USA Hockey Nationals Day 2 Recap
Day Two in the Dallas Metroplex enabled us to watch some great hockey. Both LA Selects teams went into shootouts in back to back games, both great hockey teams with some incredibly skilled players. The 94 LA Selects lost in a shootout to Shattuck-St Mary's while the 95 LA Selects topped the Red River Valley Hawks in their own shootout. The 95 LA Selects have some unbelievable size for a 95 team. Both teams have amazing talent. Congrats to the entire LA Selects program.
Unfortunately, I was not able to catch all the action here in Texas. I caught some of the Compuware - Colorado Thunderbirds contest and continue to be impressed with the entire Compuware lineup. Shattuck has solid depth with 20 boys on the roster, but they were playing two lines down the stretch against LA. Maybe Compuware will shorten things up when things get tight, but so far they just roll the lines and it really doesn't seem to matter who they put on the ice. Impressive. I was at the skills competition tonight when the Chicago Mission took it to the Florida Panthers. I was not overly impressed with their performance against Mid-Fairfield on Wednesday, but they seemed to step up tonight. The Mission and Compuware have been 1-2 all season on the MYHockey rankings and I wouldn't be surprised if we see them play in the finals.
On the Tier 2 side, Allen Park (MI) and Niagara (NY) continue to cruise. Affton, "defending champs" from two years ago when this team won the USA Hockey Peewee National Championship in Buffalo, NY, has won both opening round games in close fashion, but I expect them to be there in the end. I wouldn't count out either the LA Selects 95 team or the Red River Valley Hawks, both can play.
The skills competition was a little "slow" tonight. A little too disorganized with a PA system that no one could understand. I think it is a nice touch and it brings another element to the entire week, but it must be rehearsed in advance. While they announced the top three from each competition, it would have been really nice to see them award an overall best skater and overall best goalie in the skills competition. Just a suggestion to those who put these things on in the future. Maybe USA Hockey needs to provide a little bit more oversight on how it is best conducted in future years.
Speaking of future years, if you have not seen the changes that are coming beginning next season on the Tier 2 side, I encourage you to check them out. It's my understanding that the Tier 1 tournaments will continue as is, but the Tier 2 tournaments will change. Each state, not USA Hockey District, will be eligible to send teams to a National Tournament. They are expecting 48-50 teams. They will separate the teams into four divisions based upon the size of the youth hockey population in the given state. I think the idea has merit, but it depends upon how it's implemented. Will USA Hockey follow the IIHF and allow states to move up or down based upon performance? Will they define what Tier 1 and Tier 2 hockey is (or is not)? Will they do anything to get the best teams from Minnesota and Massachusetts involved? Will the North Dakota and Wisconsin models get anyone at USA Hockey and Minnesota Hockey talking? Time will tell and while these are important questions, this week the focus is what the boys and girls are doing on the ice.
Unfortunately, I was not able to catch all the action here in Texas. I caught some of the Compuware - Colorado Thunderbirds contest and continue to be impressed with the entire Compuware lineup. Shattuck has solid depth with 20 boys on the roster, but they were playing two lines down the stretch against LA. Maybe Compuware will shorten things up when things get tight, but so far they just roll the lines and it really doesn't seem to matter who they put on the ice. Impressive. I was at the skills competition tonight when the Chicago Mission took it to the Florida Panthers. I was not overly impressed with their performance against Mid-Fairfield on Wednesday, but they seemed to step up tonight. The Mission and Compuware have been 1-2 all season on the MYHockey rankings and I wouldn't be surprised if we see them play in the finals.
On the Tier 2 side, Allen Park (MI) and Niagara (NY) continue to cruise. Affton, "defending champs" from two years ago when this team won the USA Hockey Peewee National Championship in Buffalo, NY, has won both opening round games in close fashion, but I expect them to be there in the end. I wouldn't count out either the LA Selects 95 team or the Red River Valley Hawks, both can play.
The skills competition was a little "slow" tonight. A little too disorganized with a PA system that no one could understand. I think it is a nice touch and it brings another element to the entire week, but it must be rehearsed in advance. While they announced the top three from each competition, it would have been really nice to see them award an overall best skater and overall best goalie in the skills competition. Just a suggestion to those who put these things on in the future. Maybe USA Hockey needs to provide a little bit more oversight on how it is best conducted in future years.
Speaking of future years, if you have not seen the changes that are coming beginning next season on the Tier 2 side, I encourage you to check them out. It's my understanding that the Tier 1 tournaments will continue as is, but the Tier 2 tournaments will change. Each state, not USA Hockey District, will be eligible to send teams to a National Tournament. They are expecting 48-50 teams. They will separate the teams into four divisions based upon the size of the youth hockey population in the given state. I think the idea has merit, but it depends upon how it's implemented. Will USA Hockey follow the IIHF and allow states to move up or down based upon performance? Will they define what Tier 1 and Tier 2 hockey is (or is not)? Will they do anything to get the best teams from Minnesota and Massachusetts involved? Will the North Dakota and Wisconsin models get anyone at USA Hockey and Minnesota Hockey talking? Time will tell and while these are important questions, this week the focus is what the boys and girls are doing on the ice.
