By Scott Lowe - MyHockeyRankings.com

Photo Credit: Trent Rolfe

Each week going forward we will try to highlight some of the upcoming weekend’s top matchups based on our most recent MYHockey Rankings. If you have a matchup to recommend to us for a given week, please don’t hesitate to send your suggestions to Scott@MyHockeyRankings.com. Photos are always appreciated and will be used when possible either to highlight the preview on the website or via our social media accounts. And we are always trying to build our library of hockey photos from around the continent.

Here are your Week 12 top matchups:

Ontario Boys Bantam ’05 AAA

#3 Toronto Marlboros vs. #4 Toronto Jr. Canadiens

Saturday, December 7 – 4:00 p.m. EST

Herbert Carnegie Centennial Centre – Toronto, Ontario

It’s a big game in the GTHL when these two Ontario powers get together Saturday. The Marlboros enter the weekend with a 24-3-5 overall record and ranked seventh in all of Canada. The Canadiens are 26-11-6 and ranked ninth nationally. These two teams played to a scoreless tie back on Oct 25. In GTHL play, the Marlboros are in first place at 14-2-4 with 32 points, five points ahead of the Canadiens, who are 12-3-3 and have two games in hand. The Marlboros have won six of their last 7 contests and 10 of their last 12, but they did drop their most recent outing, 5-1, against the No. 5 Mississauga Reps. A recent six-game winning streak included victories over the seventh-ranked Vaughan Kings and the No. 11 Markham majors. The Marlboros also beat No. 6 Myers Automotive, 3-0, Nov. 3 right before dropping a 3-1 decision to USA No. 5 Mid-Fairfield. They beat USA No. 10 New Jersey Colonials Nov. 2 as well as the 15^th and 19^th-ranked U.S. teams that day and Nov. 1. The Canadiens also dropped their most recent outing, 3-2, to Ontario No. 33 Don Mills Flyers after downing the seventh-ranked Vaughan Kings Nov. 30. They are 2-3-1 in their last six and 6-6-1 in their last 13 outings. That stretch includes a 3-0 victory over USA No. 11 Florida Alliance, a 5-3 loss to Ontario No. 2 Toronto Titans, a 5-2 loss to Ontario’s 11^th-ranked Markham Majors and close losses to USA Nos. 2, 5 and 7.

USA Girls 12U Tier 1

#3 L.A. Lions vs. #4 Team Illinois

Saturday, December 7 – 1:30 p.m. EST on LIVEBARN

Darien Sportsplex – Darien, Ill.

The third-ranked Lions are unbeaten in 17 games this season and bring a 14-0-3 mark into the game against No. 4 Team Illinois. Los Angeles opened its season with a 2-2 tie against the No. 21 Anaheim Lady Ducks four times by a combined score of 21-4. They have recorded wins against the No. 4 Massachusetts Spitfires and No. 7 East Coast Wizards by identical 7-1 margins. Team Illinois is 16-9-5 and is unbeaten in its last seven (6-0-1). TI swept the No. 15 St. Louis Lady Blues in two games last weekend by a combined 9-1 score. Illinois opened the season with a 6-4 loss to the top-ranked Chicago Mission before going 5-0-1 in its next six outings. They went 3-0-1 vs. No.12 Honeybaked during that stretch and beat the Lady Blues, 4-0. TI recorded a 3-3 tie vs. Canada’s No. 5 Markham-Stouffville Stars and lost to USA No. 5 Little Caesar’s, 4-3, Nov. 8. Canada’s third-ranked Whitby Wolves also handed TI a 6-1 setback Nov. 9.

USA - Canada Girls 14U Tier 1

#6 USA Pittsburgh Pens Elite vs. #2 Canada London Devilettes

Friday, Dec. 6 – 7:00 p.m. EST

Albert McCormick Arena – Waterloo, Ontario

A border battle in Ontario between two of the top programs in North America as Pens Elite travels north looking to build on its five-game winning streak. Pittsburgh last lost to Canada No. 5 Durham West Lightning, 4-1, Nov. 10. That game was part of a tournament in which Pens Elite took on Canada’s 10^th, ninth, fifth, fourth, second and first-ranked teams and posted a 0-4-1 mark. Pittsburgh faced the Devilettes in that event and dropped a 6-3 decision. Pens Elite has faced both the U.S. and Canadian No. 1 teams, falling to the East Coast Wizards, 5-1, Oct. 13 and the North York Storm, 5-0, Sept. 22. London is a sparkling 32-1-1 overall and brings and 8-game unbeaten streak into the weekend. The Devilettes’ only loss during that streak was a 1-0 setback vs. Canada’s fourth-ranked Stoney Creek Sabres Nov. 8. They also tied the No. 25 Bluewater Hens, 0-0, Nov. 14. Earlier in the year London knocked off Canada’s No. 9 Whitby Wolves (4-2), No. 10 Oakville Hornets (2-1) and No. 7 Barrie Sharks (6-2). The Devilettes beat USA No. 11 Chicago Young Americans and No. 12 Belle Tire by a combined score of 11-1 and also own a 3-0 victory against USA No. 4 Little Caesar’s.

Western Canada Boys Midget AAA

#2 Vancouver NE Chiefs vs. #5 Fraser Valley Thunderbirds

Saturday, Dec. 7 at 7:30 p.m. EST & Sunday, Dec. 8 at 2:15 p.m. EST

Canlan Ice Sports – Burnaby, BC & Abbotsford Ent. & Sports – Abbotsford, BC

It’s a big home-and-home weekend for Canada and Western Canada’s Nos. 2 and 5 teams, with the Chiefs hosting in Burnaby Saturday and the teams facing off in Abbotsford Sunday. The Chiefs are 15-4 overall and have outscored their opponents 100-54. They opened the season with a pair of 5-3 losses to the Thunderbirds, but bring a five-game winning streak into the rematches. Their last loss was a 5-3 decision against the No. 6 Vancouver NW Hawks Nov. 3, a day after they knocked off the Hawks, 4-3. Vancouver also split a pair of games with the third-ranked Cariboo Cougars back in October. Fraser Valley has won three of its last four outings, including a split against the No. 1 Okanagan Rockets (5-4 and 2-5) last weekend. They also split with No. 3 Cariboo Nov. 16 and 17 and lost two by identical 3-1 scores against Okanagan Oct. 12 and 13. Following those losses the T-Birds won six of seven and have won 9 of their last 12 to bring a 14-7 mark into this weekend’s showdowns.

USA Boys Bantam ’05 Tier 1

#2 Chicago Mission vs. #7 Honeybaked

Saturday, Dec. 7 – 4:30 p.m. EST

Troy Sports Center – Troy, Mich.

No. 7 Honeybaked looks to make it 3-for-3 against the second-ranked Mission this weekend in Troy. These two teams met Nov. 24, with Honeybaked skating away with a 3-1 victory. Honeybaked also earned a 4-1 victory way back on Sept. 21 and brings a 25-8-4 overall record into the weekend. Chicago is 26-6-3 overall and 13-1-3 in its last 17 contests. Honeybaked is 7-3-1 in its last 11. Three of its recent losses have come at the hands of the top-ranked Philadelphia Hockey Club as well as the No. 8 team in Western Canada (Edge School) and U.S. 13^th-ranked Team Illinois. Honeybaked fell to the No. 1 team in Ontario, the Oakville Rangers, by a 5-4 margin Nov. 10, but also knocked off Ontario’s No. 9 Hamilton Jr. Bulldogs (2-1 in OT)) and No. 4 Toronto Jr. Canadiens (3-2) Nov. 9 and 8, respectively. The Mission went 1-1-1 in a three-game set against No. 6 Shattuck-St. Mary’s Nov. 15-17 and also beat Hamilton (2-1), Oakville (8-1) and the Jr. Canadiens (4-2) Nov. 8-10. Chicago dropped a 3-2 decision to the top-ranked Philadelphia Hockey Club Oct. 20.