Playoff season is upon us!

Between now and the end of April, amateur hockey teams all over North America will be competing in league, state, district, regional, provincial and national playoff tournaments, and we’re here for it. This weekend, our Week 20 MHR/LiveBarn Games of the Week take us to the playoffs in a pair of top USA Boys leagues, the Tier 1 Northeast Pack and the Tier 2 Central States Developmental Hockey League (CSDHL).

The Northeast Pack, which features some of the top club teams in the Northeast and the entire United States, is holding its playoffs this weekend in Northford, Conn. It is a league that offers competition at the 14U, 15U, 16U and 18U levels and features numerous perennial top-10 Tier 1 programs.

At the 14U level, the Northeast Pack currently boasts three top-10 teams and six teams ranked among the top 20. The league’s 15U division includes five top-10 teams, while four of the 15U teams are ranked among the top 10 (the other is ranked 13^th) and all five of the 18U clubs are in the top 20 – with three of those placing among the top 10.

Two of our games of the week are top-10 matchups from this weekend’s Northeast Pack Playoffs at the 15U and 16U levels. All Northeast Pack Playoff information can be found by CLICKING HERE.

Much like the Northeast Pack is at the AAA level, the CSDHL is one of the United States’ premier Tier 2 circuits, with many of its members ranking among the nation’s top 10 at almost every age level. Our two highlighted CSDHL postseason games this week are top-10 matchups from the 14U and 18U levels in Darien, Ill.

The CSDHL 14U division boasts four top-10 teams, with eight of its teams landing among the top 20. At the 18U level, there are four CSDHL teams in the top 10 and six in the top 20.

CLICK HERE for the complete rundown of this weekend’s CSDHL Playoff action.

Games from both tournaments should be available for viewinon LiveBarn. The Northeast Pack postseason tournament is being held at the Northford Ice Pavilion, while the CSDHL Playoffs are being played at Darien Sportsplex.  

Week 20 MHR/LiveBarn Featured Games of the Week  

#2 Long Island Gulls vs. #7 Bishop Kearney Selects

Level: USA Boys 16U Tier 1

Date: Friday, February 10

Time: 8:10 p.m. ET

Location: Northford Ice Pavilion – Northford, CT

Event: Northeast Pack Playoffs

Stream: LiveBarn

A pair of top-10 16U USA Boys teams face off in round-robin play on Day 1 of the Northeast Pack Playoffs in Connecticut. The Gulls also are slated to play No. 4 Mount St. Charles, while the Selects will take on No. 13 Pittsburgh Penguins Elite as teams jockey for semifinal seeding. Bishop Kearney enters the tournament as the fourth seed, while the Gulls are seeded first – ahead of the New Jersey Rockets and Pens Elite. These teams have met twice previously, with the Gulls posting 5-4 and 2-1 victories. The most recent contest took place on Oct. 16. Long Island enters the weekend with an overall record of 45-7-4 and having outscored its opponents, 243-88. The Gulls were 9-1-0 in their previous 10 outings, dating to a 4-3 overtime loss against Mount St. Charles Jan. 15. The other loss in that span was a 4-3 overtime decision vs. the No. 34 Lovell Academy Lions Jan. 28, but the Gulls rallied to beat Lovell by the same 4-3 score the next day. Grant Young is the only Long Island player to record double-digit points in league contests. His seven goals and seven assists pace a balanced attack that has seen nine players record five or more points. John McNelis has 5-4-9, and Thomas Zocco has contributed 5-3-8. Chase Hennessy has gotten the bulk of the work in goal, posting a 2.70 goals-against average and a .899 save percentage in seven starts. Bishop Kearney brings a 36-13-3 record into the playoffs and has outscored its opponents, 216-135. The Selects also brought a 20-game unbeaten streak into the weekend, including shutout wins three of their previous four outings. Eugene Carcone has been the top BK scorer in league games, notching 7-8-15, followed by Nicholas Wellenreiter’s 5-8-13. Goalie Vladislav Bryzgalov has a 1.95 GAA and .897 save percentage in seven league starts.

#8 Pittsburgh Penguins Elite vs. #9 Mid-Fairfield Jr. Rangers

Level: USA Boys 15U Tier 1

Date: Saturday, February 11

Time: 10:30 a.m.ET

Location: Northford Ice Pavilion – Northford, CT

Event: Northeast Pack Playoffs

Stream: LiveBarn

The Northeast Pack’s fourth- and fifth-place teams square off in playoff round-robin play early Saturday in Connecticut. The No. 6 Bishop Kearney Selects finished first during the regular season, followed by No. 4 Mount St. Charles, the No. 7 Long Island Gulls, Mid-Fairfield, Pens Elite and the No. 26 New Jersey Rockets. Pittsburgh also takes on Mount St. Charles, while the Jr. Rangers face BK in preliminary games as semifinal seeding is determined. This will be the fourth meeting of these two teams this season, with Pens Elite having captured two of the previous three contests by scores of 6-3 and 2-1 after Mid-Fairfield captured the first meeting, 3-2, way back on Sept. 9. Pittsburgh enters the playoffs with a 28-16-6 record and having outscored its opponents, 177-126. Pens Elite had won its previous five games, dating to a 6-1 loss against Bishop Kearney Jan. 14. They had outscored their opponents, 14-7, during that winning streak. In league play, forward Quinn McKenzie has paced Pittsburgh’s offense with seven goals and five assists. Seven Pens Elite players recorded five or more points in Northeast Pack action, with Jacob Cloutier (3-6-9) and Kieren Dervin (3-5-8) ranking second and third, respectively. Giulio Torriero and Jake Shingles have split 12 league games in goal for Pen’s Elite, with Torriero posting a 2.66 GAA and .920 save percentage. Mid-Fairfield enters the weekend at 26-18-4 and having outscored its foes, 159-123. They dropped their previous game, 4-3 in a shootout, against the Gulls after going 5-1-0 in their previous six. The Jr. Rangers had two players reach double-digits in points during regular-season league play. Michael Mardula recorded a team best 6-9-15, followed by George McCaffrey with 6-5-11. Steven Luciano has carried the bulk of the load in goal, posting a 2.86 GAA and .843 save percentage in seven starts.

#5 West Dundee Leafs vs. #8 Chesterfield Falcons

Level: USA Boys 18U Tier 2

Date: Saturday, February 11

Time: 11:20 a.m. ET

Location: Darien Sportsplex – Darien, Ill.

Event: CSDHL Playoffs

Stream: LiveBarn

It’s a top-eight USA Boys 18U showdown during pool play at the 2023 CSDHL Playoffs in Illinois on Saturday. First-place West Dundee was scheduled to open tournament play Friday against the fifth-place and No. 16 Chicago Flames before taking on the eighth-place Afton Americans to set the stage for this huge matchup. Meanwhile the fourth-place Falcons faced the same task on Friday to gear up for Saturday’s West Dundee tilt. The Leafs finished league play with a 21-6-3 record, outscoring their opponents, 105-71, and had posted a 34-8-5 overall mark entering the weekend. Chesterfield went 19-9-2 in CSDHL action and was 42-12-5 overall entering the playoffs. This will be the sixth meeting of these two teams this year. Two of the games have needed overtime to determine a winner, and four of the five games were decided by a total of just five goals. West Dundee leads the season series, 3-2, but Chesterfield turned in the only decisive victory by a 5-0 score Jan. 21. The Leafs had gone 10-3-2 in their previous 15 contests, while the Falcons were 20-4-1 in their previous 25.

#5 Naperville Sabres vs. #8 St. Louis Eagles

Level: USA Boys 14U Tier 2

Date: Saturday, February 11

Time: 8:00 p.m. ET

Location: Darien Sportsplex – Darien, Ill.

Event: CSDHL Playoffs

Stream: LiveBarn

We have another giant pool-play matchup at CSDHL Playoffs as these top-eight rivals face off Saturday night. Prior to this contest, both teams are slated to take on the No. 28 West Dundee Leafs and No. 26 St. Louis Sting. The Sabres placed third in the regular-season standings with a 21-7-0 CSDHL mark. They had the same number of standings points as the Eagles, who went 20-8-0, but ended up in third because of tiebreaking procedures. Naperville outscored its league opponents, 97-40, and entered the weekend with an overall record of 34-12-0. St. Lous brought an overall record of 31-19-3 into the weekend, having outscored its opponents, 185-132 overall, and 98-62 in CSDHL contests. These two teams have met twice previously, splitting a pair of tight games Nov. 19 and 20. The Eagles won the first matchup, 4-2, with Naperville rallying for a. 5-4 overtime win the next day. St. Louis was riding a six-game winning streak entering postseason play after dealing with a eight-game skid just before that. If you throw that losing streak out, the Eagles had posted a 31-11-3 record in all other games. The Sabres entered the weekend having recorded two consecutive shutouts and gone 14-3-0 in their previous 17 outings.