April 8, 2008 COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — Twenty champions have been crowned within the past two weeks at the 2008 USA Hockey National Championships, presented by Easton and Labatt USA. The women’s competition concluded on March 30 by awarding a national championship to teams in three divisions, while youth competition concluded with teams claiming titles in eight divisions and four girls’ divisions. Meanwhile, adult champions were crowned in two divisions and all three junior championships were awarded. The USA Hockey Women’s National Championships, presented by Easton, were held in West Chester, Pa., March 28-30. Detroit Little Caesar’s capped an undefeated tournament by defeating Needham (Mass.) in the Senior A championship. Meanwhile, the Syracuse (N.Y.) Warriors shut out the Michigan O’Leary Hawks, 2-0, in the Senior B division final and the Utah Edge captured the Senior C division title. 2008 USA Hockey Women’s National Championships Division Champion Runner-Up Score Senior A Detroit Little Caesar’s Needham Huskies 5-3 Senior B Syracuse Warriors Michigan O’Leary Hawks 2-0 Senior C Utah Edge Tampa Bay Elite 3-2 The USA Hockey Girls’ National Championships, presented by Easton, were held in West Chester, Pa., April 2-6. Three out of the four title games were decided in overtime. Last year’s runner-up, Assabet Valley (Mass.), defeated Team Pittsburgh in overtime in the 12 & Under final. The Assabet Valley 14 & Under team defeated Detroit Little Caesar’s in its divisional championship, while Assabet Valley captured its second straight 16 & Under title. The Chicago Mission earned the 19 & Under championship in its inaugural season. 2008 USA Hockey Girls’ National Championships Division Champion Runner-Up Score 12 & Under Assabet Valley Team Pittsburgh 2-1(OT) 14 & Under Assabet Valley Detroit Little Caesar’s 4-3 (OT) 16 & Under Assabet Valley Connecticut Polar Bears 2-0 19 & Under Chicago Mission Detroit Little Caesar’s 2-1 (OT) The USA Hockey Youth National Championships, presented by Easton, were held in Buffalo, N.Y., and Hackensack, N.J., from April 2-6, with champions emerging in eight divisions. In the Tier I 12 & Under final, the LA Selects defeated Honeybaked (Mich.) in overtime, while Detroit Little Caesar’s shut out Chicago Mission in the 14 & Under title game. Detroit Little Caesar’s captured the 16 & Under title, while Shattuck-St. Mary’s (Minn.) earned its sixth 18 & Under championship in the last 10 years. 2008 USA Hockey Youth Tier I National Championships Division Champion Runner-Up Score 12 & Under LA Selects Honeybaked 2-1 (OT) 14 & Under Detroit Little Caesar’s Chicago Mission 2-0 16 & Under Detroit Little Caesar’s South Shore Dynamos (Mass.) 4-3 18 & Under Shattuck-St. Mary’s Team Illinois 5-1 At the Youth Tier II level, all four champions claimed titles for the first time. The Gulf Coast Flames (Fla.) won the 12 & Under division; the Rochester (Mich.) Rattlers took home the 14 & Under title; Belle Tire (Mich.) captured the 16 & Under championship; and the Chesterfield (Mo.) Falcons claimed the top prize in the 18 & Under division. 2008 USA Hockey Youth Tier II National Championships Division Champion Runner-Up Score 12 & Under Gulf Cost Flames Grosse Point (Mich.) Bulldogs 4-2 14 & Under Rochester Rattlers Indianapolis (Ind.) Racers 2-0 16 & Under Belle Tire Omaha (Neb.) Jr. Lancers 5-3 18 & Under Chesterfield Falcons USA Eagles 4-3 The USA Hockey Junior National Championships were held in Marlborough Mass., March 25-29, with champions being crowned at the Junior A, B and C levels. The New Hampshire Monarchs earned their second straight Junior A division title, while the Long Island (N.Y.) Royals captured their first Junior B crown and the Mass Maple Leafs won the Junior C division for the first time. 2008 USA Hockey Junior Tier III National Championships Division Champion Runner-Up Score Junior A New Hampshire Monarchs New Jersey Hitmen 5-2 Junior B Long Island Royals Northern Cyclones (Mass.) 5-2 Junior C Mass Maple Leafs Charleston Wolverines (S.C.) 9-1 Finally, the Adult U.S./Elite Checking National Championships, presented by Labatt Blue, were held in Fond du Lac, Wis., April 3-6. Wright Homes (Minn.) captured its second straight Elite Checking division title, while the Mosinee (Wis.) Papermakers won the U.S. Checking division. 2008 USA Hockey/Labatt Blue National Championships Recreational National Championships: Blaine, MN B-Division: Champion: Piranhas (Minneapolis, MN) Runner-Up: TBD (Freeland, MI) C1-Division: Champion: National City (Paw Paw, MI) Runner-Up: Lumberjacks (Boyceville, WI) C2-Division: Champion: Chase Paintball (Ft. Wayne, IN) Runner-Up: OC Nordiques (Lake City, CA) D1-Division: Champion: Dallas Hitmen (Grand Prairie, TX) Runner-Up: Nemesis (Victoria, MN) D2-Division: Champion: Fighting Saints (Eagan, MN) Runner-Up: Yellow Jackets (Waconia, MN) 30+ National Championships: Phoenix, AZ Champion: Phoenix Sr. Coyotes (Phoenix, AZ) Runner-Up: Shattuck Pioneers (Scottsdale, AZ: Shattuck St. Mary’s Alumni) 40+ National Championships: Estero, FL Champion: Black Knights (The Woodlands, TX: West Point Alumni) Runner-Up: Superior Brick Pavers (Odessa, FL) 50+ National Championships: Brandon, FL Blue Division: Champion: Fire Ants (Tampa, FL) Runner-Up: Darien Winter Club (Darien, CT) Light Division: Champion: Fog Duckers (Wesley Chapel, FL) Runner-Up: Hockey Time USA (Alpharetta, GA) USA Division: Champion: Heartland (Deerwood, MN) Runner-Up: Essex Hunt (Peapack, NJ) 60+ National Championships: Ellenton, FL Champion: Minnesota Old Timers (Roseville, MN) Runner-Up: Olde Knights (Leominster, MA) Elite No-Check: Denver, CO Elite Tier I: Champion: Lucent (Detroit, MI) Runner-Up: Down River Leafs (Detroit, MI) Elite Tier II: Champion: Tap Room Kings (Detroit, MI) Runner-Up: Ft. Collins Fire Chickens (Ft. Collins, CO) Elite Full-Check National Championships: Fond du Lac, WI U.S. Division: Champion: Mosinee (Mosinee, WI) Runner-Up: Detroit (Detroit, MI) Elite Division: Champion: Wright Homes (Minneapolois, MN) Runner-Up: Madison (Madison, WI) USAHockey.com is the online destination for live scores, stats and standings for all USA Hockey National Championships. Archived audiocasts of select games from the youth and girls championships are available at USAHockey.com. Archived video of select games from the youth championships are available via the B2 Networks' B2onDemand feature and linked from USAHockey.com. |