There was no place like home for the Anaheim Jr. Ducks' Tier 1 teams as three squads raised Pacific District championship banners at Great Park ICE and FivePoint Arena on March 2.

The 18U, 16U and 15U AAA teams won championships, giving the Jr. Ducks three Tier I qualifers for the USA Hockey Youth Nationals for only the second time in the club's history and the first time since 2019,  when the 18U, 16U and 14U teams qualified.

"It's huge having three teams go to Nationals," said Alex Kim, the club's director of player development and coach of the 15O and 16U teams. "These are pivotal ages for players to gain more exposure, and Nationals provides that. It's important for players to see the rewards of their hard work and have an opportunity to play on that platform."

Here is a closer look at each division:

18U's roll to championship

The 18U team routed Team Alaska 8-2 in the championship game. It was the Jr. Ducks' second victory against Alaska in the tournament, having also won 7-3 in the opener. The 18U's won their four games by a combined 32-9.

In the final, Brendan O’Brien and Jude Martinez scored two goals apiece, and six players had multipoint games. Kasen Mainberger made 20 saves as the Jr. Ducks outshot Alaska 46-22. 

After the teams traded first-period goals, with Luka Zoretic scoring for the Jr. Ducks, Martinez and O’Brien tallied 21 seconds apart early in the second. Alaska drew to one goal 2:26 later but O’Brien struck again with 1:57 left to make it 4-2.

The Jr. Ducks salted the game away in the third with goals from Martinez, Adan Kostanian, Jayden Dean and Dillan Rud. 

If the team seemed as though it was on a mission, there's a reason for that, coach August Aiken said. 

"The biggest thing is we try to get into a playoff mindset after the Christmas break and into the New Year because we know we're going to have some challenging games," he said. "We went to the Tier 1 playoffs a couple of weeks ago, and right off the bat we played St. Louis, which was highly ranked, and we beat them 3-1.

"All of the players realized we have a good team. Then we played Fox Motors, which won the Tier 1 league, and lost 2-0 on an empty-net goal."

Statistics from the round-robin game against Alaska were not available, but O’Brien had five goals in the final three games, Zoretic had five points, and Dean and Maxime Rentmeester added four apiece. Mainberger won all four games, allowing just seven goals all tournament, including only four in the final three games. 

"I couldn’t be more prouder of the team," Aiken said. "One of the biggest things with this group is we have balance and great goaltending. Either one could be in net and get the job done. As far as the D corps, it’s solid. Everyone can defend and contribute offensively. Up front, I can juggle the lines if I need to."

16U's survive overtime thriller

The 16U team also defeated Team Alaska in a final, but it was more challenging, taking a Wesley Ryoo goal 2:29 into overtime to get the job done, 3-2. JJ Weiner and Matt Ryu had assists on the play.

Alaska scored on a power play in the first period before the Jr. Ducks scored the next two. Ethan Tosczak tallied two minutes later, and David Contreras’ power-play goal with 2:14 to go.

Alaska tied it midway through the second and that’s how it stood for nearly two periods before the decisive goal. Parker Kellersberger made 27 saves for the Jr. Ducks. 

"The team came off a losing streak going into districts but we stayed positive," Kim said. "The boys accomplished what they set out to do, and I couldn't be prouder. It's a great group of families."

The Jr. Ducks rolled through round-robin play and defeated the Las Vegas Jr. Golden Knights 6-0 in the semifinals, but a chippy ending to the game led to a multitude of penalties, which disqualified Kim from coaching in the finals. Instead, assistants Noah Clarke and David Walker ran the bench.

"We had too many penalties after our goalie got run against Vegas," Kim said. "I couldn't ask for two better guys to lead the team into that type of game. The staff did a good job of preparing. Mike Bickley and Noah did a good job of that all season."

Ryoo had a team-high 10 points in five games on the weekend, and he and Contreras scored four goals. Ryu, who set up the tournament winner, and Logan Ybarra added seven points, and Tosczak and Contreras each had six points. Kellersberger had four of the wins, stopping 68 of 74 shots and finishing with a 1.20 goals-against average. 

15O's caps dominant run with title

The 15O team also defeated Team Alaska in a championship game, 5-1. Goalie Evan Enck, as he was all season, was stellar, stopping 13 of 14 shots in the game and 53 of 57 (.930 save percentage) in the tournament. The Jr. Ducks outscored their opponents by a combined 47-4 on the weekend.

Five players scored in the final for the Jr. Ducks, who outshot Alaska 43-14: Nikolas Ferry, Hunter Kapen, Jacob Gordon, Daniel Greenbaum and Mason Moreland. 

After a scoreless first period, the Jr. Ducks blew the game open in the second with goals by Kapen, Gorden (power play) and Greenbaum (shorthanded). Both teams entered the final with 4-0 records. 

"The 15s have had a great season so far," said Kim. "They play solid hockey game-in, game-out. The team came together really well, and it showed this weekend."

Kapen led the offense with 14 points, including six goals, Greenbaum had 13 points and a team-high seven goals, Cole Hajt added 11 points and five goals, and Hudson Welsom and Bradley Ryoo (six goals) chipped in 10 points apiece. Enck had two shutouts.

14U reaches semifinals

The 14U team lost overtime in the semifinals to the Jr. Kings despite goals from Duncan Torre and Ji Ho Song. 

The 14U's went 1-2 in round-robin play and were led by Song with five points and four goals. Dason Frieden added four points, including a pair of goals. 

13O goes 2-1

The 13O team went 2-1 in round-robin play and finished with a positive aggregate score (9-5) but was denied a chance in the final due to a three-way tiebreaker.

The Jr. Ducks defeated the eventual division champion Jr. Kings 3-2 in their round-robin opener and also knocked off the Jr. Golden Knights 5-1.

Hansoul Kim had a team-high four points, and Anderson Bernard and Sloan Hall scored a team-leading three goals apiece. Harris Liu added two goals among his three points. Goaltenders Roman Garuba (.933 save percentage) and Jacob Fleming (.952) each won a game.