The holidays are almost here, and while things slow down a bit hockey-wise in the United States for the Thanksgiving weekend, there was plenty of great hockey action from Nov. 14-18 and there will be plenty more to come throughout North America as November winds down and the new year approaches.

From Nov. 16-18, all six teams that form one of the top 18U Boys leagues in North America were in Boston for the first Prep Hockey Conference weekend showcase event of the 2024-25 season.

Meanwhile, in the Canadian Maritimes, 62 AAA Boys teams from various parts of Eastern Canada in the U15, U16 and U18 age groups traveled to Moncton, New Brunswick, to compete in the 43^rd annual Monctonian Challenge. No fewer than eight of Eastern Canada’s top 10 teams, according to the MHR Week 8 rankings, competed in each division of that event.

Finally in Western Canada, 23 elite Canadian U15 and U.S. 14U Boys teams headed to the Burnaby, British Columbia, area for the Annual Pat Quinn Classic U15 Elite Invitational. The Pat Quinn Classic featured five of Western Canada’s top 10 U15 AAA Boys teams, as well as Canada’s top-ranked U15 AAA Boys team and the USA’s second-ranked 14U Boys Tier 1 team, competing in the event’s top flight.

 

Prep Hockey Conference Boston Showcase Weekend

While the 2024-25 season already had seen a few weekends of Prep Hockey Conference divisional matchups in the East and West, the first league showcase of the campaign was held at Warrior Arena, the practice home of the Boston Bruins, and Harvard University Nov. 16-18, with the visiting West Division teams taking on their East Division counterparts.

Founded by six traditional top USA and Canadian Boys Tier 1 AAA prep/academy programs to showcase their elite youth hockey talent, the PHC has become one of the top in-season showcase-style leagues for NCAA and professional hockey prospects. As usual, this year’s PHC lineup includes some of the top North American 18U Boys programs: Culver Academies (Indiana), Mount St. Charles Academy (Rhode Island), Northwood School (New York), Shattuck-St. Mary’s (Minnesota), South Kent School (Connecticut) and St. Andrew’s College (Ontario).

St. Andrew’s College has been the top-ranked Canadian Independent Prep program consistently for the past several years and had returned to that perch this year, entering the weekend with a 9-1-1 record that included a pair of wins over PHC-counterpart Culver Academy, the No. 9 USA Tier 1 18U Boys program in MHR’s Week 8 rankings. The Saints’ lone loss was against USA 18U Tier 1 No. 4 Bishop Kearney Selects, Nov. 6, and they also tied BK, 1-1, Oct. 9.

No. 9 Culver Academy came to Boston with a 7-5-0 record and had played the third-toughest schedule among the USA’s top 10 18U Tier 1 teams, according to MHR. Culver has become a perennial qualifier for USA Hockey Nationals.

Culver and St. Andrew’s were joined in Boston by USA Boys 18U Tier 1 No. 1 Shattuck-St. Mary’s, No. 18 Mount St. Charles Academy, No. 3 USA 18U Overall South Kent School and No. 14 USA Overall Northwood School.

Shattuck St. Mary’s has earned a reputation as the top Tier 1 program in the United States thanks to the school’s 10 USA Hockey National Championship and the 24 NHL draft picks it has produced. Prior to the weekend, the Sabres had gone 16-3-2 and outscored their opponents, 102-25, despite playing the second-toughest schedule among the top 10 USA 18U Boys Tier 1 teams.

Northwood School, from Lake Placid, N.Y., offers a unique blend of high-level hockey and intense academics, playing a challenging schedule that features a combination of top New England and Canadian Prep programs and many of the USA’s best 18U Tier 1 Boys teams. Northwood was 17-4-1 prior to the weekend, with wins against USA 18U Overall No. 3 South Kent School, the fourth-ranked USA 18U Tier 1 Bishop Kearney Selects and the No. 7 USA 18U Tier 1 New Jersey Rockets.

Perennial USA Hockey National Championship-contender Mount Saint Charles has captured 46 Rhode Island state championships while sending countless players on to play at top NCAA Division I programs. MSC was 10-12-0 before heading to Boston but had gone 10-7-0 after dropping its first five games, a stretch that included four losses against opponents ranked among the U.S. top five.

South Kent School’s hockey program has produced 24 NHL draft picks and more than 100 NCAA Division I commits. South Kent also captured back-to-back USA Hockey national championships in 2018 and 2019. This season, the USA’s third-ranked 18U Overall USA Boys team had posted an 18-5-2 record while outscoring its opponents, 135-63, prior to the PHC Boston weekend.

Here is a look at the league standings following the weekend:

 

PHC East

South Kent School – 3-4-0, 9 pts

Mount St. Charles – 3-4-0, 9 pts

Northwood School – 1-6-0, 4 pts

 

PHC West

St. Andrew’s College – 4-1-0, 11 pts

Shattuck-St. Mary’s – 3-0-0, 9 pts

Culver Academies – 3-2-0, 9 pts

 

CLICK HERE for the complete PHC standings

 

It was a dominant weekend for PHC West, with the three teams combining to go 8-1-0. The lone loss for the group was a 5-4 setback for St. Andrew’s vs. South Kent in a wild game that featured six second-period goals. South Kent scored three straight goals in an eight-minute span of the second period, two of those coming from McLean Agrette, to take a 4-2 lead into the final frame. Rafael Cloutier netted what turned out to be the game-winner on the power play early in the third period, with Agrette picking up one of the assists. Alex Carscadden scored twice in a losing effort for St. Andrew’s, while Bennett Law stopped 31 shots for the winning side.

Shattuck-St. Mary’s and Culver Academies swept through the weekend by outscoring their opponents by a combined 26-11. Shattuck won its first three PHC games of the season, 3-1 vs. Mount St. Charles, 6-3 vs. South Kent and 6-3 vs. Northwood. Culver beat Mount St. Charles, 5-1, Northwood, 3-2, and South Kent, 3-1.

 

CLICK HERE for PHC season results to date

 

 

43^rd Annual Montonian Challenge

Between eight and nine of Eastern Canada’s current top 10 AAA Boys teams at each of the U15, U16 and U18 age levels competed in the 43^rd annual Monctonian Challenge in Moncton, New Brunswick. The tournament began Thursday, Nov. 14, and ran through Sunday, Nov. 17, with pool play winding down by mid-day Saturday and playoffs getting underway later that day. There were a total of 62 teams competing across the three age groups,

All Monctonian games were streamed at AO Live. Games were played at Byron Dobson Arena, Crossman Community Centre/Kay Arena and Greenfoot Energy 4-Plex.

 

CLICK HERE for the complete Monctonian schedule

CLICK HERE for the scores of games in all age groups

CLICK HERE for the updated Montonian standings

 

Monctonian Challenge U15 Division

There were 24 teams competing in six four-team pools at the U15 level. Eight of Eastern Canada’s top 10 U15 Boys teams, according to the Week 8 MHR Rankings, participated. Pool play in Pools C, E and F featured matchups of top 10 teams.

 

Top Competing Teams & Records in Pool Play

#1 Dieppe Flyers (B) – 3-0-0

#2 Moncton Hawks (A) – 3-0-0

#3 Eastern Thunder (E) – 2-1-0

#4 Pictou Bombers (F) – 3-0-0

#5 Tantallon Gulls (E) – 3-0-0

#7 St. John’s Hitmen (F) – 2-1-0

#9 Fredericton Caps (C) – 3-0-0

#10 Bedford Bandits (C) – 2-1-0

 

The Dieppe Flyers swept through pool play with a perfect record before beating the Fredericton Caps, 5-1, in the semifinals and the Pictou Bombers, 6-0, in the championship game. Noah Serry and Miguel Duplessis each scored twice in the semis, with Duplessis recording a hat trick in the finals. Samuel Nowlan buried a pair of goals for the champs in the title game.

 

Monctonian Challenge U16 Division

There were 14 teams competing in four pools at the U16 level. Eight of Eastern Canada’s top 10 U16 Boys teams, according to the Week 8 MHR Rankings, participated. All three of the teams in Pool C were ranked among the top 10, while pools D and A also featured top 10 matchups in the preliminary round.

 

Top Competing Teams & Records in Pool Play

#1 Basin Armada (D) – 3-0-0

# 2 Eastern Dukes (A) – 3-0-0

#3 Western Rebels (C) – 2-1-0

#6 Moncton Thunderbirds (B) – 1-2-0

#7 Cabot Highlanders (C) – 2-1-0

#8 Fundy Thunder (C) – 1-2-0

#9 Valley Wildcats (D) 0-3-0

#10 St. John’s Vitos (A) – 1-2-0

 

Canadian International Hockey Academy from Ontario went 5-0 and surrendered just seven goals on the weekend to capture the 16U championship. CIHA defeated the Eastern Dukes and Western Rebels by identical 2-1 scores in the semifinals and finals. The Dukes concluded the tourney with a 3-1-0 record, while the Rebels finished 3-2-0.

 

Monctonian Challenge U18 Division

There were 24 teams competing in six four-team pools at the U18 level. Nine of Eastern Canada’s top 10 U18 Boys teams, according to the Week 8 MHR Rankings, participated. Pools A, E and F featured matchups of top 10 teams in the preliminary round.

 

Top Competing Teams & Records in Pool Play

#1 Pinnacle Growlers (D) – 2-1-0

#2 Halifax McDonald’s (E) – 2-1-0

#3 East Coast Blizzard (A) – 2-1-0

#5 Moncton Flyers (A) – 2-1-0

#6 Fredericton Caps (B) – 2-1-0

#7 Dartmouth Steele Subaru (C) – 1-2-0

#8 Pictou Weeks Major (F) – 2-1-0

#9 Charlottetown Knights (E) – 2-1-0

#10 Tri-Pen Osprey (F) 0-3-0

 

The U18 Division had an evenly matched field as only one team, the Kensington Wild, was able to make it through pool play unbeaten without needing overtime for one of its victories. It was the Moncton Flyers, however, who went on to capture the championship after going 2-1-0 in the preliminary round. Moncton rebounded from a 2-1 loss to the Cole Harbour Hunters in its first game of pool play by winning its next five contests to earn the title. The Flyers avenged their earlier loss to Cole Harbor with a 7-0 semifinal thrashing of the Hunters before defeating the Halifax McDonalds, 6-3, in the championship game. Moncton outscored its final five opponents by a 34-9 margin.

 

 

Pat Quinn Classic U15 Elite Invitational

All told, 23 Canadian U15 and U.S. 14U Boys teams competed in this year’s Pat Quinn Classic, which was held in Delta and Coquitlam, B.C., from Thursday, Nov. 14 until Sunday, Nov. 17. The tournament was divided into two flights, with eight highly ranked Canadian and U.S. teams competing in Flight 1 and 15 more teams from both nations in Flight 2. Our focus is on Flight 1.

Each team was guaranteed at least four games. Flight 1 was divided into two four-team pools, with each team playing every other team in its pool once to determine semifinal seeding. The top two seeds in each pool advanced to the semis, with all other teams playing consolation games. The semifinals were played Saturday, Nov. 16, with the championship game held the following morning.

 

Top Participating Teams Tournament Records

#1 Northern Alberta Xtreme (W. Canada & Canada) – 4-1-0

#2 Little Caesars (USA 14U) – 5-0-0

#2 Delta Hockey Academy (W. Canada) – 1-1-2

#5 St, George’s HCSS Academy (W. Canada) – 2-2-0

#9 Burnaby Winter Club Academy (W. Canada) – 1-2-1

#10 Yale Hockey Academy (W. Canada) – 1-2-1

Top Pool Play Matchups

Friday, Nov. 15, 2:45 p.m. EST at Plant Ice Coquitlam

Delta Hockey Academy (4), Little Caesars (9)

 

Friday, Nov. 15, 4:15 p.m. EST at Plant Ice Delta

Yale Hockey Academy (1), Northern Alberta Xtreme (4)

 

Friday, Nov. 15, 10:00 p.m. EST at Plant Ice Delta

Yale Hockey Academy (2), St. George’s (3)

 

Friday, Nov. 15, 10:00 p.m. EST at Plant Coquitlam

Delta Hockey Academy (3), Burnaby Winter Club Academy (3

 

Little Caesars, the USA’s second-ranked 14U Boys Tier 1 team, dominated the field, winning all five of its games and piling up a 44-8 scoring advantage in the process. LC beat Western Canada’s fifth-ranked St. George’s School, 8-0, in the semifinals and Canada’s top-ranked Northern Alberta Xtreme, 6-1, in the finals.

 

CLICK HERE for the Pat Quinn Classic schedule, stats & results