Youth hockey state tournaments are nearing conclusions, or in some cases have already concluded, at venues all over Vermont.
I’ve been fortunate enough to be at several, but certainly not all games and with the help of local coaches and from information gleaned from the state tournament website I think I’ve put together a pretty comprehensive look at the tournament outlook and results for the St. Albans Skating Association and the Missisquoi Amateur Hockey Association team - both of which I’m VERY proud to work with for their team and individual photos.
As with any venture like this, I run the risk of unintended consequences. If I misspell a name, get a score wrong or make other mistakes - as I am prone to do - please correct me and I’ll fix the information on this blog post. Also, I just thought of doing this late in the tournament season, so I don’t have a lot of names or results from games earlier in the month.
Next year, assuming SASA and MAHA invite back, I’ll try to get ahead of the curve and we can make this space Tournament Central and get all the results of all the games included.
Without further ado or disclaimer, here’s what I know - or at least I think I know - about our local youth hockey teams’ progress and results in the state tournament.
SASA U-10 girls celebrate a goal.
Saturday, the SASA Squirt A Leafs play with a chance to win the state championship with a win at Carins. The game begins at 10:40 a.m., weather permitting. If the Leafs lose, the winner-take-all game is Sunday at 8:30 a.m.
On Tuesday, the Squirts team remained unbeaten with a 5-2 win over Essex in the six-team tournament.
Mason Yandow had four goals and Connor Wood had one. Tyler Laroche earned the win in net for the Leafs, who are off until Saturday when they play the winner of a game between Essex and Burlington at 10:40 a.m.
At 10:10 Saturday morning, the MAHA U-12 Thunderbirds girls team plays the SASA U-10 girls at the Collins-Perley rink for a chance to win the U-12 AB state championship.
If the SASA Saints win, the winner-take-all championship game is Sunday at 8 a.m.
The Thunderbirds advanced to the final round with a win over CSB on Feb. 19.
CSB beat SASA in the first game of the three-team tournament, but the Saints prevailed 3-0 in the rematch on Thursday night.
Elizabeth Dukas, Julia Knight and Cameryne Hemingway scored for the Saints and Maddie Hungerford worked the shutout in goal.
In the five-team U-14 AB girls tournament, the MAHA Thunderbirds will play in the semifinals against Northshire at 10:45 a.m. Saturday in Middlebury. SASA also competed in the tournament.
The four-team midget state tournament begins Saturday in St. Albans. The Leafs play Wolf Pack at 4:10 p.m.

In tournaments that have been completed:
In the state Squirt B tournament, the Milton Youth Hockey Association Warriors won the state title on Feb. 19 after advancing out of the North Division playdown with 2-0 record, outscoring opponents 7-1. St. Albans went 0-1-1 and did not advance.
On Thursday, the SASA Peewee A team lost to CSB 3-0 in the state title game.
St. Albans earned a trip to the finals Tuesday night with a a 7-2 win over Essex at the Collins-Perley rink.
Cooper Cioffi had three goals and an assist, Logan Stanislas and Isaac Cioffi each had a goal and two assists, Keegan Morin had a goal and an assist and Cam Beattie also scored. Keegan Streeter had two assists and Owen Hungerford, Jacob Hall and Brent Boissoneault each had one assist. Goalie stats were not kept, but Stephen Peebles was stellar in goal.
SASA led 1-0, 2-1 and 3-2 before scoring the final four goals in the third period.
SASA Peewees
Thursday night, the SASA U-14 A girls bowed out of their tournament in the championship game, losing to Rutland, 4-2.
Both SASA goals were both scored by Elena Brigham. The first goal was assisted by Maddy Dean and Aliza Ellis and the second goal was assisted by Dean. Gabi Metz was the SASA netminder.
On Tuesday night, SASA bowed out of the Bantam A tournament at Essex after a 3-2 loss to the hosts in the semifinal round.
Hunter Kirouac had a goal and an assist for the Leafs, who led 1-0 after one period and who later rallied to tie the game at 2-2 on Cameron Russell’s goal 6:44 into the third period. Sam Shorey assisted on the first score. Goalie stats were not kept, but Ben Lovelette was brilliant in net.
SASA finished runners up in the Bantam AB tournament with a 3-2 record.
In the state Squirt AB tournament that concluded with a Stowe win on Feb. 18, the Missisquoi Amateur Hockey Association Thunderbirds picked up a triple-overtime win in their game, but dropped their next two games.
In the 11-team Peewee AB tournament, MAHA won three games and lost two and Milton won two games and lost two.
In the 10-team Peewee B tournament, SASA won its first game, but dropped its next two.
In the nine-team Bantam B tournament, SASA lost its two games. MAHA lost its first game, but the on-line tournament bracket does not have a result for their second game. They did not advance to the medal round.
The SASA U-12 A girls dropped both of its tournament games.
Again, if I have made some factual errors, please let me know and I'll correct them.