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The 2015-2016 North Branch Peewee A team just finished a truly historic season.

They are the first team ever from North Branch, at any level of hockey, to qualify for a Minnesota State Tournament appearance.  This group of  players, born in the years 2000-2003 have been over-achieving ever since they first started skating together as Mites seven to eight years ago.

Although they came up just one goal short in two State Tournament games, they “beat the odds” just by qualifying.
There are 91 Peewee A teams in Minnesota, only eight make it to State. Most teams that make it have many kids to choose from to formulate their teams and typically have three or four lines and two goalies.   This year North Branch had 18 skaters and no goalies to form two teams from.   This became an A team with 10 skaters and a waivered-in goalie from White Bear Lake. They played, competed, and were highly successful with just two lines and one “borrowed” goalie.

The path for the team’s amazing run was as follows:
After going undefeated in a grueling District 10 game schedule, the team skated through the District Tournament capturing its second District Championship in as many years.  

It took three wins in a row to capture back-to-back championships.  They defeated Andover 5-4 in an overtime opening game thriller, then cruised to an 8-3 win over Rum River, and wrapped-up the championship neatly with a convincing 8-1 victory over Rogers.  This culminated in a number one seeding in the Northern Regional Tournament.

The boys picked-up where they left off and continued the undefeated District’s streak converting into an undefeated Region streak.

They opened up the tournament with a 7-0 drubbing of Eveleth-Gilbert.  They then continued by pounding Duluth Denfeld, 7-2 in the semi-final, propelling them to the Regional Championship against upstart North Shore.  In true 2015-2016 North Branch A Peewee fashion, the Vikings made a statement by crushing North Shore 9-3 and punching the first-ever State Tournament ticket for any North Branch hockey team.

All of this prompted the entire North Branch community to embrace and rally behind the team.  Many of the downtown businesses allowed the boys to paint their store-front windows and most used their marquees to display encouraging and congratulatory messages.  With this momentum and support, the team headed to Greenway/Coleraine with their number one North Region seeding for the Minnesota State Peewee A Tournament.  Their opening game pitted them against the District 15 number two seed, Alexandria.  In a back-and-forth battle, the team came up just short, losing 6-5.  They then faced District 9 number one seed, Mankato.   After going down 7-3, the Vikings came out after the second period Zamboni break, and scored four straight, unanswered goals to tie the game.  With nothing left in the tank, the boys were fueled by their hearts and left it all on the ice, but their unbelievable season came to end losing 11-9.  

What a remarkable, unforgettable season for the North Branch Peewee A team.

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