Boys Deliver Strong Performances at Tier I Nationals In addition to the Jr. Kings’ 18s, the program’s 16s and Selects’ Pee Wees also medal in Buffalo


By Chris Bayee T he disappointment lingered, but


it didn’t change the fact that Cali- fornia’s entries in the boys Tier I divi- sion of the recent USA Hockey National Tournament left it all on the ice in Am- herst, N.Y. The Los Angeles Jr. Kings medaled at both Midget 18U and 16U, while the LA Selects’ Pee Wees also medaled and the Bantams reached the playoff round.


Midget 16U: The Jr. Kings out-


scored their opponents, 17-3, during their five-game run, but ran into a de- fensive buzz saw in the Dallas Stars Elite in the semifinals, falling 2-1 to take home a bronze. “I’m disappointed we didn’t win (the title) because we felt we had all the components to do it,” Jr. Kings coach Louis Pacella said. “But I’m more dis- appointed this group won’t be together again. It was a pleasure to coach them.” After consecutive 5-0 victories to begin round-robin play, the Jr. Kings edged the eventual champion Long Island Royals, 2-1. An early goal staked Long Island, coached by former NHLer Pat LaFontaine, to a 1-0 lead, but the Jr. Kings tied it on a Keanu Yamamoto goal and won it on Garett Gamez’s third-period strike. Goaltender Tyler Caronia stopped 31 shots. “Our reward was playing the best prep school in the


country over the past 10 years, Shattuck-St. Mary’s, in the semis,” Pacella said.


But the Jr. Kings prevailed, 4-0, behind a shutout by


goaltender Gavin Nieto (he had two in two games) and two goals by Ryan Siroky and one each by defenseman Riley Alferd (a team-high nine points overall) and Ya- mamoto. That set up the semifinal against a Tier I Elite League rival.


ods before falling, 5-2, in the quarters. “We were up 2-0 after two periods, but


we just ran out of gas,” coach Rick Kelly said. “Belle Tire is very good and little bit deeper. They wore us down.” The Selects opened with hard-fought


victories over the Valley Jr. Warriors (2-1) and Atlanta Fire (7-5) before falling to the Long Island Gulls (5-2). Ty Comrie led the Selects with seven


points, while Patrick Khodorenko and Robby Jackson added six apiece.


Pee Wee: The Selects overcame a slug-


gish start, but lost in the semifinals, 5-1, to eventual champion Chicago Mission to win bronze.


Goaltender Rhett Bruckner and the LA Selects’ Pee Wee AAA team staked claim to a bronze medal at the boys Tier I USA Hockey National Tournament, which was contested recently in Upstate New York. The LA Jr. Kings’ 16 team also took third in its division. Photo/Hockey Weekly Action Photos/HWAP.us


“Dallas had a strategy and stuck to it perfectly,” Pacella said of a foe the Jr. Kings had gone 2-2 against in league play. “It was an extremely defensive game. Our players never quit.” Nolan Stevens scored with 1:28 to play to draw the Jr. Kings to 2-1, and they nearly tied it in the closing seconds.


Caronia fashioned a .961 save percentage and 1.01 goals-against average, which led all goaltenders who played three or more games. “Tyler and Gavin were fantastic in net,”


Pacella said. Bantams: Every team the Selects 97s


played while going 2-1 in round-robin play reached at least the quarterfinals, and LA played Detroit Belle Tire tough for two peri-


“We ran into a good team. They’re deep and they keep coming at you,” coach Shawn Pitcher said. “We had a good third period after we didn’t get clicking in the first and second.


“Chicago has been (ranked) No. 1 (by MyHockeyRankings.com) for a good part of the season for a reason.” The Selects outscored foes 21-7 in three round-robin


wins before edging the Mid-Fairfield Blues, 2-1, in the semis.


“We had a good start,” Pitcher said. “We did what we needed to do in the round robin. “Our blue line stepped up. At times it was as good as we’ve played all season on defense. (Captain) Kayla (Barnes) was outstanding as usual.”


Vanya Lodnia finished second in tourna-


ment scoring with 13 points, while Cole Gutt- man added 10 and Brannon McManus had nine for the Selects.


See how California’s Tier II, high school and women’s teams fared at nationals on Page 15.


Lady Ducks’ 14s capture bronze at national tournament T


By Chris Bayee


he Anaheim Lady Ducks returned from their Tier I USA Hockey National Tourna- ments in Marlborough, Mass., with another medal - a bronze won by the 14Us, giving the program 10 in its existence - and plenty of optimism for next season.


That’s because three of the


Lady Ducks’ four Tier I teams at nationals had younger ros- ters.


“I’m super proud of the


14s,” program director and head coach Kathy McGar- rigle said of a team that went 3-2 and reached the semifinals. The losses were to the two


finalists: the East Coast Wiz- ards and Assabet Valley. “The team worked their butts off,” she said. “They


12


Justine Reyes put home seven goals for the Lady Ducks’ 14U AAA team at its recent USA Hockey National Tournament in Massachusetts. Photo/Photography66.com


came to play from the minute the puck was dropped. Most of them are great students, and they’re setting themselves up


to play in a very strong 16U group.”


Justine Reyes’ seven goals were second most at the tournament, while Baylee


Trani and Erin Ozturk added six points apiece, also placing them among the top 10 in scor- ing.


The 12U squad had the misfortune of drawing three teams in round-robin play that all reached the semifinals. Paris Suzuki scored two goals for the Lady Ducks.


“The 12s are super young. More than half of our team was first-year players, which is not com- mon at nationals,” McGarrigle said. “We knew we’d have a size and strength disadvan- tage.”


The 16U team found itself in a


similar situation, though it played the Wizards tough be-


fore falling, 4-2. “Ninety percent of the team


is 15,” McGarrigle said. “They were in two big games against two very strong teams; they just lost close games.” Kiyono Cox and Jenni- fer Jones-Medina each had a goal for the LDs. The 19U team struggled against deeper teams at na- tionals. “We have a lot of seniors who’ve gone on to prep schools, so our depth just wasn’t there,” McGarrigle said. “We have a lot of girls who played AA last sea- son and moved up; it’s a big jump to AAA. That’s


the growing


pains for the program. “We won our district and the girls never gave up.”


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