St. Paul, MN – October 6, 2021 – The Minnesota Tier 1 and Tier 2 District playoffs for berths in the 2022 USA Hockey National Championships in April will kick off this weekend with semifinal action at the Plymouth Ice Center in Plymouth, Minn. Semifinal games for the Girls Tier I 14U, Youth Tier I 14U, Youth Tier II 14U and Youth Tier I 15 classifications will be held on Saturday, October 9 with championship games taking place on Sunday, October 10. 

The champions at the Girls 14U level will move on to the National Tournament in Pittsburgh, Penn., March 31 – April 4, 2022. The Youth Tier II 14U National Tournament will be held on the same dates in Kalamazoo, Mich. The champions at the Youth Tier I 14U and Youth Tier I 15 Only levels will advance to the National Tournament on March 30 – April 4, 2022 in Chicago, Ill.. and Plymouth, Mich. respectively. The Minnesota District semifinal games will kick off Saturday at 10:00 a.m. All of the Minnesota District playoff games this weekend will be broadcast live by MNHockey.Tv and are available here.

Girls Tier I 14U – The Girls Tier I 14U semifinals will include the 2021 League Playoff champion Lakers (District 6) as the number one seed with a 16-1-2 record. They will take on the Walleye (District 3) in the first semifinal. The other semifinal matchup will feature the Green Giants (District 10) against the Loons (District 2). The Lakers/Walleye game kicks off at 10:00 a.m. on Rink C. The Green Giants/Loons will start at 10:15 a.m. on Rink B.
 

Youth Tier II 14U – The Youth Tier II 14U semifinals will include the top four teams from the CCM Minnesota Hockey High Performance Prospects League Playoff. The Loons (District 2), who won the league playoff after finishing second in the regular season, will play the first semifinal against the Lakers (District 6). The Walleye (District 3), who have a 15-2 record identical to the Loons and finished as the runner-up in the league playoff, will host the Green Giants (District 10) in the second semifinal. The Loons/Lakers matchup starts at 12:00 p.m. on Rink C. The Walleye/Green Giants is set for 12:15 p.m. on Rink A.  
 

Youth Tier I 14U – The Youth Tier I 14U semifinals will feature the top three teams in the CCM Minnesota Hockey High Performance Tier 1 Fall League Playoffs as well as Shattuck-St. Mary’s Prep School. The league playoff champion Walleye (District 3), who finished with a 14-4 record will face off against the Blue Ox (Districts 15 & 16), who posted an 12-5-2 mark. The Green Giants (District 10), after a runner-up finish in league playoffs, will draw Shattuck-St. Mary’s in the second game. The Walleye/Blue Ox matchup starts at 2:00 p.m. on Rink C. The Green Giants/Shattuck opens at 2:15 p.m. on Rink A.  
 

Youth Tier I 15 – The Youth Tier I 15 Only semifinals will also include three teams from the Tier I Fall League and Shattuck-St. Mary’s. The defending Minnesota District champion and 2021 League Playoff champion Blue Ox (Districts 11, 12, 15 & 16) earned the top seed, posting a 14-4-1 record. They will face the Walleye (District 3) in the opener. The Green Giants (District 10) will meet Shattuck-St. Mary’s in the other semifinal. The Blue Ox/Walleye game starts at 4:00 p.m. on Rink C. The Green Giants/Shattuck game starts at 4:15 p.m. on Rink A.

Minnesota Hockey will also host District playoffs at the Girls Tier I 16U and Girls Tier I 19U levels on October 27 at the Plymouth Ice Center. The Youth Tier I 16U Playoffs will take place at the Plymouth Ice Center on November 10. Shattuck-St. Mary’s will represent the Minnesota District at the Youth Tier I 18U classification.