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Team and player
Q8 Champions
8A – Prescott Storm
MVP – Owen Zubek
Top Offense – Jake Fain
Top Defense – Dan Haggerty
Top Goalie – Sarah Jacobelli
8B – Yuma Blaze
MVP – Ryan Geren
Top Offense – Brenden Geren
Top Defense – Peyton Luzzi
Top Goalie – Evan Anderson
10A – Caseys Crushers
MVP – Luke Hicks
Top Offense – Jeremy Gabriele
Top Defense – Chase Holdman
Top Goalie – Shaun Macdonald
10B – Yuma Blaze
MVP – Coralie Pancrazi
Top Offense – Logan Estes
Top Defense – Luke Athelli
Top Goalie – Garrett Ruby
12A – Yuma Blaze Black
MVP – Wyatt Dennis
Top Offense – Camden Taylor
Top Defense – Ben Deckey
Top Goalie – Bobby Nagel/Brianna Carroll
12B – Sharp Shooters
MVP – Walker Yancy
Top Offense – Alex Centa
Top Defense – Joey Strada
Top Goalie – Nick Setzer
14A – Rollerplex Panthers
MVP – Jayme Haveman
Top Offense – Robbie Goldsmith
Top Defense – Team Excalibur
Top Goalie – Brett Bushnell
14B – Yuma Blaze Red
MVP – Jonathan Vandeberg
Top Offense – Jay Nelson
Top Defense – Chase Pancrazi
Top Goalie – Ty Dunn
16u – Rollerplex Panthers
MVP – Jesse Rooney
Top Offense – Grant Greeley
Top Defense – Corey Cranmer
Top Goalie – Rianon O’Reilly
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 There seemed to be a sense of Spring in the air, or maybe it was the continual march of excited customers into Casey’s for a shot in the batting cages. And if one wanted, you could escape into the goofy golf course where there is premium placed upon being a little kid, no matter what your age is. When the AIHA Q8 qualifer took place upon the hollowed grounds of Casey at the Bat, there was a feeling that this was really where it all started 10 years ago, when the first AIHA season took place and inline hockey had the energy and consuming interest to become a family’s primary after work activity.
8u Division
The Prescott Storm left no doubt when they exited the arena, who the top dog was in the 8uA and the entire division. Down to the player, the Storm has the goods to dominate for now and well into the future. Of th e 18 total assists that were recorded in the 8u division, 9 of them were scored by the Storm troopers as they triumphed over AZ United for the “A” championship 8-0. Perhaps the most dominating feature of their blitzkrieg through the tournament was their excellent pistol of a goalie, Sarah Jacobelli. Under her stead, the Storm have had but only 2 goals scored on them in 6 games. But the team that has suddenly displayed vast improvement was the performance that Yuma Blaze posted as they cruised to an 8uB championship game win over the Havasu Dust Devils 5-2 limiting the white hot scoring sensation, Peyton Luzzi to just 2 goals in the game. Yuma seems to have found their mojo with excellent scoring from Ryan Geren (9 goals, 1 assist), Dalton Ott (1 goal, 2 assists) and Brenden Geren (2 goals).
10u Division
The continuing saga of Casey’s Crushers versus Team Excalibur 98’s made the best sellers list once again as the plot thickened when both teams went undefeated until they met in the championship game of 10uA division. There was yet another Casey’s scoring phenom to top the scoring table at the end of 10u division as Ryan Savage (6 goals, 3 assists) gave the Crushers what they needed, but with the lineup that they have, depth at any position is what they are the most feared for. Crushers excellent goalie, Shaun MacDonald, performed at his best yet, limiting teams to one goal for the entire qualifier. Team Excalibur was without their stellar goalie, Wyatt Entzminger, but Tanner Paterno (4 goals, 2 assists) pulled them into the final game with Casey’s before going down 1-5.
 The Yuma Blaze showed amazing improvement by topping the Prescott Storm 7-0 to take the 10uB title. Blaze goalie Garrett Ruby showed everyone how it was that he goalied the Yuma Blaze 10uB2 state champs to their championship title last season by completely shutting out any Storm scoring opportunities. The Blaze fans were very excited to see the offense come to life with a much needed scoring leader in Logan Estes (3 goals, 1 assist).
12u Division
The 12uA division perhaps featured not just the closest finish in AIHA history, but put a face on the dramatic shift that the Yuma Blaze hockey program has taken. The Yuma Blaze Black, facing an a potential early exit from the qualifier with disappointing losses in the early round robin games, had a very tough uphill battle to reverse their slide and to get back into the contest with momentum, which began with their incredible 4-3 semi-final victory over a very excellent Rollerplex Panthers team. The hero for the Blaze was Chase Pancrazi who buried the puck into the Panther net late in the second period to break a 3-3 tie. The Blaze’s next game was the championship game which had the atmosphere of a heavyweight championship title fight as the Casey’s Crushers Blue skated onto their home floor with the Crusher fans eagerly awaiting a well played but victorious outcome for the Crushers. But, as it turned out, the Blaze was not about to give it to them. From the outset, both teams simply traded goals until Casey went ahead 4-3. Then late in the second period, with the Crushers on a power play, the division’s top scorer, Jack Allen, took control of the the puck, and even with his team shorthanded, outmaneuvered every Casey’s defender and shot the puck past Casey’s goalie, Cody Krusniak Tying up the game 4-4. Both teams played to no score in sudden death. During the shootout, Yuma’s first shooter, Jack Allen, scored in what proved to be the winning shot. And make no mistake, Yuma goalie Wyatt Dennis, though he struggled during the round robin games, absolutely made the stops when they had to be made in order to win the championship, as he turned away every Casey’s attempt in the shootout.
The 12uB division did not feature an outcome that was quite as dramatic. The Sharp Shooters were back after an educational visit to the 12uA division. And even though the  Sharp Shooters barely broke a sweat in their championship romp over the Casey’s Crushers Red 8-0, they were taken to the limit by the Prescott Storm bunch in earlier round robin play. If not for go-ahead goals by Alex Centa and Tim Dixon to break a 4-4 tie, there could very well have been a different matchup in the championship game. As it was, Prescott simply did not have an answer for the very high offensive output that the Sharp Shooters were capable of producing.
14u Division
This time the Rollerplex Panthers were not given a free pass to go untainted into the championship game as newcomer AZ Phlyers, gave the Panthers everything they could handle and more in round robin play, tying them 3-3 to hand them a rare blemish on a rather perfect season. As it turned out, the game that mattered most for 1st and 2nd was the Panthers, Excalibur matchup. 2 premier scoring threats in Plex’s  Robbie Goldsmith (6 goals, 6 assists) and Excalibur’s newly acquired Stetson Dircks (8 goals, 4 assists) did not produce the highly anticipated voltage everyone was expecting as Goldsmith led the Panthers to a 4-1 victory with 2 goals and 1 assist for the game. The 14uB division lived up to its hype as the closest and most competitive grouping of teams in all of hockey. Not a single game out the 6 round robin games were won by more than one goal. It came down to a battle of defense and goalies with the top 3 goalies recording the highest collective save average ever recorded in AIHA tournament play with an unbelievable 90.52 collective save average. Yuma’s outstanding goalie, Ty Dunn, allowing the fewest goals and the highest overall save average, was the key to Yuma Blaze Red’s hyper focused march to the tournament championship. It took a 4th tie breaker in which to determine that Yuma Blaze red took first and Havasu Dust Devils took second on fewest goals against. .
16u Division
It was a topsy turvy kind of division as the Sweethearts broke out with some unforeseen offensive output against Team Excalibur rocking them 5-0 in round robin play. And a familiar face came to the forefront as Sweetheart goalie  Rianon OReilly made the monster saves that has made her legendary, capturing the tournament outstanding goalie. Somehow, Team Excalibur woke up and put together a remarkable game, tying team Rollerplex Panthers in round robin play as Excalibur’s Cameron Caruso and Trevor Needle provided 2 goals and 2 assists between them. Rollerplex’s reliable trio of Jesse Rooney, Kevin Smith and Grant Greeley gave them the offensive shot they needed to take the championship game over Team Excalibur 7-2. Again, it was a qualifier where many key players were missing from both rosters. As teams gear up for the state finals, and the teams work out the kinks, the 16u division could be one of the most anticipated at state finals.
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