It was a great state tourney once again at the X. Great players made great plays and some new names rose to the surface on the big stage. There were some awesome moments and few not so awesome ones.

AWESOME - the Grand Rapids band...they were as good as the Gopher pep band and as rowdy as the Michigan Tech band..great combo.

NOT AWESOME - Yoga pants. This trend can't end soon enough.

AWESOME - Casey Mittelstadt...no more words needed.

NOT AWESOME - no music between whistles. For 12-15 seconds the X just sits in silence. Pep bands are great for post goal music, between period music and post game music. It's time to fill the dead air between whistles!!

AWESOME - watching Bruce Plante win his second state title. A great teacher, coach, dad and grampa too.

NOT AWESOME - the upper deck fools trying to participate in the tourney with vulgar chants - nice try.

AWESOME - The scene on the second level concourse....young players and fans meeting in the hallway and enjoying the tournament.

NOT AWESOME - players intentionally showing up their opponents' fans with an after goal celebration.

AWESOME - the tournament is a great place for making new friendships and renewing old ones.

I graduated high school in 1986, from a once super power school west of the river. Back in the olden days they played one class hockey. Teams like Breck and Benilde called it a success if they could make it to Quarterfinal Saturday. Teams like Kennedy, Roseville and Columbia Heights were frequent visitors to the St. Paul Civic Center, where they played on a sheet of ice with clear boards. 

Our first all tourney team will pay respect to those days with only one team. A team of guys who stared down defeat and weren't afraid to mix it up.

FORWARD

Casey Mittelstadt, Eden Prairie - the best player in the state - regular season, post season...period.

Cole Koepke, Hermantown - the best player on the best line in the state, was electric all weekend for the Hawks.

Ethan Johnson, Thief River Falls, - was sometimes comical to watch him play keep away with the puck. Dynamic puck handler and skater. Will be a force at the next level.

A nice rollout video by my good friend Pat O'Connor from KSTC. I like the music choices, some of his clips of flow and some great camera work to grab the excitement of the tourney.

Best of: 

1. Yellow brick road
2. Burnsville - Village People
3. Litchfield Stripes - well earned (he got the loudest cheer of any kid)
4. Arugula - Nolan you were spicy (I called it)
5. Barry Melrose - the king of flow

Missed:

1. Cathedral Whiff - only 1 Crusader in the whole lot, thought they had the best team of the 16, these guys are going to take some heat from the nuns on Monday when they find out only one of their boys got in the AHH 16.

2. Matt from SPA - pretty sure it is Charlie Ward

3. The Hammer - a perm like that deserves a look, maybe next year Harmon.

CLASS AA

1. Minnetonka - return several top scorers and have the best blue line in the state.
2. Wayzata - lose some senior leadership and goaltending - this program will re-load from within and win 6AA again.
3. Holy Family - will be a fun team to watch, elite players at three positions
4. Elk River* - on paper the best group of returners grades 10-12 in section 7AA. There will be four high-end teams in the section next year (Elks, East, Rapids and Cloquet).
5. St. Thomas Academy - Cadets were very young last year, they should be fun to watch the next few years.

CLASS A

1. Hermantown - the Hawks return one of the best senior classes coach Plante has had at Hermantown - next year should be their last in A.
2. Hibbing - assuming Scott Perunovich stays in Hibbing, the Bluejackets will be the second best team in the state.
3. St. Cloud Cathedral - the Crusaders are blessed with a lot of talent next year - they could challenge for their first title.
4. East Grand Forks - a very talented crop of new talent will find the Green Wave back at the X.
5. Breck - the Mustangs lose a few key pieces to the puzzle which bring them back to the pack a little.