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10 champions crowned at Carmen Starr Classic

By Brian McDonough, 05/29/18, 5:15PM PDT

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Sixty-five teams from Arizona, California, Minnesota, Utah, Texas, British Columbia and Toronto, as well as the Czech Republic and Russia, converged on three Southern California rinks last weekend to compete in the ninth annual Los Angeles Jr. Kings-hosted Carmen Starr Memorial Day Classic.

Sixty-five teams from Arizona, California, Minnesota, Utah, Texas, British Columbia and Toronto, as well as the Czech Republic and Russia, converged on three Southern California rinks last weekend to compete in the ninth annual Los Angeles Jr. Kings-hosted Carmen Starr Memorial Day Classic, which ran from May 25-28.

Champions were crowned in 10 divisions: Midget Open (Summerhawks-Mendez); 2004 AAA (Spartacist); 2005 Elite (Anaheim Jr. Ducks); 2006 Elite (Jr. Kings); 2006 AAA (Western Patriots Selects); 2007 Elite (BC Lightning); 2007 AAA (Jr. Kings-Paglia); 2009 Elite (Gold Rush Hockey Club); and Mite Open-Gretzky (Gold Rush) and -Robitaille (Bay Area Blazers).

“This event has solidified itself as the premier spring showcase on the West Coast, and we expect it to become even bigger and better in the coming years,” said tournament director Brian McDonough. “There was plenty of great competition in every division this year, and that speaks volumes about the effort each player, coach, team manager and family put forth to make the weekend such a success. We want to thank them all for participating.”

All division champions were awarded a banner and trophy, and all players on the championship teams received medals. Players on the runner-up teams in each division also received medals.

This year’s Carmen Starr games were contested at Toyota Sports Center (El Segundo), The Rinks-Lakewood Ice (Lakewood) and East West Ice Palace (Artesia).

“We can’t thank enough the dedicated staffs at each facility, as well as our volunteers, for helping make tournaments of this scope hit on all cylinders,” McDonough added. “We’re lucky to have so many great, selfless people on our team and are truly appreciative of all their efforts.”

Tournament vendors included Northwest Designs of CaliforniaOrigami OwlCustom Sports Banner and Quality One Engravers.

Kings CoveGrimaldi’s Pizzeria and Tin Roof Bistro served as restaurant partners for the event, andPSE Event Housing successfully coordinated and managed all visiting teams’ hotel accommodations.

The Carmen Starr Memorial Day Classic is part of the Jr. Kings’ Tinseltown Tournament Series. Pre-registration for the Series’ four 2018-19 events - the Labor Day Festival (Aug. 31-Sept. 3); Thanksgiving Extravaganza (Nov. 22-25); Presidents’ Day Challenge (Feb. 15-18, 2019); and Carmen Starr Memorial Day Classic (May 24-27, 2019) - will open in early June.

“We have an exciting 2018-19 tournament calendar lined up and are looking forward to hosting a lot of great programs from not only California, but across North America,” McDonough said. “Between our first-class home facility (Toyota Sports Center), proximity to LAX and the great competition we regularly attract, coupled with everything else the Los Angeles area has to offer away from the rink, our events are weekend destinations an entire family can enjoy.”

For more information and to pre-register, visit TinseltownHockeyTournaments.com.