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Girls 19U Win National Championship

04/14/2017, 11:15am PDT
By Solar4America Ice Hockey Department

The Jr. Sharks Girls 19U Had a Long Road to Success

The Jr. Sharks Girls 19U team began their season early when they attended the 2016 Beantown Classic Tournament in Marlborough, MA in July. From there, their journey would not be an easy one. Throughout the season the team traveled to tournaments in Dallas, Detroit, Rochester, Anaheim, Calgary, Wisconsin and ultimately earned their way into the National Tournament in Troy, Michigan by defeating the Alaska All-Stars in an exciting overtime win at the District Tournament.

The girls’ grueling schedule in the first half of their season led to high success in the second half, in which the team took home championship banners in every tournament they attended since the start of 2017. These tournaments include their home hosted MLK Tournament, the CAN/AM Challenge Cup Tournament in Madison, WI and the Pacific District Championships in Anaheim, CA. Their record after December, leading into the National Tournament, was 17-3-1, outscoring their opponents with a goal differential of 88-32.

Going into the National tournament the girls were confident in their ability to continue their success. They knew their first match-up would not be an easy one going up against the highly ranked Connecticut Northern Lights. A hard fought battle against a fast team, and first game nerves, led to their first 2-1 win of the tournament. The girls endured another win and an overtime loss in their next two round robin games, placing them as the top seed for the quarter-final round.

The quarter-final match-up would prove to be less of a challenge than previously faced teams in the tournament, as the Jr. Sharks cam away with a decisive 7-1 win over the Reston Raiders. With expectations unknown for their semi-final match-up against the Steel City Selects, the girls ultimately prevailed with a 3-0 shutout win to earn their way into the championship game.

With a National Championship title just one game away and the team coming off 8 straight elimination game wins since the start of January, the girls seemed to find themselves in familiar situation yet again. The Jr. Sharks came out strong from the drop of the puck, scoring their first goal midway through the first period. It was evident that there was no chance of them letting up when they scored two more goals in the second period to go up 3-0. About midway through the third period, the girls put in a power play goal to secure their 4-0 win over the Ann Arbor Cougars for the 19U Tier II National Championship title.

“I am extremely proud of these girls and the accomplishments they have made this season. They set some lofty goals and through hard work and sacrifice, they managed to meet them. Words cannot describe the feelings of winning a National Championship especially at this level. This will always be one of the most memorable moments for me as a coach and I look forward to the possibility of having more success like this in the near future,” said Head Coach Bobby Long

Assistant Coach Amanda Long added, “As the Girls/Women’s Hockey Coordinator at Solar4America Ice, I am excited not only for the team and their win, but for the impact that this accomplishment will bring to the Jr. Sharks program. Between the National Championship win and the advancement of all five seniors to college hockey, I feel that players seeking a high level of play no longer need to leave our region to find success or meet their goals. Our program is getting the attention of many in the hockey world on a national level and I look forward our current growth and development leading to our continued success moving forward.”

Congratulations girls on winning a USA Hockey National Championship!!!

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