Peewee A Regional Tourney summary of Friday Games

[frederick61]

The morning started off simply enough. I got in my car and drove to the St. Louis Park Arena. The arena is just of Highway 100 and 36th Street (about 4 blocks east). For those who remember it from ten years ago, it was a single sheet of ice with a nice community center next door that was more fun in the summer then in the winter. It was modernized by adding a second sheet and a new roof. At one point a few years ago, the magnificently sloped wood roof over what is now the West Arena was temporarily braced in the corners by wooden scaffolding. Now it had been replaced a white metal girded structure that lightens the arena. In the afternoon and early evening games an array of windows running the length of the rink on the west side capture the sunlight and brighten the ice surface making an afternoon or early evening game seem as if it is being played outside. Those games are nice.

The morning game was full of hope for me. North St. Paul and Maple Grove would go at it in a game that should have been an up and down affair. Eagan and White Bear Lake were to follow. After that, the agenda would be open between the South Region at Chaska or staying in the Park. North St. Paul was coming off a great weekend of playing hockey and they could take either #1 or #2 in their pool. Maple Grove was coming off a great weekend of fighting to get back into the D3 playoffs after being upended in the semifinals. They fought back to take the #2 seed.

The game started out poorly for the Polars. Their first shift resulted in a scramble in their own zone and a penalty within the first two minutes. Fortunately, Maple Grove drew a penalty ten seconds later and the game settled down. The Polars lines still were not meshing and their shifts changes awkward. It became apparent they were going with a third line and that had an impact. Gone was the polish the team had shown only six days earlier in winning the D2 championship game. Unfortunately for the Polars, Maple Grove were also playing well. Their passing was effective and their #2 and #3 lines were dominating North St. Paul’s two and three lines.

These two effects came together at the six minute mark when a slow shift change left the Polars short handed for a brief second and sprung a Maple Grove forward on a solo rush resulting in the opening goal. They banged in another in a melee around the net with a minute remaining in the second period to take a 2-0 lead into the second period.

The first four minutes of the second period was the preverbal nightmare for the Polars as the Crimson rolled scoring three goals putting the game away. Another was added at the four minute mark and the Crimson took a running time lead of 6-0 into the final period. Unfortunately the cell phone ran and the call required some personal business away for game 2. The Polars lost 8-1.

The Wayzata/Roseville game was the third game of the day. The second game missed was won by Eagan 3-2 over White Bear. Roseville started with a bang scoring first, but Woodbury proved to be the stronger team and beat them 7-1. The fourth game matched Woodbury and Hopkins. Hopkins proved difficult, but ended up losing 7-3. The Polars returned for the fifth East Region game of the day and overall played better. But their nightmare remained with the team in the opening minute of their game with Eagan. On a penalty kill in the first minute of the first period, a Polar defenseman attempting to clear the puck turned and fired the puck hard six inches off the ice by a surprised goalie into his own net. Eagan led 1-0. They never surrendered the lead and won 5-3. Maple Grove added insult to the D2 teams by beating White Bear 4-2 in the sixth and last game of the day.

After day 1 in the East, the only D2 team left standing is Roseville and they have a difficult task to survive with their best hope that Wayzata beats Woodbury in the opener tomorrow to give them a shot at the #2 Seed while they beat Hopkins. But this is hockey and Wayzata has been pushed to the limit by Hopkins who they will play in the second game and Hopkins is not out of tourney either.

The last game seen today was the Eden Prairie/Edina first day closer in the South Region. It was a great game with Eden Prairie jumping to a 3-1 lead at the end of two periods. Then for all the third period, the Eagles went into a neat defensive mid-ice position that forced the Edina forwards to pass through their defensive line and kept the Edina forwards out of the breakaway rush. It was so effective, that Edina did not get one shot on goal in a ten minute stretch of the third period. The Eagles won 3-1.

All the Red Pool teams played two games this day. In the East Region, Eagan and Maple Grove won twice and will advance with either the #1 or #2 Red Pool seed based on the outcome of their game tomorrow. In the South Region, the Red Pool is also fairly well set baring a Faribault upset of Eden Prairie. The most likely outcome is Eden Prairie #1 and Edina #2.

In the North Region, Hermantown won twice and is in the driver seat. A win over St. Cloud will give the Hawks the #1 Red Pool Seed. A loss to St. Cloud by one or two goals, will give them the #1 seed and a loss by three goals would give them the #2 seed. A St. Cloud win by two goals or more, gives them the #2 seed and a St. Cloud win by one goal throws them into the next tie breaker depending on how badly Duluth East beats International Falls (remember teams can gain only a maximum of six goals in differential per game). In the West Region, Moorhead and EGF each won twice and will advance as either the #1 or #2 Red Pool seed depending on the result of their game tomorrow.

All the Blue Pool teams played one game today and have two to play tomorrow. In the East Region Blue Pool, Woodbury and Wayzata won and will battle each other tomorrow, but both can be upended. In the South Region, Chaska and Mpls Park won and square off tomorrow in the first game. A Chaska win, sets up a head to head battle for the #2 seed between Mpls Park and New Prague. In the North Region, Cloquet and Grand Rapids won setting another battle for one of the pool seeds when they meet in the first game. Cloquet, by winning that game, should lock up a seed. Grand Rapids, if they win, still needs to beat Coon Rapids. This pool is still wide open with three teams fighting for two seeds.

[beast___]

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