Since the 2006-07 season the ladies of Chazy Youth had six excellent chances to win a state title at either the U14 level of in the Upstate New York Girls High School League. They fell short each time.
The latest heartbreak was a tough 2-1 loss to Potsdam in the high school championship on home ice on Feb. 11.
Despite the pain and frustration, the girls plowed on in their U19 season.
To their delight, the Flyers finally broke the ice by winning the state championship for U19s in Potsdam with a 2 to 1 win over the Ithaca Stars.
The win propelled the Flyers into the USA Hockey Tier II National Championships in Dallas, Texas March 28 to April 1.
“It was nice to finally win one and get that monkey off our backs,” Head Coach Ray Guay said.
“The girls really deserved it.”
In Texas, the girls from the tiny club in Northern New York more than held their own.
They lost to eventual finalish Colorado Elite Prep in a shootout after a 2 to 2 tie in the opening game. Amanda Peterson and Jess Huber tallied goals for the Flyers with Sara LoTemplio getting two assists.
Christina Emery had a strong game in net for Chazy.
In their next match, the Flyers dominated Team Alaska, a semi-finalist in a 4 to 1 win. Peterson, who was playing ill, Huber, LoTemplio and Emily Raville all had goals.
In the final game of the round-robin portion of the tournament, Chazy lost to the Steel City Selects of Pittsburgh despite holding a commanding 38-19 advantage in shots on goal.
The Flyers made it into the playoff round and faced defending champion and host Alliance Bulldogs.
Chazy fought hard and had several chances to score early on, but were denied.
The Bulldogs eventually pulled away for a 5 to 1 win, but with the shots on goal at 27 to 23 for Alliance, the game was much closer than the score indicated.
The Flyers wound up finishing the season as the 5th ranked team in the nation according to HockeyRankings.com.
”We really did have a memorable season, and we might not be a big money club, but our girls all have tremendous heart and we are proud of every single one of them,” Guay said.
(Submitted by Chazy Girls Hockey)
