Our MHR Week 4 Games of the Week feature boys’ and girls’ action in the U22, 19U, 18U and 2009 age groups from around the continent. It’s showcase season, so we bring you action from several showcase events, including the Reapers ’09 event in Chicago, the North American Prospects Hockey League event in Minnesota and the Northeast Pack league showcase in New Jersey. There also is an intercontinental showdown between the No. 2 U22 women’s team in Canada and the ninth-ranked 19U American team from the USA-Canada Cup Series in Michigan.

Here are this week’s matchups

Week 4 MHR LiveBarn Featured Game of the Week 

#2 St. Louis AAA Blues vs. #3 Dallas Stars Elite

Level: 2009 USA Boys Tier 1

Date: Saturday, October 15

Time: 10:10 a.m. EDT

Location: Mt. Prospect Ice Arena – Mt. Prospect, Ill.

Event: Chicago Reapers ’09 Showcase

Stream:  LiveBarn.com

Four of the nation’s top-15 2009 boys’ birthyear teams gather outside of Chicago for the Reapers’ showcase, with this matchup of the second- and third-ranked teams being one of the preliminary-round’s top contests. Joining the Blues and Stars at the tournament are the top-ranked Reapers and No. 15 Los Angeles Jr. Kings. These two teams had combined to post a 36-6-0 record heading into the weekend, with the Blues going 18-2-0 and Stars posting an 18-4-0 mark. St. Louis had outscored its opponents, 91-32, while recording six shutouts and permitting just 1.6 goals per contest. Only three opponents had managed to tally more than twice in a game. St. Louis brought an eight-game winning streak to Illinois and won two of the previous three meetings against Dallas, including a pair of shutout wins and a shootout lost. The Stars entered the weekend on a six-game winning streak during which they had outscored their opponents, 53-5, to run their season scoring advantage to 135-44 in all games. 

#9 Belle Tire USA 19U vs. #2 Oakville Hornets Canada U22

Level: 19U and U22 USA & Canada Girls

Date: Saturday, October 15

Time: 7:00 p.m. EDT

Location: Fraser Hockey Land (Big Boy Arena) – Fraser, Mich.

Event: USA-Canada Cup Series

Stream: LiveBarn.com

Forty-eight of the top United States and Canadian junior (19U and U22), U18 and 16U teams come together outside of Detroit for a great a weekend that showcases some of the top women’s and girls’ programs in North America. Five of the top-13 U.S. 16U teams will be competing in the same age bracket as four of the top-17 Canadian U18 teams, while in the junior division you will find seven of America’s top-22 19U teams and six of Canada’s top 27. CLICK HERE for the entire event schedule. Our featured contest is a USA-Canada battle between a pair of junior teams ranked among the top 10 in their respective age divisions. Belle Tire brings a 6-2-0 record into the weekend along with a four-game winning streak that has seen BT allow just two goals. That streak has followed losses to the 10^th-ranked Boston Jr. Eagles and the No. 3 Bishop Kearney Selects. Belle Tire has outscored its opponents, 25-8, and owns victories against No. 11 Little Caesars and No. 22 Pittsburgh Penguins Elite. Oakville traveled to Michigan with an 8-2-1 record and having won five of its previous six contests. The Hornets fell to the 17^th-ranked Kingston Ice Wolves, 2-1, last weekend and to 20^th-ranked Balmoral Hall Prep, 4-3. Oakville also tied Bishop Kearney, 2-2, and has outscored its foes, 36-12.

#19 Car Shield vs. #38 Omaha Mastery

Level: 18U Boys USA Tier 1

Date: Saturday, October 15

Time: 5:30 p.m. EDT

Location: National Sports Center – Blaine, Minn.

Event: NAPHL T1ER Pre-Tender Distribution Showcase

Stream: HockeyTV

This weekend marks the second 2022-23 event for the North American Prospects T1ER League, an affiliate of the North American Hockey League (AHL). It is a prime opportunity for players to showcase their abilities as this event is strategically scheduled just prior to NAHL’s release of tender agreements for its 2023-24 Tier 2 junior season. The T1ER 18U and 16U league games were intentionally scheduled on Sunday and Monday for this event to avoid conflicts with junior clubs playing their own games and in an effort to allow more NAHL scouts and coaches to see more T1ER prospects. A record number of 66 players who played in the league during the 2021-22 season signed NAHL tenders for the 2022-23 campaign. For this 18U matchup, Car Shield brought a 14-4-0 overall record and a Missouri No. 1 ranking into the event. Car Shield had outscored its opponents, 72-34, and won three straight games since dropping a pair of contests to the No. 29 Nashville Jr. Predators. Those losses were part of a three-game skid after Car Shield had opened the season by winning 10 of its first 11 contests. Omaha traveled to Blaine with a 10-7-0 record and Nebraska’s No. 1 ranking. The Mastery had won its previous four outings after going 6-6-0 to start the year. Omaha had outscored its opponents, 52-40, and had gone 1-2-0 vs. common-opponent Nashville.  

#11 New Jersey Rockets vs. #15 Long Island Gulls

Level: 18U USA Boys Tier 1

Date: Sunday, October 16

Time: 2:10 p.m. EDT

Location: Bridgewater Sports Arena

Event: Northeast Pack Showcase

Stream: HockeyTV

Some of the United States’ top boys’ Tier 1 14U, 15U, 16U and 18U programs face off in Bridgewater, N.J. in another Northeast Pack Showcase. Other clubs attending the event include the Bishop Kearney Selects, Mount St. Charles, Pens Elite, Mid-Fairfield Jr. Rangers and Chicago Reapers. The Rockets entered the weekend with a 15-9-1 overall record and a 1-1-0 mark in league play. Long Island was 1-1-0 in NE Pack play and 13-5-4 overall. The teams met previously on Sept. 16, with the Gulls skating to a 5-3 victory. Long Island had lost just one of 10 contests since that win, going 7-1-2 in that span, and had outscored its opponents, 63-40, on the season. The Gulls tied the eighth-ranked Central Mass Penguins, 2-2, in their most recent outing, and tied the No. 12 Yale Jr. Bulldogs, 3-3, Sept. 18. They posted a 3-1 victory over the No. 6 Boston Jr. Eagles Sept. 9. New Jersey had rallied from a pair of setbacks to go 2-0-1 in the three contests prior to this weekend. They rolled to an 8-0 win against Yale the day after falling to the Gulls and knocked off No. 3 Pen Elite Sept. 11. New Jersey also owns a pair of victories over the No. 7 Esmark Stars. The Rockets have outscored their opponents, 89-64.