By Hub City Times staff

MARSHFIELD – The Marshfield Youth Hockey Association (MYHA) Squirt A team recently took first place in the Black River Falls Invitational tournament held Feb. 9-10.

Eight teams participated in the tournament, with the Squirt A teams going undefeated — beating Monroe 6-4, Oregon 3-1, and Tomah 3-1, in the championship game.

The Squirt A team is just one of MYHA’s multiple youth teams, divided by age — 6U- Mini-mites (6 years old and younger), 8U Mites, 10U- Squirts, 12U -Pee Wee, and 14U- Bantam.

“Associations such as Marshfield Youth Hockey Association are classified into divisions by the state’s governing board (WAHA- Wisconsin Amateur Hockey Association) based on the number of registered players and historical success,” explained Squirt A Head Coach Steve Mattila. “This helps to create competitive match-ups.

“Youth hockey is where all high school players develop their skills and would be considered a building block or a foundation for high school hockey.”

Players are usually 4-5 years old when they start.

The season runs November through February with the teams practicing twice a week in late afternoon or early evening.

Mattila said that the Marshfield teams have had a good season. “The teams are doing pretty well; all of them have been in a lot of good competitive games and our younger players have really improved a lot of the course of the year. It has been amazing to be able to witness the transformation,” he said.

MYHA holds a free learn-to-skate twice a year – once in October and again in January. Watch for information in this publication.

For more information on the program, visit https://myha.pucksystems.com.