The Jr. Coyotes’ 15U AAA team made an amazing run at the USA Hockey Youth Nationals 15 Only Tier I tournament over the first weekend in April, reaching the semifinals on April 9, where they bowed out 3-1 to the Buffalo Jr. Sabres at the USA Hockey Arena in Plymouth, Mich.

Timmy Treadway scored a power-play goal for the Jr. Coyotes in the semifinal loss, while Jake Hall was solid in net for Shane Doan’s club.

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Over the course of the event, the Jr. Coyotes opened with a 6-5 win over CCYHA, then suffered a 3-2 loss to the St. Louis Blues before rebounding with a 3-2 win over the Minnesota Blue Ox to finish the round robin portion of the event.

In the quarterfinals, an offensive battle saw the Jr. Coyotes knock off the Oakland Jr. Grizzlies 7-5 as Riley Stuart went for two goals and two assists and Josh Doan added a goal and two helpers for the Jr. Coyotes.

Other Arizona teams competed in national competition across the country during various national tournaments.

Pinnacle High School – The AHSHA Division 1 state champs went to Plymouth, Minn., last month and downed JSerra (Calif.) 3-1 before falling in the next two games, 2-1 to the Rushmore Thunder (S.D.) and 3-2 to Jesuit (Fla.).

AZ Lady Coyotes – District champs, the Lady Coyotes’ 19U team went to the girls Tier II tournament in Marlborough, Mass., losing to the St. Lawrence Steel, eventual champion East Coast Wizards and the Concord Capitals.

DYHA Jr. Sun Devils – Three teams from DYHA (14U, 16U, 18U) went to Nationals – the 14U club to Amherst, N.Y., the 16U team to Wayne, N.J., and the 18U squad to Green Bay, Wis. More coverage on the Jr. Sun Devils HERE.

Arizona Hockey Union – The AHU 16U Silver team traveled to Wayne, N.J., and played well, but suffered close defeats to the Atlanta Fire (2-1) and NH Avalanche (2-0) before defeating the Everett Jr. Silvertips 2-0 to close the event as Guy Blessing notched the shutout.

— Matt Mackinder

(May 2, 2018)