NAPHL crowns SHOW League Champions

The NAPHL recently crowned its SHOW League champions across five divisions, celebrating outstanding performances from the top tier-two organizations. Each division’s winner showcased exceptional skill, teamwork, and determination, marking a major achievement for players, coaches, and families alike.

18U Gold:

This year’s Championship game was a rematch from the 2024 season as the Orland Park Vikings took on the Chicago Hawks. After falling to the Vikings last season, the Hawks were ready to seek revenge and take the Championship banner back to Chicago. Through the first two periods of play, the Hawks were up 1-0 after an early goal from Bobby Barrett, his first of not only the weekend but the SHOW season. The third period is where action intensified as the Vikings scored back to back goals, taking a 2-1 lead at the 11:39 mark of the final frame. Barrett would respond for Chicago, finding the back once again at the 14:22 mark to tie things up. With the score tied 2-2, the game headed into a nail-biting overtime, and it was defenseman Dominic Gregori who became the hero for Chicago, scoring the game-winner and securing the banner for the Hawks, completing their revenge mission.

18U Silver:

The round-robin rematch was one to remember for the Tri-Valley Bulls as they shipped back to California with the Championship banner in hand. The first period was packed with intense action, as both teams struck quickly, each scoring just a minute apart. The final two periods saw a goal in each, with the Bulls adding one per period, including the game-winner from defenseman Joseph Jupina, the top-scoring defenseman in the entire 18U bracket. When asked what his team needed to do to defeat the Mustangs once again, Jupina said, “We knew they were going to come out hard. So we had to play our game, get pucks deep and go to work down low and that’s been our game plan all weekend.”

16U Gold:

The West Dundee Leafs claimed victory in the 16U Gold Division after defeating Nest Hockey by a score of 4-2. The game would go back and forth in scoring, the Leafs getting on the board first after blueliner Christopher Weyrich tallied his second goal on the weekend. West Dundee carried their momentum into the second period, extending their lead to two. However, Nest forward Cannen Justus answered back, cutting the lead to one with a goal at the 5:35 mark. The Leafs would go on to pot one additional goal to wrap up the period, heading into the final frame up 3-1. Nest came out strong in the third period, with Noah Stiens trimming the Leafs' lead to one. However, Nikolai Vahmistrovs sealed the win for his team, scoring his second goal of the game to secure the Championship victory.

16U Silver:

The Texas Heat turned up the temperature in their Championship match, scorching the Lake County Vipers with a dominant 6-0 victory to cap off the SHOW season. Five different players found the back of the net for Texas, including 6’1” forward Victor Laos, who scored twice, his first two goals of the season, capping off a standout performance in the Championship game, the perfect stage for his best game of the year. Meanwhile between the pipes, netminder Elijah Canas posted his third consecutive win and second shutout on the year after turning away all 24 shots to secure the win. 

14U:

The Vegas Jr. Golden Knights and Team Wyoming kept fans on the edge of their seats, with Vegas emerging victorious 2-1 to claim the title as 14U Champions. After a scoreless first two periods, it was unclear who would break the deadlock, but at the 2:20 mark of the final frame, Max Biaggi found the net, beating McIntosh Mixter to give his team a 1-0 lead. 14U leading scorer Lucas Newell kept his streak alive, recording at least one point in every SHOW contest, as he netted his second game-winner at the 5:30 mark. With just under one minute remaining in regulation, it seemed like Vegas had sealed the win, but Team Wyoming's Hardty Huffman fought back, scoring at 16:38. Despite the resilient effort, Vegas held strong defensively, maintaining the 2-1 lead as the final buzzer sounded.