The Northern Lakes Youth Hockey Association is a combination of Crosby-Ironton-Aitkin and Pequot Lakes Hockey Associations.  The association draws youth players from an area north of Brainerd in the middle of Minnesota’s lake country.  Their home ice is the John Spalj Arena that is part of the Hallett Community Center in Crosby MN.  Northern Lakes Youth Hockey Association teams play in District 15 peewee A and B leagues.  Normally, one would pencil in Alexandria or Moorhead as the potential A and B league winners in District 15.  But not this year.  In the A league, Fergus Falls and Little Falls are on top with Alexandria and Moorhead in the middle of the pack behind the Northern Lakes peewee A’s.  In the B league, it is simply a two team battle between Morris Benson and Northern Lakes.  Both Alexandria teams and Moorhead are out.  At the Anoka Classic last week end, it was no battle.  Nothern Lakes’ B team swept the competition by playing solid hockey that featured passing the puck.

The Anoka Classic Peewee B1 tourney this year was an eight team tournament with bracket play.  Three District 10 teams were entered (host Anoka, Rogers, and Coon Rapids).  All three play in the District 10’s 13 team peewee B1 league.  Currently Champlin Park and Elk River Red are contending for the D10 peewee B1 title with Centennial and Andover battling for third place.  Rogers is in a battle with Elk River Black and Chisago Lakes for fifth place.  Coon Rapids, Pine City, and Blaine are in a battle for the last spot for the District 10 Peewee B1 playoffs.  Normally, the top eight finishers make the playoffs.  Two District 6 teams, Minnetonka and Shakopee, entered the tourney.  The Skippers are in a battle with Edina White and Edina Green for the top spot in the D6 peewee B1 league.  Minnetonka has lost two games in league play (to Prior Lake 3-2 and to Edina Green 2-0).  Shakopee trails in league play but had a good game against the Skippers losing 3-2 just before the Anoka Classic opened play.  Mound/Westonka (District 3), Monticello/Annandale/Maple Lake (District 5), and Northern Lakes completed the field.  Mound/Westonka plays in the 10 team District 3 Peewee B1 league and is contending currently in third place.  NOW ranked #1 Osseo/Maple Grove leads the league.  The Crimson are unbeaten in D3 league play.   

Minnetonka beat MAML 9-1 in the quarterfinal game played Thursday.  The Skippers took a quick lead scoring twice in the first minutes of play, adding another first period score, and scoring five times in the second period to put the game away.  Each team got a goal in the third period.  Eleven of the fourteen players on the Skipper team got a point.  Three players (Andrew Erhart, Tommy Pankoff, and Truman Haugen) each posted three points.  Erhardt and Pankoff each scored two goals.  Haugen, Joshua Larson, Matthew Kelly, Matthew Boberg, and Charlie Wedes each scored a goal.  Wedes had an assist for a two point game.  Jack Reed assisted on two Skipper scores.  Nicholas Boss and William Garry each got one assist.  Caden Ritter got the lone MAML goal with Gavin Simon getting the assist.  The Skippers outshot MAML 20-4 in the opening two periods.  Shots on goal were even in the third period (YHH count).

Minnetonka beat Mound/Westonka in a hard fought game that was tied 2-2 with ninety seconds left to play when the Skippers Truman Haugen scored the game winner 3-2.  The two teams each scored unassisted goals in the first period.  Minnetonka’s Matthew Boberg scored first.  Catching the White Hawk’s defense standing, Boberg swept to the left skating down the slot and beat the goalie on the short side to put the Skippers up 1-0.  With five minutes left in the period, the White Hawks mounted a 3-on-1 on the Skippers net.   Alex Hruby carrying the puck across the blue line beat the Skipper goalie scoring unassisted to tie the game 1-1.  The White Hawks took a 2-1 lead early in the second period.  Dominic Musel got off a backhander off a rebound in the slot to score.  Aidan Mjelstad and Nicky Peterson got the assists.

Minnetonka pressured the White Hawks in their zone for the last half of the second period and scored with two minutes left to play.  William Garry got the goal; Tommy Pankoff got the assist.  The 2-2 tie was broken by Truman Haugen’s third period score.  Haugen came up with the puck in the slot off a melee in front of the White Hawks' net and beat the goalie with a quick shot to win the game.  The Skippers advanced to the championship game.  Mound/Westonka played for third place.

MAML beat Anoka 3-2 to advance to the consolation finals.  The Moose’s Braden Bitz scored twice and got the game winner.  Bitz was assisted by Task Miles and Colton Boutet on the first goal.  Caden Peterson got the assist on Bitz's second score.  Dylan Klatt got the third MAML score.  Anoka’s Carter West got the two Tornadoes scores.  MAML goalie Avery Longley had a good game in the nets for the Moose.        

In the semifinal game played Saturday, Northern Lakes continued to roll beating Shakopee 4-1 to advance to the championship game.  The Lightning demonstrated they could move the puck by passing.  More than once, the Sabres found themselves pinned in the Shakopee zone after a three pass play by the Lightning that started by the Northern Lakes’ net.  Still, the Sabre’s dominated play at time but could not beat the Lightning defense.  Northern Lakes took a 1-0 lead at the end of the first period on a Quady Bernu unassisted goal.  Bernu scored in the opening minutes of the second period to put the Lightning up 2-0.  Shakopee’s John Kettle scored unassisted to cut the NL lead to 2-1.  With 30 seconds left in the period, the Lightning’s Tyler Seeling scored to put NL up 3-1 going into the third period.  Henry Neva and Caden Morris got the assists.  Neva scored the only goal in the third period to end the scoring 4-1.  Carter Holtzleicer got the assists.  Northern Lakes would play Minnetonka in the championship game that matched one of the top District 15 teams against one of the top District 6 teams.  Shakopee would play Mound/Westonka for third place.

In the consolation semifinal game, Rogers beat Coon Rapids 4-0 setting up a consolation championship game between Rogers and MAML.  Coon Rapids would play Anoka for seventh place in the tourney.   

The picture below shows that start of a third period play that ended with a Lightning goal.  The second picture below shows how the puck is in the net, literally standing on edge.  If it had been flat, it would have laid on the goal line.

Sunday’s Championship game figured to be a Minnetonka win.  That is what was expected, but that is not what happened.  The Lightning took a 2-1 lead into the third period.  With three minutes gone in the period, the puck bounced to a Northern Lakes forward in the slot who fired a quick shot that manage to clear the goalie but ended up spinning on the goal line in the crease.  The ref held his position and watched the spinning puck slowly dance across the goal line and then called it a goal as a Minnetonka forward cleared the puck.  It was a great call by the ref and it put Northern Lakes up 3-1.  Carter Holtzleicer got the score.  The Lightning scored three minutes later to take a 4-1 lead.  Tyler Seeling made a great pass to a breaking Henry Neva on the weak side for the goal.  Neva got the goal, Seeling the assist.  It turned out to be the winning goal.  With just over four minutes to play, Minnetonka scored twice to turn the last three minutes of play into the barnburner.  The Skippers Matthew Boberg scored on a backhander beating the Lightning defense down low and sweeping across the top of the crease for the score.  A minute later, Minnetonka’s Matthew Kelly fired a hard low left shot to be the Northern Lakes goalie to cut the Lightning lead to 4-3.  After cutting the lead to a single goal, the Lightning defense took over and just kept the Skippers from the attack in the last minutes of the game.  Northern Lakes won 4-3 and are the 2016 Anoka Classic Peewee B1 champs.  And that is an unexpected thing to say.

Mound/Westonka beat Shakopee for third place in the tourney.  lance Nemecek, Isaac Miner, and Ethan Dominy each scored a White Hawk goal.  Dominic Musel got two assists.  Drew Swanson and Alec Hruby each got one assist.  John Kettle scored a third period power play goal with Ben Smith getting the assist.  Rogers beat MAML 7-0 for the consolation title.  Anoka beat Coon Rapids 3-2 in the seventh place game.