Sno-King Amateur Hockey Association is proud to announce three teams are heading to the 2023 USA Hockey National Championships on March 30th.
The 16U Tier II Girls, 16U Tier II Youth and 14U Tier II Girls are all competing for the championship title in their respective tier. This is the third consecutive year attending for the 14U Girls and the second time three Sno-King Tier II teams qualified in the same year.
To qualify for Nationals, the 14U Girls team participated in the Pacific District Championships in San Jose February 23- 26th, aiming to maintain their district championship title for the third year in a row. The girls led their division 3-0-0 heading into the semi-finals and won 3-2 over the Alaska Oilers to secure their Nationals play.
On the same weekend, the 16U Girls’ team won their first Pacific District Championship, where they went undefeated in all five games played to qualify for their first Nationals tournament. On March 4th-6th in Tacoma, the Sno-King 16U Youth team played in the Tier II Pacific Northwest Amateur Hockey Association tournament, winning the Tier II State championship with a record of 4- 1-0 and securing their Nationals qualification.
“We are really excited to see these three talented teams represent not only Sno-King but Washington state and the Pacific Northwest! Our entire Sno-King team is extremely proud of this accomplishment and is excited to see them play among some of the top teams in the country,” says Sno-King Hockey Director Doug Kirton.
The hockey community and public are requested to join a Pep Rally to send off all three teams at their final practices on Tuesday, March 28th, at Sno-King Ice Arena (14326 124th Ave NE, Kirkland) from 7:20 to 9:30 pm. (16U Girls and 14U Girls practice is 7:20-8:20 pm, and 16U Youth practice is 8:30-9:30 pm).
Established in 1964, Sno-King Amateur Hockey Association includes 60 youth teams with almost 800 players comprised of 52 co-ed eight girls hockey teams. The program boasts four previous USA Hockey National Championships, the most recent in 2016 Youth 14U Tier II, plus six second-place finishes throughout Nationals history.
“Having two Tier II Girls teams attending Nationals in the same year from Washington state is a huge accomplishment for our hockey community and speaks volumes for how the game is growing in the Pacific Northwest,” stated Larry Mana’o, Sno-King Executive Director. “In addition, the experience and exposure make dreams of playing for top college programs or elite hockey schools a possibility for some of these players.”
Nationals begin Thursday, March 30th, in Irvine, California, for the Sno-King 16U Girls and Sno-King 14U Girls teams and Amherst, N.Y., for the Sno-King 16U Youth team. Fans can watch all games part of Nationals live and on-demand at USAHockeyTV.com. To view the game schedule and results, visit https://nationals.usahockey.com.
The USA Hockey Nationals is an annual tournament dating back to 1938, where youth hockey teams across the country compete for the ultimate prize, the USA Hockey national championship. Thousands of players have taken to the ice to compete, some going on to play in the National Hockey League. Some notable players to appear in the USA Hockey Nationals are Matty Beniers, Cammi Granato, Jeremy Roenick, Joe Pavelski, Kendall Coyne-Schofield, Amanda Kessel, and Hilary Knight. *reference USA Hockey Nationals
All three teams have fundraisers to help offset travel costs and expenses. If you’d like to support the team’s exciting adventures to Nationals, please donate here:
16U Tier II Youth GOFUNDME ~ 16U Tier II Girls GOFUNDME ~ 14U Tier II Girls GOFUNDME
For more information about Sno-King Amateur Hockey Association, visit www.Snokinghockey.com.
For media inquiries, please contact Wendy Rogers, Director of Marketing & Development, at wendy.rogers@snokinghockey.com or 425-395-6464
