NAPHL Success: Jr. Reign Dominates Weekend Showdown in Minnesota

by Jake Dyck

The Jr. Reign is excited to continue being a part of the prestigious NAPHL (North American Prospect Hockey League) for the 2023-24 season. This league is highly competitive, and not every team in the country is selected to participate. Over this past weekend, the 18AAA, 16AA, and 14AA teams traveled to Blaine, Minnesota for the second NAPHL weekend of the season.

In a four-game weekend for 18AAA, they proved to be the strongest of the bunch by completing a weekend sweep. These wins included a 3-2 victory against Monument Hockey Academy, a 5-2 win over Texas Jr. Brahmas, a 3-2 shootout win against the New Mexico Ice Wolves, and a 5-2 victory over the Houston Aeros. Dominic Anton led the weekend with four goals, and Vitaly Zagorodniy had the shootout winner against New Mexico.



The 16AA team came into the weekend with much to prove, and they did just that. With significant wins against the Texas Brahmas (4-1) and a 2-1 overtime victory against the Utah Jr. Mustangs, the Reign proved to be a formidable force. Highlighted by a slick overtime goal by Markus Mineck, the Reign bounced back from a 0-2 start to finish the weekend 2-2.

Lastly, the 14AA team had a competitive weekend playing against some of the top teams in the nation. Although they did not come out on top, the team came together and made improvements after every game. Alex Whitehead led the team with three goals over the weekend, and Filip Duba proved to be a great shootout scorer!

Looking ahead to the future, the next NAPHL event will take place from January 12-15 in Troy, Michigan. Great job, Jr. Reign, and best of luck in 2024!