Teams With Moon Ties Compete in Girls National Hockey Championships

Several players from Western Pennsylvania and three local teams will participte in the ongoing 2011 girls Tier I National Hockey Championships at the Onyx-Rochester and Suburban Ice Macomb arenas in suburban Detroit.

Teams from around the country are battling to see who will hold the national title, including teams sponsored by Little Caesars and the Honeybaked Hockey Club.

Among those top-tier teams are three from Western Pennsylvania: Team Pittsburgh U16 (for players 16 and under), which plays out of Moon's Airport Ice Arena in Moon, and the Pittsburgh Penguins Elite U14 and U12 teams, which play at Robert Morris University's Island Sports Center on Neville Island.

Local players include Team Pittsburgh's Kelli Mackey, a ninth-grader at ; and Pittsburgh Elite's Maddie Mills, a sixth-grader at Other players from Western Pennsylvania include: goaltender Taylor Cestra, a 10th-grader at Plum Senior High School; Christina Zalewski, a 10th-grader at Peters Township High School; and Haley Branovan, a 10th-grader from Wexford who attends Culver Academy in Culver, IN.

Kathy Pippy, of Moon, is director of girls hockey for Pittsburgh Penguins Elite, according to the team's website. She is the wife of state Sen. John Pippy and the mother of Katelyn Pippy, a hockey goaltender who formerly played for Team Pittsburgh and now for Cornell University. Katelyn Pippy also is an actress best known for her role on the television series "Army Wives."

“It’s the best girls hockey in the country,” said Joe Jones, who oversees the Honeybaked Hockey Club and is director of hockey operations for the Metro Detroit-based Suburban Sports Group.

“We put a bid in June 2009," he said. "We needed four sheets of ice to do it, and these two facilities are approximately eight miles apart.”

Suburban Sports Group manages the Onyx in Farmington Hills, MI, and owns Suburban Ice Macomb in Macomb, MI.

“It’s an honor to host the tournament here,” Jones said. "Everyone is going to have a great time because of the state-of-the-art facilities here."

Jones estimates about 3,500 people will attend the games between the two locations.

For additional coverage, be sure to see Rochester-Rochester Hills Patch.

The girls 2011 National Hockey Championships are divided into four age groups:

• Girls 12 and under
• Girls 14 and under
• Girls 16 and under
• Girls 19 and under

Here’s a look at the tournament schedules for each age group with Wednesday's results:

Girls 19 and under (19-U) tournament schedule

First Seeding Round, Wednesday at the Onyx (winners in bold):

• Little Caesars vs. Buffalo Bisons 8-3
• Colorado Select vs. Madison Capitols 3-4 OT
• Shattuck St. Mary’s vs. NJ Rockets 8-1
• CT Polar Bears vs. Ohio Flames 5-2
• Washington Pride vs. Honeybaked 5-1
• San Jose Jr. Sharks vs. East Coast Wizards 3-0

Second Seeding Round, Thursday at Suburban Ice Macomb:

• East Coast Wizards vs. CT Polar Bears, 8 a.m.
• Honeybaked vs. San Jose Jr. Sharks, 8:15 a.m.
• Ohio Flames vs. Washington Pride, 10 a.m.
• NJ Rockets vs. Colorado Select, 10:15 a.m.
• Madison Capitols vs. Little Caesars, 12 p.m.
• Buffalo Bisons vs. Shattuck St. Mary’s, 12:15 p.m.

Third Seeding Round, Friday at the Onyx:

• Little Caesars vs. NJ Rockets, 2 p.m.
• Colorado Select vs. Buffalo Bisons, 2:15 p.m.
• CT Polar Bears vs. Honeybaked, 4 p.m.
• Shattuck St. Mary’s vs. Madison Capitols, 4:15 p.m.
• San Jose Jr. Sharks vs. Ohio Flames, 6 p.m.
• Washington Pride vs. East Coast Wizards, 6:15 p.m.

Quarterfinals begin at 2 p.m. Saturday at the Onyx and Suburban Ice Macomb. 

Semifinals begin at 8:15 p.m. Saturday at the Onyx.

The championship begins at 3 p.m. Sunday at the Onyx.

Girls’ 16 and under (16-U) tournament schedule

First Seeding Round, Wednesday at the Onyx (winners in bold):

• Little Caesars vs. Rochester Edge 4-3
• Colorado Select vs. Chicago Mission 0-6
• Shattuck St. Mary’s vs. NJ Colonials 6-2
• CT Polar Bears vs. Team Pittsburgh 0-3
• Washington Jr. Pride vs. Honeybaked 0-8
• Anaheim Lady Ducks vs. Assabet Valley 2-3

Second Seeding Round, Thursday at Macomb:

• Assabet Valley vs. CT Polar Bears, 2 p.m.
• Honeybaked vs. Anaheim Lady Ducks, 2:15 p.m.
• Team Pittsburgh vs. Washington Jr. Pride, 4 p.m.
• NJ Colonials vs. Colorado Select, 4:15 p.m.
• Chicago Mission vs. Little Caesars, 6 p.m.
• Rochester Edge vs. Shattuck St. Mary’s, 6:15 p.m.

Third Seeding Round, Friday at the Onyx:

• Little Caesars vs. NJ Colonials, 8 a.m.
• Colorado Select vs. Rochester Edge, 8:15 a.m.
• CT Polar Bears vs. Honeybaked, 10 a.m.
• Shattuck St. Mary’s vs. Chicago Mission, 10:15 a.m.
• Ahaheim Lady Ducks vs. Team Pittsburgh, 12 p.m.
• Washington Jr. Pride vs. Assabet Valley, 12:15 p.m.

Quarterfinals begin at noon Saturday at the Onyx and Suburban Ice Macomb. 

Semifinals begin at 6:15 p.m. Saturday at the Onyx.

The championship begins at 1 p.m. Sunday at the Onyx.

Girls’ 14 and under (14-U) tournament schedule

First Seeding Round, Wednesday at Suburban Ice Macomb (winners in bold):

• Little Caesars vs. Buffalo Bisons 1-11
• Colorado Select vs. Chicago Young Americans 1-4
• East Coast Wizards vs. NJ Colonials 3-2 OT
• Mid-Fairfield Stars vs. Pittsburgh Penguins Elite 5-1
• Anaheim Lady Ducks vs. Assabet Valley 0-2
• Montgomery vs. Honeybaked 0-7

Second Seeding Round, Thursday at the Onyx:

• Honeybaked vs. Anaheim Lady Ducks, 8 a.m.
• Assabet Valley vs. Mid-Fairfield Stars, 8:15 a.m.
• Pittsburgh Penguins Elite vs. Montgomery, 9:45 a.m.
• NJ Colonials vs. Colorado Select, 10 a.m.
• Chicago Young Americans vs. Little Caesars, 11:30 a.m.
• Buffalo Bisons vs. East Coast Wizards, 11:45 a.m.

Third Seeding Round, Friday at Suburban Ice Macomb:

• Little Caesars vs. NJ Colonials, 1:15 p.m.
• Colorado Select vs. Buffalo Bisons, 1:30 p.m.
• East Coast Wizards vs. Chicago Young Americans, 3 p.m.
• Mid-Fairfield Stars vs. Honeybaked, 3:15 p.m.
• Anaheim Lady Ducks vs. Pittsburgh Penguins Elite, 4:45 p.m.
• Montgomery vs. Assabet Valley, 5 p.m.

Quarterfinals begin at 10 a.m. Saturday at the Onyx and Suburban Ice Macomb. 

Semifinals begin at 4 p.m. Saturday at the Onyx.

The championship begins at 11 a.m. Sunday at the Onyx.

Girls’ 12 and under (12-U) tournament schedule

First Seeding Round, Wednesday at Suburban Ice Macomb (winners in bold):

• Compuware vs. Syracuse Nationals 4-3 OT
• Colorado Select vs. Chicago Young Americans 0-4
• Massachusetts Spitfires vs. NJ Colonials 2-1
• Mid-Fairfield Stars vs. Pittsburgh Penguins Elite 2-1
• Anaheim Lady Ducks vs. Assabet Valley 1-10
• CT Polar Bears vs. Honeybaked 1-2

Second Seeding Round, Thursday at the Onyx:

• Honeybaked vs. Anaheim Lady Ducks, 1:15 p.m.
• Assabet Valley vs. Mid-Fairfield Stars, 1:30 p.m.
• Pittsburgh Penguins Elite vs. CT Polar Bears, 3 p.m.
• NJ Colonials vs. Colorado Select, 3:15 p.m.
• Chicago Young Americans vs. Compuware, 4:45 p.m.
• Syracuse Nationals vs. Massachusetts Spitfires, 5 p.m.

Third Seeding Round, Friday at Suburban Ice Macomb:

• Compuware vs. NJ Colonials, 8 a.m.
• Colorado Select vs. Syracuse Nationals, 8:15 a.m.
• Massachusetts Spitfires vs. Chicago Young Americans, 9:45 a.m.
• Mid-Fairfield Stars vs. Honeybaked, 10 a.m.
• Anaheim Lady Ducks vs. Pittsburgh Penguins Elite, 11:30 a.m.
• CT Polar Bears vs. Assabet Valley, 11:45 a.m.

Quarterfinals begin at 8 a.m. Saturday at the Onyx and Suburban Ice Macomb. 

Semifinals begin at 4 p.m. Saturday at the Onyx.

The championship begins at 9 a.m. Sunday at the Onyx.