With the holidays and winter portion of the 2024-25 North American Hockey campaign rapidly approaching – despite unseasonably warm temperatures in many regions – showcase and tournament season also continues around the continent during this Halloween Weekend.

For our Halloween Weekend preview, we celebrate our first set of published 18U Boys rankings in Western Canada by highlighting the second annual RHA Classic, which is being hosted by Rink Hockey Academy in Vernon, B.C., from Oct. 31 though Nov. 3. The eight-team event at Kal Tire Place and Kal Tire Place North includes three of Western Canada’s top nine teams, according to the Week 6 MHR Rankings.

We also are focusing on the Buffalo Fromen Showcase, one of the fall’s top events for USA Boys Tier 1 teams in the 14U through 18U age groups. The event is hosted jointly by the Bishop Kearney Selects and Buffalo Jr. Sabres, and there will be 19 USA Boys top 10 teams competing in the event’s four age levels. Those teams also will be joined by a few top clubs from Ontario for the Nov. 1-3 event.

The final event we will be previewing and tracking is the gigantic CCM World Invite Chicago, which quite possibly could be the largest event of the year. More than 500 U.S. and Canadian Tier 1 and Tier 2 teams will compete in better than 1,000 games in every age group from 9U through 18U from Nov. 1-3 at 35 suburban Chicago ice rinks.

These are just a few of the weekend’s bigger events, but there are only so many that we can cover on a weekly basis.

 

RHA Classic

Hosted by Rink Hockey Academy at Kal Tire Place and Kal Tire Place North in Vernon, B.C., the second annual RHA Classic features some of the top Western Canada Boys U18 programs. Eight teams are competing, with games scheduled to begin on Thursday, Oct. 31, and run through, Sunday, Nov. 3. Three of the eight are ranked among the top 10 in Western Canada, according to the MHR Week 6 rankings.

The eight teams are divided into two pools, with each playing three round-robin games to determine playoff seedings. Playoffs begin Saturday afternoon, with the top two teams in each pool crossing over to play in the semifinals. Gold and Bronze Medal games will be played Sunday. Each team is guaranteed at least four games.

 

RHA Classic Pool A Competing Teams

#8 Okanagan Hockey Academy

#25 Yale Hockey Academy

#45 Leduc Oil Kings

#53 Calgary Buffaloes

 

RHA Classic Pool B Competing Teams

#6 St. Albert Raiders

#9 Rink Hockey Academy Kelowna

#40 Okanagan Rockets

#66 Red Deer Chiefs

 

Key Matchups of the Weekend

Friday, Nov. 1

4:15 p.m. EST at Kal Tire Place – RHA Kelowna vs. St. Albert

4:45 p.m. EST at Kal Tire Place North – Yale Hockey Academy vs. Okanagan Hockey Academy

 

CLICK HERE for the full tournament schedule

CLICK HERE for the tournament standings

CLICK HERE for the tournament statistics

 

Games are being streamed, but a password from team managers or tournament officials is required for viewing. CLICK HERE to access the webstream page.

 

 

Fromen Injury Law November Showcase

Hosted by two of the top youth programs in New York, the Bishop Kearney Selects and Buffalo Jr. Sabres, the Fromen Injury Law November Showcase is being held from Nov. 1-3 in Buffalo at Northtown Center in Amherst, N.Y., Hyde Park Ice Pavilion in Niagara Falls and at Cornerstone CFCU Arena in Lockport. Some of the top USA Boys Tier 1 teams in the 14U, 15O, 16U and 18U age groups will be joined by teams from Ontario. A total of 49 teams are competing, and games at all rinks should be available for viewing via LiveBarn.

 

Top 14U Competing U.S. Teams

The 14U Division has 14 teams, including two from Ontario. Five of the United States’ top 11 teams, eight of the top 20 and 12 of the top 33 are participating. The 14U field also includes Ontario’s Nos. 5 and 29 U15 teams. All rankings are as of Week 6. Here are the top competing teams:

 

#3 Minuteman Flames

#4 Bishop Kearney Selects

#8 Chicago Mission

#9 Buffalo Jr. Sabres

#11 Philadelphia Jr. Flyers

#14 Chicago Reapers

#17 Long Island Gulls

#20 Pittsburgh Penguins Elite

 

U15 Ontario Teams

#5 Toronto Marlboros

#29 Niagara North Stars

 

14U Games of Interest

Friday, Nov. 1

10:00 a.m. at Northtown Center #2 – BK Selects vs. Chicago Mission

2:30 p.m. at Northtown Center Olympic – Minuteman Flames vs. Jr. Sabres

6:00 p.m. at Northtown Center #2 – Chicago Mission vs. Jr. Flyers

 

Saturday, Nov. 2

12:30 p.m. at Northtown Center #2 – Chicago Mission vs. Toronto Marlboros

 

Sunday, Nov. 3

12:15 p.m. at Northtown Center #2 – Jr. Flyers vs. BK Selects

2:15 p.m. at Northtown Center #2 – Jr. Sabres vs. Toronto Marlboros

 

Top 15O Competing U.S. Teams

There are a total of 11 teams participating in the 15O Division, including a pair from Ontario. Four top 10 U.S. teams as of Week 6 are competing as our eight of the top 30. In addition, Ontario’s fourth- and 12-ranked teams U16 teams are part of the field. Here are the top 15U competing teams:

 

#4 Chicago Mission

#5 Pittsburgh Penguins Elite

#6 Chicago Reapers

#7 Mid-Fairfield Jr. Rangers

#12 St. Louis AAA Blues

#20 Bishop Kearney Selects

 

U16 Ontario Teams

#4 Toronto Marlboros

#12 Niagara North Stars

 

15U Games of Interest

Friday, Oct. 1

8:30 a.m. at Cornerstone Keenan – Toronto Marlboros vs. St. Louis AAA Blues

10:30 a.m. at Cornerstone Keenan – Chicago Mission vs. Pens Elite

2:30 p.m. at Cornerstone Keenan – Chicago Reapers vs. Toronto Marlboros

 

Saturday, Oct. 2

4 p.m. at Northtown Center Feature – Toronto Marlboros vs. Pens Elite

6 p.m. at Northtown Center Feature – Mid-Fairfield vs. Chicago Reapers

 

Sunday, Oct. 3

8 a.m. at Northtown Center #1 – Chicago Mission vs. Toronto Marlboros

12:30 p.m. at Hyde Park #1 – Niagara North vs. Mid-Fairfield

 

Top 16U Competing U.S. Teams

The 16U Division is comprised of 14 teams, six of which are among the U.S. top 10 as of Week 6. Ten of the top 25 American teams also are competing. Here are the top competing 16U teams:

 

#2 New Jersey Rockets

#3 Seacoast Performance Academy

#5 Long Island Gulls

#7 Pittsburgh Penguins Elite

#10 Bishop Kearney Selects

#11 Chicago Mission

#19 St. Louis AAA Blues

 

16U Games of Interest

Friday, Nov. 1

12 p.m. at Northtown Feature – Chicago Mission vs. Long Island Gulls

6 p.m. at Northtown Feature – NJ Rockets vs. Chicago Mission

 

Saturday, Nov. 2

9 a.m. at Cornerstone Keenan – Pens Elite vs. Seacoast

7 p.m. at Cornerstone Keenan – BK Selects vs. Chicago Mission

  

18U Division

Of the 10 teams competing in the 18U Division, four are ranked among the top 10 in the U.S. as of Week 6 and seven of the top 20 are participating. Here are the top competing 18U teams: 

 

#4 Bishop Kearney Selects

#5 Long Island Gulls

#7 New Jersey Rockets

#8 Little Caesars

#13 Chicago Reapers

#14 CarShield

#20 St. Louis AAA Blues

 

18U Games of Interest

Friday, Nov. 1

12 p.m. at Northtown Center #2 – Chicago Reapers vs. Long Island Gulls

4:15 p.m. at Northtown Center #1 – Little Caesars vs. NJ Rockets

 

Saturday, Nov. 2

1:15 p.m. at Northtown Feature – NJ Rockets vs. Chicago Reapers

 

Sunday, Nov. 3

12 p.m. at Northtown Feature – Long Island Gulls vs. Little Caesars

12:15 p.m. at Hyde Park #2 – BK Selects vs. Chicago Reapers

 

CLICK HERE for the full tournament schedule

CLICK HERE for the team rosters

 

 

 

CCM World Invite Chicago

Perhaps the largest event of the season, the CCM World Invite Chicago includes more than 500 teams competing in better than 1,000 games from Nov. 1-3 at 35 different rinks in the suburban Chicago area. Many of the venues are serviced by LiveBarn. The tournament includes Tier 1 and Tier 1 Boys teams from the United States and Canada competing in all age groups from 9U through 18U.

The tournament features 25 different divisions to provide varying levels of play to accommodate as many teams as possible. Our focus is on the 11U, 12U and 13O top Tier 1 “Tacks” divisions.

 

Top 11U Competing Teams

There are 12 teams competing in the top 11U Tacks Division. Here are the highest-ranked participants:

 

#2 Team Illinois

#9 Mid-Fairfield Jr. Rangers

#10 HoneyBaked

#11 Milwaukee Jr. Admirals

#14 Florida Alliance

#16 Chicago Mission

#18 Sun County Panthers – Ontario

#26 Oakland Jr. Grizzlies

#27 St. Louis AAA Blues

#30 Music City Marauders

 

Top 12U Competing Teams

There are 16 teams competing in the top 12U Tacks Division. Here are the highest-ranked participants:

 

#4 Chicago Mission

#7 Team Illinois

#9 Nashville Jr. Predators

#17 St. Louis AAA Blues

#25 Windy City Storm

#28 Chicago Fury

 

Top 13O Competing Teams

There are 18 teams competing in the top 13O Tacks Division. Here are the highest-ranked participants:

 

#6 Chicago Mission

#8 Chicago Reapers

#23 Team Illinois

#24 Seacoast Performance Academy

#29 Belle Tire

#36 Victory Honda

#39 Madison Capitols

 

CLICK HERE for links to all schedules, results, standings, venues, teams & other info