Upper Midwest High School Elite League

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Nike Bauer NIT set for Nov. 2-4 at New Hope

One of the most outstanding tournaments showcasing high school hockey players from around the nation will be coming to the New Hope Ice Arena the first weekend of November. The Upper Midwest High School Elite League will be hosting the 2007 Nike Bauer High School Elite Hockey National Invitational Tournament on Nov. 2-4.

The eight-team tournament features the top Midget AAA teams in North America (including perennial power Shattuck-St. Mary’s), and two all-star teams made up of the top performers from the Elite League. Given the quality of teams set to compete, this tournament features some of the top NCAA and NHL prospects from across North America.

In addition to Shattuck St. Mary’s, Minnesota Red and Minnesota White, the 2007 Nike Bauer High School Elite Hockey National Invitational Tournament will include the Dallas Junior Stars, Team Illinois, the LA Junior Kings, the Michigan Stars and the Malmo Redhawks (a junior hockey club that competes in the Swedish Elite League’s 18-and-under first division).

All games of the Nike Bauer NIT will be played at the two-sheet New Hope Ice Arena and promise to showcase a phenomenal field of talented high school-aged hockey players.

Many prominent players have played in past tournaments, including Sidney Crosby (Pittsburgh Penguins); Alex Goligoski (Pittsburgh Penguins organization), R.J. Anderson, David Fischer, Jay Barriball and Justin Bostrom (University of Minnesota); Matt Smaby (Tampa Bay Lightning); and T.J. Oshie (University of North Dakota), among others.

2007 Pre-NIT games

In preparation for the 2007 Nike Bauer NIT, some of this year’s participants will square off in exhibition games on Thursday, Nov. 1, at the New Hope Ice Arena. Following are the pairings and game times.

1. Minnesota Metro vs. Malmo Redhawks, 5:15-6:10 p.m.
2. Malmo Redhawks vs. Minnesota/Wisconsin Outstate, 6:20-7:15 p.m.
3. Minnesota/Wisconsin Outstate vs. Minnesota Metro, 7:30-8:30 p.m.

Russell Stover captures Elite League tournament title

Kansas City’s Russell Stover, one of the top-ranked major midget teams in the nation, captured the championship of the 2007 Upper Midwest High School Elite League Playoffs last weekend with a 3-0 record at the postseason tournament at New Hope Ice Arena.

Russell Stover, the tournaments No. 5 seed, edged No. 4 seed Great Plains 4-3 in the opening round. Against Elite League regular season champion and No. 1 seed Northeast, Russell Stover rolled to a 6-3 win in the semifinals to advance to the title game. There, the Kansas City squad downed regular season second-place Team Wisconsin, 5-4.

Northeast rebounded to capture third place in the tournament with a 4-3 win over No. 3 seed Southwest. Northeast opened the event with a 6-4 triumph over No. 8 seed Northwest. Team Northeast finished the 2007 season with a 16-5-3 overall record.

In the consolation bracket, Great Plains rolled to the title with a pair of convincing wins. After its opening round loss to Russell Stover, Great Plains cruised to the consolation title with a 6-3 victory over Northwest and an 8-1 rout of No. 7 seed Southeast in the consolation championship contest.

Soley leads Elite League scorers

Team Wisconsin’s Seth Soley, a senior from Eau Claire Memorial High School, claimed the Elite League scoring title with 23 goals and 23 assists for 46 points, one point better than teammate Nate Condon’s (Wausau West) 45 points (20-25--45).

Soley and Northeast’s Tyler Barnes (Burnsville) led the league with 23 goals, while Jake Hendrickson (Burnsville) finished with a league-best 26 assists.

Wisconsin’s Brady Sand (Eau Claire Memorial) led the league with a 2.27 goals-against average, followed by Northeast’s Joe Phillippi (Hill-Murray) at 2.99 and Southwest’s Derrick Caschetta (Edina) at 3.20.