Defender Hockey Tournament - St. Paddy's Smackdown, Delaware

OVERVIEW

Defender Hockey Tournaments is back in action this March with the spirited St. Paddy’s Smackdown Tournament at Patriot Ice Center—a perfect finale to the 2025/26 Fall/Winter Season. Though the snow of winter may still be in the air, this Spring-flavored event brings the heat to the rink with competitive Round Robin play across age divisions from 10U to 14U, celebrating a season of hard work, teamwork, and hockey growth. Set against the vibrant backdrop of Newark and its welcoming local community, teams and families will not only enjoy top-tier youth hockey, but also the fun and festivity of St. Patrick’s Day where Irish luck and spirited competition are sure to shine both on and off the ice.

Featuring:
Multiple Divisions/Levels
Competitive Format
USA Hockey Sanctioned
Certified Referees
Championship Awards
Online Stats & Standings via Defender GAME CENTER powered by Time To Score
Live Streaming via Black Bear TV

Round Robin with Playoffs (Minimum of 3 games). Teams may play one or more
round robin games DAY 1, one or more round robin games on DAY 2, with
consolation/semi-finals and/or championship games on the final day. NOTE: Semi-Final
rounds and/or consolation games are not guaranteed.

Divisional allocation is based on USA Hockey roster/age group classification for the
upcoming season. However, the tournament operations staff may adjust placements to
fit individual team competitiveness on a case-by-case basis.

Tournament game schedule will be released 7-10 days prior to the event start
date.

Teams must arrive and be available in the local area by the day before the tournament
begins and be prepared to play at 7:00 AM local time on the first day of the tournament.
Departure should be scheduled on or after the final tournament day, with final games
expected to finish by roughly 6:00 PM local time.

Disclaimer: We have noticed an increase in teams that have withdrawn from events at
the last minute causing us to have to re-work the schedule. Please DO NOT make any
plans that cannot be refunded based on the schedule you receive.

ARENAS

DIVISION / RINK LOCATIONS

Each division will be scheduled for one or more games at a primary rink, a secondary rink, or a combination of rinks; additional rinks may be added or existing rinks may be removed or changed as needed, and final division assignments and rink locations will be determined before or at registration closure.

Patriot Ice Center
101 John F Campbell Drive, Newark, DE 19711

HOTELS

As a reminder, this event is a Stay to Play Event. All teams are to utilize official event hotels. Please click on the link below to secure your team block. Please make sure to designate the number of rooms needed each night when creating the block. You will then receive a confirmation email that contains the booking information to forward to the team families so they may make their individual reservations. All hotels are convenient to arenas. Please make sure families only book via the link provided. Families are not to contact the hotel directly to book rooms for the event.

CLICK HERE TO BOOK YOUR HOTEL

Please note, the link below will allow you to initially block a maximum of 16 rooms. Once your initial block is filled, rooms can be requested . Please email ibhcbookings@gmail.com to request additional rooms (once the initial rooms have been filled).

Complimentary rooms are awarded based on actual nights paid for in the team block, not reservations booked. One (1) complimentary guest room will be provided per team per night for every 16 guest rooms booked through the team block. Complimentary rooms are awarded on a per-night pick-up basis over the tournament dates. The complimentary room is applied to the 16th room reserved by the team. Teams that appear to qualify for a complimentary room will receive an email with instructions the week of the event on how to designate the recipient of the complimentary room. Please make sure all rooms for coach(es) are booked prior to the cutoff date. Please note that the complimentary guest room will be required to check in with a credit card. The comp room night(s) will be awarded at checkout. NOTE: The hotel(s) credit(s) eligible stays back to the credit card in the days following the event.