October 9, 2022 - With victories at the Minnesota District Championships on Sunday in Plymouth, Minn., four Minnesota teams advanced to the Girls Tier I 14U, Youth Tier II 14U, Youth Tier I 14U and Youth Tier I 15 USA Hockey National Championships, which will be held March 29 to April 3, 2023. The Girls Tier II 14U Champions were crowned last week when the Moose (District 8) qualified by winning their League Playoffs.

The champions included the Lakers (District 6) 14U Girls team, Green Giants (District 10) 14U Prospects League team and Shattuck-St. Mary’s 14U Youth and 15 Youth teams. The Lakers will head to Dallas, Tex. for the USA Hockey Girls 14U Tier I National Championships and the Green Giants will head to the Youth Tier II 14U Nationals in Denver, Colo. Shattuck-St. Mary’s will travel to Plymouth, Mich. and Wayne, N.J. for the Youth Tier I 14U and Youth Tier I 15 National Championships, respectively.

Girls Tier I 14U – The Lakers, who won in the CCM Minnesota Hockey High Performance League playoff last weekend, secured their trip to Nationals with a 4-0 victory over the Walleye (District 3).  The Lakers received big performances from Callie Arthur and Katya Sander, who each netted a pair of goals. Tyler Jabs and Kayla Swartout combined for the shutout victory.

Youth Tier II 14U – The Green Giants advanced to Nationals following a furious third period rally, in which they trailed 2-0 with less than four minutes remaining against the Voyageurs (Districts 11 & 12). Carson Scott and Benjamin Hartman tallied goals 1:09 apart. That set up overtime where Logan Rustad broke in and scored just seven seconds into overtime to grab the victory. 

Youth 14U – The Shattuck St-Mary’s 14U Youth team defended their Minnesota District title with a 4-0 victory over the Polars (District 5). Tynan Lawrence led the way for Shattuck with two goals, including an empty netter in the third period to seal the victory. Xavier Wendt earned the shutout with an 18-save performance.

Youth 15 – Shattuck St. Mary’s also repeated their District championship with a 7-1 victory over the Blue Ox (Districts 11, 12, 15 & 16). Alex Donovan paced Shattuck with two goals and an assist, and Andrei Nabokov added a goal and an assist. Grayson Hanggi earned the win by stopping 20 of 21 shots. 

Minnesota Hockey will also host District playoffs at the Girls Tier I 16U and Girls Tier I 19U levels on October 26 at the Parise Rink at Shattuck-St. Mary’s. The Youth Tier I 16U Playoffs will take place at the Super Rink on November 8. Shattuck-St. Mary’s will represent the Minnesota District at the Youth Tier I 18U classification.