While it seems that non-busy fall and winter weekends really don’t exist in the youth hockey world these days, Dec. 5-8 seems to offer more than its fair share of high-level tournaments.

For our MHR Weekend Preview, we will be focusing on events featuring some of the top North American Boys and Girls Tier 1 and AAA programs that are being held in Canada, New York and Minnesota.

Our first stop is Ontario, where the host Waterloo Ravens are welcoming many of North America’s top Girls teams for the annual USA Canada Cup. A total of 78 teams will be competing in the tournament, which includes a 16U/U18 division and a 19U/U22 division.

In Rochester, N.Y., the United States Hockey League hosts 42 USA and Ontario Boys Tier 1 and AAA teams between the ages of 14 and 18 for its fourth annual American Cup tournament. The weekend also features a pair of USHL regular-season games between the Green Bay Gamblers and Des Moines Buccaneers.

And finally, we head out to Duluth, Minn., for the 47^th annual Spirit of Duluth Hockey Tournament. There are seven of the top 10 Minn-Kota Bantam AA teams, according to the Week 11 MHR Rankings, and nine of the top 10 Minn-Kota Peewee AA teams, competing in Duluth this year. More than 150 players who have participated in the Spirit of Duluth Tournament have gone on to play NCAA Division I hockey.

 

USA Canada Cup

The USA Canada Cup is a prestigious, invitation-only annual tournament run by the Waterloo Girls Hockey Association. This year’s event is being held Dec. 6-8. Games began the morning of Dec. 6 and run through the afternoon of Dec. 8.

Venues hosting the tournament include Albert McCormick Community Center, Kitchener Memorial Auditorium Complex, RIM Park and Sportsworld Arenas. All but the Kitchener Memorial Auditorium Complex have LiveBarn feeds.

The USA Canada Cup was created to bring together many top USA 16U, Canadian U18, USA 19U and Canadian U22 teams to compete in a showcase format. All teams are guaranteed five games.  The showcase format allows scouts and coaches from the top universities and colleges in Canada and the United States to see many of the top players in North America facing off against similar competition in one geographical area.

 

2024 USA Canada Cup Complete Schedule

2024 USA Canada Cup Pools

2024 USA Canada Cup Tournament Rules

2024 USA Canada Cup Standings

 

USA Canada Cup 16U/U18 Division

The 16U/U18 Division offers a tremendous field that includes 14 of Canada’s top 40 U18 teams and five top 40 16U teams from the United States, according to the Week 11 MHR Rankings. Eight Canadian top 30 teams are participating along with four teams from the U.S. top 35.

The field is broken down into four 10-team pools. Round-robin play concludes Saturday night, with the top-seeded teams from each pool advancing to Sunday’s semifinals. In addition, similar-seeded teams from different pools will play in consolation crossover games on the final day.

 

Pool A Top Participating Teams (Canada or USA Week 11 rankings)

#6 Greater Vancouver Comets

#11 Oakville Hornets

#33 Outouais Intrepide

#36 Mississauga Jr. Hurricanes

#37 HoneyBaked

#45 Kingston Ice Wolves

 

Pool B Top Participating Teams

#10 North York Storm

#22 Bluewater Hawks

#24 Belle Tire

#26 Toronto Leaside Wildcats

#34 Stoney Creek Sabres

#38 Thunder Bay Queens

#42 Kitchener Lady Rangers

 

Pool C Top Participating Teams

#7 Bishop Kearney Selects

#15 Durham West Lightning

#31 North Halton Twisters

#32 Ottawa Lady Senators

#37 London Devilettes

#46 Waterloo Ravens

 

Pool D Top Participating Teams

#12 Pittsburgh Penguins Elite

#14 OHA Mavericks

#25 Barrie Sharks

#35 Windy City Storm

#37 Central York Panthers

 

16U/U18 Rosters & Stats

 

USA Canada Cup 19U/U22 Division

The 19U/U22 Division is even deeper than the 16U/U18 field, with 21 of the top 30 U22 teams from Canada and seven of the top 30 19U U.S. teams competing, according to the Week 11 MHR Rankings. There are eight teams ranked among Canada’s top 10 participating and four top 20 teams from the United States.

The field is broken down into four pools of either nine or 10 teams in each. Round-robin play concludes Saturday night, with the top-seeded teams from each pool advancing to Sunday’s semifinals. In addition, similar-seeded teams from different pools will play in consolation crossover games on the final day.

 

Pool A Top Participating Teams (Canada or USA Week 11 rankings)

#2 Bishop Kearney Selects

#2 Rink Hockey Academy Kelowna

#3 Stoney Creek Sabres

#14 Burlington Barracudas

#16 Nepean Wildcats

#20 Okanagan Hockey Academy

#30 Pittsburgh Penguins Elite

#34 Toronto Aeros

 

Pool B Top Participating Teams

#1 Etobicoke Dolphins

#7 Stanstead College

#11 Northwood School

#12 Barrie Sharks

#18 Kingston Ice Wolves

#20 Washington Pride

#21 North York Storm

#31 Brampton Canadettes

 

Pool C Top Participating Teams

#9 Whitby Wolves

#10 Central York Panthers

#11 Delta Hockey Academy Green

#13 Belle Tire

#22 Toronto Leaside Wildcats

#22 Nichols School

#25 Oakville Rangers

#27 East Ottawa Stars

#36 Rink Hockey Academy Winnipeg

 

Pool D Top Participating Teams

#4 Mississauga Jr. Hurricanes

#8 Ottawa Lady Senators

#19 Windy City Storm

#19 OHA Mavericks

#21 Gilmour Lancers

#23 Waterloo Ravens

#29 Ottawa Lady 67s

#32 Cambridge Rivulettes

#34 Balmoral Hall


19U/U22 Rosters & Stats

 

 

USHL American Cup

The United States Hockey League (USHL) is hosting its fourth annual American Cup event from Dec. 5-8 in Rochester, N.Y. Games began on Thursday, Dec. 5 and are being played at the Tim Hortons Iceplex, Rochester Ice Center and Canandaigua Civic Center. The tournament concludes on Sunday, Dec. 8.

All three rinks hosting tournament games have LiveBarn feeds.

This year’s American Cup features a total of 42 Tier 1 and AAA Boys teams from the United States and Canada competing at the 14U, 15O, 16U and 18U levels. In addition to the youth tournament, a pair of regular-season United States Hockey League games between the Green Bay Gamblers and Des Moines Buccaneers will be played. Every USHL team will have a scouting representative at the youth tournament.
 
Green Bay and Des Moines played Thursday, Dec. 5, and take the ice again for a game Friday, Dec. 6 at 6:30 p.m. ET at the Tim Hortons Iceplex. The Gamblers are tied for having the most NHL draft picks in the USHL, with Will Zellers (Colorado), William Samuelsson (Dallas), Christian Kirsch (San Jose), Vasily Zelenov (Buffalo) and Norwin Panocha (Buffalo) all having been drafted by NHL teams. Des Moines forward Ben Kevan, an Arizona State commit, is among the top rookie scorers in the USHL and projected to be an early selection in the 2025 NHL Draft.

The USHL is the premier junior hockey league in the United States and is sanctioned as the only U.S. Tier 1 circuit by USA Hockey. It is one of two USA Hockey-sanctioned tuition-free leagues in the U.S. The USHL player pool consists of NCAA Division I and professional hockey prospects.

Tournament games began Friday, Dec. 6 at 8 a.m. ET and conclude with the final game starting Sunday, Dec. 8 at 4:15 p.m. ET.

 

USHL American Cup Hub

USHL American Cup Complete Schedule & Results

 

USHL American Cup 14U Division

There are eight teams competing in the 14U Division of the American Cup. Four of those teams are ranked among top 16 in the United States, according to the Week 11 MHR Rankings, and one is an Ontario top 10 U15 team.

 

14U Participating Teams (USA or Ontario rankings)

#7 Bishop Kearney Selects

#7 Hill Academy

#9 Buffalo Jr. Sabres

#15 Chicago Reapers

#16 Long Island Gulls

#27 Seacoast Performance Academy

#46 Wilkes Barre/Scranton Jr. Knights

#80 Milwaukee Jr. Admirals

 

USHL American Cup 15O Division

There are 14 teams competing in the 15O Division of the American Cup. Six of the participants are ranked among the top 15 in either the United States or Ontario. All but one of the teams is ranked among the top 40 in either the U.S. or Ontario.

 

15O Participating Teams

#6 Vaughan Kings

#11 Wilkes Barre/Scranton Jr. Knights

#12 Seacoast Performance Academy

#13 Long Island Gulls

#14 Halton Hurricanes

#15 Pittsburgh Predators

#18 Bishop Kearney Selects

#23 PAL Jr. Islanders

#25 Illinois

#22 Yale Jr. Bulldogs

#27 Buffalo Jr. Sabres

#34 Philadelphia Jr. Flyers

#37 Boston Hockey Academy

#91 Rochester Jr. Americans

 

USHL American Cup 16U Division

There are 12 teams competing in the 16U Division of the American Cup. Six of the participants are ranked among the top 20 in the United States, according to the Week 11 MHR Rankings, and all 12 can be found among the nation’s top 50.

 

16U Participating Teams

#2 New Jersey Rockets

#3 Seacoast Performance Academy

#7 Long Island Gulls

#11 Bishop Kearney Selects

#17 Buffalo Jr. Sabres

#19 Culver Academies

#32 Boston Hockey Academy

#33 Philadelphia Jr. Flyers

#35 Boston Hockey Academy

#38 Wilkes Barre/Scranton Jr. Knights

#48 Rochester Coalition

#50 Pittsburgh Vengeance

 

USHL American Cup 18U Division

There are eight teams competing in the 18U Division of the American Cup. Three of those teams are currently ranked among the top 10 in the United States, according to MHR’s Week 11 Rankings, and five of the eight are in the top 32.

 

18U Participating Teams

#3 Long Island Gulls

#5 Bishop Kearney Selects

#8 New Jersey Rockets

#17 Northwood School

#32 Seacoast Performance Academy

#55 Buffalo Jr. Sabres

#56 Wilkes Barre/Scranton Jr. Knights

#74 Boston Hockey Academy

 

 

Spirit of Duluth Hockey Tournament

Many top Minn-Kota Boys Pee Wee and Bantam AA teams are in Duluth, Minn., the weekend of Dec. 6-8 for the 47^th annual Spirit of Duluth Tournament. The tournament is being held at the Duluth Heritage Sports Center, Mars Lakeview Arena on the Duluth Marshall School campus, Fryberger Arena, the DECC Arena and SAHA Arena in Superior, Wisconsin. Any games played at Mars Lakeview Arena should be available for viewing via LiveBarn.

All teams in each division are guaranteed at least four games in pool play, and those that advance beyond the round-robin stage will play five.

The Spirit of Duluth Tournament was founded in 1977. In an effort to increase interest and provide opportunities for a variety of teams from different areas, teams were invited from not only northern and southern Minnesota, but also from other states such as Wisconsin, Colorado and North Dakota as well as parts of Canada. The opportunity to play different teams always has been a benefit of competing in the Spirit of Duluth Tournament. More than 150 tournament alumni have gone on to play at the NCAA Division I level.

 

Spirit of Duluth Complete Schedule, Scores, Standings & Stats

Spirit of Duluth Tournament History

Spirit of Duluth Past Winners

 

Spirit of Duluth Bantam AA Division

The Bantam AA Division features 16 teams divided into four pools of four. Seven teams currently ranked among the Minn-Kota top 10, according to the latest MHR Rankings, are participating.

 

Pool A Teams

#4 White Bear Lake Bears

#5 Osseo-Maple Grove

#14 Hermantown Hawks

#32 Elk River Elks

 

Pool B Teams

#6 Edina Hornets

#7 Rogers Royals

#20 Wayzata Trojans

#26 Centennial Cougars

 

Pool C Teams

#3 Grand Forks Aviators

#15 Stillwater Ponies

#18 Blaine Bengals

#22 Duluth East Greyhounds

 

Pool D Teams

#2 Minnetonka Skippers

#9 Woodbury Predators

#13 Andover Huskies

#33 West Fargo Stampede

 

Spirit of Duluth Peewee AA Division

The Peewee AA Division features 16 teams divided into four pools of four. Nine teams currently ranked among the Minn-Kota top 10, according to the latest MHR Rankings, are participating, and every team in the field is ranked among the top 30.

 

Pool A Teams

#4 Edina Hornets

#9 Duluth East Greyhounds

#24 Wayzata Trojans

#29 West Fargo

 

Pool B Teams

#3 Woodbury Predators

#6 Moorhead Spuds

#12 Prior-Lake Savage Lakers

#21 Centennial Cougars

 

Pool C Teams

#1 Minnetonka Skippers

# 7 Andover Huskies

#10 Grand Forks Aviators

#19 White Bear Lake Bears

 

Pool D Teams

#2 Osseo-Maple Grove

#8 East Grand Forks

#17 Blaine Bengals

#28 Eden Prairie Eagles