Jr. Gulls perform well at first-ever San Diego girls tournament
Three rinks in San Diego played host to a 20-team girls tournament at the end of December that turned out to be a great success.
Three different states from the West Coast were represented at the event, as seven clubs brought teams to compete in the San Diego Girls Christmas Invitational from Dec. 27-30.
This all-girls tournament was the first of its kind in San Diego and its success is a testament to the all those involved who have committed to creating more hockey opportunity for girls in California and beyond.
The San Diego Jr. Gulls girls teams were firing on all cylinders as the weekend played out, and three of their five teams won championship games.
In the 14U AA Division, the Jr. Gulls went undefeated. Kylee Shannon and Emma Tasevski teamed up to create the game-winning goal in their championship game, and Destiny Provencio (who created the tournament logo) had a shutout in net.
The 10U team saw Jillian McLaughlin and Kaelyn Walters score to win their championship game, combined with some stellar goaltending by Ana Makrogiannis.
A newly-formed 8U team was led by the play of Sydney Smeltzer and Kat Dooris, as they proudly brought home a gold medal.
The high school team made it to the championship game, thanks to the on-ice leadership of Tiffany Anderson, Tate Murphy and Soreya Hird.
The middle school team was able to put all of the pieces together in their final game of the tournament, as Meredith Stansfield, Cate Parker and Charlotte Crudale scored in the game.
The continued success of the club should help drive growth in the program for many seasons to come.
— Alex Morrison
(Jan. 30, 2019)
