SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. - All the spectators at the final day of the Rocky Mountain District Championship Tournament got to share in the excitement at the Ice Den with a special guest.

Lyndsey Fry, a member of the silver-medal-winning 2014 U.S. Olympic Women’s Hockey Team and native of nearby Chandler, Ariz., dropped in to take pictures, talk to fans about her experience in Sochi, Russia, and hand out medals and trophies to the teams that spent the weekend playing on the same sheets of ice she honed her game on.

“That’s really cool to see everybody coming together,” said Fry, whose brother Wes participated in the tournament as a member of the Phoenix Junior Coyotes 18-and-Under team. “I haven’t been able to see my brother play in four years, so that’s been awesome just to see everybody out here from a district that is considered pretty small, not geographically, but definitely as far as players are concerned.”

Fry, who has done everything from speaking to groups to visiting her old middle school since her return from the Winter Games, plans on taking some time to rest before getting back to business.

“I’m just going to enjoy my family, enjoy my time off,” Fry said. “I’m going back to Boston in the summer to start summer training and, really, just thinking about the year ahead. I’m really excited to get back for my senior year at Harvard, and after that, we’ll see.”

Colorado Thunderbirds win Tier I 14U

Led by a 20-save shutout performance from goaltender Hunter Bancroft, the Colorado Thunderbirds downed the hometown Arizona Bobcats 3-0 to win the Rocky Mountain District Tier I 14U championship.

Thunderbirds forward Baker Shore opened the scoring at the 6:24 mark of the first period and then added a power play goal late in the second period to double the Colorado lead. Cole Quisenberry put the game on ice for the Denver-based club when he tallied his third goal of the tournament at the four-minute mark of the third period.

Ethan Middendorf made 31 saves in a losing effort for the Bobcats.

“It [winning] was huge for us, especially after the first day. We came out strong, we lost in OT and after that we kind of regrouped,” Thunderbirds coach Sergey Krivokrasov said after the game. “The kids worked so hard. It was amazing to see them getting better and better every shift, every day and every game. That’s why I think we deserved to win.”

The Thunderbirds will now go on to play in the USA Hockey Tier I National Championships, which begin on April 2 in Green Bay, Wis.

Hockey is a family affair

If you were to take a look at the rosters for the Rocky Mountain District championship tournament, you might see a last name or two that will sound familiar. That’s because the sons of some former National Hockey League players took part in the action over the course of the four-day tournament.

Callan Foote, son of former NHL defenseman Adam Foote, helped his Colorado Thunderbirds team win the Tier I 16U championship with a goal and two assists in a 10-0 rout of the Arizona Bobcats in the championship game.

“It’s really a great advantage,” Callan Foote said when talking about his father, who was unable to make the trip to Valley of the Sun because he was coaching his brother Nolan’s team in a tournament in Texas. “I’m really lucky to have this opportunity, and all my teammates are really lucky to have the knowledge that he has.”

Austyn Playfair, son of former NHL veteran and current Phoenix Coyotes associate coach Jim Playfair, had a goal and two assists in four tournament games for the Phoenix Junior Coyotes U16 team.

Story from Red Line Editorial, Inc.

Youth Tier I

14U: Colorado Thunderbirds

16U: Colorado Thunderbirds

18U: Colorado Rampage