3-1 with a 90 percent save percentage in seven games so far. A YHH story featuring Maddie and Ely's Lori Husby can be read here.

Edina PWAA rips off over 130 wins in two seasons. A run of epic proportion, the Edina PeeWees have long had a stronghold on MN Hockey, but the last two seasons, they won or tied all but one game. An amazing streak of winning for a program built on tradition, strong participation, and competitive play. The Hornets steamrolled past Minnetonka (8-3), Osseo Maple Grove (6-3) and Rochester (6-2). Edina was lead by Grant Silianoff who had 10 Goals on the weekend.