WEST CHESTER, Pa. — Today was a long time coming for many teams in the Atlantic Affiliate. After months of preparation and hard work, they’ve finally reached the end of the road to nationals. Here, the best teams were able to punch their ticket to the USA Hockey National Championships. Who made the cut?
DE-18U AAA
The Delaware Jr. Blue Hens made a big-time statement in their 9-0 rout of the Delaware Ducks, winning the DE-18U AAA division in style. Joseph Pietropaulo got the party started in the first period, scoring off an assist from Jacob Schindler. Not wanting to be left out, Tyler Syto got in on the scoring just over a minute later, followed quickly with another one by Alexander Losacco. Blink and you might have missed the Blue Hens go up 3-0 within the span of three minutes. The Blue Hens would go on to go up by five heading into the second period, where Andrew Hoffert would pad their lead to 6-0 as we entered the third.
The Hens rang up an astonishing 50 shots through the first two periods, and that number would only grow throughout the remainder of the contest, ultimately ballooning to over 70 by the time the final buzzer mercifully sounded. When the dust settled, the Blue Hens had won 9-0, were district champions and had punched their ticket to Nationals in the process.
Girls 14U AA
In a battle of the Flyers, the Philadelphia Little Flyers took on the Philadelphia Jr. Flyers to decide the 14U AA District Championship. The Little Flyers got off to a hot start when Grace Bytof and Kayleigh Bond reeled off the first two goals of the game and put them up 2-0. From there, the Jr. Flyers dominated the second period, scoring three unanswered goals to snatch the lead away. A tense third period ensued, before the Little Flyers’ Emily Sullivan tied the game with five minutes remaining. We were headed for overtime, with a trip to Nationals on the line. Finally, roughly seven minutes into overtime, it was the Jr. Flyers’ Ava Cras who drilled the game winning goal delivered her team a District Championship. The Jr. Flyers will now travel to Sioux Falls, South Dakota to compete at the USA Hockey National Championships.
Girls 14U AAA
The Philadelphia Jr. Flyers captured the District crown with a sparkling, 3-0 shutout over the New Jersey Colonials. After a scoreless first period, Tessa Macchione, Madeline Allen and Rachel Steward all pitched in goals to overwhelm the Colonials and end the series before a third game. The day before, the Flyers were similarly dominant when they took Game 1 by a score of 5-1. With these two straight wins, the Flyers now advance to Nationals in Wesley Chapel, Florida.
Jack Williams