We dove into playoff action featuring some of the top USA Boys Tier 1 and Tier 2 programs in the country for our Week 20 MHR/LiveBarn Games of the Week as postseason play got into full swing around North America. Our Week 20 featured matchups came from two of the top leagues in the United States, the Tier 1 Northeast Pack and the Tier 2 Central States Developmental Hockey League (CSDHL)

The Northeast Pack, which includes some of the top club teams in the Northeast and the entire United States, held its playoffs last 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 USA Boys 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 were top-10 matchups from last weekend’s Northeast Pack Playoffs at the 15U and 16U levels. All Northeast Pack Playoff stats, standings and results can be found by CLICKING HERE.

One of our featured teams from the both the 15U and 16U age groups advanced to the championship game, but neither team left town with championship hardware. The seventh-ranked 16U Bishop Kearney Selects fell to the No. 2 Long Island Gulls, 4-1, in our highlighted contest from that age bracket but rallied to knock the Gulls off in the semifinals in a 4-3 overtime thriller before falling to the No. 3 New Jersey Rockets, 5-4 in a shootout, in the championship game.

In the 15U division, No. 8 Pittsburgh Penguins Elite beat the ninth-ranked Mid-Fairfield Jr. Rangers Saturday in our Game of the Week and made it all the way to the finals before falling to the No. 7 Long Island Gulls, 2-1. Meanwhile, No. 4 Mount St. Charles beat No. 8 Bishop Kearney, 7-2, to capture the Northeast Pack 14U crown, while No. 7 Pens Elite rolled to the 18U title with a 6-1 victory over the 20^th-ranked New Jersey Rockets.

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 last week were 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.

Here are the CSDHL 14U, 15U, 16U and 18U championship results:

14U Tier 2 Boys

No. 4 Little Hawks 6, No. 8 St. Louis Eagles 2

 

15U Tier 2 Boys

No. 58 Chicago Blues 3, No. 62 Afton Americans 0 (16U Tier 2 rankings)

 

16U Tier 2 Boys

No. 17 Orland Park Vikings 3, No. 16 Naperville Sabres 0

 

18U Tier 2 Boys

No. 2 Chicago Hawks 4, No. 8 Chesterfield Falcons, 1

 

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

Games from both tournaments sill should be available for viewing on LiveBarn. The Northeast Pack postseason tournament was held at the Northford Ice Pavilion in Connecticut, while the CSDHL Playoffs were played at Darien Sportsplex in Illinois.

 

Week 20 MHR/LiveBarn Featured Games of the Week  

#2 Long Island Gulls (4), 7 Bishop Kearney Selects (1)

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: LiveBarnThe

The Gulls won this matchup between a pair of top-10 16U USA Boys Tier 1 teams during round-robin play at the Northeast Pack Playoffs, but Bishop Kearney bounced back to exact some revenge by skating to a thrilling 4-3 overtime victory against Long Island in the semifinals. BK would play in another hear-stopper against the No. 3 New Jersey Rockets in the championship game, ultimately dropping a 4-3 decision that went all the way to a shootout before a victor was determined. The Selects posted a 2-2-0 record at the Northeast Pack playoffs and are now 38-15-3 on the year. Long Island was 1-2-0 in Connecticut, also falling in a shootout to No. 4 Mount St. Charles, leaving the Gulls at 46-9-4 for the season.  

 

#8 Pittsburgh Penguins Elite (6), #9 Mid-Fairfield Jr. Rangers (2)

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 squared off in round-robin play early Saturday in Connecticut, with the higher-ranked team recording a 6-2 victory. 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 won this contest then went on to beat Bishop Kearney, 4-2, in the semifinals before dropping a 2-1 championship-game decision against the Gulls. Pens Elite also fell to No. 4 Mount St. Charles, 6-2, in round-robin play before beating Mid-Fairfield and Bishop Kearney. Pens Elite’s 2-2-0 showing left them with an overall record of 20-18-6 this season. The Jr. Rangers were blanked by the Selects, 4-0, in round-robin action and lost a consolation game against the No. 6 New Jersey Rockets, 4-3, to finish the weekend 0-3-0. They are 26-21-4 on the year.

 

#5 West Dundee Leafs (1), #8 Chesterfield Falcons (3)

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

In a top-eight USA Boys 18U Tier 2 showdown during pool play at the 2023 CSDHL Playoffs in Illinois Saturday, first-place West Dundee fell by a 3-1 margin against the No. 8 Falcons. That dropped the Leafs to 1-2-0 in the playoffs and out of contention to advance beyond pool play. Chesterfield improved to 3-0-0 with the victory and earned a trip to the championship game vs. the No. 2 Chicago Hawks, who skated away with the trophy thanks to a 4-1 victory. West Dundee concluded the weekend with an overall record of 35-10-5, while Chesterfield was 45-13-5 and Chicago wound up at 52-8-3. West Dundee held a 1-0 lead after the opening period of our featured matchup only to see the Falcons rally with a pair of second-period goals and an insurance marker in the final frame. Chesterfield outshot West Dundee, 29-16, with Conner Hof stopping 15 of the 16 shots he faced to earn the victory in goal. Braden Silver, Joseph Morici and Ian Wilson each potted a goal for the Falcons, with five different players dishing out assists. Caden Day scored the lone Leafs’ goal, with the assist going to Alexander Friedman. Chesterfield fell behind, 3-0, early in the second period of the title clash against the Hawks before Curtis Bruen got the Falcons on the board, with assists going to Henry Serafin and Jacob Bosche. Angelo Varchetto netted a pair of goals for Chicago, with Michael Ryndak and Ryan Good also scoring. Good added a single assist, while Sammy Battaglia handed out a pair of helpers. Hof stopped 28 shots in a losing effort, and the Hawks’ Brendan Kelly only was forced to make 13 saves.

 

#8 St. Louis Eagles (3), #5 Naperville Sabres (1)

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

In yet another matchup of highly ranked teams during pool play at the CSDHL Playoffs, the Eagles recorded a 3-1 victory to conclude the preliminary round undefeated and advance to the championship game against the No. 4 Littleton Hawks. Littleton would skate away with the championship hardware, however, thanks to a 6-2 title-game victory against St. Louis. The Eagles concluded the playoffs with an overall record of 34-20-3, while Littleton was 60-6-1 and Naperville ended up at 36-13-0. The Sabres went 2-1-0 on the weekend. In our Game-of-the-Week matchup, St. Louis broke a scoreless tie with 2:52 left in the second period only to see Naperville tie it up early in the final frame. But the Eagles pulled away with a pair of goals three minutes apart in the final 6:25 of the third period to claim the victory. St. Louis outshot Naperville, 34-22. Littleton streaked to a 2-0 lead in the opening 10 minutes of the championship tilt, but the Eagles responded with a pair of tallies in the first five minutes of the second frame to even things up. The Hawks came back with a vengeance, however, porting a pair of goals in the final 4:19 of the second period and two more in the third to capture the title. Littleton outshot St. Louis, 25-14.