As is the norm for this time of year, the weekend of Oct. 24-28 was filled with big hockey tournaments and showcases all over North America. In the United States it was a particularly busy weekend in New England and the Midwest.

Hundreds of teams flocked to ice rinks in Rhode Island and Massachusetts for two of the largest fall Tier 1 U.S. Boys events, and one of the top Tier 1 Boys leagues in the United States also held its opening 18U showcase weekend in Illinois.

One of the oldest and most popular showcase tournaments in the Northeast, the Beantown Fall Classic, was held in the Boston area, with more than 150 USA Boys Tier 1 teams in the 14U, 15O, 16U and 18U age groups competing at three Massachusetts rinks. Across those age levels, a total of nearly 30 teams ranked among the top 50 in their respective age groups competed in games from Oct. 24 until Oct. 27.

A newer Tier 1 Boys event, just completing its seventh year, took place not far from the Beantown for all age the groups between 11U and 16U. The East Coast Exposure Cup was held Oct. 25-27 at rinks in Rhode Island and Massachusetts.  In the age groups we cover on a weekly basis, 11U through 16U, there were more than 100 teams competing from the United States and Canada.

The 12U Elite Division featured the top-ranked Mid-Fairfield Jr. Rangers and second-ranked New Jersey Rockets, who were on a crash course to meet in the championship game before the Rockets were knocked out in the semifinals, 3-2, by Kuper Academy from Quebec. Kuper ended up falling to Mid-Fairfield, 4-0, in the championship game.

Finally, the Tier 1 Elite Hockey League (T1EHL), one of the top USA Boys Tier 1 showcase leagues, held its season-opening 18U event at Arctic Ice Arena in Orland Park, Illinois. The T1EHL includes more than 20 organizations from around the U.S. It provides teams with significant visibility, top-level competition and elite coaching and has proven to be one of the most successful Tier 1 leagues in terms of moving its players on to the top levels of junior and college hockey. Running from Friday, Oct. 25, through Monday, Oct. 28, the 18U T1EHL weekend featured 11 of the nation’s top 50 and three of the top 25 18U Boys teams.

 

Beantown Fall Classic

The Beantown Classic got underway on Thursday, Oct. 24, and ran through Sunday, Oct. 27, with more than 150 teams playing better than 300 games at three Massachusetts rinks. The majority of the games were played at the massive New England Sports Center, with any games there played on Rinks 1 through 8 likely available via webstream on LiveBarn. Games played at other venues should be streamed there as well.

 

Beantown Classic 15O Division

The 15O Division featured 30 teams, six that were ranked among the top 50 for Week 5. Four were ranked among the top 41 and one that was in the top 20.

 

Top 50 15O Participating Team Records

#20 Neponset Valley River Rats (1-1-1; 10GF, 4GA)

#33 South Shore Kings (1-0-1; 6GF, 5GA)

#39 Providence Capitals (2-0-0; 5GF, 1GA)

#41 Cape Cod Whalers (1-0-1); 6GF, 2GA)

#43 Connecticut Jr. Rangers (3-0-1; 18GF, 7GA)

#47 East Coast Militia (0-1-1; 2GF, 4GA)

 

The Long Island Arrows, New York’s 25^th-ranked Tier 1 15O Boys team, had a strong showing, posting a 4-0-0 record and outscoring their opponents, 14-8.

 

Beantown Classic 16U Division

The 16U Division featured 51 teams, seven that were ranked among the top 50. Six were ranked among the top 40 and five were in the top 22.

 

Top 50 16U Participating Team Records

#9 Mount St. Charles Academy (1-0-1; 5GF, 2GA)

#13 Boston Jr. Eagles (1-0-1; 3GA, 1GA)

#21 Neponset Valley River Rats (1-0-1; 7GF, 4GA)

#22 East Coast Militia (1-1-0; 6GF, 6GA)

#35 Nor’easter Storm (1-2-0; 4GF, 7GA)

#36 Connecticut Jr. Rangers (2-1-0; 11GF, 6GA)

#49 Cape Cod Whalers (1-1-0; 3GF, 3GA)

 

The marquee matchup of the 16U Division featured No. 9 Mount St. Charles taking on the 13^th-ranked Boston Jr. Eagles. The teams skated to a 1-1 tie, with MSC’s Alexandre Monarque and the Jr. Eagles’ Luke Allen exchanging goals. Mount St. Charles also beat No. 22 East Coast Militia, 4-1. Boston knocked off No. 35 Nor’easter Storm, 2-0, in its other contest. The 52^nd-ranked Rocky Mountain RoughRiders recorded a perfect weekend, going 4-0-0 while outscoring their opponents, 17-7. They beat the No. 37 Connecticut Jr. Rangers, 2-1, and the No. 55 Canadian Prep team from Bishop’s College School, 5-3, among their four wins.

 

Beantown Classic 18U Division

The 18U Division featured 66 teams, 12 that were ranked among the top 50 and six that were in the top 20.

 

Top 50 18U Participating Team Records

#3 Boston Jr. Eagles (2-0-0; 10GF, 5GA)

#8 Nor’easter Storm (0-1-1; 5GF, 7GA)

#10 Cape Cod Whalers (1-0-1; 6GF, 5GA)

#12 Boston Little Bruins (1-1-0; 4GF, 6GA)

#15 Islanders Hockey Club West (2-1-0; 13GF, 5GA)

#18 Neponset Valley River Rats (1-1-0; 8GF, 7GA)

#22 Yale Jr. Bulldogs (1-10; 6GF, 6GA)

#24 Mid-Fairfield Jr. Rangers (1-0-1; 6GF, 4GA)

#26 Seacoast Performance Academy (1-1-0; 6GF, 4GA)

#28 Springfield Jr. Thunderbirds (1-0-2; 12GF, 8GA)

#45 95 Giants (1-0-1; 6GF, 5GA)

#47 East Coast Militia (1-0-1; 5GF, 4GA)

 

The 18U Division was the deepest in terms of the total number of teams as well as highly ranked teams. Of the teams ranked among the top 20, only the No. 3 Boston Jr. Eagles posted an unblemished record, going 2-0-0 with wins over the No. 8 Nor’easter Storm and the No. 22 Yale Jr. Bulldogs. The Nos. 8 through 18 teams posted a 5-4-2 collective record. Somang Academy from Montréal posted a perfect 4-0-0 record for the weekend and outscored its opponents, 20-5.

 

CLICK HERE for the Beantown Classic scores, schedules, standings & stats

 

 

The Eastern Exposure Cup

The Eastern Exposure Cup began play Friday, Oct. 25, and ran through Sunday, Oct. 27. There were more than 110 teams competing in the 11U, 12U, 13O, 14U, 15O and 16U age groups at rinks in Rhode Island and Massachusetts. Most of the games should be available for viewing on @LiveBarn for the next month. The tournament included Boys teams from the U.S. and Ontario.

 

Eastern Exposure Cup 11U Division

There were 16 teams competing in the 11U Division; the 11U Elite featured three top 20 teams and seven teams that were ranked among the top 35.

 

Top 35 Participating 11U Team Records

#7 Islanders Hockey Club East (2-3-0; 18GF, 13GA)

#17 Boston Advantage (2-2-1; 13GF, 14GA)

#20 Nor’easter Storm (2-3-0, 9GF, 10GA)

#21 Woodbridge Wolfpack (2-3-0; 15GF, 20GA)

#22 South Shore Kings (5-0-1; 29GF, 15GA)

#28 Minuteman Flames (4-2-0; 19GF, 15GA)

#34 Providence Capitals (1-3-1; 12GF, 17GA)

 

The South Shore Kings capped an unbeaten 5-0-1 weekend by beating the Minuteman Flames, 4-1, in the championship game. SSK sprinted to a 3-0 first-half lead on goals by Logan Burton, Anderson Malone and James Alves, with Joseph Zine providing the fourth marker early in the second half. Nolan Stonacek broke the shutout for the Flames with nine seconds left in the game. Webb Kathan was the winning goalie.

 

Eastern Exposure Cup 12U Division

A total of 18 teams competed at the 12U age level, 10 that were in the Elite Division. Of those 10, five were ranked among the U.S. top 21 and six were in the top 31.

 

Top Participating 12U Team Records

#1 Mid-Fairfield Jr. Rangers (6-0-0; 37GF, 5GA)

#2 New Jersey Rockets (4-1-0; 29GF, 14GA)

#11 Worcester Jr. Railers (2-3-0; 17GF, 19GA)

#14 New Jersey Colonials (3-2-0; 15GF, 14GA)

#21 Islanders Hockey Club (2-3-0; 18GF, 16GA)

#31 Connecticut Jr. Rangers (1-4-0; 13GF, 28GA)

 

Mid-Fairfield rolled through a gauntlet of a division, but avoided the second-ranked New Jersey Rockets as Quebec’s Kuper Academy knocked them out in the semifinals, 3-2. The Jr. Rangers beat the No. 11 Worcester Jr. Railers and No. 14 New Jersey Colonials by a combined 17-1 and handled Kuper, 4-0, to capture the title. Nathan Zakowich earned recorded the shutout win in the championship game, with Luke Whalen and Andrew Hargadon each contributing a pair of goals.

 

Eastern Exposure Cup 13U Division

A total of 24 teams competed at the 13U age level, 12 that were in the Elite pools. Of those 12, 11 were ranked among the USA’s top 30 and the other was No. 13 in Ottawa.

 

Top Participating 13O Team Records

#7 Dallas Stars Elite (5-1-0; 26GF, 19GA)

#8 South Shore Kings (2-1-2; 11GF, 8GA)

#13 Ottawa Jr. 67s – Ontario (1-1-3; 17GF, 14GA)

#15 Boston Jr. Terriers (4-1-0; 25GF, 13GA)

#16 Long Island Gulls (1-3-1; 14GF, 20GA)

#21 Palmyra Black Knights (2-2-1; 15GF, 13GA)

#23 Top Gun (2-2-1; 13GF, 10GA)

#24 Seacoast Performance Academy (0-5-0; 8GF, 20GA)

#27 North Jersey Avalanche (2-3-0; 9GF, 13GA)

#29 Boston Advantage (2-2-1; 16GF, 16GA)

#30 New Jersey Colonials (4-2-0; 16G, 14GA)

#33 Woodbridge Wolfpack (1-3-1; 8GF, 18GA)

 

The Dallas Stars concluded an impressive weekend with a 3-1 victory against the New Jersey Colonials in the championship game. Their lone loss was an 8-3 decision vs. the No. 15 Boston Jr. Terriers, but they rebounded from that setback to beat them, 4-3, in the semifinals. They also beat the No. 16 Long Island Gulls, 7-3, on the way to the title. In the championship tilt, Brando Duncan broke a 1-1 tie with 4:55 left in the first half by netting his second goal of the game, and Wes Palmer provided the insurance marker with 10:11 remaining in the contest. Donovan Knapp was the winning goalie.

 

Eastern Exposure Cup 14U Division

A total of 22 teams competed at the 14U age level, 12 that were in the Elite pools. Of those 12, four were ranked among the USA’s top 15 and seven were among the top 30. Ontario’s Nos. 9, 18 and 24 teams also participated.

 

Top Participating 14U Team Records

#5 Neponset Valley River Rats (3-1-1; 24GF, 13GA)

#8 Mount St. Charles Academy (6-0-0; 27GF, 7GA)

#9 Hill Academy – Ontario (2-3-0; 11GF, 18GA)

#13 Dallas Stars Elite (1-1-3; 16GF, 17GA)

#15 Long Island Gulls (3-2-0; 12GF, 13GA)

#18 Woodbridge Wolfpack (5-1-0; 23GF, 15GA)

#18 Ottawa Jr. 67s – Ontario (0-3-2; 8GF, 16GA)

#24 Ottawa Valley Titans – Ontario (1-4-0; 12GF, 20GA)

#30 Seacoast Performance Academy (0-3-2; 12GF, 19GA)

 

It was a dominant performance by Mount St. Charles, which outscored Hill Academy and the Woodbridge Wolfpack by a combined 13-0 in the semifinals and finals to skate off with the championship. The 7-0 championship-game win over the Wolfpack ended a spectacular run by Woodbridge, which went 5-1-0 and knocked off three Canadian teams on the weekend. Zaac Charbonneau and MJ Campbell each netted a pair of goals for MSC in the title game, with Lev Smotkin earning the shutout in goal.

 

Eastern Exposure Cup 15O Division

There were 18 teams competing in the 15O age group, 14 that were in the Elite pools. Of those 14, four were ranked among the USA’s top 15 and six were among the top 30. Ontario’s Nos. 7, 17, 24 and 26 teams also competed.

 

Top Participating 15O Teams

#1 Boston Jr. Eagles (4-1-0; 16GF, 5 GA)

#7 Ottawa Valley Titans – Ontario (3-2-0; 14GF, 11GA)

#10 Wilkes Barre/Scranton Jr. Knights (3-1-1; 17GF, 11GA)

#11 Seacoast Performance Academy (2-2-1; 14GF, 11GA)

#13 Long Island Gulls (1-1-1; 7GF, 8GA)

#17 Eastern Ontario Wild – Ontario (10GF, 15GA)

#24 Florida Alliance North (1-2-2; 12GF, 14GA)

#24 Upper Canada Cyclones – Ontario (3-3-0; 20GF, 19GA)

#26 Team Illinois (0-4-1; 8GA, 15GF)

#26 Ottawa Jr. 67s – Ontario (0-4-0; 6GF, 18GA)

 

Despite all of the highly ranked Canadian and American teams in the field, South Kent School, the 62^nd-ranked overall 15/16U team in the U.S., capped a 4-1-1 tournament with a 4-1 victory against Ontario’s Upper Canada Cyclones in the championship game. South Kent dropped its opening game of the tournament, 5-4, to the Eastern Ontario Wild then tied Team Illinois before rolling to four straight wins to take the title. Two of the wins came against Upper Canada, one was against No. 11 Seacoast Performance Academy and the other was vs. the Yale Bulldogs. Zakhar Onishchenko scored twice in the title clash, with Lucas Hsuan and Brian Vega each tallying once and Sam Berthiaume earning the win in goal.

 

Eastern Exposure Cup 16U Division

There were four teams in the 16U Division, with 57^th-ranked HoneyBaked going 3-1-1 but falling in the championship game. Boston Hockey Academy, ranked 16^th overall in the 15U/16U USA rankings category, knocked off HoneyBaked, 4-0, in the title game to capture the championship and finish the weekend 3-2-0. Bexultan Makysh scored twice for the champs, with Spartak Chukreyev and Edvards Rauls Laganovskis scoring one goal apiece. Netminder Sascha Pitaev recorded shutouts in the both the semifinals and finals.

 

CLICK HERE for links to Eastern Exposure Cup schedules, results, standings & stats

 

 

Tier 1 Elite Hockey League 18U Illinois Showcase

The puck dropped on the T1EHL’s first 18U Showcase at Artic Ice Arena in Orland Park, Illinois on Friday, Oct. 25, and the event ran through Monday, Oct. 28. The T1EHL 18U Division included 11 teams ranked among the nation’s top 50, eight that were in the top 40 and three that were among the top 25. Most of the games should still be available for viewing on @LiveBarn.

 

Records for T1EHL 18U Teams Ranked Among the Top 50

#19 Ohio Blue Jackets (3-1-0; 9GF, 8GA)

#20 St. Louis AAA Blues (2-2-0; 9GF, 9GA)

#23 Victory Honda (3-1-0; 13GF, 9GA)

#33 Chicago Fury (3-1-0; 13GF, 8GA)

#35 Fox Motors (3-1-0; 13GF, 5GA)

#37 North Jersey Avalanche (2-2-0; 11GF, 8GA)

#39 Cleveland Barons (1-3-0; 7GF, 10GA)

#40 Philadelphia Jr. Flyers (1-3-0; 11GF, 14GA)

#42 Phoenix Jr. Coyotes (4-0-0; 19GF, 7GA)

#46 Florida Alliance (3-1-0; 19GF, 13GA)

#50 Washington Little Caps (1-3-0; 6GF, 16GA)

 

The No. 42 Phoenix Jr. Coyotes and 72^nd-ranked Dallas Stars Elite were the surprise teams of the first T1EHL 18U weekend, finishing as the only clubs with perfect 4-0-0 records. Phoenix recorded one overtime win, a 5-4 victory over the No. 40 Philadelphia Jr. Flyers, while Dallas beat the No. 37 North Jersey Avalanche and the San Jose Jr. Sharks in extra time. That left the Jr. Coyotes one point ahead of the Stars in the overall league standings. Seven other teams posted 3-1-0 records during the opening weekend, including the No. 19 Ohio Blue Jackets, No. 23 Victory Honda, No. 33 Chicago Fury, No. 35 Fox Motors and No. 46 Florida Alliance. The 56^th-ranked Buffalo Jr. Sabres and No. 68 Colorado Thunderbirds also posted 3-1-0 records. Cayden Joramo of the Colorado Rampage and Joseph Pocrnic of Florida Alliance each recorded 8 points to lead all scorers at the showcase, with Matthew Holst of the Buffalo Jr. Sabres, Jake McDonald of the St. Louis AAA Blues and Drake Scorzo of Victory Honda notching 7 points apiece.

 

CLICK HERE for the complete T1EHL 18U Showcase Schedule