It’s another busy weekend in rinks around North America as September showcase season pushes on and more Canadian teams begin play every week. Here is a rundown of some of this weekend’s showcases and tournaments:

 

USHL Fall Classic

The most noteworthy event of the weekend is the USHL Fall Showcase, which got underway Thursday at the UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex in Pittsburgh. Being held in conjunction with the opening of the Tier 1 United States Hockey League (USHL) junior season, the Fall Classic provides a unique opportunity for players from some of the top U.S. boys 14U, 15U, 16U and 18U programs to compete against high-level competition while potentially being seen by any USHL coaches and scouts who may be in attendance.

The USHL games started Wednesday, with the defending-champion Youngstown Phantoms taking on the Tri-City Storm and the Sioux Falls Stampede facing the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders. Four more league games were played Thursday, with four scheduled for Saturday and Sunday and two more slated for Sunday.

CLICK HERE for the full weekend USHL game schedule. All junior games can be seen live on FloHockey.

The youth tournament features 80 teams competing across the four age groups. Games started on Thursday and continue through Sunday. Rinks hosting the youth tournament all have LiveBarn and include Alpha Ice Complex, Baierl Sports Complex, RMU Island Sports Center, Frozen Pond and the Lemieux Complex.

Some of the traditional top clubs in the United States are sending teams to the event, including the Buffalo Jr. Sabres, Buffalo Regals, Mid-Fairfield Jr. Rangers, Dallas Stars Elite, Pittsburgh Penguins Elite, New Jersey Rockets, Mount St. Charles, Philadelphia Jr. Flyers, Honeybaked, Compuware, Boston Jr. Eagles, L.A. Jr. Kings, Minnesota Blades, North Jersey Avalanche, South Kent Selects Academy, Little Caesars, Chicago Reapers, Victory Honda, Oakland Jr. Grizzlies and Seacoast Performance Academy.

CLICK HERE for the USHL Fall Classic youth tournament scores and schedule.

CLICK HERE for team rosters and other information about the USHL Fall Classic weekend.

 

MMFHL Showcase

Next, we head north to the Eastern Canada for this weekend’s Maritime Major Female Hockey League season-opening 18U showcase. The MMFHL opens its regular season with all nine league teams competing at St. Mary’s University in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Each team will play four of its 32 regular-season games starting on Friday and continuing through Sunday.

The team that finishes first in the regular season is crowned as the league champion. After the season, the teams break off and compete against other teams from their provinces to determine the provincial champions that will travel to Corner Brook, Newfoundland, in April. The three provincial champs from Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island will compete against the host team from Newfoundland for the Atlantic Region title and a berth in the Esso Cup national-championship tournament. The 2024 Esso Cup will be held in Vernon, B.C.

This year’s showcase gets underway Friday morning as the defending league-, Nova Scotia- and Atlantic-champion Subway Selects take on the Greenfoot Capitals, formerly known as the Western Capitals.

CLICK HERE for the full schedule and other MMFHL Showcase info.

All 18 showcase game will be streamed by Maritime Athletic Profiles.

 

Jr. Bulldogs Jamboree

Back in the States, many of the top teams from the Northeast not at the USHL Fall Classic will be competing at the Yale Jr. Bulldogs Jamboree this weekend at rinks around Connecticut. Featuring boys teams competing at the 13U, 14U, 15U, 16U and 18U levels, the Jamboree runs Friday morning through Sunday.

The tournament includes a handful of BEAST regular-season league games as well as many additional non-league contests. Most of the rinks hosting games offer LiveBarn streams, including Northford, Newington and Hamden.

Traditionally strong Northeastern programs such as the Yale Jr. Bulldogs, Neponset River Rats, Long Island Gulls, Boston Hockey Academy, Buffalo Regals and Mid-Fairfield Jr. Rangers will be sending teams to compete.

CLICK HERE for an 18U tournament preview and a listing of some key 18U matchups.

CLICK HERE for a 16U tournament preview and a listing of some key 18U matchups.

CLICK HERE 13U, 14U and 15U preview and a listing of some key 13U, 14U and 15U matchups.

 

Super Series AAA Sepetmber Showdown

Staying on the East Coast of the U.S., but moving south back into the state of Pennsylavania, there will be 16 younger AAA teams in the 2010 and 2012 age groups competing in the Super Series September Showdown near Philadelphia Friday through Sunday.

The 2010 age group includes 11 teams, iwith teams from Ontario, St. Louis and California, while the 2012 age group has five teams that are either local or from the Northeast.

CLICK HERE for the tournament schedule and links to the stats and standings.

Games will be played at Ice Works in West Chester, Pa., and can be viewed on LiveBarn.

 

THF Tier 1 Showcase

Still in Pennsylvania, but back in the Pittsburgh area, The Hockey Federation (THF) will be holding its second league showcase of the season for boys teams at the 14U, 15U, 16U and 18U levels.

Teams representing 21 organizations, including six guest teams, will be attending the Friday-through-Sunday event. There will be more than 50 teams competing in better than 120 games at the UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex, Palmer Imaging Arena, Pittsburgh Ice Arena and Printscape Arena. All games can be seen on LiveBarn.

CLICK HERE for the tournament schedule and links to the stats and standings.

 

Last Weekend’s Wrap

Stoney Creek University Showcase

The big tournaments continued last weekend, with top U22 Canadian and 19U American girls teams descending upon Hamilton, Ontario, for another great three days of high-level hockey featuring some of the up-and-coming North American women’s hockey superstars. The showcase included 64 teams competing in eight different divisions at Gateway Arena and Mowhawk 4 Ice, with games still available on-demand viewing on LiveBarn.

Tournament champions:

Gold Division – Etobicoke Dolphins (defeated John Abbott College)

Silver Division – Bishop Kearney Selects (defeated Durham West Lightning)

Bronze Division – Limoilou Titans (defeated Whitby Wolves)

Brass Division – Burlington Barracudas (defeated Cambridge Rivulettes)

 

CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL SCHEDULE & RESULTS

CLICK HERE FOR THE UPDATED STANDINGS

CLICK HERE FOR TEAM ROSTERS

 

Calgary Firestarter U18 AAA Tournament

The GHC Calgary Fire AAA/AA female hockey organization and its volunteer members created the Calgary Firestarter Tournament, a widely attended tournament of that raises the profile of AAA/AA female hockey in Western Canada, in 2016. Featuring teams from the U13 AA level through U18 AAA, it also provides an opportunity for participants to diversify their competition pool and allows teams to finalize their rosters for the upcoming season.

 

Many of the athletes who compete in the Firestarter have committed to university or college teams in Canada and the United States. The teams provide a strong representation of the highest level of amateur female hockey in Western Canada.

Last weekend, the U18 AAA event was in Calgary. It started on Thursday, Sept. 14 and ran through Sunday, Sept. 17.

Links to rosters, results and standings can be found by CLICKING HERE.

 

NAPHL T1ER Showcase

In conjunction with the annual North American Hockey League Showcase in Blaine, Minn., the North American Prospects Hockey League held its first T1ER Showcase Sept. 14-17. The T1ER season bean in cooperation with the showcase, often referred to as “The Greatest Show on Ice.” The NAHL Showcase attracts more than 9,000 spectators annually, including 300-plus professional, college and junior scouts. The entire weekend represents one of the best scouting opportunities for NCAA, junior and professional coaches and scouts.

All of the weekend’s NAPHL games were broadcast on NAHLTV.

The NAPHL's T1ER League is comprised of teams at the 18U, 16U, 15U and 14U levels competing in a full NAPHL schedule that includes strategically located and scheduled showcases during the 2023-24 season. T1ER teams compete in a combination of league-wide and regional exposure events that bring everyone under one roof to make it easier for junior and college scouts to attend and evaluate.

The league’s primary mission is to provide development and exposure opportunities for players as they advance along the pathway toward junior and college hockey. Members get the opportunity to participate in some of the most dynamic and highly scouted events in the United States. 

CLICK HERE FOR THE NAPHL SCHEDULE, SCORES, STANDINGS & STATS

 

CCM Invitational Denver

Also being held last weekend was the CCM Invitational Denver, a 92-team Tier 2 boys tournament for eight different age groups. Teams representing birthyears 2013 through 16U will be competing from Sept. 15-17 at four different Colorado facilities, at least three of which are serviced by LiveBarn.

 

CLICK HERE FOR CCM INVITATIONAL DENVER INFO