Dozen teams bring home championship banners from Inland Empire Tournament Series’ 2023 MLK Challenge

BY MATT MACKINDER

The Inland Empire Tournament Series, created and hosted by the Jr. Reign, continued its 2022-23 season Jan. 13-16 with the MLK Challenge at Icetown Carlsbad, Icetown Riverside, Ontario Center Ice, and Toyota Arena.

A total of 12 teams brought home championship banners at the conclusion of the thrilling weekend that featured 48 teams from Southern California, Northern California, Las Vegas and Arizona.

Varsity/High School

Champion: Empire Hockey Club

18U AA

Runner-up: DYHA Jr. Sun Devils

16U Elite

Ryan Howard’s two goals paced Empire’s offense in a 6-1 win over the Jr. Sun Devils to bring home the championship banner. Michael FoggMartinez, Jared Padilla, Satoro Etu, and Alexander Tatoian added goals, Preston Luk and Joshua Roman had two assists each, and Luka Strasser picked up the win in goal. Michael Gruntler scored DYHA’s goal and Nooa Riecks and Keegan Tinsdale shared time in the blue paint for the Jr. Sun Devils.

JV

Champion: Jr. Reign 16U AA

Runner-up: Carlsbad Cosmos

Luke Tanner led the way for the Jr. Reign with two goals and an assist as the Jr. Reign picked up the 4-2 win in the title game. Logan Strasser and Christian Martinez added goals and Matthew Day took the win between the pipes. Mattias Hjarlmarson and Drake Dunphy scored for the Cosmos with Jaden Freeman playing goal for the entire game.

14U A/B

Champion: Anaheim Jr. Ducks

Runner-up: Jr. Reign Carlsbad

Mason Oard’s hat trick led the Jr. Ducks to the championship with a 7-1 win. Noah McCoy had a goal and an assist while Seth Heinrich scored twice and Zachary Blocher collected a goal. Easton Lee had a stellar game between the pipes. Vigo Garcia scored for the Jr. Reign and James

Paz had a good showing in goal.

12U BB

Champion: Jr. Reign 12U BB Riverside

Runner-up: Tri-Valley Blue Devils

12U BB1

Alex Whitehead’s three goals and an assist led the Jr. Reign to capture the banner with a 7-2 win over the Blue Devils. Bonhoeffer Rhee and Andrew Ito scored, with Spencer Wills and Daniel Medina scoring once with an assist to support Rene Michaels’ play in goal. Shane Weeck had a goal and an assist for Tri-Valley, Jasper Hoffman added a goal, Parker Crudale chipped in two assists, and Zachary Kolar fared well in the Blue Devils’ crease.

10U BB/A

Champion: Jr. Reign 10U

A Carlsbad

Runner-up: Jr. Reign 10U BB Riverside

Nolan Thompson’s third-period goal was the difference for Carlsbad in a 3-2 win over Riverside. Thompson added an assist for a two-point game. Hunter Hine and Wolf Pritchett also scored and Kivik Jamack earned the win between the pipes. For Riverside, Foster Million and Tristan Zur Neiden scored with Andrew Morales and Teddy Wilson playing well in net.

10U B

Champion: Jr. Reign 10U BB Carlsbad

Runner-up: Jr. Reign 10U B2 Riverside

The Jr. Reign battle went to the 10U BB Carlsbad team, who scored three in the third period for the 7-5 championship victory. Roman Cournoyer had three goals and four assists and Jaxson Jonas added three goals of his own with a pair of assists. Sawyer Ormeno chipped in a goal and two assists. For the Riverside squad, Jacen Mower scored twice, Riley Driscoll and Carter Hubbard each had a goal and an assist, and Sean Delaney also scored.

8U A MLK

Champion: AHU Knights Silver B

Runner-up: DYHA Jr. Sun Devils

8U A2

The Jr. Reign potted four goals in the first period and never looked back in securing the championship with a 9-3 win over AHU.

8U B Shaggy

Champion: Jr. Reign 8U B1 Riverside

Runner-up: OC Hockey Club

Two Arizona teams met for the championship here, with the Knights besting the Jr. Sun Devils 7-1 to bring home the title.

8U A Apollo 1

Champion: Anaheim Jr.

Ducks 8U A2

Runner-up: Anaheim Jr. Ducks 8U A3

In a battle of Jr. Ducks teams, the 8U A2 team came away victors with an 8-1 win over their counterparts.

8U A Apollo 2

Champion: AHU Knights Silver B

Runner-up: DYHA Jr. Sun Devils Elite A2

The championship match between two Arizona teams went to the Knights, who took a 7-1 win to capture the title.

8U B Fred

Champion: AHU Knights Mites White A

Runner-up Ventura Mariners

The offense and defense were clicking for the Knights, who won the title with a 13-0 victory.

8U B Scooby

Champion: Jr. Reign 8U B2 Riverside

Runner-up: AHU Knights Mites White B

The Jr. Reign scored three goals in the first period and three in the second and held on for the 6-5 championship win as OCHC netted three goals in the third period to make the game close.

The next IE Tournament Series event is the Presidents’ Day Open, which is scheduled for Feb. 17-20.

For more information on the IE Tournament Series, visit www.jrreign. com/tournaments.

Quest Foundation

The South Coast Hockey Association DBA “Quest Foundation” is a registered not for profit 501C3 charitable organization dedicated to helping support children with a passion and a dream for the great sport of ice hockey and in becoming the best athletes and people they can be through world class hockey training programs.

The Quest Foundation believes every child deserves a chance to pursue their own Quest for their life.

It is the mission of the Quest Foundation to never allow financial barriers to be the reason that a child cannot pursue their dream to the fullest.

For more information, visit www. jrreign.com/foundation.