Our Week 13 Games of the Week provided us with a taste of pre-holiday showcase league play as well as three games from a large holiday tournament in the United States. In addition, we are providing bonus coverage of the Ontario Minor Hockey Association’s U14-U18 Showcase.

Three of our featured games were USA Boys Tier 1 matchups in the 2010, 2011 and 2012 age groups from the annual Mid-Winter Classic Hockey Tournament hosted by Pittsburgh Penguins Elite Friday through Sunday. Our fourth game was a top-10 USA Boys Tier 1 16U showdown from the Tier 1 Elite Hockey League Showcase in Phoenix.

Meanwhile, in Ontario the largest minor hockey organization in the world held its “Crossover Weekend” Showcase, with OMHA AAA teams at the U14 through U18 levels coming together to play “crossover” regular-season games against teams from outside of their conference at Iroquois Park in Whitby.

 

Pittsburgh Mid-Winter Classic

The Mid-Winter Classic in Pittsburgh featured 60 teams competing across five age groups. The 2010 Division boasted four of the nation’s top-15 teams, while the 2011 Division included six of the top-11 U.S. teams and the 2012 Division featured seven of the top-20 clubs. Games began Friday and ran through Sunday at various Pittsburgh-area rinks. Most, if not all, games should be available for on-demand viewing via LiveBarn.

 

2010 Championship Game

# 4 Buffalo Jr. Sabres (4), #7 Pittsburgh Penguins Elite (3)

Pens Elite, the tournament runner-up, went 4-1-0 during the weekend to improve to 26-15-2 on the year. The Jr. Sabres managed to capture the championship despite opening play by going 1-1-1 in their first three outings. They closed the tourney with a pair of wins over top-10 foes to improve to 33-11-2.

 

2011 Championship Game

#1 Mid-Fairfield Jr. Rangers (6), #8 Chicago Mission (1)

The No. 8 Mission posted a 4-2-0 record at the Mid-Winter Classic and are 36-13-3 for the season. Mid-Fairfield went 6-0-0, outscoring its opponents by a 46-7 margin, to improve to 47-2-2.

 

2012 Championship Game

#8 Chicago Reapers (5), #2 Chicago Mission (2)

The Mission went 4-1-1 at the tournament and are 37-10-2 on the season. Their opponents compiled a perfect 6-0-0 record during the weekend with a 36-6 scoring advantage. The Reapers are 37-15-4.

 

Tier 1 EHL Phoenix Showcase

The Tier 1 Elite Hockey League (T1EHL) is one of the top showcase circuits in the United States, with more than 20 member organizations from all over the country competing at every age level from 2012 through 18U. Weekend events are held for each age group in locations like Chicago, Detroit, Phoenix, Dallas, Anaheim, Buffalo and Nashville, and the season culminates with league playoffs that are held in Detroit for the younger age groups and Minnesota for ages 14U through 18U.

Last weekend’s featured T1EHL event in Phoenix was for ages 15 through 18 and included nearly 70 teams competing in the three age groups, Youth and 14U events also were held in different locations.

CLICK HERE for the T1EHL Results

 

OMHA U14-U18 AAA Showcase

The OMHA U14-U18 AAA Showcase included more than 100 AAA Boys teams from Ontario competing at the U14, U15, U16 and U18 age levels. In the U14 Division, three of Ontario’s top-15 and six of Ontario’s top-20 teams participated. The U15 Division included four of Ontario’s top-15 and six of its top-20 teams. Three of the province’s top-10 teams, six of the top 15 and eight of the top 20 competed in the U16 Division, and the U18 Division featured four of Ontario’s top-10 teams, seven of the top 15 and nine of the top 20.

 

MHR WEEK 13 GAMES OF THE WEEK

USA Boys 2010 Tier 1

#4 Buffalo Jr. Sabres (2) vs. #7 Pittsburgh Penguins Elite (3)

Saturday, Dec. 16 at 12:30 p.m. EST

UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex #1 – Cranberry Township, Pa.

Mid-Winter Classic Hockey Tournament

Streamed on LiveBarn

This was the top pool-play matchup in the 14U Division of the Mid-Winter Classic. The 14U group also included the No. 9 Chicago Mission and No. 15 Mid-Fairfield Jr. Rangers. This would be the first of two meetings between these two teams during the weekend as they also played for the championship on Sunday, with Buffalo avenging this one-goal setback to capture the title The teams were tied at 1 after the first period, but Pens Elite held a 2-1 advantage in the second and held off the Sabres in the third period to earn the 3-2 victory. These teams also met three times in September, with Pittsburgh winning each time by scores of 4-3, 4-0 and 5-3. If you remove those results, Buffalo had gone 30-7-1 in its other games prior to the tournament. The Jr. Sabres were 11-3-1 in their previous 15 contests prior to the weekend. Pens Elite brought a 22-14-2 record into the tournament and were 9-6-1 in the 16 contests leading up to the weekend.

 

USA Boys 2011 Tier 1

#3 Chicago Reapers (2) vs. #5 Los Angeles Jr. Kings (7)

Saturday, Dec. 16 at 12:40 p.m. EST

Alpha Ice Complex Europe Rink – Pittsburgh, Pa.

Mid-Winter Classic Hockey Tournament

Streamed on LiveBarn

This was the matchup of highest-ranked opponents in pool play for the 2011 Division of the Mid-Winter Classic in Pittsburgh. These teams were competing for the top seed in Pool B, which also included No. 29 Belle Tire and the No. 11 Ohio Blue Jackets. Top-ranked Mid-Fairfield and the No. 8 Chicago Mission were in Pool A, while second-ranked Pens Elite, the No. 14 New Jersey Titans and No. 19 Boston Advantage were in Pool C. This loss was one of two for the Reapers at the tournament, leaving them with a 33-8-0 overall record and holding a 197-79 season scoring advantage over their opponents. The Reapers also lost to the No. 8 Chicago Mission, 2-1, in the playoffs and knocked off Belle Tire, 5-4, and Ohio, 4-2. The Jr. Kings opened the tournament with three-straight wins before falling to Europe Excel Hockey Academy, 4-2, in a playoff game. They beat the Blue Jackets, 3-0, and Belle Tire, 5-0, to end the tournament with a 26-10-2 record. The Reapers have outscored their opponents, 178-78. In knocking off the Reapers, Los Angeles scored five goals in the first top periods to take a 5-2 lead into the final frame and never looked back.  

 

USA Boys 2012 Tier 1

#11 Ohio Blue Jackets (2) vs. #15 Philadelphia Hockey Club (5)

Saturday, Dec. 16 at 8:30 a.m. EST

Alpha Ice Complex Canada Rink – Pittsburgh, Pa.

Mid-Winter Classic Hockey Tournament

Streamed on LiveBarn

Seven of the nation’s top-20 teams were in the 2012 Division at the Mid-Winter Classic in Pittsburgh, and these two figured to battle for the top spot in Pool D, which also included the No. 39 Chicago Fury and No. 54 Carolina Jr. Hurricanes. The second-ranked Chicago Mission and No. 19 Jr. Sabres were in Pool A, seventh-ranked Pens Elite and the No. 20 Little Flyers were in Pool B and the No. 8 Chicago Reapers and No. 22 New Jersey Colonials headlined Pool C. PHC rolled to a 4-1 lead through two periods in this matchup and cruised to the 5-2 win as part of a 4-1-0 weekend that included a 5-3 win against the Fury, a 5-4 victory over Carolina, an 8-4 win vs. the Colonials and a 5-2 loss to the Mission. PHC is 29-12-3 on the season. The Blue Jackets posted a 2-2-0 weekend that included a 9-2 victory against Carolina and a 3-2 loss to the Fury as well as a 4-1 win vs. the second Pens Elite team (ranked No. 50). They are 27-10-2.

 

USA Boys 16U Tier 1

#4 Dallas Stars Elite (5) vs. #8 Victory Honda (6)

Saturday, December 16 at 6:00 p.m. EST

Tier 1 EHL Showcase

Ice Den Scottsdale Coyote Rink – Scottsdale, Ariz.

This was the top 16U matchup at last weekend’s T1EHL Showcase in the Phoenix area. In addition to these top-10 teams, the 16U group included nine other teams ranked among the nation’s top 40 and 12 more ranked among the top 50. These teams were meeting for the first time this season. The Stars entered the weekend 6-4, with a pair of overtime losses, in league play, while Victory was 2-3 with an OT win and loss on its resume. Dallas went 3-1 on the weekend to improve to 9-5 in league play, while VH was 2-2 and is now 4-5 in the T1EHL. In our featured 16U matchup, Victory stormed to a 3-1 lead after one period and was in front, 4-3, after the second frame before each team scored a pair of goals in the final stanza. Dallas finally tied the game at 5 on Nolan Mara’s goal with 9:22 left in the third, but Nolan Kaminski netted the decisive goal on the power play with just 28 seconds remaining. Jake Sebert scored twice and addd an assist to lead the Victory Honda offensive attack, with Ethan Drabicki, Kaminski, Isaac Embury and Brayden Wade each scoring once. Mason Gudridge made 34 saves to record the victory in goal. Mara tallied twice for Dallas, with Carter Murphy contributing a goal and an assist. VH is 33-10-1 on the season, and Dallas is 23-6-0.

 

About 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.