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Top 14’s & 15’s to Clash in Tier 1 Playoffs

By Minnesota Hockey, 09/26/16, 6:30PM CDT

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After an exciting stretch of regular season play, it’s time for the best part of any league… playoffs! The Youth 14U, Girls 14U and Youth 15 Tier 1 Leagues are set to compete in their inaugural League Playoffs on Friday, September 30 through Sunday, October 2 at Schwan Super Rink in Blaine, MN.

Three to four teams from each League will advance to the Minnesota District Tier 1 Playoffs where teams will compete for the chance to represent Minnesota at the USA Hockey National Championships. As if that wasn’t enough, the teams will also be battling for the opportunity to hoist a piece of Minnesota history, the Taconite Trophy.

The Taconite Trophy was instituted in the early 1960’s when the University of Minnesota Duluth joined the University of Minnesota at the NCAA Division I level. At the time, the Gophers and Bulldogs were the only two Division I programs in Minnestoa so they quickly became arch-rivals.  The teams battled each year for the Taconite Trophy, which went to the winner of the season series. The original trophy has since been lost, but Minnesota Hockey is excited to honor this piece of Minnesota hockey tradition by naming the League Championship trophy for each of its Tier 1 Leagues after it.

Now that we know what’s on the line, let’s take a closer look at the action on the ice.

YOUTH 14U

Since dropping a game to the Blue Ox during the first weekend back in August, the Lakers have been on fire and haven’t lost since. They enter League Playoffs as the number one seed and early favorite.

Don’t read too much into that though because this field is deep. The Loons, who finished sixth in the standings, are the perfect example of that depth. After a slow start the first weekend, the Loons have been building each week. They’ve picked up points in four of their last five games including a tie against the third-ranked Blue Ox, who they will face in the first round of playoffs. The Blue Ox have wins over every team in the league and have the talent to make a run if they can play well consistently, but the path won’t be easy.

The Green Giants finished the season in the second spot and will face off against the Polars in the opening round of playoffs. The Green Giants went undefeated through their first eight games before dropping two of their final four. For anyone considering the seventh seeded Polars a long shot, consider the Polars jumped out to an early two goal lead in these teams’ first meeting. The Green Giants didn’t pull ahead until the third and needed an empty netter to seal the win.

The best opening match up in the Youth 14U League Playoffs will be the Walleye versus the Moose. The two teams finished tied in the stands and split games during the season. The winner will move onto face the Lakers in the semi-finals.

For the official Youth 14U League Playoff bracket and schedule, click here.

Youth 15

If you’re looking for a dark horse entering Youth 15 League Playoffs, you may not have to look farther than the team wearing the darkest jerseys. The Loons started the year off losing four straight but have rebounded by going 5-2-1 over their last eight games. It wasn’t simply a matter of an easier schedule either as the stretch included wins over the number two-ranked Lakers and third-seeded Polars.

The Loons will host the Moose, who they finished tied for fourth with in League standings. The winner of that game will take on the top ranked Walleye, who earned a bye in the first round.

On the bottom half of the bracket, the Lakers will start playoffs against the same team they finished the regular season against. The seventh ranked Blue Ox come into the matchup as a dangerous underdog. The Blue Ox were one of only a couple of teams to tie or beat the Walleye so they know they can play with anyone. They also played the Lakers to a tough 3-2 loss in the season finale.

The game between the Polars and Green Giants is definitely the most likely of any of the opening round League Playoff games to head to overtime. The Polars ended the season with a league high five ties in 12 games, and the Green Giants had four ties. Granted, two of their ties came against each other, but the teams are about as even as it gets. Through six periods, these two squads are tied 4-4 and the Green Giants have a slight edge in shots at 37-36.

For the official Youth 15 League Playoff bracket and schedule, click here

Girls 14U

Talk about a photo finish in Girls 14U. The Green Giants used a win on the last night of the regular season to move into a three-way tie for first place. To make their final win of league play even sweeter, they won the tie breaker over the Lakers (2nd - goal differential) and Polars (3rd - league wins) to earn the first seed for playoffs.

The Green Giants won’t be able to celebrate for long though because they are set to take on the Lakers, who tied the Green Giants for a league high nine wins, in their first playoff matchup on Friday night.

With the pool play format of the Girls 14U League Playoffs, the opener between the Green Giants and Lakers is just one example of many great games that should take place over the weekend. In fact, every team, except the first and last place teams, will face the teams who finished above and below them in the standings during pool play.

To make each game even more meaningful, the top two teams in points, regardless of their pool, will advance to the championship game, and the top four teams will advance to District Playoffs on October 8-9.  

With how close the regular season was between the top four teams, it’s a real possibility that any of them end up in the championship game. The Moose may be considered the least likely to make the finals, but they beat the Green Giants and Lakers during the season and also had a tie against the Polars.

Another one of the story lines of the weekend will be watching to see if the fifth ranked Blue Ox or the sixth seeded Loons find a way to sneak into the top four. The Blue Ox have been playing well as evidenced by recent ties against the Polars (3rd) and Moose (4th). The Loons have a tougher road to the top four, but a win over the Blue Ox on Friday could put the Loons in position to climb into the District Playoffs as well.

For the complete Girls 14U League Playoff schedule, click here

The CCM Minnesota Hockey High Performance Tier 1 Leagues are a prestigious series of tryouts, skill development sessions and competition weekends that provide the top players from each district or section a chance to play with and against the best players in the state.  The Leagues are conducted in accordance with USA Hockey rules and all teams are eligible for USA Hockey’s Tier 1 National Championships.

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