LANSING, Mich. -- Utah isn’t exactly a hockey hotbed, but don’t try telling that to the Utah Lady Grizzlies.

Girls’ hockey is growing in the valley, and back on March 8 when the Lady Grizzlies 19U squad won the Rocky Mountain District championship in a 3-0 shutout over the Colorado Select, even a member of the plane’s flight crew on the trip back to Utah got involved in the celebration.

Just as the plane was departing from Dallas, a flight attendant’s voice came over the intercom to congratulate the Lady Grizzlies for winning the district title. The passengers on the plane clapped and Lady Grizzlies’ goalie, Sam Zvonkovic, raised the trophy from her seat in the 22nd row.

The Lady Grizzlies’ team is made up of 14 players from Utah, ranging in ages from 14 to 18 years old.

“This is truly an exceptional group of young athletes,” said Lady Grizzlies’ coach Stan Weiss. “Not only are their hockey skills, commitment and focus exceptional, but their trust and belief in each other is truly fantastic. I’ve been coaching a long time, and I’ve only coached one other team like this before, but it was a boys’ team. These girls are awesome. They have fun together, they love the game of hockey, they work hard and they love one another. There isn’t any drama, and the team bonding and chemistry is amazing. I am very proud of them.”

In Lansing at the Toyota-USA Hockey Girls Tier II 19U National Championships, the Lady Grizzlies bowed out after pool play, going 0-3 and scoring just two goals in three games against the Rochester (Mich.) Rattlers, Cazenovia (N.Y.) Lady Chiefs and the East Coast Wizards.

Stat Leaders

Amanda Conway of the Boston Shamrocks led the tournament with 12 goals, and Portland Junior Pirates’ goalie Paige Fontaine posted a tournament-best five wins, getting her fifth in the championship game with a 2-1 win over the East Coast Wizards.

Worth the Trip

The Alaska Icebreakers journeyed nearly 4,000 miles to Lansing for the national tournament and made some noise before falling in the quarterfinals, 3-2 in overtime by the Marquette Sentinels. The Big Sky (Mont.) Wildcats also traveled a good many miles (approx. 1,640 one way) to get to Lansing and, like the Icebreakers, were bounced in the quarterfinals, this time by the eventual champion Portland Junior Pirates, 6-1.

To the Wire

The Alaska-Marquette game was the lone contest in the tournament to be decided in overtime. Two others went to a shootout as the Illinois Sabres beat the Icebreakers 2-1 on Friday, and then the Sabres saw the other side and beat the Big Sky Wildcats 1-0 on Saturday.

Arrows Win One

For the Armstrong Arrows, making the trek to Lansing from Kittanning, Pa., was only about a six-hour haul. Once they arrived in town for the national tournament, the Arrows didn’t get out of pool play, losing to the Boston Shamrocks and Alaska Icebreakers and defeating the Big Sky Wildcats.

Boston Runs to the Semis

The Boston Shamrocks made it all the way to the semifinals after beating the Illinois Sabres, Princeton (N.J.) Tiger Lilies and Armstrong Arrows in pool play and then downing the Cazenovia Lady Chiefs 1-0 in the quarterfinals on the strength of a 20-save shutout from Shelby McHugh and a second-period goal from Amanda Conway. Boston’s run ended with a 3-1 loss to the East Coast Wizards in the semifinals.

No Longer a Junior

Marquette Sentinels’ assistant coach Shawn Cornock is just one year removed from playing junior hockey. In 2013-14, Cornock played in the North American 3 Hockey League for the Michigan Mountain Cats and recorded five goals and 12 points while playing in all 48 games.

Story from Red Line Editorial, Inc.