Peewee AA/A Upper Bracket

Farmington versus Roseville-Farmington is ranked #8 in the NOW Peewee A rankings and has posted a 17-5-2 record this season.  Roseville is struggling to find wins.  Both teams play in the combined District 2/District 8 league this year.  Farmington (6-2-2) is in third place behind Mahtomedi and Tartan.  Roseville (0-9-0) is struggling to stay out of last place.  The Tigers have won 8 out of their last 9 games (their single loss was to Mahtomedi 4-2).  The Tigers win.

Jefferson AA versus Blaine A-The NOW ranked #16 peewee AA Jags are still playing in their Peewee Showdown Tourney this week at this post.  They beat St. Louis Park 3-0, Hastings 6-4, and Lakeville South 3-2 over the weekend in their tourney to advance to the championship round Tuesday morning.  The Jags are favored to beat Lakeville South in their semifinal game and will likely face a tough Minnetonka AA team in the championship game Tuesday afternoon.  Blaine A is in the dreaded ninth place in District 10 with a 5-7-1 record.  Fortunately, the Bengals are still in a position to overtake one of the four teams above them in the standings (Anoka, North Branch, Centennial A, and Pine City).  Only the top eight teams in a D10 league advance to the D10 playoffs.  The Bengals have posted a 10-17-1 record this season, but have lost seven of their last 10 games including losing to Anoka 2-1 last Saturday.  The Bengals will play three more games this week before playing Jefferson.  A tired Jefferson team beats a tired Blaine A team. 

Peewee AA/A Lower Bracket

Anoka versus Mounds View/Irondale-This game is a battle between two teams that play in neighboring districts.  Host Anoka is currently fifth in D10’s peewee A league with an 8-6-0 record and in a battle to get into the D10 playoffs.  Anoka has won their last five games (beating Sartell 1-0, Rogers AA 2-1, Spring Lake Park 3-2, and Coon Rapids 7-3 in addition to beating Blaine A 2-1.  Their streak was started after losing to Buffalo AA 2-0 in pool play at the Rogers tourney.  The win over Rogers was the fifth place game in the Rogers AA/A tourney played before Christmas.  Mounds View/Irondale is a tough team to rank.  They are near the bottom in D2/D8 peewee A league halfway through the season, but should rise.  Their last two league losses were to league leading Mahtomedi 3-1 and to second place Tartan 3-1 and their upcoming game with Farmington in mid-January will be a key one for both teams.  In between those two league losses, the Mustangs lost to Buffalo AA 5-2.  Anoka wins. 

Buffalo AA versus Sibley AA-Buffalo beat Sibley 3-1 in early December.  The NOW ranked #18 Bison strung seven wins together after beating Sibley before losing to Blaine AA last Saturday 11-2.  The Bison play in District 5’s three team Gold League with St. Michael/Albertville AA and #9 ranked St. Cloud AA.  They have played one league game in November, one league game in December, and will play two league games in January.  At the Rogers tourney Buffalo took third place beating STMA.  Overall, the Bison are 11-6-2 on the season.  Nobody thought Sibley would field a AA team this season.  After losing to Rochester in last season’s Peewee AA State Tourney semifinals played in Thief River Falls, all the Warrior players moved to bantam.  But Sibley decided at the last minute to move to AA and have struggled for the first half of the season posting a 5-13-1 record.  At the Roseau Tourney two weeks ago, Sibley beat Bismarck White ND 8-1 and lost two tough games to Cloquet 5-3 and Roseau 6-4.  Another tough game to pick, but the nod goes here to Sibley avenging an earlier defeat.

Championship Round

Jefferson plays Farmington in one semifinal and Sibley plays Anoka.  Both games are tough to pick since the teams matchup well.  The Jags size and firepower beats the Tigers passing and finess.  Jefferson advances to play Sibley.  The Warriors defense has been doing well, now the offense gets going.  In the championship game Jefferson wins.  Sibley takes second.  Farmington beats Anoka for third place.  Mounds View/Irondale beats Blaine A for the consolation title.     

Peewee B1

Minneapolis Storm Orange versus Moorhead-The Storm’s two B1 teams are down this year after at least one B1 team making the state tourney the past two seasons.  Both the Purple and the Orange are struggling in District 3’s peewee B1 league.  The Orange posted a 0-8-1 record.   Moorhead is currently in fourth place with a 7-3-0 record in the 14 team District 15 peewee B league trailing two Alexandria teams and Brainerd Blue.  Overall they are 9-9-1 and have won five of their last six games (beating Fergus Falls 8-5, Park Rapids 9-1, Northern Lakes 5-1, Bainerd White 4-1, and Brainerd Blue 3-2).  Moorhead wins.    

Anoka versus Roseville-Anoka has a 2-7-1 D10 record and is struggling.  They have lost to league leading Mora 4-0, Elk River 6-0, Champlin Park 4-2, and tied North Branch 2-2 in their last four league games.  They have beaten Coon Rapids 7-4 and North Branch 3-0 in early league games.  Roseville is struggling in District 2 posting a 0-11-0 record.  Anoka wins.   

Blaine versus Mahtomedi-Blaine has posted a 7-10-7 record.  The seven ties are unusual.  Three came in the Woodbury tourney when the Bengals tied Orono 2-2, Woodbury 2-2 and Farmington 4-4 in pool play.  Blaine is currently in the middle of the D10 peewee B1 standings and have not won in their last three games (0-2-1).  The Zephyrs are tied with White Bear Lake atop the District 2 Peewee B1 league; Forest Lake Maroon trails by 5 points in the middle of the league and Roseville is struggling.  Mahtomedi will be returning from a Northeastern Minnesota swing playing Grand Rapids, Hibbing and Virginia just before the tourney.  The Zephyrs win.    

Eden Prairie versus Forest Lake Maroon-Eden Prairie is struggling in District 6 posting a 2-6-1 record and have an overall record of 2-12-4.  Forest Lake Maroon is 4-4 in their last eight games.  They took second in the Richfield tourney beating Lakeville 6-4 and Thunder Bay ON 3-1 before losing to Rosemount 3-1.  At Eagan’s tourney last weekend, they split four games losing 2-1 to Eagan Green and 4-0 to Armstrong, beating Como Johnson 5-2 and Rosemount 2-1.  The Maroon win.

Championship Round

In the Peewee B1 Championship first semifinal game, Moorhead would play Anoka if the predictions hold.  Moorhead should hold on to beat the host Tornados before a tough home crowd.  In the second semifinal, two D2 teams would play each other, Forest Lake Maroon and Mahtomedi.  Mahtomedi leads the D2 league and beat the Maroon 3-0 in an early December.  The Zephyrs win.  Moorhead would play Mahtomedi in the championship round.  The nod here goes to the Zephyrs.

Peewee B2

Upper Bracket 1 (Coon Rapids, Anoka 1, Buffalo Purple, and Rum River Stars Red)-Three of these teams play in District 10’s Peewee B2 league (Coon Rapids, Anoka 1, and the Rum River Stars Red).  Coon Rapids has a 3-9-0 record in the D10 Peewee B2 Green.  The Cardinals have lost to the Rum River Blue 4-3, Chisasgo Lakes 2-0, and Centennial Black 4-2 in their last three league games.  Rum River Blue, Rogers, and Blaine are in a battle for the D10 Green Division title; Centennial Black is in a battle for the D10 Blue Division title.  The Rum River Red plays in the Peewee B2 Blue Division and is struggling posting a 2-6-2 record.    Buffalo plays in District 5’s Peewee B league and is currently 3-3 in the league.  The prediction for this bracket is Coon Rapids beats Anoka 1 and Buffalo beats Rum River Red in opening round games.  Buffalo beats Coon Rapids to advance to the semifinals. 

Lower Bracket 1 (Mounds View/Irondale, Minnetonka Black, STMA Blue, and Andover Gold)-Mounds/View Irondale is in the middle of the 12 team District 2 peewee B2 league with a 3-5-0 record and have struggled after winning their first two league games (beating Tartan 6-0 and Forest Lake Gold 4-0).  Stillwater Red and Mahtomedi Blue are battling for D2’s peewee B2 title.  Mahtomedi Blue beat Mounds View/Irondale 6-2 in the Mustangs third league game.  Minnetonka Black is 0-7-0 in District 6’s peewee B2 league.  The Black's last three league games were losses to Eden Prairie 5-3, Chaska/Chanhassen 8-0, and Edina Gold 8-2.  Andover Gold is 7-4 in D10’s Peewee B2 Blue league in third place behind Elk River and Becker-Big Lake.  The Gold have beaten Princeton 6-0, Andover Black 3-1, Mora 5-1 in their last three league games.  The St. Michael/Albertville Blue play in District 5’s Peewee B Blue division and is currently in second place with a 4-0-1 record leading the third place Buffalo Purple.  This is a tough bracket to predict, all four teams have played well.  Mounds View/Irondale edges Minnetonka Black; Andover Gold beats St. Michael Blue.  Andover Gold beats Mounds View/Irondale to advance.

Upper Bracket 2 (Stillwater Red, OMG Crimson, Blaine, and Wayzata Yellow)-Stillwater Red is currently in third place in D2’s peewee B2 league.  They are unbeaten with an 8-0-1 record and likely to end up in a three team battle for the D2 title with River Falls WI and White Bear Lake.  Stillwater Red took third place at the Woodbury Rumble.  OMG Crimson and Wayzata Yellow play in District 3’s 14 team peewee B2 league.  The Crimson is in second place with a 7-4-1 record, one point behind Orono and one point ahead of Wayzata Yellow (7-1-2).  The two teams have met once this season.  Wayzata Yellow beat OMG Crimson 4-1 early in the season.  Both teams have had success in December league games.  The Crimson have beaten Hopkins 5-2, Armstrong 2-1, and North Metro 6-0.  The Yellow have beaten North Metro 6-4, Minneapolis Black 4-0, and Delano 7-1.    Blaine is in third place in D10’s peewee B2 league with an 8-2-0 record.   The Bengals have beaten Champlin Park twice 6-1 and 7-2, Centennial Red 5-0, and lost to Rogers 1-0 in recent league games.  Blaine is in a three way battle with Rogers and Rum River Blue for the title.

This bracket is the toughest of the tourney to predict and will produce the favorite in the championship round.  The guess here is Stillwater Red edges OMG Crimson and Wayzata Yellow beats Blaine.  Wayzata Yellow beats Stillwater Red to advance to the semifinals.    

Lower Bracket 2 (STMA Gold, Mahtomedi Blue, Moorhead Orange, and Rosemount)-STMA Gold is the third team from District 5’s Peewee B Blue Division entered in this tourney.  They are tied with Buffalo Purple with a 3-3-0 record.  Both teams trail STMA Blue.  STMA Gold has beaten the Buffalo Purple 4-2 and lost to STMA Blue 4-1.  Mahtomedi Blue has posted a 3-4-3 record in D2’s peewee B2 league.  The Zephyrs have struggled league play winning only one of their last five games (a 7-2 win over Somerset WI).  They did well in an early season tourney at Osseo/Maple Grove beating Minnetonka Black 7-2 and OMG Crimson 3-1 before losing to Cottage Grove Green 2-1.  The Zephyrs lost to OMG White 6-2 in the fourth place game.  Moorhead Orange has played all teams from North Dakota and has yet to win a game.  The Orange will be playing Rosemount, a District 8 team that is 2-1 in the standings as the D8 Peewee B2 league starts to roll.  But the Irish have been busy posting a 14-8-1 record.  Rosemount beat OMG White 2-1 two weeks ago and beat Cottage Grove Green 3-2.  The Irish are on a three game win streak.

Mahtomedi Blue beats STMA Gold and Rosemount beats Moorhead Orange in the opening round games of this bracket.  Rosemount beats Mahtomedi to advance to the semifinals.     

Championship Round

Andover Gold and Buffalo Purple meet in one semifinal; Wayzata Yellow plays Rosemount in the second game.  Andover Gold beats Buffalo; Rosemount beats Wayzata Yellow.  Rosemount beats Andover Gold for the Peewee B2 Championship.