NAPHL crowns 2022 playoff champions on Monday

February 22, 2022

The 2022 Dixon Cup Playoffs concluded on Monday, February 21^st with all five Championship games being played at the Troy Sports Center in Michigan.

In the morning, the Semi-Finals in the 14U and 15U Divisions were played out in addition to the final round-robin PREP games. That set the stage for Monday afternoon’s title games.

Monday recap

18U Division: The Northstar Knights defeated Biggby Coffee AAA in a 2-1 game to win back-to-back Dixon Cup Championships. The game did not see its first goal until the second period when Max Martin of Biggby scored at 13:18 for a 1-0 lead. In the third, the Knights scored with Brian Morse at 6:21 to tie the game. Later into the third, Dylan Cook answered at 15:34 scoring what would be the game winner for a 2-1 final.

16U Division: The Esmark Stars took on the Des Moines Buccaneers for the 16U NAPHL Dixon Cup, 1-0. In the first period, Nathan Burlando scored and was assisted by Ilya Zhdanov and William Kiray III. The Stars held the Buccaneers from scoring for a 1-0 win. Stars goaltender Ian Amaranto turned away all 15 shots he faced in the shutout.

15U Division: The Reapers Hockey Association topped the Tri-State Spartans in the 15U Dixon Cup finals, 5-3. The Reapers got ahead in the first with two goals with Colin Murphy (2:29) and Christopher Sipe (10:05) scoring. Less than a minute into the second, Tri-State’s Henry Dougherty (0:31) got the Spartans within one. The Reapers added three back-to-back unanswered goals in the middle period with Colum Chinlund, Marty McAuley, and Frank Rosa all scoring for a 5-1 lead. Tri-State scored twice in the third, but the Spartans held on for a 5-3 win.

14U Division: The Reapers Hockey Association claimed the 14U Dixon Cup after a 3-2 final against CarShield AAA. In the first period, CarShield scored first with Jackson Fox (8:16) scoring with the help of Dillen Grupe. Nearing the end of the first, Reapers Dylan Moran (15:08) scored an unassisted goal. In the middle period, Ryan Staehle (11:57) took the lead for the Reapers 2-1. In the third, Alex DeGroat (11:13) evened the game on an unassisted goal. A few minutes later, Ryan Staehle (13:41) netted his second of the night for a 3-2 lead. The Reapers held on to win the 14U NAPHL Dixon Cup.

PREP: Regis Jesuit took a 5-2 win over Denver East High School to win the NAPHL Prep Division Championship. Regis took a 1-0 lead with Jake Filler scoring at 12:27. In the second, Denver answered back with back-to-back goals with Nicolas Chadd (2:31) and Kaden Dunham (8:08). Regis answered back to even it up 2-2 with Jacob Zinno (11:34). In the third period, Regis scored three unanswered goals with Andrew Gleason scoring twice and then Carter Lutz for a 5-2 win.

All-Time Dixon Cup Tier 1 Champions

2022: 18U-Northstar Knights, 16U-Esmark Stars, 15U-Reapers Hockey Association, 14U-Reapers Hockey Association

2021: 18U-Northstar Knights, 16U-Florida Alliance, 15U-CarShield AAA, 14U-Arizona Bobcats and Colorado Springs Tigers

2020: 18U-Meijer AAA, 16U-Gentry Academy, 15U-CarShield AAA

2019: 18U-Thunder Bay Kings, 16U-Meijer AAA, 15U-Rocky Mountain RoughRiders

2018: 18U-Esmark Stars, 16U-Arizona Bobcats, 15U-Rocky Mountain RoughRiders

2017: 18U-Madison Capitols, 16U-Esmark Stars, 15U-Washington Little Caps

2016: 18U-Madison Capitols, 16U-Omaha AAA

2015: 18U-New Jersey Jr. Titans, 16U-Omaha AAA

2014: 18U-Omaha AAA, 16U-Lansing Capitals

2013: 18U-Indiana Jr. Ice, 16U-Omaha AAA

2012: 18U-California Titans, 16U-Indiana Jr. Ice, 14U-St. Louis Selects