Labor Day weekend in Connecticut brought an electrifying surge of excitement as the National Girls Hockey League (NGHL) hosted its Labor Day Challenge from September 2nd to September 4th, 2023. The NGHL, known for promoting and developing female ice hockey, welcomed over 55 teams and more than 1,000 talented players from across the United States.
Labor Day Challenge was a melting pot of hockey talent, with teams hailing from various states, including Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Arizona, North Carolina, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Vermont, Florida, and New Hampshire. This diverse participation emphasized the universal appeal of ice hockey and the growth of women’s hockey across the nation.
The tournament featured players ranging from 12U to high school seniors, ensuring that every level of talent had a chance to shine on the ice. Labor Day Challenge was a platform for aspiring female hockey players to exhibit their prowess on the rink. It wasn’t just about winning; it was about the camaraderie, determination, and sheer love for the game that shone through every player. Spectators witnessed skill, teamwork, and strategic thinking throughout the weekend.
Congratulations to these division winners!!
The NGHL Labor Day Challenge has been a pivotal event in promoting girl’s hockey. By offering a stage for young and talented players to compete, the NGHL fosters a sense of empowerment among female athletes. The tournament inspires girls to dream big and pursue their passion for hockey, knowing that they are part of a growing and supportive community.
LDC highlighted the growing prominence of women’s ice hockey and served as an inspiration for young girls with dreams of making it big in the sport. As we look forward to future editions of this prestigious tournament, we can only anticipate even greater moments of skill, dedication, and the unwavering spirit of female athletes. The NGHL Labor Day Challenge is more than just a hockey tournament; it’s a celebration of the passion and talent that make women’s hockey an extraordinary and growing force in the world of sports.
The NGHL (National Girls Hockey League) Dawg Daze of Summer is an annual event that ignites the summer heat with the cool thrill of ice hockey. In 2023, this high-profile showcase took place from August 25th to 27th in Connecticut. With a turnout of 60 teams and over 1,100 talented players hailing from various corners of the United States, Dawg Daze lived up to its reputation as one of the premier events in girls’ youth hockey.
The NGHL Dawg Daze of Summer has evolved into a truly regional event. This year, players from Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Arizona, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Florida, New Hampshire, Michigan, and California descended upon Connecticut to participate in this showcase. The diversity of participating teams and players adds a unique flavor to the showcase, making it a melting pot of talent from coast to coast.
One of the most compelling aspects of Dawg Daze is its commitment to fostering and promoting young talent. For many of these girls, this showcase represents a pivotal moment in their hockey careers. College scouts and recruiters eagerly attend, scouting for the next generation of stars to join their programs.
The level of competition at the Dawg Daze of Summer is nothing short of exceptional. Players bring their A-game, pushing themselves to the limits to showcase their skills in front of the attentive eyes of college coaches. The chance to play against top-notch teams from across the country not only fosters growth and development but also provides unforgettable experiences and memories that will last a lifetime. Check out our Instagram Story Highlights for pictures and video!
The NGHL Dawg Daze of Summer is not just about the games on the ice; it’s also about building camaraderie and forming lasting bonds. Many players and their families took advantage of the opportunity to visit some of the many Connecticut college campuses that offer women’s hockey.
With its diverse range of participants and intense competition, Dawg Daze once again demonstrated the depth and breadth of talent in girls’ youth hockey. Beyond the competition, the event showcased the power of sports to bring communities together and inspire the next generation of athletes. The 12U division runs as a tournament at Dawg Daze – congratulations to Champions Valley Jr Warriors and Finalist Ironbound Elite.
As we look forward to future editions of this special showcase, we can only anticipate more exciting moments, thrilling games, and the emergence of new hockey stars who will carry the torch for girls’ youth hockey in the United States. The NGHL Dawg Daze of Summer is indeed a true celebration of the sport and an event that leaves an indelible mark on all those who participate.
The Red Division Championships were held in Wayne, NJ over the weekend of February 3-5, 2023. Games were held at Montclair University, Skylands rink, and the Ice Vault, home of NGHL members the NJ Bandits. Our Members-only event hosted 22 teams in the 14U, 16U, and 19U divisions. We saw some amazing hockey with some nail-biting finishes during one of the coldest weekends of the winter.
CONGRATULATIONS TO THE 2022-23 RED DIVISION CHAMPIONS!
TOP PERFORMERS
The NGHL acknowledges Top Performers at each age division for NGHL Members at our events.
We were documenting the event on social and have lots of great pictures in our Instagram Highlights – Red Cup 2023. We appreciate that hockey travel can be a lot and appreciate your commitment to the event, especially those teams that came from afar.
SPONSORS
Lastly, we’d like to thank our event sponsors Purity & Grace and Biosteel.
Each team had a weekend supply of Pure Chocolate Energy These individually wrapped chews supply sustainable and smooth energy on demand anytime and since they are dairy and soy free they do not melt, so you can literally have the energy you need anywhere.
BioSteel provided sugar-free sports hydration mix to the athletes. They’ve also offered our community 30% off all products at biosteel.com. Use code: NGHL30 when ordering online BioSteel.com.
EVENT APPAREL
Event apparel is available for purchase online…
Massachusetts played host to the 2023 NGHL MLK Winter Classic where we welcomed over 60 teams divided across 7 divisions playing in over 150 games.
Our Red Division teams played a showcase format full of great match-ups. The Blue Division played a tournament structure with each team looking to take home some hardware. Championship day was full of great match-ups with 11 of the 21 games coming down to one goal
Congratulations to these division winners…
- 14U Gold – Coeur D’Alene Lady Thunder
- 14U Silver – St. Clair Shores Saints
- 16U Blue – Coeur D’Alene Lady Thunder
- 19U Blue – Philadelphia Little Flyers
- 19U Red – Lovell Academy Lions
In the Princeton, NJ area, the NGHL Winter Classic, Future East (10U & 12U) hosted 17 teams across three divisions. In over 65 games, these teams had no issue finding the back of the net averaging 4.6 goals per game! Championship matches were tight – two of the three championship match-ups went into overtime play and then a shoot-out. Below are the championship results and the Top Performer for each division.
10U Division
- Carolina Jr Hurricanes 4
- CT Jr Rangers 3
- Top Performer – Maya Hurt, Carolina Jr Hurricanes
12U Blue
- Florida Alliance 3
- The St James Hockey 2
- Top Performer – Aviana Cortright, Florida Alliance
12U Red
- Boston Advantage 2
- Philadelphia Little Flyers 0
- Top Performer – Ivanka Zharova, Ironbound Elite
The NGHL has been hosting events in Denver for four years now and it’s always such a positive experience; our Mile High Invitational this year was no exception.
Referees – A shout-out to our Ref Assignor who makes every effort to ensure we have female Officials represented on the ice.
Scorekeepers: We were supported by Team Colorado 16U & 19U players who took on the clocks & Gamesheet for the event. Always great to keep those opportunities in the community.
Congratulations to these division winners…
Thanks to all the teams who joined us in Denver…!
- Seattle Lady Admirals
- Team Colorado
- Team Wyoming
- Team Wyoming, Brown
- Washington Wild
- Arizona Kachinas
- Calgary Fire 18U AA Red
- Dallas Stars Elite
- New Mexico Mustangs
- Omaha Lady Lancers 16U
- Omaha Lady Lancers 19U
- Team Colorado 16U
- Team Colorado 19U
- Utah Lady Grizzlies 16U
You can check out more pics from the event on our Instagram Stories Highlights.
We are thrilled to have been able to hold this event, the first in our new Futures Division – https://nghlhockey.com/futures – in Omaha, and need to acknowledge the tremendous support from Bryan Knaus, the girls’ hockey director at NGHL Member Omaha Lady Lancers. Bryan and his team lead the task of securing ice and referees for us. We also have a huge shout-out to the Lady Lancers 19U team who were volunteer scorekeepers at this weekend’s games.
Congratulations to these division winners…
This weekend we celebrated Girls Hockey Weekend, an IIHF promotion that raises awareness of girls’ hockey and encourages girls and women of any age to come together to learn the basics of ice hockey. For all our events, we photograph and share the teams and their skaters on social media and our website, hoping to generate excitement for the game and raise the profile of girls’ hockey. Our photographer has spent the weekend capturing the exciting gameplay that these 10Us & 12Us showed – they are inspirational! https://ellenphamp.pic-time.com/-ngihwomahaoct8/gallery
Event tees and hoodies can be purchased online – https://nwd.ink/s/nghl
DAWG DAZE OF SUMMER
Our first event of the season – Dawg Daze – welcomed over 55 teams from 12U to 19U divisions. Dawg Daze is a showcase event with 5 games per team. The 12U division had finals – congratulations to winner Florida Alliance and finalist Princeton Tiger Lilies.
Thank you to the college coaches that came to watch the games over the weekend…
| Post University | Johnson & Wales | UMass Boston | Yale University |
| Anna Maria College | Quinnipiac University | Mass. College of Liberal Arts | Salve Regina |
| Assumption University | Trinity College | Nichols College | WNE University |
| Kings College | Worcester State University | Curry College | U of Rhode Island |
| Brown University | CT College | Wilkes College | Providence College |
| Stevenson University | and more… |
Premier Hockey Federation player and Metropolitan Riveters Captain Madison Packer joined us in a conversation about metal health. Madison was recently interviewed by her alma mater University of Wisconsin for their MyWords series in which she was candid about her mental health struggles while at school. Click here to read more.
Check out all the Dawg Daze fun on our Instagram Story Highlights .
LABOR DAY CHALLENGE
The NGHL’s 4th Labor Day Challenge in Connecticut kicked off the NGHL 2022-23 Blue Division season for divisions 12U to 19U. Our Instagram Story Highlights share videos and photos from the weekend.
Congratulations to these division winners!
COLUMBUS DAY CHALLENGE
Back in Pittsburgh for a second year, the Columbus Day Challenge hosted 25+ teams 14U through 19U.
This weekend we celebrated Girls Hockey Weekend, an IIHF promotion that raises awareness of girls’ hockey and encourages girls and women of any age to come together to learn the basics of ice hockey. For all our events, we photograph and share the teams and their skaters on our social media and our website, hoping to generate excitement for the game and raise the profile of girls’ hockey. Our photographer spent the weekend capturing the exciting gameplay and we shared those with the Clubs and teams at the event so they could use them to promote their hockey programs and grow the game in their area.
You can see (and share) photos from the event at https://wdophoto.zenfolio.com/nghl and on our Instagram Story Highlights.
Congratulations to Division winners St. Clair Shore Saints, The St James Hockey, and NS Vipers.
FALL CLASSIC, ROCHESTER
Teams from New York, Connecticut, New Jersey, North Carolina, Massachusetts, and Maryland joined in for a competitive weekend event. A hotbed for colleges with women’s hockey teams, there was an opportunity for the players to tour some schools. College coaches came to watch 14U, 16U & 19U teams battle it out at Bill Grays Iceplex. Take a look at all the action on our Instagram Story Highlights.
The Futures Division focuses on supporting 10U and 12U teams with competitive events. This division was launched in Omaha over Columbus Day where we welcomed 11 midwest teams. The Fall Classic, Futures East was the first Futures Division event on the east coast.
The east coast Fall Classic was held at Breakaway Ice Center in Tewksbury, November 11-13, 2022. A big 12U Red Division matchup was one of the highlights of Day 1 and Boston Advantage held off the Worcester Jr. Crusaders for a hard-fought 1-0 victory. Caroline Allen’s unassisted first-period tally proved to be the difference in the game as Vienna Noble earned the shutout win in goal for Boston.
The Advantage went on to post a 4-0-0 record in the tournament, beating the Vermont Glades twice in a row to earn the championship. They won the first matchup, 2-1, before skating to a 3-2 shootout win in the finals. The championship game was an epic battle, tied 2-2 at end of the game and then went into a 5 min overtime. Teams came out of the overtime still tied and moved into a shootout. BA’s Noble stopped two of three Vermont shots in the shootout to again pick up the win. Makenna Pratt and Sadie Lizotte scored for Boston in the title game. This was a spectacular game to watch. Our NGHL team was glued to the boards watching this play out! These athletes did a great job in handling the pressure of this championship game.
Congratulations to these Division champions:
Thank you to all the teams that join us this weekend… Adirondack 46ers, Boston Advantage, VT Glades Girls Elite, Ironbound Elite, Mid Fairfield CT Stars, NS Wings, Potomac Lady Patriots, Shoreline Sharks, Syracuse Valley Eagles, Lovell Winter Club, Worcester Jr Crusaders.
Source: MyHockeyRankings, VT Glades, NGHL Hockey
In August Florida Alliance parents Hunter and Cheryl Brown experienced an unthinkable tragedy – they lost their beautiful 16 y.o. daughter McKenna to suicide. As you can imagine, her teammates, coaches and families were in the process of navigating the shock, confusion, and despair of loosing McKenna when they arrived at our Dawg Daze of Summer event at the end of August.
During such a devastating time, conversations of mental health are important and valuable. We were fortunate to have Premier Hockey Federation player and Metropolitan Riveters Captain Madison Packer join us to help with this conversation. Madison has an empathic ear and a lifetime of hockey experience that our players can relate to. Madison is committed to having hard conversations about mental health after her own struggles and wanted to share her story with our players. You can read her recent interview in the UW Badgers news MyWords where Madison candidly talks about her struggles – https://uwbadgers.com/news/2022/6/13/andy-baggot-mywords-madison-packer.aspx Although Madison is not a mental health professional, she is someone our community of players can identify and connect with.
We appreciate her commitment and generosity in sharing her time with the NGHL athletes.