This game matched two teams from different Minnesota Hockey Districts.  The Mankato Hockey Association is part of Minnesota Hockey District 9.  District 9 covers the area of Minnesota from south central Minnesota to the state’s eastern border with Wisconsin.  The Mankato Hockey Association’s peewee A teams are perennial District 9 champions.  The Cottage Grove Hockey Association is part of Minnesota Hockey District 8 that covers the south and southeastern suburbs of the Twin Cities.  Cottage Grove Hockey Association has been fielding peewee A teams the past two years with some success.  This season, the Association is fielding a peewee AA team.  Saturday, the Wolfpack peewee AA team beat the Mavericks peewee A team 3-0.  The AA/A designation only has meaning in post season play where there is a peewee AA state tourney and a peewee A state tourney.  Often peewee AA and A teams will meet in regular season play.  Saturday morning’s game at Cottage Grove was a good game. 

Period 1: Possession rules

The opening period did not see much in game transitions (a transition is when the puck moves from one goal to the other goal).  Whichever of the two teams that got the puck low in their opponent’s zone, used a tough fore check to bottle up their opponents for a minute or so at a time.  The play in the neutral ice became like a basketball tip-off.  The team that gained puck possession in neutral ice and got it low into their opponent’s zone went on the attack.  No goals were scored because there were few good scoring opportunities.  Once the play developed around the opponent’s net, the poke checking and defensive play by the defending team kept the puck along or behind the boards making it a difficult shot on net.  Cottage Grove out shot the Mavericks 4-2 and the period ended in a 0-0 tie. 

Period 2: Over Skate

The key play of the game the lasted 10 minutes of the second period.  It is hard to think of a key play lasting 10 minutes, but it did.  It was triggered by two penalties called on the Mankato offense six minutes apart.  Both penalties did not figure in the actual scoring.  Cottage Grove scored the only goal of the period between the two penalties.  But the two penalties combined to damaged the Maverick team.  The penalties caused the Maverick skaters to tire themselves out.  In every hockey game, the teams switch goals for the second period.  That means each team has to cross the red line (or skate half the ice) to make a line change when they are in their defensive zone.  In the first and third periods, the teams do not have to do that, their defending zone is in front of their bench.

Good teams know how to handle line changes in the second period.  On the first penalty kill, the four Mankato penalty killers spent most of the penalty time skating in the under pressure in the Maverick zone.  The Wolfpack forwards kept pressure on the Mankato goal by moving the puck around the outside of Maverick's penalty killers.  The Maverick skaters had a few opportunities to ice the puck and get relief, but didn’t use them.  They succeeded in killing the first penalty.  But the Maverick penalty killers stayed on the ice under pressure for another 90 seconds until Cottage Grove scored.  In those last 90 seconds, the Maverick forwards two opportunities in neutral ice to dump the puck and get a line change.

The Wolfpack are a good team.  While Mankato forwards were caught on the ice, the play was in front of the Cottage Grove bench.  The Wolfpack bench had been changing their lines one player at a time and were always fully loaded.  Four minutes after the penalty call, the Wolfpack's Clayton Beaurline scored off a nice right crease to left crease pass that resulted in a hard shot on the Mankato goalie Riley Madsen.  The Mankato defense had been caught forward above the faceoff dots leaving the two Park forwards by themselves.  Madsen made the stop on the first hard five foot shot but could not control the rebound.  Beaurline put the rebound in the net putting the Wolfpack up 1-0.  Dalton Anderson got the assist.

With four minutes to go in the period, the Mankato offense got another penalty call.  Again, the Wolfpack set up in the Maverick’s zone and moved the puck around the perimeter putting pressure on the Mankato goal.  Again the Maverick wings had opportunities to ice the puck but chose to skate the puck along the boards and couldn’t beat the Cottage Grove’s defensemen.  As a result, Mankato defenders were put through the grinder again, always pressured by rested Wolfpack forwards.  They never got off the ice in the last three plus minutes of the second period, but they held Park scoreless with goalie Madsen forced to make some big stops.  Mankato won the four minute skirmish, but lost the battle.  The period ended with PCG leading 1-0 and outshooting the Mavericks 10-2 in the period.

Period 3: Losing the battle

The Mavericks started the third period with their own pressure attacking the Cottage Grove net.  Mankato still trailed by a single goal.  Their attacks resulted in turning the game into a wide open end for end skating affair.  Mankato sensed they were losing the battle (their forwards were tired from over skating in the second period) and wanted a quick score.  And they had their chances with the wings breaking into the Wolfpack zone along either board.  The wings tried to lean into the defenders, keep the puck wide along the boards and turn the corner to cut to the net.  They could not make the cut and started to settle for lower percentage shots from the faceoff circles.  They couldn’t beat Conner Nelsen from twenty feet.

Halfway through the third period, the Maverick defensive corps tired.  They were holding position on the initial Park attack, but were a step slower on the follow up plays.  Cottage Grove forwards took advantage of that and started to crash the net forcing Madsen to make some strong stops.  The Wolfpack’s insurance goal came at the halfway mark of the third period.  As it is often the case, it was a simple play.  Cottage Grove’s Nick Pierre broke down the right side and fired on the net.  The Mankato defenseman had drifted too low and left an opening.  Pierre’s shot found the low left crease for Wolfpack’s second score.  Cam Quinlan got the assist.  After that goal, Cottage Grove started to control the game.  The long shifts in the second period caught up with Mankato.

In hockey, there is a reason to keep the shift times reasonable.  The longer a player is on the ice, the longer it takes for that player's muscles to recover and hit the ice fresh for the next shift.  It makes no difference if one is an NHL star or a peewee.  Often the leg weariness catches up in the third period.

The Wolfpack keep the pressure on, rushing the puck, beating the defense, and forcing Madsen to make a number of tough stops.  Three minutes after Cottage Grove took a 2-0 lead, Pierre broke free on the right again.  He hit Sam Janski with a pass at the top of the crease.  Janski one-timed the puck into the net for the third and final score.  Cottage Grove won 3-0.

Cottage Grove skated three lines in Saturday morning’s game.  All three lines played well and were anchored by solid play at center.  The Wolfpack goaltending was strong and their defensive corps played a solid game.  Mankato struggled more on the offensive, but there is potential and it is early in the season.  Kids grow and develop over the next four months.  The Maverick penalty kill was solid, but needed to find ways to clear the puck or stop play to make line changes especially in the second period.  Though the Wolfpack outshot the Mavericks 24-7, both goalies (Wolfpack’s Connor Nelson and Mankato’s Riley Madsen) had to make some big stops.  At this point, the Wolfpack will be tough in District 8 play and Mankato is the odds on favorite to win the District 9 title this year.

What is Next?

Mankato hosted Forest Lake Sunday and play the Edina Peewee A team 3:00 PM at Braemar West October 31.  Cottage Grove plays Minntonka Peewee AA Tuesday at home and then travel to Moorhead to play in the Big Pumpkin.  The Wolfpack will play the winner of Duluth East and Osseo/Maple Grove A their opening round game of the Big Pumpkin.  If they win that game, they will likely play Edina AA, a team they lost to 3-0 two weeks ago.