As we get a deeper into the season, more teams are ranked and the rankings take on a little bit more meaning. The more games that are played and more times that teams from different leagues and areas play against each other, the more accurate the rankings become.

With each passing week, we have more great matchups to choose from for our MHR Games of the Week feature. Our goal is to include as many different teams, clubs and organizations as possible between now and January – and to highlight a variety of Tier 1, Tier 2, USA, Canada, boys and girls matchups. In January and February we will look to highlight the most important games as the regular season winds down and teams jockey for spots in league, state, district, regional and national tournaments.

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, it’s impossible to know about all of the great games that are scheduled throughout North America each week, so if you are aware of 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.

For our Week 3 MHR Games of the Week, we have three USA Boys Tier 1 matchups in two different age groups from different parts of the country along with an early showdown between top-six girls U18 AAA teams from the Alberta Female Hockey League.

Here is a closer look at this weekend’s matchups:

 

MHR CLANKO MEDIA WEEK 3 FEATURED GAME OF THE WEEK 

USA Boys 15U Tier 1

#12 North Jersey Avalanche vs. #16 Valley Forge Minutemen

Sunday, October 8 at 3:30 p.m. ET

Ice House – Hackensack, N.J.

Streamed on LiveBarn

It’s a New Jersey vs. Pennsylvania early-season showdown from North Jersey as the Avs host the Minutemen in a battle of top-16 15U teams from the Atlantic Youth Hockey League. North Jersey enters the weekend with an 11-5-0 record and having outscored its opponents, 78-43. The Avs have won their last two games and eight of their past 10, with the only two losses coming against the No. 3 Mount St. Charles by a 6-3 margin, and the No. 20 Carolina Jr. Hurricanes, 3-1. North Jersey has gone 9-3 since opening the season 2-2, with one of the season-opening losses coming against No. 10 Seacoast Performance Academy. Two of their three other losses came against top-13 teams. Valley Forge is 6-7-1 but has played a challenging schedule that is the eighth most-difficult slate in the nation to date. The Minutemen have gone 2-0-1 in their last three outings since a 5-1 loss vs. No. 4 Little Caesars Sept. 22. Five of their losses have come against the No. 7 New Jersey Rockets and No. 8 Mid-Fairfield Jr. Rangers. Valley Forge has outscored its opponents, 44-38.

Highlights of this game will be provided by Clanko Media.

 

OTHER WEEK 3 GAMES OF THE WEEK

USA Boys 16U Tier 1

#10 Dallas Stars Elite vs. #11 Chicago Reapers

Sunday, October 8 at 9:00 a.m. ET

Farmers Union Arena – Fargo, N.D.

CLICK HERE for our MHR Matchup Preview Statistical Breakdown

This game is one of the top matchups from the annual Fargo Force Fall Showcase being hosted by Fargo’s USHL franchise in North Dakota. The tournament features more than 70 teams competing in better than 100 games in 13 different Fargo-area rinks. Dallas brings a sparkling 7-1-0 record into the tournament along with a 41-14 scoring differential against its opponents, while Chicago is 12-5-0 and has outscored its foes, 76-41. The lone loss for the Stars was a 4-2 decision against the Minnesota Blades Sept. 14. Dallas opened the season with a 4-1 victory against the Blades and also has a 5-2 win against No. 13 Pittsburgh Penguins Elite to its credit. The Reapers dropped their most recent outing, 5-2, to the No. 7 Chicago Fury Sept. 30. That loss snapped a four-game winning streak dating to a 4-3 overtime loss to perennial national-power Mount St. Charles Sept. 24. During that stretch of victories Chicago beat No. 34 Team Illinois, No. 9 Chicago MIssion, No. 17 Windy City Storm and No. 55 Honeybaked. 

 

USA BOYS 18U Tier 1

#2 Yale Jr. Bulldogs vs. No. 7 Central Mass. Penguins

Saturday, Oct. 7 at 4:10 p.m.

Foxboro Sports Center – Foxboro, Mass.

Streamed on LiveBarn

CLICK HERE for our MHR Matchup Preview Statistical Breakdown

This early-season tilt between top Northeast split-season programs may be a preview of a matchup that could take place in April at USA Hockey Nationals. The seventh-ranked Penguins figure to battle it out with the No. 6 Boston Jr. Eagles and the No. 22 Neponset Valley River Rats in November for the Massachusetts State championship and a Nationals bid. They also take on the third-ranked Avon Regals Sunday morning at 11:10 in Foxboro. The Jr. Bulldogs enter the weekend as the nation’s second-ranked 18U Tier 1 team with a 12-2-2 record and having outscored their opponents, 74-24. Yale is unbeaten in its last eight games (7-0-1) since a 3-2 overtime loss against the Regals Sept. 3. The Bulldogs’ only other setback was a 3-2 loss to the River Rats Aug. 29. They rebounded to beat them, 7-2, Sept. 16 and also beat the fifth-ranked Long Island Gulls, 2-1, Sept. 17. Central Mass. enters the weekend at 7-1-0 and holding a 45-12 scoring advantage over its opponents. The Penguins only loss was a surprising 7-1 decision against No. 28 Islanders Hockey Club Sept. 24. That came after a 5-1 victory Sept. 22 against the defending 18U national champs from Mount St. Charles. In every other game except the loss Centra Mass. holds a 44-5 scoring advantage over its foes.

 

Canada Girls U18 Tier 1

#2 Calgary Fire vs. No. 6 St. Albert Slash

Sunday, October 8 at 4:15 p.m. ET

Father Dowd Bauer Arena – Calgary, Alberta

Streamed on FloSports

CLICK HERE for our MHR Matchup Preview Statistical Breakdown

The sixth-ranked Slash will be playing the second of back-to-back games after taking on the 72^nd-ranked Rocky Mountain Raiders in AFHL play Saturday. St. Albert takes an 8-3-0 overall record into that contest. The Slash have outscored their 11 opponents, 25-12. This will be the third Alberta Female Hockey League game for both teams. The Slash opened league play with a 1-0 shootout victory against No. 11 Edmonton Jr. Oilers White Oct. 1, while Calgary fell to the top-ranked Red Deer Chiefs, 2-1, that day after beating the Raiders, 5-0, Sept. 29. The Fire are 4-2-2 overall and have outscored their opponents, 34-11. They also lost to Red Deer, 3-0, Sept. 17 but did tie the third-ranked Saskatoon Stars Sept. 14. St. Albert faced some of Ontario’s top teams to open the season at the Stoney Creek Showcase, posting a 4-0 record against Canadian foes before dropping a 2-0 decision against USA 16U No. 5 Pittsburgh Penguins Elite Sept. 14. The Slash also fell to the Saskatoon Stars, 2-0, Sept 17, after beating the No. 9 Regina Rebels, 7-4, Sept. 16. In AFHL play, Makenna Schaefer and Davina Davis have led Calgary with three points apiece, while Slash goalie Addison MacDonald recorded a 27-save shutout in the win vs. Edmonton.