April 8, 2003

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - Sixteen teams claimed national titles on Sunday as the 2003 USA Hockey National Championships began in eight different cities throughout the United States. Champions were crowned in Youth Tier I, Youth Tier II, Girls'/Women's, and three Adult Divisions.

Youth Tier I and Tier II Divisions included competition in Midget (17-and-Under and 16-and-Under), Bantam (14-and-Under), and Pee Wee (12-and-Under) age classifications. Girls' age levels included 19-and-Under, 15-and-Under, and 12-and-Under, while women's teams competed in the Senior A and Senior B categories. All tournaments took place April 2-6.

The Youth Tier I National Championships were hosted by Buffalo, N.Y. (12-and-Under and 14-and-Under); Marlboro, Mass. (16-and-Under); and Laurel, Md. (17-and-Under). Shattuck St. Mary's (Minn.) earned its third title in five years in the 17-and-Under category, while the Los Angeles Junior Kings won the first-ever Tier I 16-and-Under National Championship. The California Wave 88's and Honeybaked (Mich.) took the 14-and-Under and 12-and-Under crowns, respectively.

Division:
12 & U - Honeybaked (Mich.) def. Philadelphia Junior Flyers, 4-0
14 & U - California Wave 88's def. Shattuck St. Mary's (Minn.), 4-1
16 & U - Los Angeles Junior Kings def. New Jersey Rockets, 5-2
17 & U - Shattuck St. Mary's (Minn.) def. Team Illinois, 5-4

The Youth Tier II National Championships were held in Charleston, S.C. (12-and-Under); Orlando, Fla. (14-and-Under); Marlboro, Mass. (16-and-Under); and Laurel, Md. (17-and-Under). The South Boston Midget A's claimed their third consecutive Tier II 17-and-Under title, while the Littleton (Colo.) Hawks won in the 12-and-Under category for the second time in three years. The Toledo (Ohio) Ice Diggers and the Darien (Ill.) Huskies recorded one-goal victories in the 16-and-Under and 14-and-Under divisions, respectively.

Division:
12 & U - Littleton (Colo.) Hawks def. Chesterfield (Mo.) Falcons, 3-2 (ot)
14 & U - Darien (Ill.) Huskies def. North Dakota 88's, 4-3
16 & U - Toledo (Ohio) Ice Diggers def. Darien (Ill.) Huskies, 2-1 (2ot)
17 & U - South Boston Midget A's def. Mid Fairfield (Conn.), 4-2

Girls' and Women's National Championship action took place in Aston, Pa. Assabet Valley (Mass.) won its third National Championship in four years in the 12-and-Under category, its fourth consecutive 15-and-Under championship, and its first 19-and-Under title since 1994. Assabet Valley also won a national title in the Senior A division, while Queenston (N.Y.) won its first-ever Senior B championship.

Division:
12 & U - Assabet Valley (Mass.) def. Madison (Wis.) Capitols, 9-1
15 & U - Assabet Valley (Mass.) def. Chelmsford (Mass.) Lions, 2-1
19 & U - Assabet Valley (Mass.) def. Connecticut Polar Bears, 4-2
Senior A - Assabet Valley (Mass.) def. Nighthawks (Mass.), 3-2
Senior B - Queenston (N.Y.) def. Full Stride (Vt.), 3-2

In the Adult Division, three national champions were declared on Sunday in Fond du Lac, Wis. (Elite and U.S.) and Fort Meyers, Fla. (18-and-Over). New York St. Nick's won its second consecutive Elite National Championship in overtime, while a pair of Michigan teams -- Detroit State Utility and Lucent Technologies Hurricanes -- earned U.S. and 18-and-Over titles, respectively.

Division:
18 & Over - Lucent Technologies (Mich.) Hurricanes def. Chicago Sharks, 5-1
U.S - Detroit State Utility def. Mosinee (Wis.) Papermakers, 3-0
Elite - New York St. Nick's def. Buck's Unpainted Furniture (Minn.), 5-4 (ot)

The 2003 USA Hockey National Championships began March 27-30 in Scottsdale, Ariz., as the Phoenix (Ariz.) Senior Coyotes won their third 30-and-Over title with a 7-3 victory versus the Jacksonville (Fla.) Vultures. Five more USA Hockey National Championships will be decided in the next six weeks in the following divisions:

Date.............Tournament.............................................Site
April 3-8........Junior B National Championship..............Blaine, Minn.
April 10-13...40-and-Over National Championship........Ellenton, Fla.
April 11-13...Junior C Invitational Tournament..............Indiana, Pa.
May 2-3.......Junior A National Championship...............Sault Ste. Marie, Mich.
May 15-18...Adult Novice National Championship.......Chicago, Ill.