UPMC Penguins Rinks

The UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex hosted the fifth annual GRIT (Game Ready Intensive Tournament) tournament for levels 10U through 14U on Dec. 26-31.

10U A Major

The 10U A Major division consisted of six local teams - Pens Elite Suisham, Allegheny Badgers, Butler Valley Dawgs, Franklin Regional Devo, Pittsburgh Predators and Southpointe Rink Rats. The Pittsburgh Predators and Pens Elite Suisham led the round-robin play with two wins and one tie each.

The Predators, Pens Elite, Southpointe and Butler Valley all advanced to the 10U A Major playoffs. After each winning their semi-final games, Southpointe and Butler Valley advanced to the championship game where Butler Valley came out on top.

10U A Minor

The 10U A Minor group consisted of Pens Elite Moon, Arctic Foxes, Butler Valley Dawgs and Erie Lions. In round-robin play, the Arctic Foxes went undefeated with a 3-0 record to help them advance to the playoff as the first seed. Joining the Foxes were Butler Valley, Pens Elite and the Erie Lions. After winning their semi-final games, Butler Valley and the Arctic Foxes battled in the championship game, with Butler Valley coming away with their second championship of the weekend.

12U AA

The 12U AA group consisted of four local Pittsburgh teams in the Pittsburgh Huskies 351, Mt. Lebanon Hornets, North Pittsburgh Wildcats 457 and Pittsburgh Predators. The Huskies went undefeated through three games in the round-robin play. The Huskies, Predators, Hornets and Wildcats all advanced to the 12U AA playoffs. After winning their semi-final games, the Huskies and Hornets met in the championship game where the Huskies skated away champions.

12U A Major

Eight different teams battled in the 12U A Major group this past weekend – Tomorrow’s Ice, Butler Valley Dawgs, Mon Valley Thunder, Arctic Foxes, Beaver County Badgers, Mt. Lebanon Hornets/Team Lehman, Foxes 274 and Steel City Ice Renegades. Tomorrow’s Ice easily skated through the round-robin group play with a undefeated 3-0 record. After all eight teams qualified for the playoffs, the Renegades and Tomorrow’s Ice battled for the championship, with Tomorrow’s Ice skating away with the victory.

12U A Minor

The 12U A Minor group consisted of Tomorrow’s Ice, Erie Lions, North Pittsburgh Wildcats, Mt. Lebanon Hornets, DeFazio 240 AHA and Arctic Foxes. Both the Erie Lions and Tomorrow’s Ice went undefeated in round-robin play to advance to the group’s playoffs. Joining the Lions and Tomorrow’s Ice in the playoffs were the Hornets and Wildcats. The Hornets and Lions both won their semi-final games to advance to the championship game, where the Erie Lions were victorious for the organization’s first victory in the tournament.

14U A Major/AA

Six different teams participated in the 14U A+/AA GRIT group – Arctic Foxes, Mt. Lebanon Hornets, Findlay Trojans, SHAHA, Hamburg Hawks and North Pittsburgh Wildcats. The Arctic Foxes came away from the round-robin play with the group’s only winning record to help the team advance to the AA playoffs against SHAHA. The Foxes skated away from the tournament as champions as they defeated SHAHA in the group’s title game.

In the A Major playoffs, Mt. Lebanon faced Findlay in the championship game, where Findlay took home the weekend’s 14U A Major title.

14U A Minor

Six teams skated in the 14U A Minor group this past weekend – the Capital City Vipers, York Devils, MLHA 355, NP 14U-4, Butler Valley Dawgs and North Pittsburgh Wildcats. The Vipers went unbeaten in round-robin play (2-0-1) to earn the first seed in the playoffs, where they were joined by the Wildcats, Devils and MLHA. After winning their semi-final games, Capital City and MLHA met in the championship round where Capital City claimed the title.