2019

16U Tier I - USA Nationals At-Large Bid (Irvine, CA) Recap below

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2018

12U Tier I - NY State Champions

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2017

14U Tier I - NY State Champions - USA Nationals (Rochester, MI) Recap below

12U Tier I - NY State Finalist

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2015

19U / 16U / 12U Tier I - NY State Finalist

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2014

16U Tier I - NY State Champions

USA National Quarter-Finalist (Boston, MA) Recap below

14U Tier I - NY State Champions

USA National Quarter-Finalists (Boston, MA)

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2012

14U Tier II - NY State Champions

USA National Championship Runner Up (Dallas, TX)

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2005

12U Tier II - NY State Champions

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2004

14U Tier II - NY State Champions

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REGALS ALUMNI:

Nikki Kirchberger - Buffalo State College 2016 / NWHL BUFFALO BEAUTS

Haley Porterfield - Chatham College 2018

Emma Ruggiero - Buffalo State College 2019 / NWHL BUFFALO BEAUTS 

Megan Reukauf - Buffalo State College 2019

Madeline Komer - Buffalo State College 2019

Grace Page - SUNY Canton 2019

Brianna McFall - Oswego State 2019

Tatum Walber - Potsdam State 2019

Brynn Wopperer - Norwich University 2020

Allyson Barlow - Stevenson University 2020

Maeve Christ - Holy Cross 2020

Bridgid Keane - William Smith 2020

Kayla Kopinski - Buffalo State 2020

Emily King - SUNY Cortland 2020

Claire McCarthy - SUNY Cortland 2020

Ally Edwards - SUNY Cortland 2020

Brianna Colucci - UMASS-Boston 2020

Kira Herkey - Buffalo State 2021

Jersey Phiilips - Mercyhurst University 2024

Abby Ruggiero - Cornell University 2024

Mia Wendell - Yale University 2024

Autum  Mish - University of New Hampshire 2024

Moira Mihalski - Potsdam State University 2024

Annika Balk - Potsdam State University 2024

Rachel Corbett - Oswego State University 2024

Emma Corbett - Adrian University 2024

Megan Sheehan - Potsdam State University 2024

Sara Barrett - Potsdam State University 2025

Hannah Barrett - Potsdam State University 2025

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2019 USA Nationals Recap:

https://nationals.usahockey.com/page/show/4714267-2019-chipotle-usa-hockey-girls-tier-i-16u

Girls Tier I 16U Notebook: Pool Play Concludes

By Harry Thompson, 04/06/19, 7:15PM MDT

Game of the Day: Shattuck-St. Mary's vs. CT Polar Bears

Shattuck-St. Mary's 2, CT Polar Bears 1

IRVINE, Calif. – In the world of tournament hockey, yesterday’s foe can quickly become today’s best friend.

One day after going toe to toe, the Buffalo Regals became the biggest cheerleaders of the Connecticut Polar Bears as they faced off against Shattuck-St. Mary’s.

In a jigsaw puzzle of “what-if” scenarios, the Regals needed to take care of business against the Pittsburgh Pens Elite, a team that had already punched their ticket to the quarterfinals, and then hope that the Polar Bears could beat Shattuck in regulation. 

The Regals held up their end of the bargain with a dominating 3-0 victory, and then quickly turned their attention to the adjacent rink where Shattuck and Polar Bears were locked in a close battle.

When the ice chips settled, there were bodies scattered all over the ice and Shattuck players casting a sigh of relief after a 2-1 victory that included the potential tying goal waived off with 18.4 seconds remaining.

“At this time of year you need a little puck luck,” said Shattuck head coach Peter Johnson. “Every game we played here was a one-goal game. Some we won and some we didn’t.”

Their only loss in the preliminary round against the Pens Elite was the first time in eight trips to Nationals that Johnson hasn’t had a team advance with a perfect record. That left him in the unfamiliar position of coming up with the right pregame speech to fire up his team without heaping any more pressure on their young shoulders.

“You want to give them your best do-or-die speech, but you don’t want to make them nervous,” the veteran coach said. “You have to find a happy medium of staying positive while also expressing the urgency. I just kind of winged it.”

Whatever Johnson said seemed to work as Shattuck struck first as Carson Zanella skated out of the corner and fired a low drive that beat Mandy Busky.

The Polar Bears clawed back early in the second period as Jules Constantinople picked off an errant clearing pass and fired a low drive past Lauren Barbro.

Shattuck regained the lead later in the period as Busky got made a toe save on Jose Medeszoon’s shot but was helpless as Grace Canterbury was there to bury the rebound.

Looking for the equalizer, the Polar Bears pulled their goalie with 2:42 left. That quickly turned into a two-man advantage when Kara MacLean was whistled off for a roughing penalty. With time winding down, Constantinople made one last push, skating down the wing and wristing a shot that hit off Barbro’s mask and bounced over her shoulder. The official whistled the play dead before puck crossed the goal line. 

Other Action

Buffalo Regals 3, Pittsburgh Pens Elite 0
In what was a do-or-die game, the Regals held up their end of the bargain with gut-check performance. Annika Balk’s first of two goals snapped a scoreless tie in the second period, and Mia Wendell and Hannah Barrett teamed up to stop 24 shots from the Pens. The Regals also needed the CT Polar Bears to beat Shattuck-St. Mary’s in regulation time to advance.

Boston Jr. Eagles 3, Washington Pride 0
Hope Walinski stopped all 14 shots she faced as the Boston Jr. Eagles advanced to the quarterfinals. Brianna O’Neill had a goal and an assist in the third period to break open a close game. Kiley Mastel opened the scoring with her fourth goal of the tournament. 

Belle Tire 5, Anaheim Lady Ducks 0
A strong opening period was more than enough to lift Belle Tire to their second victory of the tournament. Annabelle Scriver scored the first of her two goals to trigger a three-goal outburst in the opening frame. Ella Blackmore and Samatha Sensoli also scored. Peyen Steinhebel stopped 14 shots to earn her first shutout of the tournament.

Chicago Mission 3, East Coast Wizards 1
Madison Gagliano and Ellie Kaiser helped the Mission jump out to the lead, and Gabrielle Marciniak made it stand up as the Mission improved to 3-0-0 in preliminary round play. Christina Vote’s goal late in the second period brought the Wizards within one, but Anya Wallandt’s empty net goal sealed the deal for Chicago.

MN Elite Gray 5, Philadelphia Jr Flyers 0
Jada Habisch scored a pair of goals, and Sydney Langseth pitched in with three assists to back the 17-save performance by Alex Pellicci.

Dallas Stars Elite 4, Mid-Fairfield Stars 3
Julia Wysocki scored a goal and added an assist to lift the Stars to their first victory in a back and forth affair against Mid-Fairfield. The Stars erased three deficits before Naya Penn converted a Wysocki pass for the game winner. Morgann Skoda had a goal and an assist to pace the Stars attack.

Bay State Breakers 5, Rochester Youth Hockey 3
A pair of second-period goals from Abby Newhook helped the Breakers jump out to a big lead before holding off a late charge from Rochester. Skylar Irving added a goal and two assists, including a big helper on Katie Pyne’s empty net goal to seal the win. Goals in the final two minutes from Kirsten Simms and Laila Edwards kept Rochester within striking distance. The Breakers will face Shattuck-St. Mary’s in the quarterfinals, while Rochester will take on the Pittsburgh Pens Elite.

Girls Tier I 16U Notebook: Day 2 of Pool Play

By Harry Thompson, 04/05/19, 10:00PM MDT

Game of the Day: Buffalo Regals vs. CT Polar Bears

Game of the Day: Buffalo Regals 2, CT Polar Bears 1, OT

IRVINE, Calif. – For 51 minutes the #6 ranked Connecticut Polar Bears and #18 ranked Buffalo Regals played like their hockey lives depended on it. And in a way it did.

After suffering tough opening day losses, both teams desperately needed the three points that came with a regulation time win to keep their playoff hopes alive. And when regulation time wasn’t enough to settle the score, they scratched and clawed for an additional five minutes in overtime.

With only a minute remaining in the extra session, Abby Ruggiero poked home Ellie Schau’s shot through the legs of Polar Bears goaltender Grace Caligiuri to lift the Regals to a 2-1 gut-check victory to keep their slim hopes alive in the 16U division at the 2019 Chipolte-USA Hockey Girls Tier I National Championships.

The win gives the Regals a glimmer of hope heading into their game against the Pittsburgh Penguins Elite. They need to notch a win in regulation and then hope for the Polar Bears to stage a minor upset against 5th seeded Shattuck-St. Mary’s.

“We’re going to be the biggest fans of the Polar Bears tomorrow,” said Regals head coach Tom Ruggiero.

It all comes down to this at the end of a 60-plus game season that has seen more highs than lows for the at-large team from upstate New York.

Along the way they have played one of the toughest schedules in the country, which is paying dividends here at Nationals. Despite suffering a tough loss to Shattuck, Ruggiero was proud of the way his team has played this week.

“These girls work harder than any team I’ve ever coached,” Ruggiero said. “They grind and never give up.”

Autumn Mish tipped Rebecca Holmes point shot to stake the Regals to a lead late in the first period. 

The Polar Bears knotted the score in the second period when Mia Wendell couldn’t corral Kelly Howe’s high shot and Teaghan Hall was there to poke in the rebound.

The score remained that way through an intense third period and overtime period and seemed destined for a shootout when Ruggiero saved the Regals season.

Other Action

Bay State Breakers 4, Mid-Fairfield Stars 3
Abby Newhook converted a pass from Katie Pyne midway through the final period to snap a 3-3 tie and lift the Bay State Breakers to victory. Pyne added a pair of goals to pace the Massachusetts squad. Hamilton Doster paced Mid-Fairfield with a pair of goals and added an assist on a goal from Caroline Appleyard.

Rochester Youth Hockey 4, Dallas Stars Elite 2
Laila Edwards scored a pair of power-play goals and set up Sydney Wegner for another goal as Rochester upped their record to 2-0. Bailey Callaway stopped 28 shots, surrendering goals to Erika Shirer and Lily Martinson for the winless Stars.

Pittsburgh Pens Elite 2, Shattuck-St. Mary’s 1
Ellie Marcovsky scored a short-handed goal to snap a 1-1 tie to lead the Pens Elite to their second straight win. Eva Dorr tipped a point shot from Faith Anthony to erase an early Shattuck lead, and Sophie Bellina weathered a late surge during a 26-save effort. Hannah Rodgers had the only tally for Shattuck.

Philadelphia Jr Flyers 7, Washington Pride 3
Three short-handed goals in the second period powered the Jr. Flyers to victory over the winless Pride. Makayla Javier scored a pair of goals in the final frame to help the Atlantic District representatives pull away. Ava Rinker added a pair of goals, and Grace Dwyer pitched in with three assists.

East Coast Wizards 5, Anaheim Lady Ducks 1
Isabelle Allieri scored a pair of goals, and Christina Vote and Mia Biotti had three-point nights to pace the East Coast Wizards to victory. Abby Matusovich stopping 18 shots, giving up only a second-period power-play goal to the Lady Ducks’ Callie Wollschlager. 

MN Elite Gray 3, Boston Jr Eagles 0
Lacey Martin scored the first of her two goals to snap a scoreless tie midway through the second period to lift Minnesotans to victory. Skylar Vetter, who helped backstop the U.S. Under-18 Women’s National Team to a silver medal at the 2019 IIHF Under-18 Women’s World Championship, stopped 14 shots to earn the shutout. Vivian Jungles added a late power-play goal to seal the win.

Chicago Mission 3, Belle Tire 1
Veronica Bac scored a pair of goals as part of a three-goal third period outburst and the Chicago Mission rallied to beat their Midwest rival. Grace Garby’s goal in the second period  had given Belle Tire the lead before the Mission kicked it into gear in the final frame. Emma Thomas converted a pass from Clara Zubor for the eventual game winner before Bac put the game away with an empty-net goal in the final minute. 

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GAME SHEETS:

Power Plays

Penalties

Scoring Plays

Penalty Plays

Buffalo Regals Skaters

Shattuck-St. Mary's Skaters

Buffalo Regals Goalies

Shattuck-St. Mary's Goalies

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Power Plays

Penalties

Scoring Plays

Penalty Plays

Buffalo Regals Skaters

CT Polar Bears Skaters

Buffalo Regals Goalies

CT Polar Bears Goalies

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Power Plays

Penalties

Scoring Plays

Penalty Plays

Pittsburgh Pens Elite Skaters

Buffalo Regals Skaters

Pittsburgh Pens Elite Goalies

Buffalo Regals Goalies

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USA Hockey Nationals Website Article – March 15, 2017:
http://nationals.usahockey.com/news_article/show/770204?referrer_id=2885865

New York District: Another Quick Goal Starts Things Off

By Russell Jaslow, 03/15/17, 2:45PM MDT

Syracuse Nationals undone by fast start

Last year, the USA Hockey Girls Tier I 14U New York District Tournament title game started with a goal right off the opening faceoff. The Syracuse Nationals scored that goal en route to a double overtime victory. In 2017, it was Syracuse that was the victim of a quick goal. This time, the Buffalo Regals used that goal on their way to a 3-1 win.

Buffalo scored about as quickly as you can — nine seconds after the opening faceoff by Abby Ruggiero.

Over three minutes later, Nicole Tulowiecki tied the game on the power play. That was it for scoring until midway through the third when Emma Roland netted the game winner. Roland ended the tournament as the goal leader with seven in six games.

Buffalo coach Tom Ruggiero described the goal: "Fortunately, one of our better players, Emma Rolland, picked up the puck in the neutral zone and the Syracuse defenseman gave her too much time and space. We've been talking to her because she has a hard shot. She brought it over the blue line with some time and space and she just let it rip and it beat the goalie."

Abby Ruggiero scored an empty netter to clinch the game.

"Very intense," Ruggiero said of the game. "Could have gone either way. Both teams deserved to win this today. Congratulations to the Syracuse Nationals. Fortunately for our girls, this is a dream come true. I'm at a loss for words, frankly."

Buffalo beat Syracuse in the round robin portion, 5-3, as the Regals went undefeated on the weekend.

“The girls from the very beginning have played hard,” Ruggiero said. “Nothing would surprise me with this group. I think they are looking to go all the way."

They will be looking to do that at the USA Hockey Girls Tier I National Championships in Rochester/Macomb, Michigan, from April 6-10.
District Champions

Tier-I
14U: Buffalo Regals
16U: Rochester Youth Hockey
19U: Niagara Jr. Purple Eagles

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Article on USA HOCKEY Nationals website:

http://www.usahockey.com/news_article/show/492857?referrer_id=1093254

Buffalo Regals Show Girls Hockey is Growing

03/19/2015, 8:45am MDT

By Tom Robinson - Special to USAHockey.com

The girls who recently completed their time with the Buffalo Regals put a lot into the program.

They’re also getting a lot of it.

Six of the eight girls who graduated from the Regals’ 19U team this season have made commitments to continue playing hockey at the NCAA Division III level, all at State University of New York schools. Emma Ruggiero, Megan Reukauf and Maddy Kromer will all continue playing together at Buffalo State while Brie McFall heads off the Oswego State, Grace Page goes to Canton and Tatum Walber to Potsdam.

Tom Ruggiero, the association’s girls’ travel director for the past three seasons, arrived in the program with his daughter, Emma, for the 2010-11 season. The group Emma played with has been a big part of the Regals’ growth.

As a 14U team in 2012, they broke through by completing a series of dramatic wins to finish as USA Hockey Tier II national runners-up. At the time, the Buffalo association only had their 14U team and one older Tier II team. In the years since, the Regals have ascended to Tier I and, instead of seeking to fill teams on a year-to-year basis, have built teams at each age level: 19U, 16U, 14U, 12U and 10U.

“We had a good first year, and we started adding teams from there,” Tom Ruggiero said. “A lot of good things, a lot of coaches and, fortunately, we’ve had a good run building up the program.

“You never know how long it’s going to last, but it’s a good opportunity and a good situation for a lot of girls, and we’ll keep it going as long as we can.”

Ruggiero coached the 16U team to a Tier I New York state title and national quarterfinal appearance in 2014. The Regals also won the state Tier I 14U title last season.

He coached the 12U and 19U teams this season, which joined the 16U squad in giving the Regals three state runners-up on the Tier I level. Next season, he will lead the 14U team.

When the tryouts are done and the Regals set their 17-player Tier I rosters, Ruggiero has options for the remaining girls..

“Every team had to make cuts,” Ruggiero said of the Cheektowaga-based program. “The good thing with the girls’ game is that other organizations do have Tier II teams. You never know on any given year who’s going to have a given age group. The numbers aren’t always there to fill all those teams.

“At the same time, we have an idea who’s going to be stronger and can make recommendations. At the end of the day, we want the girls have a place where they want to play. Most of the coaches in the area, we have a relationship with and talk back and forth.”

Story from Red Line Editorial, Inc.

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Article from USA Hockey Nationals website:

http://nationals.usahockey.com/news_article/show/210791?referrer_id=719710

Alaska Icebreakers claim title with late game-winner (Game Recap)

04/02/2012, 9:30am MDT

By John Trachina

McKINNEY, Texas -- Megan Kubichek knew she was in a lot of pain, but she was determined not to let her season end sitting on the bench.

With about seven minutes remaining in the USA Hockey Tier II 14-and-Under National Championship game, in which her Alaska Icebreakers team was tied 1-1 with the Buffalo Regals, Kubichek’s stick got stuck in the boards and the butt-end jammed her in the stomach, just below the ribs, leaving her writhing on the ice in pain for several minutes. 

But after a little recovery time on the bench, Kubichek declared that she was ready, got back on the ice and wound up scoring the game-winning goal with just 1:53 left to clinch the title.

“I don’t know, it could be some internal bleeding, but I’d trade that for a game-winning goal every day,” said Kubichek, who was sporting a raised red welt the size of a puck after the game. “It hurt really bad but I did not want to be sitting on that bench, I wanted to get out there.”

Added Icebreakers coach Luther Brice: “She rested there for a little bit, basically took a stick in the gut from getting it stuck in the wall there, but as soon as she said she was ready, we got her back out on the ice, and I’m glad we did.”

As for her dramatic game-winner, her second goal of the tournament, Kubichek displayed impressive patience with the puck after picking up a rebound in front of Buffalo goalie Maddy Utz, then lifted a point-blank wrist shot into the upper right corner.

“It’s all just a blur,” she said of the winner. “But I do remember, Dynnea [Bezona] took a shot and there was a rebound, and I saw the goalie was leaving her upper shoulder open and I thought, ‘I can do this, I’ve done this so many times before in practice,’ and so I just went for it and I got it.”

Combined with a first period goal by Mackenzie Sylvester and 17 saves from Sabrina Nichols, victory was sweet for the Icebreakers.

“It’s a great feeling,” acknowledged Brice, whose squad finished with just one defeat, a 3-2 setback to the Montgomery Blue Devils in round-robin play. “It was our goal from the beginning of the season, and having made the game was great, but the girls really dug deep and wanted to win it this year. It was very exciting, right down to the wire today with two minutes to go. It seems like this whole tournament, it’s been a lot of close games all the way through it.”

“It feels amazing, the feeling of winning and knowing that you’ve worked your hardest and that it paid off in the end,” added Kubichek. “Starting eight months ago, we’ve been working up to this moment and this game, and we did it. We worked our butts off and it just feels great.”

For Buffalo, which overcame multiple obstacles en route to the New York state championships just to qualify for nationals, the thrilling final game capped off their silver medal-winning season nicely. 

“It’s not disappointing at all. The girls played hard, we’ve never been more proud of them,” said Regals coach Tom Ruggiero. “The other team scored one more goal than us, late, and we were right there. We had some good looks, the girls should be happy, their heads should be held high. That was fantastic. I’ve never needed the scoreboard to know how well we played or if we were the better team. Tomorrow, we win this game, I think.”

Story from Red Line Editorial, Inc.