The Arizona Bobcats 18U AA, Littleton Hawks 16U AA, and Littleton Hawks 14U AA made history on April 3rd, 2023, when they won the USA Hockey Nationals in their respective age groups. All three teams were showcase teams in the Atlantic Hockey Federation for the 2022-23 season and the organizations will continue to be showcase teams for the 2023-24 season.
The 14U AA Littleton Hawks had an intense game against the Cheektowaga Warriors, winning 4-3 at the Edge Ice Arena. Littleton’s Colton Lien led the way with two goals back to back in the second period. In the third period, Littleton showed their resilience and tied the game up with a goal from Connor Makowski. The game remained tied at 3-3 until the end of regulation, sending the game into overtime. The Littleton Hawks wasted no time in overtime and secured the victory just 48 seconds in with another goal from Colton Lien, completing his hat trick and sealing the win for the Hawks.
In the 16U AA division, the Littleton Hawks defeated the Woodbridge Wolfpack 4-2 at the Northtown Center Arena. The game started off slow with only one goal scored in the first period, and it was the Wolfpack who took the lead. However, the Littleton Hawks came back strong in the second period, with Max Neumayr scoring a goal at 10:25. The third period saw an impressive display from the Hawks as they scored three goals in quick succession. At 15:35, Tyler Vaughn scored the first goal of the period, assisted again by Hannock and Joramo. Just 15 seconds later, the Hawks struck again as Jack Hannock scored a goal of his own. The third and final goal for the Hawks came at 14:41 by Bodie Tillman. The team went undefeated in the tournament, winning all six games, including thrilling victories over the Chicago Bulldogs 3-2 and Boston Jr. Eagles 3-2 in the quarterfinals and semifinals, respectively.
Finally, the Arizona Bobcats 18U AA team defeated the Nashville Jr. Predators 5-2 in a dominant performance. Cameron Cote led the way for Arizona, scoring two goals in the first four minutes of the game. The Bobcats maintained their lead throughout the game, with 3-1 heading into the final frame. Alexander Munkelwitz found the back of the net for the Bobcats at the 14:58 mark in the third period. The Bobcats put the game away with a late goal from Jason Hammett with just 40 seconds remaining in the game.
Congratulations to the Arizona Bobcats 18U AA, Littleton Hawks 16U AA, and Littleton Hawks 14U AA on their historic victories at the USA Hockey Nationals!