Milpitas native Christopher Lai is headed to nationals with his amateur ice hockey team.
The Ontario Jr. Reign are the U.S. Premier Hockey League (USPHL) Pacific Division champions after beating the Fresno Monsters in two games on March 7 and 8. The Jr. Reign finished the 2023-24 season at 37-8-0-1. Nationals will be held in Utica, NY, March 21-26.
“It was a really special moment,” said Jr. Reign Head Coach Jeremy Blumes of the division win. “It’s hard for me to put it into words, but they say it takes a village, and in three short seasons we have built a very special village.”
The team belongs to the Pacific division of the USPHL, founded in 2012. It is the largest amateur ice hockey league in the U.S., according to officials. The USPHL facilitates young players’ progress on to collegiate and/or professional hockey.
The USPHL now fields more than 11,000 players in more than 100 organizations across the U.S. Since its inception, the USPHL has sent over 5,000 players on to college hockey and more than 200 players to NCAA Division I hockey, and has had seven players drafted by the NHL directly from its National Collegiate Development Conference.
Lai (No. 95) is a forward who can play center, left wing and right wing. The Jr. Reign play more than 50 games each season, according to Lai. He had 19 goals and 20 assists in 44 games during the season.
Lai enjoys playing hockey despite growing up in a city with no natural snow or ice. He has been with the Ontario Jr. Reign since August 2023.
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