In San Jose, CA today the Pacific District tournament will begin, featuring 6 of the top teams from that area of the US. Here are the teams who will be taking part with a bit of a preview on each squad.
North Alaska Grizzlies
The Grizzlies haven’t ventured much outside of Alaska this season, but do have wins over the Anchorage North Stars and Alaska All-Stars and a tie against the California Wave (#7 U.S. Tier II) and came in 2nd in the ASHA and Alaska State Tournament. Offensively, the team is led by Mason Graves, who has 15 goals and 16 assists for 31 points, Eric Weber, who has 25 points, and Ty Munson, who has 22 points. In net, goalies Nathaniel Brose and Matt Taylor have both been stellar, only allowing a combined 53 goals this season while registering 466 saves. On Thursday, the Grizzlies will kick off the district tournament with a game against the Spokane Jr. Chiefs.
San Jose Jr. Sharks
At 15-21-2, the Jr. Sharks enter the tournament with wins over the Dallas Stars Elite, Philadelphia Jr. Flyers and Rocky Mountain Roughriders, as well as a huge victory over the #22 LA Selects. In league play, San Jose finished the regular season tied for 3rd in the NAPHL and were led offensively by Carson Kelley, Robert Durst, Austin Elchinoff, Max Nylander and Jack Cleaver. During the preliminary round, they are scheduled to play the Anchorage North Stars, Spokane Jr. Chiefs and LA Selects.
Sno-King Jr. Thunderbirds
The Jr. Thunderbirds are coming off a 5-4 win over the Tri-City Jr. Americans after coming in 2nd in the state championships. In addition, they also have wins this season over the Seattle Juniors 97 (#8 Tier II) and Kent Valley Rainiers. They open the tournament with a game against the LA Selects.
LA Selects
Currently ranked 22nd in the country, the Selects are tournament favorites with a record of 21-11-7. Of LA’s many accomplishments this season, the Selects won the LA Super96 Series and have ties against #7 Team Comcast and #8 Little Caesars. In addition, they also have multiple wins over tournament opponent, the San Jose Jr. Sharks. Brian Williams, Steven Owre, Ethan Somoza, Patrick Newell and Griffin Bennetti lead their offense while defensemen Evan Nythus, Wesley Varrasso, Aidan Vasquez, Christian Hausinger, Ethan Montoya, Robbie McClellan and Brendan Russ have been playing well in front of goalies Tyler Caronia and Alexsandr Zendejas. The Selects first tournament game is March 3rd against the Sno-King Jr. Thunderbirds.
Spokane Jr. Chiefs
In the last month, the Jr. Chiefs went undefeated in the Tier 1 Washington State Championships and then competed in the Minnesota Super96 Series, where they beat the Dallas Stars Elite and Madison Capitols and had a one-goal loss to #4 Shattuck St. Mary’s. In addition, Spokane also had a pair of wins over the Bozeman Icedogs AA last weekend and is now 40-17-3 with wins over the Sno-King Jr. Thunderbirds and San Jose Jr. Sharks.
Anchorage North Stars
The Anchorage North Stars enter districts after going 7-0-1 in the ASHA and 5-0 in the Alaska State Tournament. Goalie Davis Kitagawa has been excellent in net all season, registering a combined 188 saves and allowing only 12 goals in 13 games. Offensively, the team is led by Lane Bauer, Aidan Teilborg, Drake Glover, Howard Yawit, Hunter Garris and Edgar Gonzalez. The North Stars open the tournament on March 3rd with a game against the host team, the San Jose Jr. Sharks.
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