High School Hockey Nationals Revving up in Omaha
Tuesday, April 8, 2021
For more information, contact Tournament Director - Michael Hughes at: omahahockey.hughes@gmail.com
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For Immediate Release
High School Hockey Nationals Revving Up in Omaha
Beginning Thursday, April 15 through Sunday, April 19, Omaha, Nebraska, will be the mecca of high school hockey in America. Boys and girls teams from across the country will compete for a national championship banner at the 2021 USA Hockey High School National Championships. Teams will be traveling from California, Alaska, Utah, Texas, Florida and Massachusetts, just to name a few.
The event is sanctioned by USA Hockey, the governing body for all amateur hockey in America, and is hosted by the Omaha Junior Lancers high school hockey team. The tournament is hosted annually in major cities across the country and is the most sought-after title in amateur hockey. Games will be played at Ralston Arena and Moylan Iceplex in Omaha, and the Breslow Ice Hockey Center in Lincoln. Omaha venues have lifted coronavirus restrictions – Breslow restrictions currently remain at four spectators per player.
A total of 32 boys teams and eight girls teams are entered. Sixteen of the boys teams are Division 1, meaning players all attend the same high school. The other 16 boys teams are designated as Division 2, with players coming from multiple schools. Girls teams are grouped into one division.
The 16 Division 1 and 2 boys teams are divided into four pools of four teams each. Thursday, Friday and Saturday are round-robin games, with the top two teams from each pool advancing to the quarterfinals on Sunday. Winners move on to the semifinals later in the day on Sunday. The top two finalists will then faceoff Monday morning in the championship game.
Girls teams will be divided into two pools of four teams each. Round-robin games will be played Thursday, Friday and Saturday. The top two teams from each pool advance to the semifinals early Sunday with the championship game played later on Sunday.
Representing the Midwest High School Hockey League are the Omaha Jr. Lancers and the Dubuque Saints. Both teams compete in Division 2. This will be Omaha’s ninth appearance in the national tournament and their second time hosting the event. Omaha earned a berth in the national tournament as the top finishing team in the MHSHL regular-season standings from Nebraska. The Junior Lancers finished with a record of 21 wins, 9 losses and 1 shootout loss.
Dubuque will make their third appearance at the national event. The Saints were the highest ranked team from Iowa in the final MHSHL standings, finishing in second place with a record of 22 wins, 4 losses and 2 overtime losses. Dubuque was a runner-up in the 2015 National Championships held in St. Louis.
Boys Division 1, Santa Margarita Eagles of California, and girls Team Texas will be defending their 2019 championships. Division 2, 2019 champion, Boulder/Monarch of Colorado, is not entered. The event was cancelled in 2020 due to the pandemic.
All games will be televised live on HockeyTV, a subscription streaming service that offers non-stop hockey action with live streams and on-demand games.
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