There was a lot of hockey to take in around the region this past weekend.
Forget your Thanksgiving leftovers or the mad dash of holiday shopping. The real excitement was at the rinks.
While the Mass. state tournament took over the New England Sports Center in Marlboro, Mass., the Northford Ice Pavilion in Northford, Conn. hosted the New England District. The action included the district's 16U and 19U Tier 1 championships.
The winners punched their tickets to USA Hockey Nationals, which will be held in Amherst, N.Y., from March 24-29, 2026.
Here's a recap of each champion from the weekend.
19U: Mid Fairfield Stars
It was a best-of-three series between two of the best club programs in New England, the Mid Fairfield Stars and the Connecticut Polar Bears.
In Game 1 on Friday, Choate's Natalie Beach (Darien, Conn.) was the hero for the Stars, scoring the overtime winner to lift Mid Fairfield to a 2-1 win. Loomis Chaffee's Easton Pramuka opened the scoring in the first, and Choate's Maggie Swanson (Fairfield, Conn.) tied it for the Polar Bears late in the first. Loomis' Adeline Roper (Kennebunkport, Maine) earned the win for the Stars. Berkshire's Katie Hurley started for the Polar Bears.
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The Polar Bears stormed back in Game 2 to keep the series alive with a 3-0 win. Williston Northampton's Riley Stocker opened the scoring in the first before Westminster's Bella Zapata tacked on a pair, with the first coming on a shorthanded breakaway. Hurley pitched the shutout in net, while Deerfield's Ana Makrogiannis got the start for Mid Fairfield.
Mid Fairfield took Sunday's decisive Game 3 with a 4-0 shutout, behind two goals for Pramuka and a 25-save effort from Roper. Deerfield's Sophie Frost and Kent's Olivia Machan scored as well. Hurley made 20 saves for the Polar Bears.
16U: Connecticut Polar Bears
The 16U bracket was a three-team round robin between the Connecticut Polar Bears, the Mid Fairfield Stars and the Seacoast Spartans.
The Polar Bears got it started in dominant fashion with a 6-0 win over the Spartans on Friday. Williston's Brooke Schlutter scored twice, while Berkshire's Mak Komanecky, Taft's Selkie Brown, Greenwich Academy's Maggie Lyden (Stamford, Conn.) and Loomis' Elyse Harris also scored.
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Mid Fairfield came out firing on Saturday with a 5-0 win over the Spartans. Taft's Sophie Um and Loomis' Julia Stepnowski (South Glastonbury, Conn.) each had a goal and an assist. Pomfret's Brooklyn Romaniello (New Milford, Conn.), Deerfield's Reagan Deery (Darien, Conn.) and Taft's Juliette Lebel each scored as well. Loomis' Emily Hosman earned the shutout, and Brewster's Claire Farrenkopf (East Waterboro, Maine) started for the Spartans.
On Sunday, the Polar Bears clinched the title with a 2-0 win over Mid Fairfield, behind goals from Brown and Loomis' Amaya McNiel (Greenwich, Conn.). Frederick Gunn's Moira Landsverk turned aside 17 shots in the shutout. Hosman made 29 saves for the Stars.
