Weekend Preview: Road to Nationals Ramps Up as PHC Crowns a Champ & CSSHL Showcases Its Best
CSSHL Graphic
We’re so back!
It’s not quite March yet, meaning that March Mayhem in the youth hockey world is right around the corner, but it is time to formally begin our trip along the Road to USA Hockey Nationals.
Of course, the Road to Nationals really begins in the fall and lasts all the way through the USA Hockey and Hockey Canada national tournaments in the spring, but this week it starts to feel a little more real.
While some USA Boys and Girls Tier 1 USA Hockey National Championship berths were decided by state and district tournaments in hockey hotbeds like Minnesota, Massachusetts and New England in October and November, most Nationals participants are determined between now and the end of March.
The weekend of Feb. 20-22 brings us our first USA District Tournament of 2026 as Tier 1 Girls teams from the West Coast travel to Anchorage, Alaska, for the Pacific District Tournament. Next week, the Pacific District Tier 1 Youth (Boys) Tournament will be held in San Jose, Calif., Feb. 26 through March 1.
Beginning with next week’s Pacific District Boys Tournament, we will track all remaining USA Hockey District Tournaments via our District Tournament Tracker, which we post about this time every year and will be updated until the Nationals fields are filled in mid-March. For now, though, the Pacific District Tier 1 Girls Tournament will be part of our MHR Weekend Preview for Feb. 20-22, before the information is transferred to the Tracker.
This year’s Tier 1 and 2 USA Hockey National Championships run from March 25-29 at various locations around the country.
In addition, USA Hockey High School National Championships are scheduled for March 18-22 in Plymouth, Minn. The High School National Championships feature four divisions – Divisions IA, 2A, 3A and Girls.
In states like Minnesota and Massachusetts, which have high USA Hockey membership numbers and where high-school hockey is extremely popular, Nationals bids for many age groups are determined in the fall before the prep and high-school seasons commence. The same is true in the New England District. Other states that have high USA Hockey enrollments such as New York and Michigan also are afforded the opportunity to send their Tier 1 state champions to Nationals, but their tournaments are held at the end of their club seasons in February and March.
The rest of the United States is divided into sections, like New England, with those districts receiving National Championship bids for their Youth and Girls champions at various age levels. While some Tier 1 and Tier 2 state tournaments are underway or have been completed, the remaining state and district tournaments are being held in the days and weeks ahead.
Tier 2 National Championship berths are awarded to state champions for the Youth championships and district champs on the Girls side.
USA Hockey National Championships are held in the following divisions:
Youth Tier 1: 13O, 14U, 15O, 16U, 18U
Girls Tier 1: 14U, 16U, 19U
Youth Tier 2: 14U, 16U, 18U
Girls Tier 2: 14U, 16U, 19U
CLICK HERE for a listing of USA Hockey National Championship dates and locations.
Minnesota State/District Championship Info
Minnesota determined its Tier 1 Youth and Girls state champions in the fall before high-school season got underway. Congratulations to the teams that will represent the State of Hockey at USA Hockey Nationals in 2026:
Minnesota State Tier 1 Youth Nationals Qualifiers
Rankings as of Feb. 18
13O – #1 Minnesota Lakers
14U – #1 Shattuck-St. Mary’s
15O – #3 Shattuck-St. Mary’s
16U – #1 Shattuck-St. Mary’s
18U – #2 Shattuck-St. Mary’s
Minnesota State Tier 1 Girls Nationals Qualifiers
Rankings as of Feb. 18
14U – #1 Minnesota Lakers
16U – #6 Shattuck-St. Mary’s
19U – #2 Minnesota Elite Vegas
Massachusetts State/District Championship Info
Massachusetts crowned its Tier 1 Youth state champions at the 14U 15O, 16U and 18U age levels in November before the high-school and prep seasons began
Congratulations to the following teams for winning Massachusetts championships and earning spots at USA Hockey Nationals:
Massachusetts State Tier 1 Youth Champions
Rankings as of Feb. 18
14U – #7 Islanders Hockey Club (East)
15O – #8 Neponset Valley River Rats
16U – #20 Boston Jr. Eagles
18U – #3 Boston Jr. Eagles
Massachusetts Girls Tier 1 champions at the 16U and 19U levels also were determined in November. Here are this year’s winners, who also will compete at USA Hockey Nationals:
Massachusetts State Tier 1 Girls Champions
Rankings as of Feb. 18
16U – #4 Boston Americans
19U – #4 Assabet Valley
New England District Championship Info
The New England District determined its Tier 1 Youth champions at the 15O, 16U and 18U age levels in November before the high-school and prep seasons got underway.
Congratulations to the following teams for winning New England District championships and earning spots at USA Hockey Nationals:
New England District Tier 1 Youth Champions
Rankings as of Feb. 18
15O – #12 Mount St. Charles
16U – #19 Providence Capitals
18U – #19 Mid-Fairfield Rangers
New England Girls Tier 1 champions at the 14U, 16U and 19U levels also were determined in November. Here are this year’s winners, who also will compete at USA Hockey Nationals:
New England District Tier 1 Girls Champions
Rankings as of Feb. 18
14U – #54 Mid-Fairfield Stars
16U – #10 CT Polar Bears
19U – #7 Mid-Fairfield Stars
In addition to the Girls Tier 1 tournament action in the Pacific District, the weekend of Feb. 20-22 brings us the playoffs for one of the top Tier 1 Boys leagues in North America as some of the continent’s best Boys 18U Tier 1 and Prep teams gather at Shattuck-St. Mary’s School in Minnesota for the Prep Hockey Conference Playoffs.
Out in Western Canada, another of North America’s top youth leagues, the Canadian Sport School Hockey League (CSSHL), is holding a late-season showcase weekend with some of Western Canada’s top school-based programs sending teams to various cities to compete in showcases. There are showcases for CSSHL Girls and Boys Prep U18 teams as well as Boys Prep events for U17 and U15 league members.
Pacific District Girls Tournament Info
Including teams from California, Alaska, Washington and Nevada, the Pacific District Tier 1 Girls Tournament began Friday, Feb. 20, and runs through Sunday, Feb. 22.
Games are being played at the Kelley Create Ice Center and Ben Boeke Arena in Anchorage, Alaska.
CLICK HERE for the links to all Pacific District Girls schedules and other info
Pacific District Tier 1 Girls 14U Competing Teams
Rankings as of Feb. 18
#16 LA Lions
#32 San Jose Jr. Sharks
#36 Team Alaska
#55 Sno-King Jr. Thunderbirds
CLICK HERE for access to the 14U schedule, scores and standings
Pacific District Tier 1 Girls 16U Competing Teams
Rankings as of Feb. 18
#36 Sno-King Jr. Thunderbirds
#40 San Jose Jr. Sharks
#41 Team Alaska
#46 Anaheim Lady Ducks
CLICK HERE for access to the 16U schedule, scores and standings
Pacific District Tier 1 Girls 19U Tournament Info
Congratulations to the 36th-ranked Anaheim Lady Ducks as they will represent the Pacific District at USA Hockey Nationals.
Prep Hockey Conference Playoffs
The PHC, one of North America’s top leagues for school-based Tier 1 and Prep programs, is holding its playoffs the weekend of Feb. 20-22. Games got underway Friday and run through Sunday.
The Prep Hockey Conference was established in 2021 by six North American school-based youth hockey programs that perennially are ranked near the top at the Tier 1 18U and Prep levels. Those programs, Culver Academies (Indiana); Mount St. Charles Academy (Rhode Island); Northwood School (New York); Shattuck-St. Mary’s School (Minnesota); South Kent School (Connecticut); and St. Andrew’s College (Ontario) were the founding members and continue to compete today.
These programs are like-minded in their goals and aspirations for the PHC, with a focus on improving the overall student-athlete experience while building rivalries through healthy competition. The PHC also is committed to providing the best possible hockey experience for its student-athletes in terms of the competitive level, developmental opportunities and exposure.
This year’s PHC Playoffs feature five teams ranked among the top 16 in their respective categories, according to the Week 22 MHR Rankings.
St. Andrews is the top-ranked Canadian Boys Independent Prep team, Culver is the top-ranked USA Boys Tier 1 18U national bound and overall team, while Shattuck is No. 2 in both of those categories. South Kent is ranked 11th in the U.S. overall, and Northwood is 16th. Mount St. Charles, the No. 34 Tier 1 national bound team, often contends for the 18U Tier 1 national championship.
South Kent finished first in the PHC East division with an 8-6-0 record that included two overtime losses, earning a first-round bye. Culver, which also received a first-round bye, paced the PHC West at 9-5-0, with two of their setbacks also coming in overtime.
Northwood finished 12 points behind South Kent and four in front of Mount St. Charles in PHC East, while Shattuck fell short of Culver by a single point but finished four points in front of St. Andrew’s in PHC West. Those four teams play on Friday in the quarterfinals for the right to challenge the division winners in Saturday’s Semifinals.
All games in the winners’ bracket are being played at J.P. Parise on the campus of Shattuck-St. Mary’s. Game are being streamed via SSMHockeyTV.com.
PHC Playoff Schedule
Friday, Feb. 20
Mount St. Charles vs. Shattuck at 1 p.m. EST
St. Andrew’s vs. Northwood at 3:30 p.m. EST
Saturday, Feb. 21 Semifinals
South Kent vs. TBD in Semifinal 1 at 1:30 p.m. EST
Culver vs. TBD in Semifinal 2 at 4 p.m. EST
Sunday, Feb. 22 Championship
Semifinal winners at 12:30 p.m. EST
CSSHL Western Showcase Weekend
Another of the top school-based youth hockey leagues in North America, the CSSHL is holding showcase evens at for its U18 Girls, U18 Boys, U17 Boys an U15 Boys Prep teams the weekend of Feb. 20-22. There will a total of 111 games played across the four age levels at various Western Canada venues. One game was played Thursday, Feb. 19, with all the other scheduled to be played between Friday and Sunday.
All CSSHL games can be seen live and on demand at FloHockey.TV.
Founded in 2009 by five like-minded Hockey Canada Sport Schools, the mission for the CSSHL always has been to establish a league designed specifically for elite level student-athletes, providing them with an opportunity to increase their skills on and off the ice, a high level of competition and exposure.
The inaugural 2009-10 season featured five sport schools and eight total teams competing in two divisions. Since then, the CSSHL has grown to include 38 sport schools and 129 teams competing in eight different divisions. All programs participating in the CSSHL are sanctioned by Hockey Canada or are USA Hockey Accredited Schools, meeting the regulations of not only Hockey Canada and USA Hockey but also of their provincial or district governing bodies.
The CSSHL strives to be a leader in education-based hockey in North America, with objective of providing a competitive environment for young student-athletes that promotes the values of sportsmanship, citizenship, academic excellence and hockey development.
CSSHL U18 Girls Prep Showcase
The U18 Girls weekend features four teams ranked among Canada’s top 20 in the U22 Tier 1 category for Week 22, and six of the participants are in the top 30.
The U18 Girls showcase is being played at the Hockey for All Centre in Winnipeg, Manitoba.
CSSHL U18 Girls Top Participating Teams
#9 Rink Hockey Academy Kelowna
#10 OHA Edmonton
#15 Delta Green
#20 South Alberta Hockey Academy
#28 Rink Hockey Academy Winnipeg
#30 Calgary Edge School
CLICK HERE for the game schedule and results
CSSHL U18 Boys Prep Showcase
In the CSSHL U18 Boys Prep event there are four of Western Canada’s Week 22 top 10 teams and nine of the top 20. Games are being played at the Calgary Edge School’s Kyle Stuart Memorial and Alumni arenas.
CSSHL U18 Boys Top Participating Teams
#3 Northern Albert Xtreme
#5 Rink Hockey Academy Kelowna
#7 Calgary Edge School
#9 Calgary International Hockey Academy
#11 South Alberta Hockey Academy
#13 OHA Edmonton
#17 Delta Hockey Academy
#18 Burnaby Winter Club Academy
#20 Okanagan Hockey Academy (B.C.)
CLICK HERE for the game schedule and results
CSSHL U17 Boys Prep Showcase
The U17 CSSHL Boys Prep event features seven teams ranked among the MHR Week 22 Western Canada top 10. There are 13 participating teams ranked in the top 22.
Games are being played at River Cree Twin Rinks in Enoch, Alberta.
CSSHL U17 Boys Top Participating Teams
#1 Delta Hockey Academy
#3 Okanagan Hockey Academy (B.C.)
#4 Calgary Edge School
#5 Calgary International Hockey Academy
#6 Southern Alberta Hockey Academy
#7 Rink Hockey Academy Kelowna
#10 Yale Hockey Academy
#12 Prairie Hockey Academy
#13 Northern Alberta Xtreme
#16 Rink Hockey Academy Winnipeg
#19 St. George’s School (B.C.)
#21 Burnaby Winter Club Academy
#22 OHA Edmonton
CLICK HERE for the game schedule and results
CSSHL U15 Boys Prep Showcase
The CSSHL U15 Boys Prep Division is stacked. This weekend, nine of Western Canada’s top 10 teams, according to the MHR Week 22 rankings, are competing, and 10 of the top 12 are represented.
Games are being played at Summit Centre in Abbotsford, B.C.
CSSHL U15 Boys Top Participating Teams
#1 Northern Alberta Xtreme
#2 OHA Edmonton
#3 Yale Hockey Academy
#4 Calgary International Hockey Academy
#5 Delta Hockey Academy
#6 Calgary Edge School
#8 Burnaby Winter Club Academy
#9 Rink Hockey Academy Winnipeg
#10 South Alberta Hockey Academy
#12 St. George’s School (B.C.)
CLICK HERE for the game schedule and results
