It’s not often the State of Hockey is considered a newcomer for anything hockey related, but it was testing the water, or ice, this weekend with the 2016 USA Hockey Girls’ Tier 1 National Tournament.

Now that the results are in, it’s safe to say Minnesota made a big splash. The first national tournament in Minnesota in 20 years attracted over 70,000 spectators and served as a successful launching pad for Minnesota Hockey’s new Tier 1 hockey endeavor.

Both the Girls’ Tier 1 16U and Girls’ Tier 1 19U title games featured a team from Shattuck-St. Mary’s (“Shattuck”), the well-renowned prep school in Faribault, MN, and a team from the Upper Midwest High School Girls’ Elite League, which was in its first year of being Tier 1 sanctioned. It was a world class showdown as the four teams included 10 gold medal winners from the 2015 and 2016 US Under-18 Women’s World Championships and well over 30 Division I committed players.

In the Girls’ Tier 1 16U championship, Minnesota Elite Grey scored the game’s first goal halfway through the first period to make it 1-0. The teams traded chances back and forth through the second period, but neither team could overcome the other’s solid goaltending.  Shattuck made a major push in the third, scoring twice in a two minute span to take the lead, 2-1. It was a lead they hold onto the rest of the game to earn their fourth consecutive Girls’ Tier 1 16U National Championship.

The other Minnesota Elite team, Black 19U, was also the first to score in the Girls’ Tier 1 19U Championship, but Shattuck was equal to the challenge, tying the game 1-1 late in the first period. The teams played to a stalemate the rest of regulation, sending the game to overtime. 

In overtime, the game took an interesting turn. Minnesota Elite Black drew their first power play of the game and nearly scored the game winner on a scramble in front of the net. Then, the referee assessed a penalty shot for a Shattuck player covering the puck in the crease. Shattuck’s goaltender came up with another big save, using a quick poke check to keep her team alive. Shortly after that, Shattuck capitalized on a turnover to win the Girls’ Tier 1 19U National Championship 2-1 in overtime.

An Elite Showcase

While neither of the Minnesota Elite teams was able to pull out a championship, they performed extremely well as a group. Combined, they compiled a 15-1 record in pool play and outscored their opponents 57-12 en route to all five teams advancing to bracket play. Four of the five teams advanced to the semifinals, with the only loss coming in a 19U battle between two Minnesota Elite teams.

The representatives from the Girls’ Elite League, which had only re-organized a couple of weeks ago after the conclusion of the girls’ respective high school seasons, finished the tournament with a total of six losses. Three of the losses came against the eventual champions in Shattuck and two more were against fellow Minnesota Elite teams. All in all, it was a strong showing for the league’s first experience in the USA Hockey championships.

Sabre Pride

Two buses of Shattuck-St. Mary’s students arrived from Faribault to give the championship games the best atmosphere of the tournament. The students displayed their school pride and support for their classmates in both games, switching between rinks as often as breaks in play and intermissions would allow. Shattuck-St. Mary’s also claimed national titles at the Youth Tier 1 14U & 16U levels.

Referees Remember Butch

It was a weekend of mixed emotions for many of the officials in attendance at the Schwan Super Rink in Blaine. While many of them look forward to these high end events every year, they were also dealing with the loss of one of their own after the passing of Butch Mousseau. The referees honored Butch with a “BM” helmet sticker throughout the weekend.

Stick Tap to WHAM

Minnesota Hockey would also like to recognize the outstanding efforts of the Women’s Hockey Association of Minnesota (WHAM) over the weekend. They attracted far more spectators than expected, incorporated pieces of Minnesota culture into the event and did a great job adjusting on the fly, such as moving their Taste of Minnesota indoors when winter temperatures reappeared in April. Thank you to all of the volunteers who made the USA Hockey National Championships’ re-introduction to Minnesota a success!