The Flagstaff Youth Hockey Association (FYHA) is giving its younger rec-level players something they’ll always remember – a chance to compete against one another and the opportunity to hang a championship banner inside the Jay Lively Arena.

The Northstars are taking all of their 6U and 8U players and dividing them into two groups – one of seven- and eight-year-olds and one of kids that are six years old and under. With four teams in each group, the teams will compete every weekend through February in cross-ice games. Once March rolls around, playoffs will be contested and the winning 6U and 8U teams will earn trophies.

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“We want the rec kids to play for a purpose and know that there’s light at the end of the tunnel, not just the end of the season,” said FYHA president Kevin Tye. “We are all thrilled that this is going to happen and we think this will be a very fun and exciting season for these 6U and 8U kids. We’re so happy we were able to pull this together.”

Tye noted that all teams will have names and all players will have jerseys with a number and their team name on the back. All games will be played at the Jay Lively Arena starting the first weekend in December.

Another interesting aspect of the league will be in net. All players will get to strap on the pads and be a goaltender on a rotating schedule over the course of the season. Tye said that “getting interest in the goalie position is also something we want to explore.”

“I think one of the biggest and most important parts of this is that we will be strictly adhering to USA Hockey American Development Model (ADM) standards with the cross-ice games, small-area games,” Tye said. “We hope this takes root and other associations in Arizona will follow suit.”

— Matt Mackinder