Weekend Preview Jan. 9-11: Highly Ranked USA & Canadian Boys Teams Face Off at Various Events & Age Levels
After a few quieter weekends during the winter holiday season, the weekend of Jan. 9-11 features some of the top Boys AAA, Tier 1 and Prep teams from both Canada and the United States competing in various high-end events.
Highlights of the weekend include top school-based teams competing at the annual GameSheet Prep Cup in New Hampshire, the Northeast Pack's final regular-season weekend in Rochester, N.Y., and the U13/12U AAA/Tier 1 Port Huron Silver Stick Finals in Michigan.
The GameSheet Prep Cup is being held at the Rinks at Exeter in New Hampshire Jan. 9-11, bringing together some of the top school-based programs in North America. The tournament includes the Nos. 5, 6 and 14 New England Prep programs, according to the MHR Week 16 Rankings, the top-ranked Canadian Independent Prep team, as well as the USA’s No. 2 18U Boys national-bound team. It also features three school-based USA Boys Tier 1 programs that are ranked in the top seven among USA Independent Prep programs.
Established in 2020, the GameSheeet Prep Cup brings together eight of the top school-based hockey programs in North America for three days of elite-level competition in New England, one of America’s hockey hotbeds located in close proximity to many of the nation’s top NCAA college hockey programs. The tournament regularly draws scouts from NCAA programs, top junior leagues and even National Hockey League organizations.
The 2025 Prep Cup was won by Northwood School, which returns to defend its title as the fifth-ranked USA Boys Independent Prep team and No. 24 USA Boys overall 18U team. Joining Northwood is Culver Academies (No. 2 national-bound, overall and Independent Prep), South Kent School (No. 20 overall, No. 4 Independent Prep) and Nichols School (No. 7 Independent Prep, No. 34 national-bound and No. 47 overall).
Participating New England Prep programs include fifth-ranked Kimball Union Academy, sixth-ranked Salisbury School and 14th-ranked Frederick Gunn School. St. Andrew’s College, the top-ranked Canadian Independent Prep team, rounds out the field.
Games began Friday morning, Jan. 9, and continue through Sunday, Jan. 11. Friday’s winners play in the semifinals Saturday for the right to advance to Sunday’s championship game. Friday’s losers also play each other Saturday, with the winners and losers of those games meeting Sunday.
GameSheet Prep Cup Schedule - Friday, Jan. 9 (Rinks at Exeter, N.H.)
9:20 a.m. EST- #2 National Bound Culver Academies vs. #7 USA Prep Nichols School
10:00 a.m. EST - #6 NE Prep Salisbury School vs. #4 USA Prep South Kent School
12:00 p.m. EST - #1 Canada Prep St. Andrew’s College vs. #14 NE Prep Frederick Gunn School
12:40 p.m. EST - #5 NE Prep Kimball Union Academy vs. #5 USA Prep Northwood School
Semifinals - Saturday, Jan. 10
Quarterfinal winners play at 2:30 and 3:30 p.m. EST
Championship Game - Sunday, Jan. 11
Semifinal winners play at 12:00 p.m. EST
CLICK HERE for links to the GameSheet Prep schedule, standings and stats
Northeast Pack Rochester Showcase Weekend
Teams from all but one age level of the Northeast Pack Hockey League are in Rochester, N.Y., Jan. 9-11 for another NE Pack showcase weekend. Some of the top 14U, 15O, 16U and 18U teams in the United States, according to the Week 16 MHR Boys Tier 1 rankings, are participating in the league’s first event of the new year. This is the final NE Pack Showcase of the season as teams jockey for seeding in the playoffs, scheduled for Feb. 6-7 in Utica. N.Y. Teams from the 13O division are not participating.
The Northeast Pack Hockey League is comprised of six youth hockey organizations from the Northeast, along with Little Caesars from the Midwest at the 18U age level Founded prior to the 2019-20 season, the league was established by nationally prominent Tier 1 youth hockey organizations that shared a vision for player-focused development and consistently produce teams that compete for USA Hockey national championships at various levels.
All of the organizations in the Northeast Pack Hockey League have had success advancing players to the Tier 1 United States Hockey League, the Canadian Major Junior Ontario Hockey League, the Tier 2 North American Hockey League and NCAA collegiate programs. Its members also have produced numerous National Hockey League draft picks.
The Northeast Pack season consists of six events that are held in the Northeast and are easily accessible to scouts from higher-level leagues and organizations. It culminates with the league playoffs in February. At least one NE Pack team has captured a national championship every year since 2019.
Games are being played at Rochester Ice Center in Fairport, N.Y., and Tim Horton’s Iceplex in Rochester and should be available for live and on-demand viewing via LiveBarn.
Northeast Pack 14U Division
Entering the final weekend of regular-season play, second-ranked Pittsburgh Penguins Elite has a stranglehold on first place with an 11-point advantage over No. 4 Bishop Kearney Selects. BK is just one point in front of third-place and fifth-ranked Mount St. Charles, while the No. 15 Woodbridge Wolfpack are four points behind the Jr. Mounties with 17 standings points.
Bishop Kearney faced the Wolfpack early Friday morning in a game that could have seeding implications, while the Selects may be looking ahead to their matchup with second-ranked Pens Elite later that day in what promises to be the most-anticipated 14U game of the weekend along with their rematch Sunday afternoon.
Northeast Pack 14U Standings
#2 Pens Elite - 11-1-0; 33 PTS
#4 BK Selects - 7-5-0; 22 PTS
#5 Mount St. Charles - 7-4-0; 21 PTS
#15 Woodbridge Wolfpack - 6-5-0; 17 PTS
#56 Mid-Fairfield Rangers - 2-10-0; 5 PTS
#44 New Jersey Rockets - 2-10-0; 5 PTS
Northeast Pack 15O Division
With every team having played 12 league games, the No. 6 Bishop Kearney Selects enter the weekend leading the NE Pack 15O Division with 30 standings points, two ahead of the No. 4 Woodbridge Wolfpack and seven in front of No. 10 Mount St. Charles. No. 12 Pittsburgh Penguins Elite have 11 points. 15O NE Pack league members are being joined in Rochester by a pair of guest teams, the 23rd-ranked Chicago Reapers and Notre Dame Hockey Academy from Utica. Notre Dame is ranked eighth in New York and 90th in the US among all 15U and 16U teams. Canada’s Hill Academy, the 16th-ranked Canada Independent Prep team, also is playing Woodbridge Sunday.
In some of the weekend’s more noteworthy matchups, BK takes on Woodbridge Saturday afternoon and faces the Reapers Sunday. Pens Elite faces off against the Reapers Friday.
Northeast Pack 15O Standings
#6 BK Selects - 9-3-0; 30 PTS
#4 Woodbridge Wolfpack - 9-3-0; 28 PTS
#10 Mount St. Charles - 8-4-0; 23 PTS
#12 Pens Elite - 4-8-0; 11 PTS
#19 New Jersey Rockets - 3-9-0; 9 PTS
#28 Mid-Fairfield Rangers - 2-10-0; 8 PTS
Northeast Pack 16U Division
Through 12 regular-season tilts, the fourth-ranked Woodbridge Wolfpack enter the weekend holding a three-point lead over No. 12 Mount St. Charles, 27-24. The New Jersey Rockets are next at 21 points, followed by the BK Selects with 17 and Pens Elite with 14. Culver Academies 16U, the Chicago Reapers and the Pittsburgh Predators are joining the fray for the weekend as guest teams. The Reapers are ranked 16h in the Week 16 MHR Tier 1 Rankings, while the Preds are No. 10 and Culver is 28th.
BK tangles with the Wolfpack Saturday and faces the Preds Sunday, with the Rockets and Pens Elite squaring off Saturday and the Reapers facing off against the Rockets Sunday.
Northeast Pack 16U Standings
#4 Woodbridge Wolfpack - 9-3-0; 27 PTS
#12 Mount St. Charles - 8-4-0; 24 PTS
#16 New Jersey Rockets - 7–5-0; 21 PTS
#13 BK Selects - 6–6-0; 17 PTS
#14 Pens Elite - 4-8-0; 14 PTS
#27 Mid-Fairfield Rangers - 1-11-0; 4 PTS
Northeast Pack 18U Division
It’s a tight race at the 18U level heading into the final regular-season weekend, with the top four teams separated by just five points. The 13th-ranked BK Selects lead the pack, so to speak, with 24 points, followed by the No. 6 New Jersey Rockets with 22, the 18th-ranked (overall USA Tier 1) Woodbridge Wolfpack with 20 and No. 23 Mount St. Charles with 19. No. 22 Little Caesars and No. 11 Pens Elite round out the group at 14 and 12 points, respectively. No. 41 Victory Honda, the 27th-ranked Chicago Reapers and Canada Independent Prep No. 9 Upper Canada College are participating as guest teams in Rochester.
BK faces off against the Wolfpack in an important contest Friday, with the Rockets and Wolfpack playing Saturday and concluding the season with a game against each other Jan. 17.
Northeast Pack 18U Standings
#13 BK Selects - 9–3-0; 24 PTS
#6 New Jersey Rockets - 6–5-0; 22 PTS
#18 (All Teams) Woodbridge Wolfpack - 7–40; 20 PTS
#23 Mount St. Charles - 6–30; 19 PTS
#22 Little Caesars - 4-8-0; 14 PTS
#11 Pens Elite - 5–70; 12 PTS
CLICK HERE for links to the Northeast Pack schedule, scores, standings and stats
Silver Stick U13/12U AAA/Tier 1 Port Huron Finals
There are 28 of the top USA 12U Tier 1 and U13 Canadian AAA Boys teams in Michigan this weekend competing from Thursday, Jan. 8, through Sunday, Jan. 11, in the Sliver Stick Port Huron Finals.
This year marks the 64th annual International Silver Stick competition, which features teams at various age groups and skill levels competing in a series of regional tournaments around North America to advance to an international final event. In all, there are 12 American regional qualifying tournaments, 26 Canadian qualifying regional tournaments, four girls qualifying regional tournaments as well as the International Finals (seven boys, four girls and one sled).
The 12U/U13 Port Huron Finals feature 28 teams broken down into seven four-team pools. Teams play every other team in their pool once to determine who advances to the playoffs. The quarterfinals are scheduled for Saturday afternoon, Jan. 10, with the semifinals taking place early Sunday morning and the championship game slated for the afternoon of Jan. 11.
Games are played both at Glacier Pointe Ice Complex and McMorran Place, and all should be streamed via LiveBarn.
This year’s Port Huron Finals feature seven teams ranked in the Week 16 MHR USA Boys Rankings top 10 and 12 that are among the top 20. From the other side of the border, eight of Ontario’s top 10 and 11 of the top 20 are competing along with Western Canada’s second-ranked club and the fifth-ranked team from Quebec.
Here is a breakdown of the Port Huron Finals participating teams by pool:
Pool A
#3 USA Chicago Reapers
#4 Ontario Toronto Nationals
#2 WC North Shore Winter Club
#15 USA HoneyBaked
Pool B
#5 Ontario Toronto Jr. Canadiens
#5 Quebec Kuper Academy
#6 USA Cleveland Barons
#11 USA Chicago Mission
Pool C
#1 Ontario Toronto Marlboros
#6 Ontario Waterloo Wolves
#8 USA Woodbridge Wolfpack
#19 USA St. Louis AAA Blues
Pool D
#3 Ontario Vaughan Kings
#7 Ontario Hamilton Steel
#23 USA Buffalo Jr. Sabres
#29 USA Oakland Jr. Grizzlies
Pool E
#1 USA Little Caesars
#9 Canada Toronto Red Wings
#10 Ontario Burlington Eagles
#17 USA Northern CT Nor’easter
Pool F
#4 USA Team Illinois
#10 USA Syracuse Nationals
#12 Ontario Niagara North Stars
#18 Ontario Sarnia-Lambton Sting
Pool G
#5 USA Mid-Fairfield Rangers
#16 USA Milwaukee Jr. Admirals
#19 Ontario Credit River Capitals
#24 Ontario Don Mills Flyers
CLICK HERE for links to the Port Huron Silver Stick Finals schedules, scores and standings
