Some of the top teams across North America gathered in Pittsburgh this past weekend for the Premiere Ice Prospects Labor Day Girls Fest, and Little Caesars teams drove back home with some hardware.
The LC 16U girls won a gold division title at the early-season tournament, while the 14U and 19U squads won the silver division titles in their respective age groups.
The PIP tournament gave a diverse look at girls’ hockey talent, as 15 teams came from Massachusetts and Connecticut; 13 teams came from Canada; and seven teams came from Minnesota.
“It’s awesome to have such a variety of top-ranked teams,” said PIP Director of Girls Hockey Kathy Pippy in a press release, “but the most important goal for the coaches this weekend is to find out what they have right away, as there are no easy schedules in Pittsburgh.”
Graphic from the Premier Ice Prospects social media accounts
Last year’s 16U USA Hockey national champions in the Mid Fairfield Stars were in attendance, as well, and a press release from PIP said that for the 2023 edition, representatives from 60 different NCAA universities were scouting the participants.
The 16U Little Caesars group – coached by Tom Forgione – actually started off their weekend in Pittsburgh with a 3-2 overtime loss to the Windy City Storm on Friday. That must have served as a wake-up call, because from there, Caesars played to a perfect 5-0 record.
They shook off the early loss with a 5-1 win over the Philadelphia Jr. Flyers later on Sept. 1, before blanking the Vancouver Island Seals 5-0 in their first game Saturday.
Little Caesars’ quarterfinal match-up was against the aforementioned defending national champions from Mid Fairfield. The Michigan-based squad was up to the task, as LC recorded a 1-0 shutout victory over the Stars.
Bright and early Sunday morning, Little Caesars battled to a 3-2 semifinal win over the Massachusetts Spitfires.
In the title game Sunday afternoon, the Caesars girls took the Minnesota Jr. Whitecaps to overtime before Natalie Joiner scored the game-winner in the three-on-three extra session.
Maeve Casey led the LC team in scoring with three goals and three assists for six points in their six games. Joiner and Delaila Polick both had five points apiece, while Emily Mitchell was the top points-producer from the defense unit with two goals and two assists.
Natalia Dilbone and Mila Bosev took care of business between the pipes, as the LC goalie tandem got the job done in Pittsburgh. According to the PIP website, Dilbone was in goal for the shutout wins against Minnesota (championship game) and Mid Fairfield, while she also picked up the win against the Jr. Flyers. Bosev, meanwhile, registered the shutout win over Vancouver, as well as the victory against Massachusetts.
Graphic from the Premier Ice Prospects social media accounts
The 19U Caesars squad finished 4-2 en route to their silver division title. After starting the tournament with a 5-0 win over Mid Fairfield, they dropped 6-5 and 2-1 tight ones to the Jr. Flyers and Waterloo Ravens, respectively.
From there, however, LC found ways to be on the winning side of one-goal contests. In the quarterfinals, they prevailed 2-1 over the Pittsburgh Penguins Elite, before topping the Stoney Creek Sabres 3-2 in the semifinals in overtime.
In the title game, the Caesars girls were offered an opportunity at revenge, and they capitalized, as they beat the Jr. Flyers 4-3.
Defenseman Taylor Senecal and forward Drew Dyczkowski both recorded six points apiece to lead LC in scoring; Senecal had five assists, while Dyczkowski had four goals.
Defenseman Melanie Targosz was one point off the pace after posting two goals and three assists.
Madisyn Stetson played in four contests between the pipes for LC and picked up three wins, including the two Sunday contests, while Mya Glaister played in two – the 2-1 win over Pittsburgh and the 6-5 OT heartbreaker against Philadelphia.
Graphic from the Premier Ice Prospects social media accounts
Meanwhile, the 14U team also played to a 4-2 record to leave Pittsburgh with awards. They dropped their first contest to the Madison Capitols, but bounced back with a 4-1 win over the Burlington Barracudas in their two Friday tilts.
On Saturday, they fell to the Minnesota Jr. Whitecaps 6-0 before beating the Ottawa Lady Senators. Sunday, they topped Northern Elite 3-2, and for the silver division title, they beat Team Illinois 4-1.
Emme Evans led the 14U squad in scoring, registering four goals and two assists for six total points in six games. Kate Malachino was right behind her with five points, while Rylan Harwood and Reagan McGarvey both had four.
Emily Hosman played in four contests between the pipes, while Rilyn Stolz made two appearances, as the duo teamed up for goaltending duties en route to a tournament title.
