Not too long ago, Thanksgiving weekend in the United States was one of the busiest youth hockey weekends of the year. The extra day off from school after the holiday made it easier for teams that didn’t normally travel to head out of town for weekend tournaments, and it seemed like pretty much everyone played somewhere.

That’s not really the case anymore, though.

With seasons starting as early as late August and more games being played by younger players every year, Thanksgiving weekend has become more of an opportunity for everyone to sit back, take a breath and enjoy family time after a hectic first three months of the season. We hope all of those reading this who celebrate had a happy and safe Thanksgiving.

Less hockey doesn’t mean no hockey, however. There not be as many games, but there still are a few good-sized tournaments and some important tournaments and games that are played during the holiday weekend.

For our Week 10 MHR/LiveBarn Games of the Week, we first head to an extremely important state-championship tournament in the Northeast as Massachusetts determines which Tier 1 and Tier 2 girls’ teams will represent that hockey-crazed state at USA Hockey Nationals in April. Then we highlight a pair of games from one of the weekend’s larger events, the CCM Nations Cup, which features some of the top Canadian and U.S. Tier 2 boys’ teams facing off in Detroit.

The Massachusetts State tournament for Tier 1 and Tier 2 girls competing in the 16U and 19U age brackets features many of the nation’s top teams in both age groups. Each tournament winner earns an automatic berth for Nationals, while other teams still have an opportunity to receive at-large bids when the National Championship tournament fields are announced in March.

Our two featured games from Massachusetts this weekend are Tier 2 16U and Tier 1 19U preliminary-round matchups. The Tier 2 contest faces off bright and early Saturday morning and pits the fourth-ranked Valley Jr. Warriors against the No. 7 Boston Jr. Eagles. Teams competing in that tournament include:

#4 Valley Jr. Warriors

#7 Boston Jr. Eagles

#9 Bay State Breakers

#15 Assabet Valley

#20 North Suburban Wings

#26 East Coast Wizards

#32 Massachusetts Spitfires

#39 Boston Advantage

#42 Middlesex Islanders

#45 North Shore Vipers

#66 Minuteman Flames

#71 Crimson Pride

 

In the 19U Tier 1 group, our highlighted game features the No. 6 East Coast Wizards skating against the 11^th-ranked Worcester Whitehawks (North American Hockey Academy) later in the day Saturday. Here are the teams competing in the Massachusetts 19U Tier 1 State Tournament:

#6 East Coast Wizards

#10 Boston Jr. Eagles

#11 Worcester Whitehawks (NAHA)

#23 Valley Jr. Warriors

#24 Middlesex Islanders

#28 Bay State Breakers

#33 Massachusetts Spitfires

#38 North Shore Vipers

CLICK HERE for scores, schedules and standings from the Massachusetts State Tournament.

 

Our Tier 2 boys’ games from Detroit are border battles in which American and Canadian teams square off in the 2008 and 2011 age groups. Both games take place Saturday, with the No. 4 USA Ashburn Xtreme facing the #21 Ontario Soo Jr Greyhounds in 2008 action and the USA No. 7 Tier 2 (65th overall) St. Claire Shores Saints taking on the No. 4 Ontario London Jr. Knights.

The Nations Cup includes more than 120 Canadian and U.S. Tier 2 boys’ teams competing in the 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013 age groups. CLICK HERE for the schedule, results ad standings.

 

Week 10 MHR/LiveBarn Featured Games of the Week  

#4 Valley Jr. Warriors vs. #7 Boston Jr. Eagles

Level: USA Girls 16U Tier 2

Date: Saturday, November 26

Time: 7:00 a.m. EST

Location: New England Sports Center – Marlboro, Mass.

Event: Massachusetts State Tournament

Stream: LiveBarn

A pair of top-seven USA 16U Tier 2 teams face off on Day 2 of the Massachusetts State Tournament each hoping to earn a trip to USA Hockey Nationals in April. The Jr. Warriors opened play Friday with a 7-2 win against the No. 66 Minuteman Flames and a 3-0 shutout of the No. 32 Mass. Spitfires to improve to 8-6-1 on the season. They now have outscored their opponents, 38-32. In the first game, the Flames opened the scoring on a goal by Madelyn Wall with 9:55 left in the first period, but Valley scored the next three goals, two of them coming off the stick of Alison Marsters. After Minuteman closed to within 3-2 in the second period, the Jr. Warriors reeled off four straight goals, with Marsters burying the seventh tally to complete the hat trick. Marsters also notched an assist, while Tess Mulkerron added a pair of helpers and Cara Kuczek picked up the win in goal. Three different players tallied in the second game after a scoreless first period, with Mulkerron adding to her point total for the day with a goal that was assisted by Marsters. Annie Spring split time in goal with Kuczek and earned the victory. Valley has won five of its last six games heading into Saturday’s contest. The Jr. Eagles opened tournament play with a 5-1 victory over the No. 45 North Shore Vipers before dropping a 2-1 decision to No. 15 Assabet Valley. Five different Eagles scored in the victory; Hadley Gibbons and Ava Enright each had a goal and assist, while Kathleen Simmons dished out two assists. Arie Erlich and Ava Scannell split time between the pipes, with Enright earning the win. Katherine Sullivan notched her second goal of the day against Assabet, but it wasn’t enough as Cat Johnson’s second-period power-play marker proved to be the game-winner. Boston is now 8-2-3 on the season and has outscored its opponents, 35-16. Today’s loss ended a four-game unbeaten streak.

 

#6 East Coast Wizards vs. #11 Worcester Whitehawks (NAHA)

Level: USA Girls 19U Tier 2

Date: Saturday, November 26

Time: 11:20 a.m. EST

Location: New England Sports Center – Marlboro, Mass.

Event: Massachusetts State Tournament

Stream: LiveBarn

The Wizards and Whitehawks both rolled to victories in their opening tournament games Friday. ECW hammered the No. 38 North Shore Vipers, 11-0, in their first contest, while Worcester skated past the No. 28 Bay State Breakers, 7-2. Six different Wizards recorded multiple points in their win, led by Emily Crovo’s one goal and three assists. Antonina Dinges, Samantha Taber and Ava Decoste contributed three points apiece, with Alexsa Caron recording the shutout in goal. With the victory, East Coast improved to 9-5-4 on the year and had outscored its opponents, 59-27. The Wizards are 2-1-2 in their last five outings. Worcester got two goals each from Grace Babington and Kassidy Carmichael in its win over Bay State, and Audrey Knapp recorded three assists to tie Babington, who also had an assist, for team-high scoring honors. Alanna Devlin added a goal and an assist as the Whitehawks’ other multiple-point scorer, and Kiera Stack was the winning goalie. Worcester improved to 16-10-1 on the year and now has outscored its opponents, 105-53. The Whitehawks have won five straight games.

 

#4 USA Ashburn Xtreme vs. #21 Ontario Soo Jr. Greyhounds

Level: USA Boys 2008 Tier 2

Date: Saturday, November 26

Time: 2:40 p.m. EST

Location: Suburban Ice – Farmington Hills, Mich.

Event: CCM Nations Cup Detroit

Stream:  LiveBarn

The USA’s fourth-ranked 2008 Tier 2 team faces the 21^st-ranked team from Ontario in a battle for national pride at the Nations Cup. Ashburn brings an impressive 30-1-0 record into the weekend along with an 18-game winning streak that dates to a 4-1 loss to the No. 7 Chicago Flames Oct. 10. The Xtreme beat the No. 20 North Jersey Avalanche, 3-2, in a shootout in their most recent outing Nov. 20. They have recorded 10 shutouts and held 20 opponents to one goal or fewer while piling up a 176-35 scoring advantage. The Greyhounds entered the weekend 10-8-0 and holding a 44-26 scoring advantage over their foes. They had won their two previous outings before traveling to Detroit and were 6-4-0 in their previous 10 contests. Both teams were scheduled to play twice Friday leading up to Saturday’s showdown.

 

#4 Ontario London Jr. Knights Green vs. #7 St. Claire Shores Saints

Level: USA Boys 2011 Tier 2

Date: Saturday, November 26

Time: 6:40 p.m. EST

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

Event: CCM Nations Cup Detroit

Stream:  LiveBarn

It’s a top-10 border battle as two of the top North American 2011 Tier 2 boys’ teams face off at the Nations Cup near Detroit. London brought a 13-2-2 record to Detroit and had outscored its opponents, 69-29, heading into the tourney. The Jr. Knights had gone 13-1-2 since a season-opening loss to Ontario’s seventh-ranked Niagara Falls Flyers. London rallied to beat the Flyers, 5-2, the next day to start a 14-game unbeaten streak. They had recorded five shutouts on the season and held nine opponents to zero or one goal. The Jr. Knights’ only other loss was a 4-2 decision against the No. 2 London Jr. Knights White. Those two teams also tied, 3-3, Nov. 5. St. Claire Shores from Wisconsin brought an 11-3-1 record and a four-game unbeaten streak to the Motor City and had outscored its opponents, 81-34. The Saints played the Sun County Panthers, Ontario’s 27^th-ranked team, and lost, 4-2, Oct. 21. They won seven-straight games to open the season, then dropped a pair, and have gone 4-1-2 since.