Twelve teams in each age classification (1A & 2A) will compete in four divisions in two conferences during round robin play with the top four teams in each conference advancing to quarter finals. Finals will be held at Great Park Ice & FivePoint Arena Sunday, April 2. All games are free to attend and will be livestreamed on USAHockeyTV.com.
This marks the fourth time USA Hockey has held the girls Nationals in Orange County. The former Disney ICE (now The Rinks - Anaheim ICE) played host to the girls' and women's tournaments in 1998. The Lady Ducks, which were founded in 1999, played host to the 2011 Tier II girls' tournament at Anaheim and the 2019 Tier I Girls' and Women's tournament at Great Park Ice & FivePoint Arena.
The Lady Ducks Girls' teams feature several elite young players hopeful to follow the path led by numerous former Lady Ducks that have gone on to professional and U.S. National Team success following their Lady Ducks career. Those players include Cayla Barnes, a member of the U.S. National Team who earned a gold medal at the 2018 Olympic Games in PyeongChang and a silver medal at the 2021 Olympic Games Beijing and Annie Pankowski, a 2019 Collegiate Player of the Year Finalist and National Champion at the University of Wisconsin.
The USA Hockey Nationals is an annual tournament dating back to 1938, where youth hockey teams across the country compete for the ultimate prize, the USA Hockey national championship. Thousands of players have taken the ice under USA Hockey to compete, some going on to play in the National Hockey League. Some of the notable players to appear in the USA Hockey Nationals are current Anaheim Ducks goaltender John Gibson, Anaheim Ducks forwards Trevor Zegras and Troy Terry, Kendall Coyne-Schofield, Hilary Knight and many more.
