USA hockey nationals coming

An intense season of elite youth hockey competition will conclude when the USA Hockey National Boys Midget Tier I and Tier II tournaments begin at the Amherst Pepsi Center on Wednesday, April 2.

There will be four divisions of 12 teams each who will compete until four survivors are crowned 2008 National Champions on Sunday, April 6.

Each of the USA Hockey districts will be represented along with the host, Amherst Knights.

In all, 48 teams from cities such as Fairbanks, Dallas, Omaha, Atlanta, St. Louis and Los Angeles will be traveling to Buffalo to determine who the best teams in the land are. Perennial youth hockey powers California Wave, Detroit Belle Tire, Team Illinois, Minnesota Shattuck Saint Mary's, New Jersey Devils, Detroit Little Caesars and the Connecticut Mid Fairfield Blues are among the more familiar names that dot this year's tournament list.

"The Buffalo Sabres and the NHL are proud to support USA Hockey's National Championships here in Buffalo at the Amherst Pepsi Center," said Larry Quinn, managing partner of the Sabres. "This is a great opportunity for players and their families from all across the United States to come to Buffalo and compete for national titles. At the same time, they will get to see all the great things Western New York has to offer away from the rink. We'll be creating lifelong memories for these young men. Our region has a long history of staging first-class amateur sports tournaments, and this event will only add to that impressive list."

Local entries at the Tier I U18 level include the host Amherst Knights and the 2008 New York State Champion Buffalo Regals. At the Tier I U16 level, the area will be represented by the host Amherst Knights.

According to Amherst Youth Hockey President Bob Schreck, there will be many college scouts in attendance and even some NHL teams.

"These are the most elite high school-aged players in the country," he said. "A substantial number of these guys have already earned college scholarships, and even more will clinch their deals based on their performance in this tournament," he said.

Preliminary round games begin at 7:30 a.m. on April 2 and will run daily through the four divisional championship games, which will be held April 6. Schedules and scores will be updated in real time at the USA Hockey Web site www.usahockey. com

At 5 p.m. on Thursday, April 3, the annual Easton Skills Competition will feature players from each team competing against each other in shooting, skating, and stick-handling events to determine the fastest and most skilled players in the USA.

Having logged hundreds of volunteer hours himself, Amherst Youth Hockey Vice President and Tournament Director Bob Schell is well aware of the tremendous effort that is necessary to pull off an undertaking like this.

"Thanks to the hard work of our Western New York youth hockey leaders and our army of dedicated Amherst Youth Hockey volunteers, we received national acclaim for the 2007 tournament we put on," said Schell. "We are hoping to replicate the tremendous success we had last year with the older divisions this year."

Over 1,000 players, as well as their family members, will be visiting the Buffalo/Niagara region for this week-long event, and local economic development officials have estimated that it will have a financial impact of over $3 million for the region.

Tickets, which entitle the holder to admission to all of the week's games and related events, may be purchased at the Amherst Pepsi Center from the opening day onward.