Nothing like easing into the season, eh? In Canada, girls hockey goes from zero to 100 mph in a hurry.

After officially opening the 2023-24 season during Labor Day Weekend, this week the eyes of the North American hockey community turn to Hamilton, Ontario, home of the Stoney Brook Sabres. During the next three weekends the Sabres, perennially one of the top girls programs in Ontario, will host top AA and AAA teams from Ontario, Western Canada and the United States for three high-level showcases.

The Stoney Creek Sabres U18 Showcase is scheduled for Sept. 6-8, the University Showcase (U22) is set for Sept. 13-15 and the U15 Showcase is on the docket for Sept. 20-22. We will track each of these tournaments as we move through the heart of North American showcase and tournament season.

Here are the games and tournaments we will be tracking this weekend:

• Stoney Creek Sabres U18 Showcase
• Northeast Pack opening weekend for Tier 1 USA Boys teams
• Michigan Amateur Hockey Tier 1 Showcase for USA Boys teams

These three events include many top U.S. and Canadian boys and girls programs and run from Friday through Sunday, featuring more than 100 teams playing in better than 210 games.

Many of the tournament games will be played at rinks that feature LiveBarn or be streamed via other platforms, so this weekend presents another great opportunity to get a sneak preview of some of the teams we are likely to see competing for national championships in April.

Stoney Creek Sabres U18 Showcase

This annual event includes traditionally top-ranked U18 girls programs from Ottawa, Western Canada and the United States. Because of the slightly different age classifications used by USA Hockey and Hockey Canada, American Girls 16U teams will be competing this week, while 19U teams will play in the University (U22) showcase the following weekend and 14U teams will compete in the U15 even later this month.

The 2024 edition of the Stoney Creek U18 Showcase includes 68 teams that will play in 136 games during the tournament’s first two days before wrapping up with 38 playoff games Sunday. The tournament is divided into eight brackets each with between eight and 10 teams. Games begin early Friday morning and run through Sunday afternoon.

United States clubs sending teams to the showcase include Biggby Coffee, the Windy City Storm, Belle Tire, Philadelphia Jr. Flyers, Culver Academies, Rochester Jr. Americans, Chicago Mission. Milwaukee Jr. Admirals, New Jersey Colonials, Pittsburgh Penguins Elite, Anaheim Lady Ducks, Little Caesars and Bishop Kearney Selects.

Some of the traditional top Ottawa teams playing this weekend include the Etobicoke Dolphins, Oakville Hornets, Stratford Aces, Burlington Barracudas, Waterloo Ravens, North York Storm, Mississauga Jr. Hurricanes, Guelph Gryphons, Central York Panthers, Whitby Wolves and Durham West Lighting. Western Canadian participants include the Fraser Valley Rush, St. Albert Slash and Winnipeg Avros.

Games played at Gateway Arena and Mohawk Ice can be seen on LiveBarn.

CLICK HERE for the Stoney Creek U18 Showcase Home page

CLICK HERE for the Stoney Creek U18 Showcase schedule and results

CLICK HERE for the Stoney Creek U18 Showcase updated standings

Northeast Pack Opening Weekend

The Northeast Pack Hockey League is made up of six youth hockey organizations from the Northeast that happen to be some of the top AAA USA Boys programs on an annual basis. The league includes teams at the 14U, 15O, 16U and 18U age levels. These six organizations that share a vision for player-focused development are the Bishop Kearney Selects, Long Island Gulls, Mount St. Charles, Pittsburgh Penguins Elite, Bishop Kearney Selects and New Jersey Rockets.

Not only are most of these clubs perennial participants at the USA Hockey National Championships, but also they have produced a large number of players who have advanced to play in the United States Hockey League, the NCAA and various levels of professional hockey.

This is the first of six weekend events that will include the league teams and high-level guest programs to be held during the 2024-25 season. It is being hosted in Rhode Island by traditional national-power Mount St. Charles. The league’s 16U and 18U teams will participate along with the Boston Jr. Eagles, another club that frequently sends teams to Nationals, who will compete as a guest team.

There also will be a 14U contest between Mount St. Charles and the Minuteman Flames that will be played as part of the opening weekend. Games will be played at Smithfield Municipal Ice Rink and MSC’s Adelard Arena in Woonsocket. Games played at Smithfield and Adelard should be available for viewing via LiveBarn.

CLICK HERE for the Northeast Pack opening weekend schedule

Michigan Amateur Hockey Tier 1 Showcase

The Michigan Amateur Hockey Association (MAHA) kicks off the 2024-25 season with its annual MAHA Tier I Showcase at Buffalo Wild Wings Arena (formerly Troy Sports Center) September 6-8. The event includes boys teams from all of Michigan’s Tier 1 organizations and the Chicago Mission competing at the 14U, 15O, 15U and 18U age levels. All teams in each age group will play three games during the weekend.

Competing programs include Victory Honda, Belle Tire, Little Caesars, Compuware, Oakland Jr. Grizzlies, Biggby Coffee, HoneyBaked, Fox Motors, Chicago Mission and Soo Indians.

“The Tier I Showcase is a very exciting, high-visibility event,” Jon Hosking, MAHA Hockey Events Manager, said on the MAHA website. “Each year, we’re aware that there will be a lot of eyes on these games – whether it’s coaches, administrators or scouts from college and junior programs. We want the action to be as accessible as possible, whether spectators are in the building or streaming online from another location. That exposure may lead to future opportunities for a lot of these players.” 

Games will be streamed online by MiHockey.TV – single game and full showcase packages will be made available for live streaming.

CLICK HERE for the MAHA Tier 1 Showcase schedule and results