The 2023-24 youth hockey season continues to ramp up in Canada as we approach the mid-point of October and the fall weather finally seems to be here to stay in many parts of North America. With each passing week there are more games, more teams ranked and more big events being held.

That gives us plenty of great matchups from which to choose as we determine which games will make the cut and be highlighted as our MYHockey Rankings Games of the Week.

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 by season’s end, it’s impossible to be aware of all the great games that are scheduled throughout North America each week, so if you know of any 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 4 MHR Games of the Week we head north to feature 13U and 15U Tier 1 Canada Girls matchups from the Etobicoke Pink the Rink Tournament in Ontario along with USA Boys Tier 1 games at the 14U level from the Northeast Pack weekend in Utica, N.Y., and the Minuteman Flames 2010 Showcase in Marlboro, Mass.

Here is a closer look at this weekend’s matchups:

MHR CLANKO MEDIA WEEK 4 FEATURED GAME OF THE WEEK 

USA Boys 2010 Tier 1

#1 Little Caesars vs. #7 Minuteman Flames

Sunday, October 15 at 12:10 p.m. ET

New England Sports Center – Marlboro, Mass.

Streamed on LiveBarn

CLICK HERE FOR MHR MATCH-UP PREVIEW FEATURE

The Massachusetts-based Minuteman Flames are hosting six of the nation’s top-10 USA Boys teams for a weekend showcase at the sprawling New England Sports Center. Most the games from the tournament, which started Friday and runs through Sunday, should be available to watch via webstream on LiveBarn. Little Caesar’s was scheduled to take on the second-ranked Philadelphia Jr. Flyers to start the weekend off Friday morning. LC carried a record 19-0-1 into that contest and held an astonishing 154-34 scoring advantage over its opponents to that point. The team’s only loss was a 4-2 decision against the No. 4 Buffalo Jr. Sabres Sept. 1. LC had won 14 straight since that setback, with nine of those victories coming by a margin of five goals or better. The only close calls were a 1-0 victory against No. 3 Pittsburgh Penguins Elite Sept. 3 and a 5-4 win vs. the Don Mills Flyers, Ontario’s fourth-ranked team, Sept. 24. The Flames brought an 8-2-3 record into the weekend and had outscored their foes, 57-32. They had won their previous four outings heading into the showcase, outscoring their opponents, 27-6, in those contests. The current win streak followed a 5-0 loss to the sixth-ranked North Jersey Avalanche Sept. 23. Including the current string of victories, the Flames had won seven of their previous nine games prior to the weekend.

We hope to have highlights of this game as well as Friday’s matchup between No. 1 Little Caesars and the second-ranked Philadelphia Jr. Flyers from Clanko Media as a bonus featured game. No matter what we will have a video recap of the LC-Jr. Flyers contest as a Bonus Game of the Week!

ADDITIONAL WEEK 4 GAMES OF THE WEEK

USA Boys 14U Tier 1

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

Sunday, October 15 at 1:00 p.m. ET

Utica University Nexus Center – Utica, N.Y.

This battle of 14U USA Boys heavyweights comes to us from the Northeast Pack, one of the nation’s top leagues for 14U-18U Tier 1 programs. The league is holding a weekend full of games at the 14U, 15U, 16U and 18U age levels in Utica, N.Y. At the 14U level, the Northeast Pack currently boasts five of the USA’s top-12 teams. Mid-Fairfield rolled into the weekend with a 14-5-0 record and having outscored its opponents, 89-44. The Jr. Rangers had won three straight games since a 4-2 loss to fourth-ranked Mount St. Charles Sept. 23 in Pittsburgh. They beat Pens Elite, 2-1, earlier that day and again, 5-0, Sept. 30 in the teams’ previous meetings. Mid-Fairfield had played five games against league rivals entering the weekend, posting a 2-3-0 record in those outings. Pens Elite brought a 9-7-0 record into the weekend despite having played the second-toughest schedule in the country to that point. They had gone 1-3-0 in their previous four games and 2-4-0 in their previous six. Three of their seven losses had come against teams ranked among the nation’s top 10. In Mid-Fairfield’s 2-1 victory against Pittsburgh, Sept. 23, Ethan Gingeleski buried a third-period power-play goal, his second tally of the game, to break a 1-all tie and lift the Jr. Rangers to victory. Cam Minella assisted on the GWG, which made a winner out of goaltender Luke O’Neil. Aiden Mowrey scored in the second period for Pens Elite, which outshot Mid-Fairfield, 32-25.

Canada Girls 13U Tier 1

#2 Burlington Barracudas vs. No. 4 Mississauga Jr. Hurricanes

Saturday, October 14 at 10:00 a.m. ET

Canlan Ice Sports Center York – Toronto, Ontario

The Etobicoke Dolphins program welcomes more than 165 girls’ teams competing in 21 divisions at the AA, A, BB, B and C levels in age groups U9 through U18 this weekend for its annual Pink the Rink Tournament to benefit the fight against breast Cancer. Pink the Rink opened play Friday and runs through Sunday. In a top matchup of 13U AA teams, the second-ranked Barracudas face off against the No. 4 Jr. Hurricanes Saturday morning. The 13U division has 12 teams, including six currently ranked among Canada’s top 13. The top-eight finishers in pool play will advance to the quarterfinals. Burlington entered the weekend with an 8-1-1 record and having outscored its opponents, 38-13. They tied the No. 3 Oakville Hornets, who also are at Pink the Rink, 1-1, in their most recent game Oct. 8. They had beaten Oakville, 4-2, earlier in the season, and the Barracudas’ lone loss was a 2-1 setback vs. these same Jr. Hurricanes Sept. 24. Mississauga brought a record of 10-2-3 to Pink the Rink and was unbeaten in its previous nine contests (7-1-1). The Jr. Canes dropped a 7-1 decision to the USA’s second-ranked 12U Connecticut Jr. Rangers Sept. 24 and lost to the Sudbury Lady Wolves Sept. 17. They tied Ontario’s top-ranked Markham-Stouffville Stars, 7-7, Sept. 26 and also tied the No. 3 Hornets and No. 6 Stoney Creek Sabres, teams they might see again this weekend.

Canada Girls 15U Tier 1

#8 Whitby Wolves vs. No. 11 Hamilton Hawks

Friday, October 14 at 6:00 p.m. ET

Canlan Ice Sports Center – Etobicoke, Ontario

The 15U AA Division of Etobicoke’s Pink the Rink Tournament includes eight teams divided into two pools. The top-two finishers in each pool will advance to the semifinals. Five of the competing teams are ranked among Canada’s current top 19. These two teams are ranked highest among the field. Whitby entered the weekend at 8-3-1 and having outscored its opponents, 41-20. They had dropped their most recent outing, 7-1, to the top-ranked Durham West Lightning Oct. 7, and fell to these same Hawks, 2-0, Oct. 1. Prior to that, Whitby was 8-1-1 in its previous 10 outings, including a 5-1 win vs. Hamilton Sept. 23. The Hawks brought a 9-4-1 mark into the tournament before opening play Friday with a 4-2 victory against the No. 17 Cambridge Roadrunners. They had outscored their opponents, 53-29, for the year after that win, which extended their unbeaten streak to three (2-0-1). Hamilton is 7-2-1 in its last 10 outings.