Southeastern District: Team Maryland Represents Well

ASHBURN, Va. — The only program to place squads in all four age divisions at the USA Hockey Southeastern District Tournament was Team Maryland, and three of them made it all the way to their respective tournament finals.

After losing 4-0 to Washington Little Capitals 15-Only, Maryland exacted revenge with a 3-1 win over the Little Caps in the title game. The Marylanders also managed runner-up finishes in the 18U and 14U divisions.

Team Maryland will travel to Plymouth, Michigan, for the Chipotle-USA Hockey Tier I 15-Only Nationals, April 5-9.

Missed it by that much

With players hailing from Raleigh to Charlotte, Carolina Junior Hurricanes 14U earned a pair of wins and defeated eventual champion Florida Alliance by a 6-3 score, but fell short of a championship-game berth by one point in the standings.

Thunder rolls

From its base in Huntsville, Alabama, and its home arena in Duluth, Georgia, Thunder Hockey aims to develop talent from the states of Georgia, Alabama and Tennessee.

Three Thunder teams — 18U, 16U and 15-Only — won their way into the Southeastern District tournament, with the 16U squad piling up eight points and knocking off the Washington Little Capitals 5-4 in overtime to bring home the 16U championship.

Thunder 16U moves on to their respective national tournament, April 5-9 in Philadelphia.

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District Champions

Youth Tier I

14U: Florida Alliance

15-Only: Team Maryland

16U: Washington Little Capitals

18U: Tampa Scorpions

Girls Tier II

14U: Florida Bulldogs

16U: Carolina Junior Hurricanes

19U: Northern Virginia Ice Dogs

Feeling the sting

Perhaps the most dominant team of the Southeastern District championships was Tampa Scorpions 18U. The Scorpions swept three round-robin matchups, scoring 19 goals while permitting just four, before outlasting Team Maryland 4-2 for the district crown.

The Tier I 18U tournament also takes place April 5-9 in Philadelphia.

Goalies standing on their heads

Logan Givens of the Nashville Junior Predators 14U turned aside 22 shots in a 2-1 overtime victory against the Carolina Junior Hurricanes.

Lincoln Crosby of the Washington Little Caps 15-Only made 30 saves in a 5-3 decision over Thunder Hockey.

Team Maryland 16U goalie Dominic Basse stands out — literally. At 6-foot-5, the netminder towers over the net and most everything else. Basse looked smooth in helping Maryland close out their tournament with a 6-3 win against Carolina.

Putting the biscuit in the basket

Ethan Ouyang of Team Maryland 14U scored twice in a 6-2 victory over the Nashville Junior Predators.

Farrell Dinn of the Washington Little Capitals 15-Only dented the net twice in a 5-3 win over Thunder Hockey that put the Little Caps into the championship game.

Up a level, Owen Morgan tallied a pair of scores as the Little Caps 16U got the best of Team Maryland during round-robin play by a 6-2 score.

Chuck Bay and Nash Wood of Thunder Hockey 18U authored a couple goals apiece to propel the Thunder past Nashville 6-2.

Those same Predators engaged in a dandy early on, opening their slate with a 5-4 shootout win over Team Maryland in which Caden Gersky put in two first-period goals, including one short-handed.

In the run-up to their first district championship, Florida Alliance 14U saw Gavin Brindley and Anthony Kahl collect two goals each in a tourney-opening 5-1 win over Nashville.

Story from Red Line Editorial, Inc.