Winning a USA Hockey National Championship is always a lofty goal, but for the Anaheim Jr. Ducks and Lady Ducks teams that competed at Nationals earlier this month, there was much more to the experience.

The Jr. Ducks sent their Midget 16U and 18U teams to the Tier I tournament at Pittsburgh, while the Lady Ducks sent 14U and 16U Tier I teams and the Senior B squad to Rochester, Mich., just outside of Detroit.

“The big picture for me is when our teams make it to Nationals our kids are getting an incredible competitive experience,” Lady Ducks director Kathy McGarrigle said. “You have the knowledge that you’re competing against the best teams, the knowledge that you’re doing it in front of scouts and the knowledge that you’re still playing in the last tournament of the season, something very few teams can say.

“The experience is very empowering for the players, and several came to the coaches afterward and told us, ‘We want to be at that level. What do we have to do to get to that level?’”

Jr. Ducks Director of Coaches Craig Johnson said the tournament provided a measuring stick for the program’s progress.

“We’re not that far away,” Johnson said. “The kids got the experience of playing against the best in the country.

“It's not only getting there, but showing they can compete against the best.”

And all of the teams did that. Every game was close for every team.

The Lady Ducks 16s, coached by Jennifer Friedman, rallied from a 3-1 to tie the New Jersey Colonials in the third period before the Colonials struck in the final minute of a 4-3 win. The 16s also lost close games to semifinalist East Coast Wizards and the Mid Fairfield CT Stars. Lily Yovetich’s four points and Iman Shepard’s two goals led the team.

The LDs 14s, coached by Laura Veheranta, closed out their tournament by defeating Detroit Honeybaked, 3-2, on Lisa Ito-Bagshaw’s shootout goal after Sarah Hirst and Alexandra Bye had scored in regulation. Brooke Marella made 31 saves to cap a tournament in which she finished with a .922 save percentage and a 2.92 goals-against average.

“You always want to win, obviously, but we did a great job competing in every game, something USA Hockey officials made a point of saying to us,” McGarrigle said. “It’s always an uphill battle for girls teams from California, but it’s such a good hockey experience.

“Colleges recruit players who do well at Nationals, and our players served notice.”

The senior women’s team reached the championship game despite having just eight skaters and a goalie, and then extended the Minnesota Blue J Hawks to overtime before falling, 6-5. The final started less than three hours after the LD’s 4-1 semifinal victory over Detroit Victory Honda because the players had flights to catch back to California.

“This was really an added bonus for our girls – to watch other California girls play at the women’s level and compete at the highest level,” McGarrigle said. “It was fantastic hockey, and it’s need to see the evolution of our program that now we can field two women’s teams that can compete at a national level.”

Sara O’Toole led the women’s tournament with 22 points and 15 assists, and she and Jessica Hawkins tied for the tournament lead with seven goals. Danielle Ahumada was second with 12 points and eight assists.

The Jr. Ducks 16s defeated the Sioux Falls Stampede, 4-3, on Jojo Harguindeguy’s short-handed goal 2:49 into overtime in between close losses to the CCYHA Selects (3-1) and champion Detroit Compuware (4-0).

“We had a tough group,” said Johnson, who co-coaches the 16s with Alex Kim. “Compuware won it, and the Selects lost 6-5 to them. We were right there with both.

“Against Compuware it was 0-0 for a period and a half and we were getting chances. If we had had a couple of breaks we could have won the game. The kids played hard, and we’re proud of what they accomplished this season.”

The Jr. Ducks 18s, coached by August Aiken, finished up with a 5-4 victory over the Tampa Scorpions that was sparked by Michael Boutoussov’s two-goal, two-assist effort. His goal started a four-goal streak in the second period that sparked the victory. Brandon Bergado, Paul Selleck and Gregery Lee also scored.

“Any time you reach Nationals, it’s a privilege,” Kim said. “We’re proud of how hard all of our teams worked this season.”

The Jr. Ducks have had five teams qualify for Nationals in the past three seasons.

“It speaks well of the program and the commitment the players and their families are making,” Kim added.

-- Chris Bayee