Week 18 is for the girls and women as our MHR/LiveBarn Games of the Week highlight four great matchups between top girls’ and women’s teams from both sides of the border.

For the third year we will be featuring action from the Chicago Mission’s Pink in the Rink cancer fundraiser as the Mission girls host Windy City Storm 12U, 14U, 16U and 19U teams Saturday. The 12U matchup includes a pair of top-10 Tier 1 teams, so we will focus on that contest as well as the 16U tilt, which has the USA’s Nos. 7 and 14 Tier 1 teams facing off. Saturday’s other two Pink in the Rink contests include 19U Tier 1 teams ranked among the nation’s top 17 and 14U squads ranked among the top 32.

Pink the Rink has become an annual event that is intended to raise awareness about cancer and generate funds to be donated to the American Cancer Society. It is held at the Fifth Third Arena Chicago Blackhawks Community Rink, with games starting at 11:20 a.m., 12:50 p.m., 2:40 p.m. and 4:10 p.m. Eastern time Saturday. The day starts with the 12U game, followed by the 19U, 14U and 16U contests, respectively.

There is a $5 admission fee and fundraising activities such as raffles, an auction and a wine pull will be held throughout the day, with 100 percent of all money collected being donated to the American Cancer Society. Donations also can be made online by CLICKING HERE. Last year’s event raised more than $71,000. All four games can be seen on LiveBarn.

While the Pink in the Rink contests are slated for Saturday, we also are highlighting a pair of great matchups on Friday – an afternoon Junior Women’s Hockey League (JWHL) border battle from Minnesota between top-10 American and Canadian 19U and U22 teams as well as an evening tilt between top-22 Canadian U18 clubs from the Female World Sport School Challenge in Winnipeg.

The JWHL is a league comprised of top Canadian and American girls’ and women’s teams that includes a major junior division (19U USA and U22 Canadian clubs) as well as 16U and 14U divisions. Our featured JWHL game between USA 19U No. 1 Shattuck-St. Mary’s and Canada U22 No. 3 Stanstead College probably is the top matchup from the league’s regular-season weekend slate of games taking place at the University of Minnesota’s Ridder Arena Friday through Sunday.

CLICK HERE for the JWHL standings as well as the schedule of games for the weekend. Each of this weekend’s games can be seen on the league’s YouTube channel,

Our fourth Game of the Week is a matchup between a pair of Canada U18 girls’ teams as the No. 4 Calgary Fire face the No. 22 Westman Wildcats Friday at the Female World Sport School Challenge. In its eighth year, the FWSSC is an annual tournament initiated by Hockey Canada and hosted by St. Mary’s Academy in Winnipeg that includes 16 top female hockey teams from around North America.

CLICK HERE for the tournament home page as well as links to the schedule, a list of competing teams and other important information. Hockey for All Centre is a LiveBarn rink, so it should be possible to watch all of the FWSSC games as long as the streams are running.  

 

Week 18 MHR/LiveBarn Featured Games of the Week  

#1 USA 19U Shattuck-St. Mary’s vs. #3 Canada U22 Stanstead College

Level: 19U/U22 JWHL Major Junior Division

Date: Friday, January 27

Time: 5:00 p.m. ET

Location: Ridder Arena – University of Minnesota

Event: JWHL Regular Season

Stream: JWHL YouTube Channel

Two of North America’s top women’s programs face off at the JWHL weekend on the campus of the University of Minnesota. Shattuck-St. Mary’s, a guest participant in this weekend’s event, takes on league-leading Stanstead College. Stanstead is 13-1-0-1 (1 OTL) in JWHL play, good for 27 standings points and a six-point lead over second place Balmoral Hall, Canada’s No. 10 U22 team. Stanstead has an overall record of 30-5-1 and has outscored its opponents, 139-52. They hold a 72-21 scoring advantage over their JWHL opponents to date. Shattuck is 36-4-2 on the year and has outscored its opponents, 201-54, allowing just 1.29 goals per game while scoring at a 4.78 goals-per-game clip. SSM has won its last three games, two by shutout, and is 12-1-1 in its last 14 outings. The Sabres have posted 14 shutouts and have held 27 opponents to zero or one goal. Stanstead is allowing just 1.44 goals per contest and is 1-2-0 in its last three games after dropping a pair of games against USA No. 10 North American Hockey Academy and the No. 5 Philadelphia Jr. Flyers earlier this month. Prior to those setbacks, Stanstead had won 14 of its previous 15 games. Stanstead has gone 12-3-1 vs. teams from the United States this season.

 

#4 Calgary Fire vs. #22 Westman Wildcats

Level: Canada Girls U18 Tier 1

Date: Friday, January 27

Time: 5:45 p.m. ET

Location: Hockey for All Centre – Winnipeg, Manitoba

Event: Female World Sport School Challenge

Stream: LiveBarn 

One of the top early games from the FWSSC in Winnipeg features this matchup of top-22 Canada Girls U18 teams. Calgary enters the weekend with a 26-6-0 record and having outscored its opponents, 108-49. The Fire average 3.8 goals per game while permitting just 1.53 per contest. They have recorded 10 shutouts and held 17 opponents to one goal or fewer. Calgary brings a three-game winning streak into the weekend and is 9-2-0 in its last 11 outings, with the two losses coming against Canada U22 No. 11 Balmoral Hall and the U18 No. 7 St. Albert Slash. Prior to that stretch, the Fire dropped a pair of one-goal decisions to the ninth-ranked Red Deer Chiefs, but they rebounded to beat the Chiefs, 1-0, Jan. 8 and knocked off the No. 8 Swift Current Wildcats, 3-2, Dec. 8. Calgary and Westman met previously on Dec. 10, with the Fire skating to a 4-0 victory. They also beat the Wildcats, 3-0, Sept. 16. Westman brings a 27-11-2 record into the tournament and dropped its previous two games, 7-0 to Balmoral Hall, and 2-0 to the No. 35 Winnipeg Avros. Prior to that, the Wildcats had won eight in a row, dating to a 2-1 loess to the No. 2 Regina Rebels Dec. 11. Westman has outscored its opponents, 116-69, for the season and is allowing 1.73 goals per game while scoring 2.9 per outing.

 

#3 Windy City Storm vs. #8 Chicago Mission

Level: USA Girls 12U Tier 1

Date: Saturday, January 28

Time: 11:20 a.m. ET

Location: Fifth Third Chicago Blackhawks Community Rink – Chicago, Ill.  

Event: Pink in the Rink Cancer Fundraiser

Stream: LiveBarn 

A pair of Chicago rivals, who also happen to be top-10 USA Girls 12U teams, go head-to-head for a great cause as part of Saturday’s Pink in the Rink cancer fundraiser. This will be the fourth meeting of the season between the two teams, with Windy City holding a 2-0-1 advantage in the series. The most recent contest on Nov. 25 ended in a 2-2 tie. The Storm are 44-11-2 this season and have outscored their foes, 188-97. They average 3.3 goals per contest while permitting just 1.7 per game. Windy City has posted 16 shutouts while holding 32 opponents to zero or one goal. The Storm have won 10 of their past 12 games. Chicago is 30-23-3 on the year, having outscored its opponents, 162-119. The Mission enter the weekend on a three-game winning streak and having gone 9-4-0 in their previous 13 outings. They lost to the top-ranked East Coast Wizards, 2-0, Jan. 15 and by a similar score Jan. 16. In between, Chicago knocked off the No. 12 Jr. Flyers, 5-1.

 

#7 Chicago Mission vs. #14 Windy City Storm

Level: USA Girls 16U Tier 1

Date: Saturday,January 28

Time: 4:10 p.m. ET

Location: Fifth Third Chicago Blackhawks Community Rink – Chicago, Ill.  

Event: Pink in the Rink Cancer Fundraiser

Stream: LiveBarn 

 

This is another great matchup from the Pink in the Rink cancer fundraiser in Chicago as a pair of top-15 16U USA Tier 1 girls’ clubs face off with local bragging rights at stake. The Mission enter Saturday’s contest with a 33-8-2 record and on a five-game winning streak that has included a win against No. 6 Little Caesars (5-3) and a pair of victories over No. 5 Shattuck St. Mary’s. Shattuck was the last team to knock off Chicago, skating to a 4-2 victory Jan. 14. That setback ended the Mission’s 10-game unbeaten streak (9-0-1), making them 14-1-1 in their last 16 outings. They have outscored their opponents, 153-71, this season and are permitting just 1.65 goals per contest. Other victories during their recent torrid spell came against the No. 17 Jr. Flyers, No. 16 North American Hockey Academy and the No. 26 Rome Grizzlies. This is the second meeting this season between these two Chicago rivals; the Mission skated to a 6-2 victory vs. Windy City Dec. 6. The Storm are 20-18-7 on the year and have outscored their opponents, 122-89. They have tied their last two outings, 2-2 vs. No. 22 Gilmour Academy and 1-1 vs. Shattuck, after falling to No. 6 Little Caesars, 4-3, Jan. 21. Windy City is 3-5-2 in its last 10 contests, with four of the setbacks coming against teams ranked among the nation’s top 11 and all five vs. top-20 opponents.