MYHockey News
Week 6 MHR Games of the Week
As November approaches, in parts of the United States where high school hockey is popular and played at a high level, split-season club teams start to wind down their fall campaigns. As high schools and prep schools begin their seasons, some of the top club teams in the nation won’t be seen or heard from again until USA Hockey Nationals in April.
While the term describing split-season hockey may vary from one location to another, the concept is the same. Split-season teams play 20-25 games between September and November before the players are turned over to their school teams for their prep seasons. And in many instances, National Championship berths are decided as state or district champions are crowned in October or November before school play begins.
This already has happened in Minnesota, where AAA High Performance State/District Champions were determined in the Boys 13O (2010), 14U (2009) and 15O (2008) divisions as well as the Girls 14U division on Oct. 8. In the weeks ahead, the older Minnesota Boys and Girls divisions will decide their Nationals qualifiers, while Massachusetts will determine its champions as well for the 18U, 16U and 15O Boys divisions along with the 18U and 16U Girls age groups.
In Minnesota, full-season prep/club program Shattuck-St. Mary’s competes against the High Performance split-season teams in most age groups.
Minnesota teams that have claimed Nationals berths include:
Youth 13O (2010) – No. 22 Minnesota Loons
Youth 14U (2009) – No. 1 Shattuck-St. Mary’s
Youth 15O (2009) – No. 1 Shattuck-St. Mary’s
Girls 14U – No. 7 Minnesota Green Giants
With state tournaments looming on the horizon in Massachusetts, Week 6 of the 2023-24 MHR season is a big tournament and showcase weekend in that part of the country. Some of the top Tier 1 split-season Boys teams are competing and facing each other in the Beantown Classic, one of the largest and most-scouted tournaments in the Northeast, while more than 120 Tier 1 boys teams across seven age groups will be competing in Eastern Exposure Cup at rinks in the Boston area.
Those two tournaments are responsible for three of our Week 6 Games of the Week, and our Clanko Media Featured Game of the Week is a rivalry showdown between the top two 18U Tier 2 teams in New Jersey.
About Games of the Week
Games of the Week previews will be posted every Thursday, Friday or Saturday through the end of the regular season. Game summaries, along with occasional video highlights, will be posted no later than Wednesday of the following week.
With more than 20,000 teams in our database by season’s end, it’s impossible to be aware of all the great games that are scheduled throughout North America each week, so if you know of any upcoming games between highly ranked teams please feel free to email the details a week in advance if possible to scott@myhockeyrankings.com.
Include in your email:
- Team names, location, league affiliations and age group
- Current team rankings (national, state, provincial, etc.)
- Day, time and location of the game or games
- Any other details – past history, statistical info/team leaders, college commitments playing or other interesting information
- Quotes from players or coaches are great, too, but not required
- If the game or games are available on LiveBarn or via another streaming service, please send the link
We will be partnering with Clanko Media throughout the season to bring our readers and followers video highlights of selected Games of the Week, and we also are open to posting highlights of any other games we feature if someone can provide them for us.
Here is a closer look at our Week 6 matchups:
MHR CLANKO MEDIA WEEK 5 FEATURED GAME OF THE WEEK
USA Boys 18U Tier 2
#15 Red Bank Generals vs. #18 New Jersey Colonials
Saturday, October 28 at 8:00 p.m. EDT
Red Bank Armory Ice Complex – Red Bank, N.J.
Clanko Media will provide video highlights of this game for our Weekend Wrap
The top-two 18U Boys Tier 2 teams in New Jersey take the ice in a battle for state bragging rights. These teams also are ranked second and third in the Atlantic District. Red Bank enters the weekend with a record of 20-3-2 and having outscored its opponents, 162-56. The Generals are 9-1-1 in their last 11 outings, and all three of their losses have come against Tier 1 AAA teams. They also have recorded two victories and a tie against Tier 1 opponents. Red Bank has permitted zero or one goal 11 times while recording three shutouts. The Colonials bring a 17-2-1 overall record into the matchup and have outscored their opponents, 110-26. They have recorded eight straight victories, outscoring their foes, 54-8, in those contests, and are 14-0-1 in their last 15 contests. New Jersey has permitted one goal or fewer 14 times while recording four shutouts.
ADDITIONAL MHR WEEK 6 GAMES OF THE WEEK
Canada Boys ’09 Tier 1
#2 Toronto Titans vs. #15 Niagara North Stars
Saturday, October 28 at 12:15 p.m. EDT
Eastern Exposure Cup
Foxboro Sports Center – Foxboro, Mass.
A couple of Ontario foes travel to the Boston area to face off at the Eastern Exposure Cup. The Titans bring a 12-3-1 overall record to New England and hold a 72-29 scoring advantage against their opponents. Toronto’s only losses came against Ontario’s No. 17 North York Rangers, USA No. 5 Florida Alliance North and Ontario’s No. 4 Don Mills Flyers. They also tied Ontario’s ninth-ranked Ottawa Valley Titans. The Titans knocked off USA’s No. 10 Bishop Kearney Selects, 7-3, and the Toronto Jr. Canadiens, Ontario’s top-ranked team, by a 4-1 margin Oct. 23 in their most recent outing. That gave the Titans a six-game winning streak since the North York loss, during which they’ve allowed just five goals while recording two shutouts. Niagara opened the year with three straight losses but has gone 10-2-0 since. Two of those season-opening losses came against the No. 16 York Simcoe Express, and the third was vs. the No. 7 Barrie Colts, who they rallied to beat the next day. The North Stars came to Massachusetts riding a six-game winning streak that included a 4-3 overtime victory against Ontario’s fifth-ranked Oakville Rangers. During their streak they have outscored their opponents, 39-13, and have scored nine or more goals three times while recording three shutouts.
USA/Ontario Boys ‘09 Tier 1
USA #5 Florida Alliance North vs. Ontario #13 Waterloo Wolves
Saturday, October 28 at 11:00 a.m. EDT
Eastern Exposure Cup
Rodman Arena – Walpole, Mass.
It’s a border battle featuring two of North America’s top 2009 teams, with both teams meeting in the middle – sort of – as the Waterloo Wolves travel south and the Florida Alliance come north to face each other. Florida brings an 11-1-2 record to New England and has outscored its opponents, 68-39. The Alliance’s lone loss was an 8-5 setback vs. USA’s No. 10 Bishop Kearney Selects, while they also tied BK and No. 30 Victory Honda. Among their wins are a victory against Ontario’s No. 2 Toronto Titans as well as the USA’s Nos. 12, 14, 15 and 20 teams. They also beat Ontario’s No. 18 Windsor Jr. Spitfires. Waterloo comes to New England at 11-3-0 and having outscored its foes, 59-32. The Wolves lost their season-opener to Ontario’s 20th-ranked Elgin-Middlesex Canucks, but have won 11 out of 13 contests since, including a rematch win against the Canucks, a 6-4 victory against the No. 7 Barrie Colts and a 3-1 decision over USA’s No. 15 Honeybaked.
USA Boys 18U Tier 1
#3 Avon Regals vs. #10 Boston Jr. Eagles
Sunday, October 29 at 1:30 p.m. EDT
Beantown Classic
New England Sports Center – Marlboro, Mass.
A pair of New England split-season heavyweights duke it out at the infamous Beantown Classic outside of Boston. The Regals enter the weekend at 18-4-2 and trailing the No. 2 Yale Jr. Bulldogs and top-ranked Shattuck-St. Mary’s in the latest MHR 18U Tier 1 National Bound Rankings. They have outscored their opponents, 109-38, and are unbeaten in their last 15 games dating to a 3-2 overtime loss to the No. 5 Long Island Gulls Sept. 4. Avon won its last two outings in overtime or a shootout, returning the favor with a 3-2 win against the Gulls Oct. 22 and knocking off the Jr. Bulldogs, 5-4, in a shootout later the same day. The Regals went 1-3-1 to open the season but have gone 17-1-1 since. One of the early losses was a 2-1 setback against these same Jr. Eagles. Boston comes into the weekend at 15-7-3 and having outscored its opponents, 83-45. The Jr. Eagles split a pair of games vs. No. 13 Mount St. Charles last weekend and are just 2-6-1 in their past nine contests after opening the year by going 13-1-2. Recent losses have come against the USA’s Nos. 4, 5, 11, 12 and 29 teams.
