For what feels like the first time in a while, hockey has been the buzz of Western New York so far in 2026. This week is no exception with the USA Hockey Girls National Championships coming to the Northtown Center in Amherst, running from March 24-29. There will be 24 games each day on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, concluding with three national champions crowned Sunday from the 19u, 16u, and 14u age brackets.
This tournament has featured female athletes who have gone on to play for Team USA — alongside Getzville native and gold medalist Hayley Scamurra — and continues to be a stepping stone for success in the sport.
“Hockey is becoming the hot topic, which is amazing, as our Buffalo Sabres continue to do well, we've got an Olympic gold medal here, directly from Amherst, from the female [Olympic team]," said Town Supervisor Shawn Lavin at a press conference Monday. "We are extremely excited to host this tournament. We have players coming in from as far as Alaska to be here at the Northtown Center, which, again, is an example of all the work that's done here in Amherst, to bring this tournament in front of us.”
This year's tournament is expected to generate around $3.2 million in revenue for the town of Amherst, said Patrick Kaler of Visit Buffalo.
Lavin added close to 4,000 hotel nights will be booked because of this tournament.
"That is a lot of money coming into our economy in Amherst, but also Western New York," Lavin said.
In the past three weeks, the city of Buffalo hosted two rounds of NCAA Tournament action at KeyBank Center and the United States Collegiate Athletic Association men's basketball tournament. Kaler said the economic impact has been more than $15 million.
Overall, this year, Kaler said the economic impact from events for Erie County is expected to be more than $87 million between hotel rooms, people going out to bars, restaurants and cultural attractions.
Joe Baudo, a USA Hockey district director and former president of New York State Amateur Hockey Association, added Northtown Center also will host the USA Hockey high school national tournament in 2027.
Baudo said this year has been a great year for USA Hockey, as there are over 100,000 girls who are registered with USA Hockey to play the sport, and as the Sabres continue to have success, Baudo expects the local number to continue to rise.
There are no entry fees to this week's action, and on Wednesday, the Hockey Hall of Fame will be at the Northtown Center with historic NHL memorabilia on display.
