Wiz Wyatt POTY finalist Logan Seward scores Thursday for Hometown Hockey
Elk River's Austen Humphrey will star for Euro Red in the Warrior Cup
Teams: CO Kodiaks, Tommy Chicago, Icemen, Velocity, and Euro American.
Preview: A lot of unknowns is this field. The one known is there will be some great players on display. Velocity has some high end younger '01 talent that played on top rated Edina this year...studs like Ben Lynch, Mark Overman and Cole Cavanagh. Tommy Chicago's has Wiz Wyatt winner Matthew Gleason, White Bear standout Billy Rose and YHH Goalie of the Year finalist Ramsey Bell in the net.
We really like the roster for the Euro American team this year. NOW Prospect Trevor Kukkonen is always a goal scoring threat as is fellow OMG forward Tyler Kostelecky. Elk River's Austen Humphrey is a younger '01 that will likely make his mark. The Kodiaks are the Wild Card team. If they are a top elite team they could walk through this field. Our guess is they are the next tier down and will be great competition for the top 3 teams in this field.
Prediction: Top two in pool will be Tommy Chicago and Euro American. Velocity and the Kodiaks will battle for third on Sunday. YHH says the Euros will be the champs.
Matt Beatty from Prior Lake will star for Velocity this weekend in the Warrior Cup
Teams: Miracle Gold, Ice Clams, Colorado Kodiaks, Breakaway, Lake Superior Stars, Magicians, MN Flames, WI Pride, Euro American Blue, MN Icemen, Warrior and Velocity.
Preview: What a fantastic field we have at the '02 Invite field. Five teams that have a legitimate shot at the top prize. Getting out of pool play will be fun to see. Historically the Icemen have been the metro team that has fallen right below the Blades, Euro and Machine. Out of the gate they seem to be a natural front runner. Watch out for sniper Drew Holt he is a dangerous goal scorer for the men in blue and black.
The field is loaded with talent..the Lake Superior Stars are truly a band of stars, we have seen Blake Biondi, Carter Johnson and Charlie Erickson light the lamp a lot over the years. Miracle Gold has a couple of stars of their own, Blake Arneson is a bonafide super star as is Tommy Nowacki from Andover. The team that really jumps out to YHH is the Velocity team. They have Brody Lucas from Mankato, Spencer Lewin from Orono and Matt Beatty from Prior Lake..all top end players for the red and black.
Should be a fun weekend of hockey.
Prediction: Pool A we like the Miracle Gold (be careful of the Kodiaks), Pool B should be the Stars and Pool C should go to Velocity and we think the Icemen will get the Wild Card. In the end, Velocity will be hoisting hardware on Sunday.
Jimmy Snuggerud will star for Breakaway in the Warrior Cup
Teams: Magicians, Miracle Gold, Ice Clams, Breakaway, Tommy Chicago's, Colorado Kodiaks, Velocity and Total Hockey Fusion.
Preview: A well balanced field that will likely have some close one goal pool play games. Miracle Gold has some big name players including Connor Kurth and Blake Johnson from Elk River. Velocity has a nice list of players that should make them competitive. The field also will feature Wiz Wyatt Player of the Year finalist Jimmy Snuggerud for Breakaway and Goalie of the Year finalist Ethan Dahlmeir from Total Hockey Fusion.
Prediction: Velocity and Colorado will likely come out of the B Pool and Miracle Gold out of the A with a toss up to the Runner-Up. We see Miracle Gold having too many high end weapons to be challenged, unless the Kodiaks have other plans???
Charlie Hoch from Velocity
Teams: Magicians, CO Kodiaks, Breakaway, Velocity, Tommy Chicago's, Northern Wings, Red Army, Icemen, Miracle Gold, and Hometown Hockey.
Preview: Another great set of teams and some great balance amongst teams. Miracle Gold has been a very strong team at this level and they should be the team to beat this weekend. The Gold have a star studded lineup including Tyler Troumbley from Champlin up front, Finn Loftus from Blaine on D and Louden McCoy in the nets. Another top team should be the Velocity 04's. They are a well balanced team with several players from Edina including Squirt A standout Charlie Hoch and Tommy Statine. Another Velocity star that needs to be accounted for is Mason Moree.
Hometown Hockey has a great list of players as well. Wiz Wyatt POTY finalist Logan Seward and Weston Knox from Andover will be tough to stop for the Hometowners. Colorado is the mystery team in this field, they could tip the scales in this wide open field.
Prediction: Pool Winners advance to the Championship on Sunday. Velocity will edge out Colorado in the A Pool and Miracle Gold will win the B Pool over Hometown. In the finals, we see Velocity as the champs.
Brock Lueck is not lucky on this save for the Steeldogs
The two younger divisions bring way too many unknowns to document a full P&P. We looked into our very fuzzy crystal ball and made these predicted outcomes.
2005: Velocity over Tommy Chicago's
2006: CO Kodiaks over Steeldogs
Ryan Whiterabbit scores for the 06 Steeldogs Thursday