MYHockey News
Week 3 MHR Clanko Media Weekend Wrap
With each passing week, we have more great matchups to choose from for our MHR Games of the Week feature. This week was no exception, as our four highlighted contests featured United States Boys and Canadian Girls Tier 1 teams all ranked between No. 2 and No. 16 in our most recent rankings.
Our goal is to include as many different teams, clubs and organizations as possible between now and January – and to highlight a variety of Tier 1, Tier 2, USA, Canada, boys and girls matchups. In January and February we will look to highlight the most important games as the regular season winds down and teams jockey for spots in league, state, district, regional and national tournaments.
Games of the Week previews will be posted every Thursday, Friday or Saturday through the end of the regular season. Game summaries, along with occasional video highlights, will be posted no later than Wednesday of the following week.
With more than 20,000 teams in our database, it’s impossible to know about all of the great games that are scheduled throughout North America each week, so if you are aware of upcoming games between highly ranked teams please feel free to email the details a week in advance if possible to scott@myhockeyrankings.com.
Include in your email:
- Team names, location, league affiliations and age group
- Current team rankings (national, state, provincial, etc.)
- Day, time and location of the game or games
- Any other details – past history, statistical info/team leaders, college commitments playing or other interesting information
- Quotes from players or coaches are great, too, but not required
- If the game or games are available on LiveBarn or via another streaming service, please send the link
We will be partnering with Clanko Media throughout the season to bring our readers and followers video highlights of selected Games of the Week, and we also are open to posting highlights of any other games we feature if someone can provide them for us.
For our Week 3 MHR Games of the Week, we had three USA Boys Tier 1 matchups in three different age groups from different parts of the country along with an early showdown between top-six girls U18 AAA teams from the Alberta Female Hockey League.
Our Clanko Media Featured Game of the Week was a 15U Tier 1 USA Boys matchup between a pair of Atlantic District and Atlantic Youth Hockey League foes as the No. 12 North Jersey Avalanche took on the No. 16 Valley Forge Minutemen in Hackensack.
We thank Clanko Media for providing video highlights of that contest.
Our other Games of the Week included a 16U Boys Tier 1 matchup between 10th-ranked Dallas Stars Elite and the 11th-ranked Chicago Reapers in Fargo, N.D.; an 18U Tier 1 USA Boys tilt featuring the No. 2 Yale Jr. Bulldogs and No. 7 Central Mass Penguins; and an 18U Canada Girls Tier 1 showdown between the second-ranked Calgary Fire and No. 6 St. Albert Slash from the Alberta Female Hockey League.
In addition, we have bonus game highlights from the Fargo Force Showcase of a USA Boys 16U Tier 1 shootout thriller between the No. 7 Chicago Fury and soon-to-be-ranked Phoenix Jr. Coyotes courtesy of Maragh Media.
Here is a closer look at last weekend’s matchups:
MHR CLANKO MEDIA WEEK 3 FEATURED GAME OF THE WEEK
USA Boys 15U Tier 1
#12 North Jersey Avalanche (4) vs. #16 Valley Forge Minutemen (1)
Sunday, October 8 at 3:30 p.m. ET
Ice House – Hackensack, N.J.
Streamed on LiveBarn
It was a New Jersey vs. Pennsylvania early-season showdown from Hackensack as the Avs hosted the Minutemen in a battle of top-16 15U teams from the Atlantic Youth Hockey League. North Jersey entered the weekend with an 11-5-0 record and having outscored its opponents, 78-43. The Avs had won their previous two games and eight of their previous 10, with the only two losses coming against the No. 3 Mount St. Charles by a 6-3 margin, and the No. 20 Carolina Jr. Hurricanes, 3-1. After securing the 4-1 victory in this one, North Jersey now has gone 10-3 since opening the season 2-2, with one of the season-opening losses coming against No. 10 Seacoast Performance Academy. Valley Forge exited the weekend at 7-8-1 thanks to a 4-2 victory against the Wilkes Barre/Scranton Jr. Knights Saturday. Prior to the weekend, they had played a challenging schedule that was rated as the eighth most-difficult slate in the nation. Six of the Valley Forge losses have come against the No. 12 Avs, No. 7 New Jersey Rockets and No. 8 Mid-Fairfield Jr. Rangers. Liam Donnelly and Austin Groves staked North Jersey to a 2-0 lead in this one before Esref Erkman’s point shot found its way through a crowd and into the net to cut the margin to 2-1. Blake Zielinski pushed the lead to 3-1, and Brody Latkin sealed the 4-1 victory with an empty-net goal. Donnelly finished with a goal and an assist, as did Zlelinski and Groves.
USA Boys 16U Tier 1
#10 Dallas Stars Elite (5) vs. #11 Chicago Reapers (2)
Sunday, October 8 at 9:00 a.m. ET
Farmers Union Arena – Fargo, N.D.
This game was perhaps the top matchup from the annual Fargo Force Fall Showcase, which was hosted by Fargo’s USHL franchise in North Dakota. The tournament featured more than 70 teams competing in over100 games in 13 different Fargo-area rinks. Dallas brought a sparkling 7-1-0 record into the tournament along with a 41-14 scoring differential against its opponents. The Stars left North Dakota at 11-1-0 and holding a 70-25 scoring advantage over their opponents after a perfect 4-0 showing in which they outscored their foes by a eye-popping 29-11 margin. They capped the tournament by winning this matchup, 5-2. Chicago dropped its last two outings to finish the weekend 2-2. The Reapers are 14-7-0 on the year and have outscored their opponents, 92-55.
MARAGH MEDIA BONUS GAME OF THE WEEK
USA Boys 16U Tier 1
#7 Chicago Fury (6) vs. #TBD Phoenix Jr. Coyotes (5) - SO
Friday, October 6 at 5 p.m. ET
West Fargo Sports Arena – West Fargo, N.D.
The Fury rallied from a 5-3 deficit and tied the game in the waning moments of this one to force overtime before eventually winning it, 6-5, in a shootout to improve to 10-3-1 on the year. They posted a 2-2-0 record at the showcase and now hold a 67-38 scoring advantage over their opponents. Phoenix entered the weekend without having the requisite five recorded results necessary to be ranked, but the Coyotes left Fargo with a 3-3-1 overall record after going 2-1-0. They beat the Minnesota Lakers, 8-6, and earned a 3-2 shootout win against Northstar Christian Academy. Chicago’s other win came against Hawkeye Hockey by a 10-2 score, and the Fury fell to the No. 28 Rocky Mountain RoughRiders, 5-2, and United Hockey Federation, 5-1.
OTHER WEEK 3 GAMES OF THE WEEK
USA BOYS 18U Tier 1
#2 Yale Jr. Bulldogs (3) vs. No. 7 Central Mass. Penguins (3)
Saturday, Oct. 7 at 4:10 p.m.
Foxboro Sports Center – Foxboro, Mass.
Streamed on LiveBarn
CLICK HERE for our MHR Matchup Preview Statistical Breakdown
This early-season tilt between a pair of top Northeast split-season programs may have been a preview of a matchup that could take place in April at USA Hockey Nationals. The seventh-ranked Penguins figure to battle it out with the No. 6 Boston Jr. Eagles and the No. 22 Neponset Valley River Rats in November for the Massachusetts State championship and a Nationals bid. They also skated to a scoreless tie against the third-ranked Avon Regals Sunday. The Jr. Bulldogs entered the weekend as the nation’s second-ranked 18U Tier 1 team with a 12-2-2 record and having outscored their opponents, 74-24. Yale was unbeaten in its previous eight games (7-0-1) since a 3-2 overtime loss against the Regals Sept. 3. The Bulldogs’ only other setback was a 3-2 loss to the River Rats Aug. 29. They rebounded to beat them, 7-2, Sept. 16 and also beat the fifth-ranked Long Island Gulls, 2-1, Sept. 17. After the 3-3 tie against the Penguins Saturday in our Game of the Week, Yale went on to blank defending national-champion Mount St. Charles, 6-0, Sunday. The Bulldogs concluded the weekend 13-2-3. Central Mass. entered the weekend at 7-1-0 and holding a 45-12 scoring advantage over its opponents. The Penguins only previous loss was a surprising 7-1 decision against No. 28 Islanders Hockey Club Sept. 24. That came after a 5-1 victory Sept. 22 Mount St. Charles. In every other game except the loss, Central Mass. holds a 47-8 scoring advantage over its foes. The Penguins are 7-1-2.
Canada Girls U18 Tier 1
#2 Calgary Fire (3) vs. No. 6 St. Albert Slash (0)
Sunday, October 8 at 4:15 p.m. ET
Father Dowd Bauer Arena – Calgary, Alberta
Streamed on FloSports
CLICK HERE for our MHR Matchup Preview Statistical Breakdown
The sixth-ranked Slash were playing the second of back-to-back games after beating the 72nd-ranked Rocky Mountain Raiders, 4-0, in AFHL play Saturday. After splitting its weekend league games, the Slash are 9-4-0 and have outscored their opponents, 29-15. This was the third Alberta Female Hockey League game for both teams. The Slash opened league play with a 1-0 shootout victory against No. 11 Edmonton Jr. Oilers White Oct. 1, while Calgary fell to the top-ranked Red Deer Chiefs, 2-1, that day after beating the Raiders, 5-0, Sept. 29. After blanking the Slash Sunday, the Fire are 5-2-1 overall and have outscored their opponents, 37-11. They also lost to Red Deer, 3-0, Sept. 17 but tied the third-ranked Saskatoon Stars Sept. 14. Calgary scored once in each period Sunday, with a different player tallying each time, in knocking off St. Albert. Madelynne Nafziger opened the scoring in the first with her second goal of the AFHL season. Silken Nicholas assisted on that score, but there was no helper on Lila Deis’s second-period penalty-shot marker. Evie Hanson concluded the scoring in the final frame, with Chayce Kullman picking up the assist. Olivia Towpich stopped all 15 shots she faced to earn the shutout win.
