SALT LAKE CITY -- Coach Kyle Lucas and the Delaware Ducks traveled more than 2,100 miles to play in the Toyota-USA Hockey Youth Tier II 14U National Championships.

“I think the farthest we’ve ever traveled as a team is New Hampshire, which is a six-hour drive,” Lucas said. “Getting on a plane with a couple of stops, letting the kids have a little fun and play hockey away from home, that’s a good time.”

The Ducks competed in the A Division and went 2-1 in pool play. Delaware was eliminated in the semifinals, dropping a 3-2 decision to the Jr. Steelheads (Idaho) on Sunday.

“Our motto is ’15 best friends with one common goal,’” Lucas said. “And that’s where we’re at right now. There are definitely a lot of guys with big smiles on their faces.”

Forward Chris Rutkoski, who is from Magnolia, Del., said it was his first time this far west.

“It’s been good and hard,” Rutkoski said. “We’ve tried hard in every game we’ve played. Sometimes, the outcome isn’t what we wanted, but we’re all just having a fun time. We’re playing well together. The competition is a big eye opener. To see all these teams come from different states, it’s really cool.”

Scorpions of Florida Win Two
Monday was an especially good day for the Tampa Scorpions, who not only won the 14U AA title in Salt Lake City but also the 16U AA championship in Plano, Texas.

“This is a great thing for our program,” Scorpions 14U assistant coach and part-owner Chris Reed said. ”It will allow us to have the younger kids see that and want to get involved, to continue to work their way up. It really puts us and Florida hockey on the map with two national champions. It’s unbelievable.”

The Scorpions’ 14U team is coached by 16-year NHL veteran Vaclav “Vinny” Prospal, who retired just over a year ago. His son, also named Vaclav, plays on the team as well.

Prepared For Everything
Tournament Director Chrissy Olsen said her committee tried to prepare for every eventuality at the championships.

“We had bench kits donated by Total Hockey,” Olsen said. “That included a [skate] sharpening stone, extra tape, mouth guards, helmet repair kits and extra laces, just so the kids wouldn’t have to go to the locker room or miss any time on the ice. Then Walgreens donated some medical kits so a coach or team manager can have access to medicine as needed.”

Olsen also said the tournament had an orthopedic consultant on site providing training services at the Olympic Oval. An on-call dentist came in handy as well. One player had an issue with his braces that was taken care of quickly, and a referee who had a minor injury when he took a stick to the face was evaluated and treated.

Olsen said the tournament included 38 teams from 34 different states. More than 1,800 volunteer hours were serviced during the three-day event.

Brain Training
The teams advancing to the quarterfinals were treated to a banquet on Saturday evening. The guest speaker at the event was Dr. Nicole Detling, the sports psychologist for the U.S. Ski Team.

She Can Sing
Olsen managed to pull in a big-hitter for the national anthem before the AAA championship game: 12-year-old YouTube sensation Lexi Walker. The Utah native has appeared on the television show “America’s Got Talent” and performed in venues such as Carnegie Hall and the Kennedy Center. Walker’s YouTube cover of “Let it Go” from the movie “Frozen” has more than 64 million views.

As expected, the public address system in the Olympic Oval had a hard time handling her powerful rendition of the national anthem.

“I had to make sure of her age, because when you hear her sing, you’re not going to believe me that she’s 12,” Olsen said. “She normally charges a fee for her appearances, but she said she would be not only pleased to do it but honored to sing the national anthem in her home state.

“Honestly, I never thought we would be able to get her to sing. When she said ‘yes’ I couldn’t believe it.”

Story from Red Line Editorial, Inc.