The Anaheim Lady Ducks 16U AA team battled to the end during a 2-0 quarterfinal loss Sunday at the USA Hockey Youth Nationals at suburban Denver.
Tier II at suburban Denver
16U: The Lady Ducks lost a tight, 2-0, quarterfinal decision to the Philadelphia Little Flyers. The game was scoreless until 5:31 remained in the second period. LDs goalie Samantha Phelan stopped 19 of 20 shots she faced before being pulled for an extra attacker. The Flyers iced the game with an empty-net goal. The LDs outshot their foes 25-21 but could not convert on any of their eight power-play chances.
The Lady Ducks reached the quarterfinals when four different players scored in a 4-2 victory over the New Jersey Colonals on Saturday. Ivy Dietrich and Kiana Sievers scored power-play goals, with Sievers' strike early in the third period proving to be the game-winner. It was the second game in a row she'd scored the winning goal. Emma Greene and Minnie Fehr added third-period goals for the LDs, who went 2-1 in pool play. Phelan made 21 saves.
The LDs got their first victory of the tournament on Friday. Natalia Nayes scored two goals, and Sievers got the game-winner late in the second period to lift the LDs to a 5-2 victory over the Central N.Y. Bobcats. Gabrielle Mansour and Dietrich added goals, and Sievers also had an assist. Phelan stopped 24 shots.
On Thursday, Aubriella Westphal scored with 1:59 left in the first period to halve a Rocky Mountain Lady Roughriders lead, but the LDs eventually lost 5-1. Phelan made 18 saves.
14U: Alexa Novak made 22 saves in a game that was close for two periods before the Kensington Valley Ravens erupted for four third-period goals in a 6-0 victory Saturday. Novak had made 38 saves one day earlier in a 5-0 loss to the Mamaroneck (N.Y.) Tigers.
The LDs finished pool play 1-2 because of a 2-1 victory Thursday over the St. Louis Cyclones. Ashely Paterson scored the game-winning goal 10:56 into the third period, and Novak made 34 saves. Tyler Rose Bohle scored midway through the second period for the LDs.
19U: Isabelle Buckett and Marly Yagle combined to make 29 saves in a 12-0 loss to the Kensington Valley Ravens. The duo was busy all weekend, making 128 total saves at the tournament.
Tier I at West Chester, Pa.
16U: The LDs closed out pool play with a 5-4 loss to Florida Alliance on Saturday.
On Friday, Lexy Ace and Megan Martodam scored goals in a 9-2 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins Elite.
On Thursday, Mia Catalano scored 58 seconds into the game and later assisted on Cassandra Johnson's third-period goal, but the Lady Ducks fell to Detroit Little Caesars, 5-2. Samantha Reyes made 36 saves for the LDs.
19U: The LDs fell to Team Illinois, 3-1, in their final round-robin game Saturday night.
Kaila Bush made 41 saves in a 3-0 loss to the Dallas Stars Elite on Friday. Dallas got all three goals in a 5:41 span of the second period.
On Thursday, Ruth Schmidt scored a power-play goal, and Kiera Tallas made 39 saves but the LDs lost to Shattuck St. Mary's, 9-1.
16U: Russell Bustamante scored 2:49 into overtime to lift the Jr. Ducks over the NE (Wis.) Jr. Gamblers, 4-3, on Friday. Despite finishing 2-1 in pool play, the Jr. Ducks did not advance to the playoffs because of a three-way tie-breaker.
"I'm proud of the kids," coach Alex Kim said. "This is a team I'll always remember because of the circumstances they had to overcome."
Merril Steenari scored all three regulation goals for the Jr. Ducks, including two in the third period. Steenari, who had eight points in three games, scored twice on the power play. James Hong had assists on all four goals, and Miles Roberts made 36 saves.
On Thursday, Steenari scored a second-period goal, and Roberts blanked Detroit Honeybaked in a 1-0 victory.
On Wednesday, the Jr. Ducks built leads of 2-0 and 3-1 before the Pittsburgh Penguins Elite stormed back to take a 5-3 decision. Luke Baker and Hong scored 26 seconds apart for a 2-0 lead less than 3 minutes into the game. Andrew Scott made it 3-1 3:47 into the second period. However, the Penguins scored the last four goals, including the winner 10:52 into the third period. Steenari had three assists, and Ben Ivey added two for the Jr. Ducks, whose penalty kill went 4 for 4. Nick Avakyan made 18 saves.
18U: Chris Alexander scored 3:48 into overtime to lift the Jr. Ducks over the Boston Jr. Eagles, 4-3, on Friday. Tyler Green scored twice in the final 5:48 of regulation to pull the Jr. Ducks even. Elijah O'Neal tallied late in the first period, and Logan Gallaher had two assists. The 18s finished the tournament with a 2-1 record.
On Thursday, the Jr. Ducks spotted Meijer (Mich.) an early two-goal lead then twice battled back before falling, 4-2, on Thursday. Marko Giourof scored a power-play goal in the second period, and Jacob Wilson struck 5 seconds into the third period.
On Wednesday, the Pittsburgh Penguins Elite scored the first five goals of the game despite being badly outshot by the Jr. Ducks in a 5-2 victory. The Jr. Ducks outshot the Penguins, 38-26, and got goals from Blake Mendez and Gallaher 2:15 apart midway through the third period. Ben Rutkai had two assists.