Jr. Coyotes gearing up to host Rocky Mountain Districts March 4-7
The Ice Dens had everything in place last March to host the Rocky Mountain District event.
Then the COVID-19 pandemic took hold, and cancellations became the norm, including districts.
This year, the Ice Den gets another shot to host the event, which runs March 4-7 at both locations in Scottsdale and Chandler.
“The Jr. Coyotes are excited and honored to once again host the Rocky Mountain District tournament,” said CAHA executive director Kristy Aguirre. “While we typically see some of the incoming teams during our regular Tier I Elite League play, there are others that we have not faced at all during the season.
“This is a very high-level tournament that sees the top teams that have earned spots by winning their respective state championship tournaments. We expect to see and experience some excellent hockey over the course of the weekend. It has taken months of planning and preparation to get to this point and we are grateful for the Ice Dens and their staff who always stand ready to create the best environment for all participants and spectators alike to enjoy.”
Aguirre said she is grateful to USA Hockey for awarding the tournament for youth 14U, 15 Only, 16U and 18U teams, along with all four divisions of the girls tournament (14U Tier II, 16U Tier II, 19U Tier II and 19U Tier I) to the Jr. Coyotes after the unfortunate events of 2020.
“After this event was cancelled last year, pretty much the day it was to begin, due to COVID-19, we weren’t sure that Arizona would be able to host again this year, but we are very thankful we have been given the opportunity to do so,” Aguirre said. “The RMD staff has been incredible to work with and we look forward to seeing them very soon in person. Like so many other programs around the world, we have had to make a lot of adjustments in how we run our programming and events. This will be no different and will require those same adjustments for this tournament.
“Although we will see limited spectators in attendance and those who do attend will be masked, we understand the importance of completing the event so our state and district can be best represented on the national scale during the USA Hockey National Tournament in April.”
The Jr. Coyotes’ 15 Only and 16U teams will be part of the event, as will the Arizona Bobcats’ 14U and 18U groups.
“The weather is supposed to incredible and we anticipate our Arizona teams will represent well in competition,” said Aguirre.
For the full schedule of the district event, visit RockyMountainHockey.com.
— Matt Mackinder
(March 1, 2021)