Girls Tier II National Championship Tournament

Inaugural Girls Tier II National Tourney a success

By Larry O'Connor

At Suburban Ice East Lansing, license plates in the parking lot were from Connecticut, Virginia, Massachusetts and Pennsylvania while the lobby inside resembled a shopping mall with a converted portrait studio and vendors hawking Girls Scout cookies, jewelry, sports memorabilia and apparel.

Otherwise it was business as usual as the USA Hockey Girls Tier II National Tournament completed a successful five-day run at Suburban Ice and The Summit in Dimondale. The amateur hockey revue of some of the country's best girl’s teams concluded with the crescendo of four championship finals in the 12U, 14U, 16U and 19U age divisions on April 11.

One of the eight participating Michigan teams, the 19U St. Clair Shores Saintes, advanced to the semifinals as Massachusetts-based squads made it a clean sweep.

"It's been a great event," said tournament chairman Jeff Mitchell, who was busy keeping tabs on official USA Hockey merchandise for sale in a store set up off the lobby. "Everyone has been having fun."

While the overall experience spoke to advances in girl’s hockey, disparities in competition suggested the first-ever national event needs some tweaking, though.

Massachusetts sent runners-up from its Tier I state tournament to the Tier II National Championship. The Massachusetts district didn't make a distinction between Tier I and Tier II teams, which raised the ire of some coaches, parents and players.

The issue became the white elephant in the room, which Mid Fairfield Connecticut 16U coach Jeff Beck addressed head on after his team lost in the finals to the Massachusetts Spitfires.

"They're a Tier I team," Beck said. "It's a bit of a controversy this year. In our minds, we are the top Tier II team in the country.

"That's a controversy that USA Hockey and others will have to take up. They played a great game and they're a good team, but they are a Tier I team."

Michigan Icebreakers 14U Coach Richard Murray summed up the prevailing mood among non-Massachusetts squads.

“In my opinion, we were all competing for second place,” said Murray, whose team advanced to the quarterfinals where they lost to the Wisconsin Ice Spirit.

Karen Lundgren said the USA Hockey Youth Council Women/Girl's Section is aware of the situation.

“Let's just say they will be addressing it,” said Lundgren, who noted the matter detracted from an otherwise highly successful inaugural tournament. “(But) I will go back and say of the 11 other districts that sent teams there, they did well.”

Teams from all over

Organizers preferred to focus on how the expanded tournament allowed teams from remote outposts like Alaska and Wyoming to experience a USA Hockey National Tournament.

During a battle of the 12-and-under Icebreakers squads April 9, Alaska's traveling contingent included grandparents, parents and silblings as young as 2-months old.

While cradling infant son, Loel, Julie Nichols anxiously watched daughter Sabrina earn a shutout in goal as the Alaska Icebreakers beat the host team, 3-0. With the win, the Fairbanks-based outfit advanced to the quarterfinals where they knocked off the Livonia Knights.

The national tournament experience was a whirlwind for the family, the mother said.

"She's pretty amped," said Nichols, whose sons Lawson, 9, and Link, 4, were scampering through the stands at The Summit. "She's only 12 years old and she got to come down here. That's pretty cool.”

After advancing from the Pacific District, the Fairbanks community rallied to raise nearly $39,000 in two weeks to help send the team on its way. Most flew into Chicago and chartered a bus to Lansing.

Though the Alaskans crashed out in the semifinals to Susquehanna (Pa.) Rapids, coach Luther Brice saw the tournament as the first step to bigger things.

"We're pretty much a small community," said Brice, whose daughters’ Helenka and Abigail played for the Icebreakers. "What you see here now is pretty much what came to tryouts. For us, it's big for our organization.

"Hopefully, it will help us grow in order to get more girls into the organization."

 Logistics and facility envy

The 19-and-under Team Wyoming members hailed from all corners of the sparsely-populated state, which led to some to logistical gymnastics. Many had to drive four hours or more to Denver, Colo. to catch a flight to Detroit Metropolitan Airport and then drove to Lansing.

For a boyfriend of one team member, the long journey was worth it.

"It's great because you have some great facilities here," said Dakota Seymour, whose girlfriend Ashleigh Trujillo played for Team Wyoming. "The Summit is really nice and you have two ice rinks here (at Suburban Ice East Lansing).

"We have one little tiny rink (in Laramie)."

Many Team Wyoming players played on both boys and girls teams to get enough ice time. As a squad, the Wyoming contingent only played 17 games in the regular season. "It's a lot of hard work," said Ann Coons, whose daughter Bailey was on Team Wyoming. "We pick girls from all over the state and we're not exactly close together.

"And a lot of girls are split up between the boys team and the girls team. When we can get together, that's when we can practice."

In terms of size, Bailey Coon was punching above her weight. Though 13, she played against girls a foot taller in the tournament as the U19 Team Wyoming finished 0-3.

"I play on a boys team and I'm pretty much used to the bigger kids," Bailey said.

With the divergent styles of play, spectators had plenty to take in. A couple of members of Michigan State University women's club set up a booth at the national event to sell Spartan T-shirts and draw attention to the program where some of the standouts on the ice might consider playing someday. The Spartan women play in the American Collegiate Hockey Association Division 1 league.

"There is some good talent," said Megan Purcell, MSU sophomore and club team forward. "I was watching one of the 12U games and, if they keep working it, they are going to be great players."

Mitchell gave a major assist to the Suburban Ice staff and volunteers for helping pull the event together.

"The biggest thing is the merchandise store,” Mitchell said. “We've had to reorder some merchandise. The girls like the hoodies."