By Alyssa Girardi –
Troy — Hundreds of youth hockey players from coast to coast flew into Troy, Mich. for the opportunity to compete for the USA Hockey Tier II Youth 16U championship at the Troy Sports Center during the first week of April.
Forty teams — including the Troy Sting, St. Clair Shores Saints and Michigan Ice Hawks — spread throughout three conferences took part in the five-day tournament.
The Saints competed for the 3A national title Sunday afternoon as Michigan’s last hope of a national championship in Troy this season, only to fall to the Southern Stars (Conn.) 4-1. The Sting were eliminated in the semifinal round after losing, 6-5, to the Affton Americans and the Michigan Ice Hawks were knocked out in the quarterfinals.
Dan Jaroshewich, tournament director and president of the Troy Youth Hockey Association, said the opportunity for the city to host the event demonstrates the confidence USA Hockey has in Michigan as a hockey state.
“It shows off the city of Troy and what the city has to offer to the public,” he said. “It just shows USA Hockey believes the state of Michigan was worthwhile of getting a national tournament, such as they did in Lansing last year (Tier II 18U), and two years ago at Rochester (girls Tier I). Michigan is one of the premier states for hockey in numbers, and I think it bodes well for us to have it here.”
Jaroshewich said Troy put in a bid to be the host site two years ago, and was awarded it in September 2011. Since then, he said it’s been a two-year process of recruiting sponsors and volunteers to put the event together.
For the past 14 months, Jaroshewich and Troy Youth Hockey Association board members also have taken part in multiple conference calls with USA Hockey and other host cities in preparation.
With the help of more than 150 volunteers — whose aid Jaroshewich heavily emphasized — the event came together to put on a tournament at a place Jaroshewich calls “one of the premier ice rinks in the state of Michigan.”