Play of the Year Semifinal Voting on Tap for This Week
Updated August 4 at 9:00 a.m. EDT
It looks like some of the remaining contestants in our annual Play of the Year Contest rallied the troops and encouraged their supporters to get out and vote last week as upsets prevailed in the quarterinals.
Two of the Great 8 winners earned better than 59 percent of the votes in advacing to the semifinals, while the other two votes sere decided by six percentage points. More than 1,000 votes were recorded on the MYHockey Rankings Instagram account in determining the quarterfinal winners.
CLICK HERE to see the plays that have advanced to the semifinals.
Joseph Cullen of Minnesota Blue Ox 14U and his USA Hockey 14U national-chapionship-winning overtime goal appeared poised to roll on through to the finals after earning 79 and 66 percent of the votes in winning his first two matchups. But Mikayla Barnes of Stoney Creek Sabres U22 came out of nowwhere to knock him out in the quarters by a 59 percent to 41 percent margin.
Barnes's between-the-legs top-shelf goal will take on Paige Fox, Teagan Gloyns and Nancy Wang of North York Storm U15 in the first MHR Play of the Year semfinal Tussday, Aug. 5.
Fox, Gloyns and Wang's entry is a pretty tic-tac-toe goal, which cruised past Liam Hilliard of Cincinnati Cyclones 12U and his unique lacrosse carry, flip and top-shelf goal, with 63 percent of the vote. Hilliard barely escaped the first round, winning by a 51 percent to 49 percent margin, but he then earned 68 percent of the votes in his second-round victory. The North York trio has earned 60, 67 and 62 percent of the votes in their three victories.
The second semifinal, scheduled for Thursday, Aug. 7, features Lucas Fargino of Buffalo Regals U16 vs. Owen Elgbacka of Guelph Gryphons U15.
In one of the largest voter turnouts of the contest, Fargino's breakaway between-the-legs goal upset Lily Hurley of Arizona Kachinas 16U and her amazing swat save. After opening the contest by winning her first-round matchup with a resounding 64 percent of the votes, Hurley edged her second-round opponent with 51 percent before only receiving 47 percent in the Great 8. Fargino twice surpased the 60-percent mark before earning 53 percent of the votes in the quarterfinals.
It has taken nearly two months, but the public has spoken, and the original field of 32 has been narrowed to four. Semifinal voting will take place on the MHR Instagram story Aug. 5 and 7.
Videos of all the plays are posted on the MHR Twitter/X and Facebook pages, but voting only takes place on the MHR Instagram story and lasts exactly 24 hours per round. There have been well over 500,000 views of Instagram posts related to the Play of the Year Contest during iits first six weeks.
The third MYHockey Rankings Play of the Year Contest has included players who executed amazing plays that either were submitted or uncovered throughout the 2024-25 season in competition to see which one comes out on top. Play of the Year first-round voting began Monday, June 16, and ran through July 10. Round 2 voting concluded July 25. The full contest tentatively is scheduled to conclude Aug. 12, a few days before MHR begins accepting scores for the upcoming 2025-26 season.
The contest featured a 32-play bracket, with the voting for each new round always starting on a Monday or Tuesday.
The upcoming schedule and past results are listed below.
The updated bracket is at the top of this article.
Round 1 Matchups
June 16
Oliver Bjork/Stillwater Peewee (88%)
def.
Lily Dowd – Bentley Bahr/Menomonie Squirt (12%)
June 17
Mikayla Barnes/Stoney Creek Sabres U22 (52%)
def.
Kayla McCarthy/Pens Elite 16U (48%)
June 18
Joseph Cullen/Minnesota Blue Ox 14U (79%)
def.
Connor Wilson/Pens Elite 2015 (21%)
June 19
Elias Mitrikas/North Shore Warriors U15 (51%)
def.
Carson Paule – Kayden Brown/Dallas Stars 2013 (49%)
June 23
Liam Hilliard/Cincinnati Cyclones 12U (51%)
def.
Peter Sheehan/Boston Americans 2013 (49%)
June 24
Nolan Deady/Indy Jr. Fuel 14U (64%)
def.
Brayden McGrath/Hamilton Steel U13 (36%)
June 25
Ryker Doka/Delta Hockey Academy U15 (64%)
def,
Riley Wivholm – Jordana Grand/Florida Alliance 12U (36%)
June 26
Paige Fox – Teagan Gloyns – Nancy Wang/North York Storm U15 (60%)
def.
Ellis Nicholson/Toledo Cherokee 2012 (40%)
June 30
Brook Adams/Mount Academy U19 (57%)
def.
Addison Adomaitis/North York Storm U15 (43%)
July 1
Lucas Fargino/Buffalo Regals 16U (60%)
def.
Lucas Shibalov Rocky Mountain RoughRiders 13O (40%)
July 2
Keagan Gray/Boston Jr. Eagles 14U (62%)
def.
Aiden Pournaras/Keystone Wild 18U (38%)
July 3
Lily Hurley/Arizona Kachinas 16U (64%)
def.
Donny Redmon/Chicago Phantoms 14U (35%)
July 7
Cameron Kimmerly/Wenatchee Wild 18U (57%)
def.
Caden McMahon – Max Ellenbogen/Rye Rangers 14U (43%)
July 8
Owen Elgbacka/Guelph Gryphons U15 (60%)
def.
Dax Orenstein – Brighton Anderson/Bishop Kearney Selects 15O (40%)
July 9
Cohen Paul/Mount Academy U17 (75%)
def.
Maddie Kaiser – Madeline McKay/Balmoral Hall U18 (25%)
July 10
Brody Houston/Pens Elite 2015 (63%)
def.
Maddyx Chaput – Alex Forrest/Oakville Rangers U16 (37%)
Round 2 Matchups
July 14
Mikayla Barnes/Stoney Creek Sabres U22 (54%)
def.
Oliver Bjork/Stillwater Peewees (46%)
July 15
Joseph Cullen/Minnesota Blue Ox 14U (66%)
def. Elias Mitrikas/North Shore Warriors U15 (34%)
July 17
Paige Fox – Teagan Gloyns – Nancy Wang/North York Storm U15 (67%)
def.
Ryker Doka/Delta Hockey Academy U15 (33%)
July 21 (RESCHEDULED)
Liam Hilliard/Cincinnati Cyclones 12U (68%)
def.
Nolan Deady/Indianpolis Jr. Fuel 14U (32%)
July 22 (NEW DATE)
Lucas Fargino/Buffalo Regals 16U (63%)
def.
Brook Adams/Mount Academy U19 (37%)
July 23 (NEW DATE)
Lily Hurley/Arizona Kachinas 16U (51%)
def.
Keegan Gray/Boston Jr. Eagles 14U (49%)
July 24 (NEW DATE)
Brody Houston/Pens Elite 2015 (53%)
def,
Cohen Paul/Mount Academy U17 (47%)
July 25 (NEW DATE)
Owen Elgbacka/Guelph Gryphons U15 (53%)
def.
Cameron Kimmerly/Wenatchee Wild 18U (47%)
Great 8 Matchups
July 28
Mikayla Barnes/Stoney Creek Sabres U22 (59%)
def.
Joseph Cullen Minnesota Blue Ox 14U (41%)
July 29
Paige Fox – Teagan Gloyns – Nancy Wang/North York Storm U15 (62%)
def.
Liam Hilliard/Cincinnati Cyclones 12U (38%)
July 30
Lucas Fargino/Buffalo Regals 16U (53%)
def.
Lily Hurley Arizona Kachinas 16U (47%)
July 31
Owen Elgbacka/Guelph Gryphons U15 (53%)
def.
Brody Houston/Pens Elite '15 (47%)
Semifinal Matchups
August 5
Mikayla Barnes/Stoney Creek Sabres U22
vs. Paige Fox – Teagan Gloyns – Nancy Wang/North York Storm U15
August 7
Lucas Fargino/Buffalo Regals 16U
vs. Owen Elgbacka/Guelph Gryphons U15
Finals
August 12
CLICK HERE to find out how last year’s contest went.
CLICK HERE to see the updated bracket for this year's contest.
