The Southern California Titans (U18) and the Pikes Peak Miners (U16) were crowned regular-season champions in their respective North American Prospects Hockey League (NAPHL) divisions.
Both teams will hold the No. 1 seed in their brackets at next month’s inaugural NAPHL Championship Tournament Series, which will be held at Sharks Ice-San Jose from February 12-15.
The Titans, who went 4-1 at last week’s fourth and final regular-season event in Ann Arbor, Mich., finished with a 17-3 record, good for 34 points - one more than the Milwaukee Jr. Admirals, who claimed the No. 2 seed.
With the top eight teams qualifying for the U18 Gold Championship Series, the Lansing Capitals, Pikes Peak Miners, Omaha AAA Hockey Club, Team Maryland, St. Louis Selects and Boston Jr. Rangers, along with the Titans and Admirals, will play for the U18 championship in San Jose.
In the U16 division, Pikes Peak and the Florida Panthers Alliance both finished with 35 points, with the Miners winning the tiebreaker thanks to a 7-5 head-to-head win over Florida in Ann Arbor.
The Miners finished with a perfect 5-0 record at the Michigan event to close the regular season at 17-2-1 overall.
Joining the Miners and the Alliance in the U16 Gold Championship Series are the Carolina Jr. Hurricanes, Motor City Metal Jackets, Lansing Capitals, Thunder National, Nevada Stars and Detroit Falcons.
The remaining eight teams from both the U18 and U16 divisions will compete in the Silver Consolation Series in San Jose.