AMHERST, N.Y. (WKBW) — Elite girls' hockey teams from across the country are in Amherst for the USA Hockey National Championships, bringing both top-tier talent and an economic boost to Western New York.
The tournament at the Northtown Center on Amherst Manor Drive features 48 Tier 1 girls' teams, split evenly across the Under-19, Under-16, and Under-14 divisions. Games started Tuesday and will continue until champions are crowned on Sunday.
WATCH: 'Best of the best': Amherst hosts USA Hockey National Championships for girls 14U, 16U and 19U
The tournament features high-level competition, with event organizers and coaches telling me that most of the players will eventually advance to play college hockey. Some previous attendees have even made Olympic teams.
"It is the best of the best, which is good," Matt Stockert, coach of U14 Team North Dakota, said. "A lot of these girls will move on to go play Division 1 college hockey."
"You’ve had Olympians come through the building here before… Laila Edwards has been here, Caroline Harvey has been here, Hayley Scamurra is from the Western New York area," Eric Guzdek, who is both the General Manager of the Northtown Center and the president of the New York State Amateur Hockey Association, said.
I met multiple players on the U14 Boston Jr. Eagles who traveled from Massachusetts to compete in Western New York.
"It’s a huge honor to be able to be in this tournament," Amelia Paes said.
"It's really cool to represent our state and the Eagles," Abigale Loring said. "It’s fun to play against the best, competitive competition."
"It’s fun to play your hardest and play against people who are as talented as us," Addison Boczeowski said.
The event is open to the public and is free to attend.
On Wednesday, the Walter Cup will be in attendance and on display. The Cup is given annually to the champion of the Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL).
Organizers hope that hosting the tournament will inspire more local athletes to sign up for hockey teams.
"We just want to get more girls on the ice," Eric said. "We want to get all athletes on the ice. If we can focus on boosting up the numbers, it’s great for the sport. Everybody belongs on the ice."
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