MGHCA To Offer 16U Premier Prep League Opportunities In Fall of 2019

The Minnesota Girls Hockey Coaches Association in cooperation with Minnesota Hockey is pleased to announce that they will be adding four 16U teams to the Premier Prep League for the fall of 2019. These teams will compete against the 19U Premier Prep League teams and the Upper Midwest Elite 1 teams. A total of 80 players (48 forwards, 24 defenders and 8 goalies) will be invited to participate in the league this fall. Each team will play a minimum of 14 games and one team will have the opportunity to qualify for the USA Hockey National 16U Tier 2 Tournament in April. Cheryl Mechelke, the HP 15 Program Director will be the Coordinator for the 16U division of the Premier Prep League.

John Perry, the VP of Hockey Operations and Mike MacMillan, the High Performance Director for MN Hockey see the addition of these players to the league as win-win for high school aged players looking for high level fall competition prior to the winter high school season. Perry and MacMillan said “We think the Premier Prep league providing a 16U Tier II experience at this level is going to be a great opportunity for past and present HP 15 players to raise their level of competition at the Tier II level.  This will also be a great tune up for their upcoming season. Teaming with some of the Upper Midwest Elite League teams will provide a great path for our players to fine tune their skills.”  Tim Morris, the Executive Director and Program Director for the Minnesota Girls Hockey Coaches Association added “These young dynamic players will add to the already great experience offered to high school aged players with the opportunity to play a competitive schedule while continuing to participate with their fall sports teams. The league offers high caliber coaching at an affordable cost to all participants. The MGHCA is also excited to have Cheryl Mechelke join the PPL leadership as the Coordinator of this new division of the league.”

Registration invitations will be sent out by Cheryl Mechelke based on players’ performances at the HP15 Spring Festival and the HP15 Summer Camp. Questions regarding the league should be directed to Cheryl Mechelke at wildcm1210@yahoo.com . Players and their parents should watch for emails regarding league registration in the very near future.

This is the 12th year the MGHCA has operated the Premier Prep League. The Minnesota Girls Hockey Coaches Association is a non-profit organization serving high school teams, coaches, and players throughout Minnesota. Other programs administered by the MGHCA include the Senior Classic and the U18 Festival in the spring of each year. This past spring the PPL sent two teams to the America’s Showcase in St Louis, MO and one team to the USA Hockey National Tier 2 Tournament in Amherst, NY. The Minnesota White team won the championship in St Louis and the PPL Red team garnered a 3rd place finish in the 19U Tier 2 tournament. More info can be found at www.MGHCA.com .