Weekend Wrap Nov. 14-16: Blue Ox, Monctonian & Patt Quinn - Oh My!
Youth Hockey Hub Photo
The weekend of Nov. 14-16 provided a sneak preview for all of the great holiday hockey that will take place over the next six weeks.
For that weekend we focused our attention on a Bantam AA tournament in Minnesota and North Dakota the included eight of the top 10 teams in the MHR Minn-Kota Week 8 rankings for that age group. Meanwhile, we also followed two tradition-rich high-end AAA Boys tournaments on each coast of Canada.
Our Minn-Kota AA rankings first went live for Week 7, and many of the top Bantam AA teams in that region were in Moorhead, Minn., and Fargo, N.D., Nov. 14-16 for the Youth Hockey Hub Battle for the Blue Ox tournament. The tournament featured AA and A divisions, with 32 teams competing in the AA format and 16 playing at the A level.
A staple of the November North American tournament slate is the annual Monctonian Challenge. This year’s 44th edition of the tournament was played Nov. 13-16 in Moncton, New Brunswick, and featured many of Eastern Canada’s top U15, U16 and U18 Boys AAA programs. Each division was divided into four-team pools for round-robin play, with a total of 60 teams competing across the three age groups.
Likewise, the U15 Elite Pat Quinn Classic was played in Burnaby, B.C., Nov. 13-16. Burnaby has hosted an international bantam tournament since 1962, and in 2015 this event was renamed in honor of Hockey Hall of Famer Patt Quinn with the intention of carrying forward his legacy and passion for developing hockey players and leaders.
This year’s tournament featured U15 AAA Boys teams from Western Canada, American 14U Tier 1 and 2 teams and Hockey Canada accredited school teams. Three of Western Canada’s top 10 U15 AAA Boys teams, according to the MHR Week 8 Rankings, participated. Six teams in the field were from the United States, including the No. 16 14U Tier 1 and No. 3 Tier 2 teams, while five were school-based Canadian teams and five represented Western Canada AAA organizations.
The Battle for the Blue Ox began in the Fargo, N.D./Moorhead, Minn., area Friday, Oct. 14, and concluded Sunday, Oct. 16.
There were 32 teams competing in the Bantam AA bracket, with 16 more in the A division. Teams that participated in the lower division must come from an organization that also rostered a Bantam AA team.
There were eight of the current MHR top 10 Minn-Kota Bantam AA Boys teams competing and 14 of the top 20. The AA Division was set up much like the Minnesota district and state AA tournaments, with two brackets of 16 competing to advance to the championship game. Victorious teams advanced through the winners’ bracket, while the teams that lost in each round drop into a consolation bracket.
The AA Semifinals were played the evening of Nov. 15 at Cullen Hockey Center in Moorhead, with top-ranked Minnetonka beating East Grand Forks, 8-1, and No. 5 Moorhead knocking off third-ranked Spring Lake-Coon Rapids, 3-1, to set up the championship game on the afternoon of Nov. 16.
Some tournament games were played at Moorhead Sports Center as well as West Fargo Sports Arena and Veterans Memorial Arena in West Fargo.
Moorhead captured last year’s Battle of the Blue Ox Bantam AA championship.
Games played at all but the Moorhead Sports Center should be available for viewing on-demand via LiveBarn. Some games at MSC and other venues are available for viewing on the Youth Hockey Hub livestream.
Battle for the Blue Ox Top Bantam AA Team Records
#1 Minnetonka Skippers (5-0-0; 37 GF, 4GA)
#2 Andover Huskies (1-3-0; 17GF, 22GA)
#3 Spring Lake-Coon Rapids (3-1-0; 21GF, 15GA)
#4 Woodbury Predators (3-1-0; 23GF, 9GA)
#5 Moorhead Spuds (4-1-0; 31GF, 10GA)
#7 Prior Lake-Savage Lakers (3-1-0; 18GF, 17GA)
#8 Hermantown Hawks (2-2-0; 14GF, 15GA)
#9 Stillwater Ponies (2-2-0; 16GF, 15GA)
#11 Chaska-Chanhassen Stormhawks (3-1-0; 28GF, 15GA)
#12 Rogers Royals (1-3-0; 11GF, 21GA)
#14 Duluth East Greyhounds (3-1-0; 16GA, 10GA)
#16 Eagan Wildcats (1-3-0; 11GF, 20GA)
#17 Wayzata Trojans (2-2-0; 15GF, 12GA)
#20 White Bear Lake Bears (2-2-0; 17GF, 24GA)
CLICK HERE for the Battle for the Blue Ox Bantam AA bracket
CLICK HERE to access all Battle for the Blue Ox schedules, scores & standings
Bantam AA Championship Game
Minnetonka jumped to a 2-0 lead on first-period goals by William Stinson and Dean Stevens, and that’s how things stood until Wyatt Olson cut the margin to 1 with 1:27 left in the game. Stevens buried his second of the contest – and recorded his third point – into an empty net with 14 seconds left to ice the victory and the championship. Cooper Corona made 25 saves to earn the win in goal for the Skippers.
The tournament’s Bantam A Division included 16 teams competing in a format similar to the AA division but with half the teams. Winner’s bracket semifinals were played the afternoon of Nov. 15 at Moorhead Sports Center. Minnetonka beat Woodbury, 7-5, in one semi, while White Bear Lake knocked off Stillwater, 4-3, in the other, setting up the championship clash Sunday. Nov. 16 at Cullen Hockey Center.
Osseo-Maple Grove won the championship in last year’s Bantam A Division.
CLICK HERE for the Battle for the Blue Ox Bantam A bracket & schedule
Bantam A Championship Game
Minnetonka 4, White Bear Lake 0
After a scoreless opening period, the Skippers exploded for three second-period goals to take control and secured the title on Jasper Goulet’s third-period insurance tally. It was Goulet’s second goal and third point of the game, while Lucas Borah and Easton Osendorf contributed the other Minnetonka goals and Robert Lang recorded the 14-save shutout.
The 44th Annual Monctonian Challenge
The 44th edition of the Montonian Challenge in New Brunswick featured a total of 60 AAA Boys teams from Canada’s Atlantic Region competing across three age groups. There were 24 teams in the U15 Division, 12 in the U16 Division and 24 in the U18 Division.
Each division was divided into four-team pools for round-robin play, with the opening round concluding the night of Friday, Nov. 14, Playoffs began early the morning of Nov. 15 and concluded with Sunday afternoon’s championship games.
Games were played at Greenfoot Energy 4-Plex, Byron Dobson Arena and Crossman Community Centre-Kay Arena.
CLICK HERE for Montonian Challenge webstream info
CLICK HERE for links to Monctonian Challenge schedules, scores, stats and standings
Monctonian Challenge U18 Division
The U18 Division included 24 teams competing in six pools. The top team in each division, plus four wildcards, advanced to the playoffs, with division winners earning first-round byes. Eastern Canada’s top 10 U18 Boys AAA teams, according to the Week 8 MHR Rankings, participated.
U18 Top Competing Team Records
#1 Moncton Flyers (3-0-0; 13GF, 4GA)
#2 Halifax McDonald’s (3-0-0; 21 GF, 4GA)
#3 Fredericton Caps (2-0-1; 12GF, 6GA)
#4 Dartmouth Steele Subaru (2-1-0; 9GF, 6GA)
#5 Pictou Week’s Majors (3-0-0; 11GF, 2GA)
#6 Kensington Wild (2-0-1; 12GF, 6GA)
#7 St. John Vito’s (2-1-0; 10GF, 15GA)
#8 Charlottetown Knights (2-1-0; 12GF, 8GA)
#9 Valley Wildcats (2-1-0; 10GF, 3GA)
#10 Northern Moose (1-2-0; 9GF, 8GA)
U18 Championship Game
Halifax Macs 4, Pictou Majors 0
Halifax sprinted to a 3-0 first-period lead and cruised until a third-period insurance goal by Will Shearer. Carter Odell, Logan Trewin and MJ Bottomley had the other Macs goals, and Kael Campbell earned the shutout in goal.
Monctonian Challenge U16 Division
There were 12 U16 teams competing in four pools. The top team and a wildcard team from each pool advanced to the playoffs. While the MHR Eastern Canada U16 AAA Boys rankings have yet to go live, the tournament field featured a group of teams that have gotten off to strong starts to their 2025-26 seasons.
U16 Top Competing Team Records
St. John Vito’s (1-2-0; 6GF, 8GA)
Cabot Highlanders (1-2-0; 3GF, 6GA)
Eastern Dukes (3-0-0; 13GF, 2GA)
Western Rebels (2-1-0; 16GF, 9GA)
Basin Armada (3-0-0; 13GF, 1GA)
Kings HC (3-0-0; 13GF, 8GA)
Martello Buccaneers (1-2-0; 5GF, 7GA)
Moncton Thunderbirds (1-2-0; 10GF, 14GA)
U16 Championship Game
Mason Cole opened the scoring for Kings just 1:29 into the game, but it was all Rebels after that as they scored the final four goals of the contest to capture the U16 championship. Ellis Callaghan tied the game in the opening frame and netted the game-winner 14:28 into the middle stanza. Tobin MacEwen and Brady Allison concluded the scoring in the third period to make a winner out of goalie Hudson Lynch.
Monctonian Challenge U15 Division
The U15 Division included 24 teams spread equally among six divisions. Similar to the U16 Division, MHR’s Eastern Canada Boys AAA U15 Rankings have yet to go live, but there were eight teams with two losses or fewer competing. The top team in each division, along with four wildcards, advanced to the playoffs. The division winners received a bye for the first playoff round.
U15 Top Competing Teams
East Hants Rangers (2-1-0; 12GF, 9GA)
Tantallon Gulls (3-0-0; 17GF, 8GA)
Eastern Express (3-0-0; 15GF, 6GA)
Fredericton Caps (2-1-0; 11GF, 6GA)
Moncton Hawks (3-0-0; 11GF, 3GA)
Pictou Bombers (2-1-0; 7GF, 6GA)
Charlottetown Islanders (2-1-0; 7GF, 8GA)
Halifax Wolverines (2-1-0; 11GF, 6GA)
U15 Championship Game
Moncton Hawks 5, Eastern Express 1
Landyn Arseneault scored the first two goals of the game to stake the Hawks to a 2-0 lead in the second period. Then, after Nick Liu tallied to make the score 2-1, Moncton netted the contest’s final three scores to skate away with the U15 title. Eli Gaudet, Jay Cornect-Patterson and Dominic Cormier scored the other goals to make a winner out of netminder Jayden Richford.
The 2025 U15 Elite Pat Quinn Classic got underway Thursday, Nov. 13, and ran through Sunday, Nov. 16. Games were played at venues in Burnaby, Coquitlam and Delta, British Columbia.
This year’s tournament field included four BC-based scholastic teams - Yale Hockey Academy, Delta Hockey Academy, St. George’s School and Burnaby Winter Club Academy - that were ranked among Western Canada’s top 16 along with Alberta’s KC Squires, the 22nd-ranked Western Canada Boys U15 AAA team. In addition, the Los Angeles Jr. Kings, the No. 16 USA Boys 14U Tier 1 team, was among the six teams representing the U.S. along with the Texas Tigers, USA’s third-ranked 14U Tier 2 team.
Games played at Burnaby Winter Club, Planet Ice Coquitlam and Planet Ice Delta should be available for viewing live on-demand via LiveBarn.
CLICK HERE for the complete Pat Quinn Classic schedule and scores
CLICK HERE for the list of Pat Quinn Classic teams and rosters
U15 Elite Pat Quinn Classic Top Participating Team Records
#1 Western Canada Yale Hockey Academy (5-0-0; 25GF, 5GA)
#3 USA Tier 2 Texas Tigers (2-2-1; 18GF, 13GA)
#5 WC Delta Hockey Academy (3-1-0; 23GF, 5GA)
#9 WC Burnaby Winter Club Academy (3-2-0; 17GF, 14GA)
#16 WC St. George’s School (2-2-0; 14GF, 11GA)
#16 USA Tier 1 LA Jr. Kings (2-2-0; 15GF, 13GA)
#22 WC KC Squires (1-3-0; 8GF, 23GA)
#41 WC Fraser Valley Thunderbirds (1-3-0; 8GF, 20GA)
#49 WC Vancouver NE Chiefs (2-1-1; 18GF, 13GA)
#53 WC Pacific Coast Hockey Academy (0-4-0; 3GF, 22GA)
Yale Hockey Academy swept through Flight 1, finishing the weekend with a perfect 5-0-0 record while compiling a 25-5 goal differential. YHA beat St. George’s School, 3-2, in the semifinals before earning the gold medal with a 4-1 championship-game victory vs. Burnaby Winter Club Academy Nov. 16. Parker McMillan recorded a hat trick in the finals, with Connor Baines scoring the other goal and Gavin Craig stopping 24 BWCA shots to earn the win in goal. Kenzo Gibson had the lone Burnaby goal.
In Flight 2, the Seattle Jr. Kraken concluded the tournament with a 4-1-0 record after beating the Texas Tigers, 5-2, in the Nov. 16 gold-medal game. Coleman Plumhoff got Texas on the board first 12:48 into the game, and Harrison Kethley gave the Tigers a 2-1 lead at 10:35 of the middle period, but Seattle concluded the game with four straight goals to earn the championship. Nicklas Chung scored two of those four markers, with Matvei Zrazhevski and Owen Zelasko also tallying. Mateus Mendes had the other Kraken goal, and Kalan Koski made 16 saves to record the win in goal.
