MYHockey News
The MHR Weekend Wrap for August 23-25
After the American youth hockey season got underway with a smattering of games and tournaments Aug. 16-18, last weekend brought more bigger events. Late summer and early fall represent showcase and tournament season in the United States, so the number of events and participating teams will continue to ramp up as we head into Labor Day Weekend and the official start of girls hockey in Canada.
Among the events that took place last weekend were the Grand Rapids Kickoff Classic, a Tier 1 boys tournament in Michigan; the Warrior National Showcase, a Tier 1 boys event for younger players in Massachusetts; the Neponset Valley River Rats Jamboree for Beast Tournament Series teams in Massachusetts; and the season’s first Eastern Junior Elite Prospects League (EJEPL) showcase of the season for Tier 2 boys teams in Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York.
While it’s impossible for us to cover and promote all the events being held in North America during a given weekend, we will do our best, as usual, throughout the season to promote a cross-section of tournaments and games being played by boys and girls of various age levels and in a variety of locations around North America.
Here are some of the highlights from the events mentioned above that took place last weekend:
The Kickoff Classic was run by Total Package Hockey (TPH), at various community rinks around Grand Rapids, Mich., from Aug. 23-25. Twenty-four Tier 1 boys teams competed across the 14U, 15O, 16U and 18U age groups while another 10 split-season teams participated at the 16U and 18U levels.
The 14U and 16U Tier 1 divisions were comprised of six teams, while the 15O Division had four teams and the 18U Division included eight teams. Nationally recognized programs such as Victory Honda, Little Caesars, Belle Tire, the Windy City Storm and Chicago Fury are sending teams to the event. The tournament features 70 total games over the three days.
CLICK HERE for Grand Rapids Kickoff Classic standings and results. Most, if not all, tournament games should be available for on-demand viewing via LiveBarn for the next month. Games were played at Southside Ice Arena, Patterson Ice Center and Kentwood Ice Arena.
14U Tier 1 Division
Victory Honda, Indiana Elite and Fox Motors all went 3-1-0 during the weekend of 14U action, with the Pittsburgh Vengeance posting a 2-2-0 mark. In head-to-head matchups, Indiana knocked off Victory, 2-1, but fell to Fox Motors by the same score. Victory Honda beat Pittsburgh, 5-3. Fox Motors suffered its only loss by a 5-2 score against the Vengeance, who dropped their second game of the tournament by a 1-0 margin to the Carolina Jr. Canes.
George Lavrov led all 14U Tier 1 players with 7 points on 3 goals and 4 assists. Frank Machi and Cash McElmurry of Victory Honda each contributed 6 points apiece to tie Vincent Vennero of Pittsburgh for second in the 14U Tier 1 scoring race. Ryder Adams of Fox Motors and Cullen Kolstad of Carolina were next with 5 points each.
15O Tier 1 Division
Fox Motors was the lone 15U Tier 1 team to go unbeaten, posting a 4-0-0 record, with the Chicago Fury and Sabres Elite each going 2-2-0. Fox outscored its opponents, 21-6, knocking off the Fury twice by scores of 4-3 and 5-1 and the Sabres, 5-1, in the process. The Fury defeated the Sabres, 3-0.
Rhett Owen of Fox Motors led all 15O Tier 1 scorers with 8 points on 3 goals and 5 assists. Teammates Rowan Blain and Michael Marlatt were next with 7 and 6 points, respectively. The top 15O scorer not from Fox Motors was Jamison Orio of the Chicago Fury who recorded 2-3-5.
16U Tier 1 Division
Fox Motors, the Chicago Fury and Belle Tire each went 3-1-0 in the 16U Tier 1 Division. Fox allowed the fewest goals of those three, outscoring its opponents by a 15-6 margin. The Fury outscored their foes, 18-9, with Belle Tire outscoring its opponents, 12-8. Fox opened the tournament with a 4-1 loss to the Fury before running off three-straight victories, including a 3-2 victory over Belle Tire. Chicago’s only loss came by a 2-1 margin against Belle Tire.
Nicholas Crededio of the Chicago Fury paced all 16U Tier 1 scorers with 7 points on 4 goals and 3 assists. Two Fox Motors players – Zachary Fleming and Kyle Mower – recorded five points apiece and tied for second in the scoring race with Landen Porter of Sabres Elite.
18U Tier 1 Division
Fox Motors was the lone undefeated 18U Tier 1 team, posting a 4-0-0 record and outscoring its opponents, 17-6. Michigan Hockey Advancement Red, Little Caesars and Belle Tire all went 3-1-0, with MHA compiling an 18-8 scoring advantage over its foes compared to 14-10 for Little Caesars and 10-8 for Belle Tire.
Fox beat the Pittsburgh Vengeance, Rose City Pats, Chicago Fury and Windy City Storm on the way to a perfect tournament. MHA’s lone loss was a 5-4 setback vs. the Windy City Storm, and they defeated the Fury, Vengeance and Rose City. Little Caesars dropped a 3-1 decision to Chicago and beat Rose City, Pittsburgh and Windy City. Belle Tire’s lone loss also was against the Fury by a 3-0 margin, but BT rebounded to beat Rose City, Windy City and the Vengeance.
Luke Lazzaro of Fox Motors was the top 18U Tier 1 scorer with 3 goals and 4 assists for 7 points. His teammate Ryder Millar and Matthew Vaccaro of Windy City tied for second in the scoring race with 6 points each, while MHA Red’s Ayden Cook and Little Caesars Wyatt Sancibrian each notched 5 points.
Hosted by the Valley Jr. Warriors at rinks throughout northern Massachusetts, the Warrior National Showcase featured more than 40 AAA (Tier 1) boys teams competing at the 13U, 12U, 11U, 2014, 2015 and 2016 age levels. The tournament included teams from Massachusetts, New York, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maine and Rhode Island. There were six teams in the 13U Division, nine in the 12U Division, seven in the 11U Division, six in the 2014 Division, five in the 2015 Division and eight in the 2016 Division.
Preliminary-round games were played Aug. 23 and 24, with the semifinals and finals taking place Aug. 25. Champions were crowned Sunday afternoon, and all games can still be viewed on-demand via LiveBarn.
CLICK HERE for the Warrior National showcase scores and final standings.
The tournament is being played at Haverhill Valley Forum, Lawrence Valley Forum, Breakaway Ice Center (Tewksbury, Mass.) and Chelmsford Forum.
Warrior National Showcase Age Division Championship Game Results
13U – Valley Jr. Warriors Elite 6, Boston Americans Elite 2
12U – Valley Junior Warriors Elite 6, Boston Americans Elite 2
11U – Team Real Speed 4, Boston Americans Elite 1
2014 – Boston Americans Elite 5, Valley Jr. Warriors Elite 2
2015 – Team Real Speed 3, Valley Jr. Warriors Elite 1
2016 – Boston Americans Elite 13, Worcester Jr. Railers Elite 0
The Eastern Junior Elite Prospects League, a Tier 2 boys circuit that includes teams competing in seven age groups, held its first showcase of the year Aug. 23-25 in Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York. For its first event of the season, the EJEPL hosted a total of nearly 500 games at a dozen facilities throughout the four states. Teams compete in 10U, 12U, 13U, 14U, 15O, 16U and 18U divisions.
CLICK HERE for a complete list of the rinks that were used. Most of the games can be viewed on-demand via LiveBarn. See all of the showcase scores by CLICKING HERE.
CLICK HERE for the current league standings following the opening weekend of play as well as to find links to all of the scoring and goaltending statistics.
The EJEPL is an “in-season” league that offers its member teams a 16-game schedule that includes two showcase events for the 9U through 14U age groups and a 20-game schedule that includes three showcases for the 15O through 18U teams. EJEPL member clubs come from 12 different states, allowing teams an opportunity to play against other clubs they might not otherwise schedule. The league also allows flexible scheduling options for non-showcase games so member teams can schedule those contests whenever they fit into their seasons.
The EJEPL season starts in late August and concludes with the league playoffs in February, allowing members to compete in their local leagues or other leagues of their choosing. According to the EJEPL website, the league currently boasts more than 60 member organizations and better than 260 participating teams.
Here are the teams with the best records in the top divisions of each age group following the EJEPL August Showcase:
10U Diamond Division – Long Island Gulls 3-1-0
12U Diamond Division – Genesis Hockey Club, Ridgefield Lions, Capitals Academy 3-1-0
13U Diamond Division – Montclair Blues 3-1-0
14U Diamond Division – Lond Island Edge 4-0-0
15U Diamond Division – Nassau County Lions 5-0-0
16U Diamond Division – Long Beach Lightning 4-0-0
18U Diamond 1 Division – Nassau County Lions 4-0-0
Neponset Valley River Rats BEAST Tournament Series Jamboree
The Neponset Valley River Rats hosted the first event of the 2024 BEAST Tournament Series Aug. 25-27 at rinks around Massachusetts, with teams competing at the 18U, 16U, 15O, 14U and 13O age levels.
The full tournament schedule as well as notes about games in each division can be found by CLICKING HERE.
Located in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States, the BEAST Tournament Series celebrates its 8th season in the fall 2024. It is one of the top fall showcase leagues on the East Coast for 18U, 15U, 15O, 14U and 13U teams. Countles BEAST alumni have advanced to play at the highest levels of North American junior hockey and at the NCAA Division I, II and III levels.
18U Division
The 18U age group featured a matchup of last year’s league championship game and a pair of teams that advanced to USA Hockey Nationals last year as the Northern Connecticut Nor’Easter (formerly Avon Regals) took on the Long Island Gulls Aug. 25. Another big game featured the host Neponset Valley River Rats taking on the Yale Jr. Bulldogs, a traditional 18U national power, and the Amherst Knights (formerly Buffalo Regals) facing the Springfield Thunderbirds.
Additional participating 18U teams included the Mid-Fairfield Jr. Rangers, Boston Hockey Academy, Westchester Express, Northeast Generals, Maine Mariners, East Coast Militia and New Jersey Titans.
The Gulls lost to the Nor’Easter, 3-1, but knocked off the Jr. Bulldogs, 4-3.
Brendan DeFeo paced the Gulls with 2 goals and an assist in Long Island’s two games. In addition to the loss to the Gulls, Yale fell to the hosts by a 4-0 score. Nathan Porter, Rui Han, Grayden Robertson-Palmer and Ryan Lucarelli scored for the River Rats in that game, with goalie Max Pitts stopping 28 shots to earn the shutout.
CLICK HERE for links to all the scores and standings.
16U Division
The 16U Division at the River Rats Beast Jamboree included nationally recognized programs such as the Long Island Gulls, Yale Jr. Bulldogs, Northern Connecticut Nor’Easter and Neponset Valley River Rats. Other participating teams included the East Coast Militia, Northeast Generals, Maine Mariners, Westchester Express, Boston Hockey Academy and Springfield Thunderbirds.
Long Island defeated Yale, 5-3, Aug. 26, with five different players – Sean Miller, David O’Brien, Kevin Lysohir, Owen DeGraff and Aleksei Zhukov – scoring goals and Yaroslav Alpatov posting a 25-save shutout. The Jr. Bulldogs also fell to Boston Hockey Academy, 6-3, the same day. Bexultan Makysh and Timothy Wang scored two goals apiece for the winners, while Sascha Pitaev earned the win in goal with 29 saves. Will Schlechtweg, Ryan Poirier and Bryce Mastriano scored for Yale.
CLICK HERE for links to all the scores and standings.
15U Division
Competing teams in the 15U Division included the East Coast Militia, Boston Hockey Academy, Springfield Thunderbirds and Neponset Valley River Rats.
CLICK HERE for links to all the scores and standings.
14U Division
Competing teams in the 14U Division included the Northeast Generals, East Coach Militia, Connecticut Jr. Rangers, Neponset Valley River Rats, Long Island Gulls, Woodbridge Wolfpack and Dexter Shield.
CLICK HERE for links to all the scores and standings.
13O Division
Competing teams in the 13O Division included the Woodbrdge Wolfpack and Long Island Gulls.
CLICK HERE for links to the scores.
