This weekend we head out to the Illinois for what likely will be the largest tournament of the year, the CCM World Invite Chicago, for two of our Week 7 MHR/LiveBarn Games of the Week. Our other two games are matchups of highly ranked girls’ teams from the Roc City Girls Fest in Rochester, N.Y.

The CCM World Invite welcomes more than 500 boys’ teams and 12,000-plus players at the AAA and AA levels across nine age groups from 2013 birthyears through 18U. Held at rinks all over the Chicago area, the tournament features more than 1,200 games between Friday and Sunday.

Our two Week 7 featured contests from that event include a matchup of Ontario and USA top-three 2010 teams and a showdown between a pair of top-four USA 15U teams.

The first contest, which pits Ontario’s second-ranked Sun County Panthers against the USA’s third-ranked Chicago Mission, comes from the tournament’s 2010 SuperTacks Crosby Division, which also includes the following teams:

Ontario #2 Sun County Panthers

# 3 Chicago Mission

#5 Chicago Fury

#8 Chicago Reapers

#10 Anaheim Jr. Ducks

#14 Fox Motors

#16 St. Louis AAA Blues

#17 South Shore Kings

#20 Florida Alliance Elite

#23 Top Gun Elite

 

Our second Week 7 World Invite matchup is in the 15U SuperTacks Division and is between No. 1 Little Caesars and the fourth-ranked Los Angeles Jr. Kings. That division is comprised of the following teams:

#1 Little Caesars

#2 Chicago Mission

#4 L.A. Jr. Kings

#5 SDP Minnesota (15/16U USA All)

#11 Team Wisconsin

#16 Omaha Mastery

#18 Philadelphia Flyers Elite

#19 Minnesota Blue Ox

#21 St. Louis AAA Blues

#22 Honeybaked

#23 Florida Alliance

#35 Oakland Jr. Grizzlies

 

This week’s two featured girls’ matchups include Tier 1 and Tier 2 battles from upstate New York. We have a matchup of USA top-10 teams in the 12U Tier 1 Division as well as a battle between USA top-11 clubs in the 16U Tier 2 Division. The 12U contest pits the No. 8 Charles River Blazers against 10^th-ranked Pittsburgh Penguins Elite, while the 16U game has the ninth-ranked Glenview Stars facing off against the No. 11 Adirondack Northstars.

The Roc City Girls Fest has more than 125 teams competing in five different age groups from 10U through 19U.

Here is a closer look at this week’s Games of the Week:

 

Week 7 MHR/LiveBarn Featured Games of the Week 

#2 Ontario Sun County Panthers vs. #3 USA Chicago Mission

Level: 2010 Ontario/USA Boys Tier 1

Date: Saturday, November 5

Time: 9:15 a.m. EDT

Location: Edge Ice Arena West – Bensenville, Ill.

Event: CCM World Invite Chicago

Stream: LiveBarn

A border battle between top-three Ontario and USA 2010 teams is one of the highlights of Day 2 at the CCM World Invite. Sun County enters the tournament with a sparkling 17-1-0 record and having compiled an 87-26 scoring advantage against its opponents. Sun County’s lone loss was a 5-2 decision against the USA’s 10^th-ranked Anaheim Jr. Ducks in its second game of the season on Sept. 30. The Panthers have won 16 straight since then, posting four shutouts and holding 11 opponents to zero or one goal. They have allowed more than one goal just three times in the last 14 outings. Sun County has recorded victories against the USA’s Nos. 4, 6, 10, 14 and 21 teams as well as Ontario’s Nos. 15 and 24 clubs. The Mission bring a record of 19-6-3 into the tournament, having poured in 135 goals while allowing 73. They are 3-2-1 in their last six outings, with the losses both coming by a single goal against the No. 7 Dallas Stars Elite and top-ranked Minuteman Flames. Chicago has posted victories against USA Nos. 5, 8, 11, 13 and 19 while also knocking off Ontario’s Nos. 3, 4, 14 and 18 teams.

 

#1 Little Caesars vs. #4 Los Angeles Jr. Kings

Level: 15U USA Boys Tier 1

Date: Saturday, November 5

Time: 11:00 a.m. EDT

Location: Seven Bridges Ice Arena – Woodridge, Ill.

Event: CCM World Invite Chicago

Stream: LiveBarn

Another huge Day 2 game at the CCM World Invite features a battle of top-four 15U opponents. Little Caesars comes into the weekend at 20-2-1 and having outscored its opponents, 117-47. LC has won 10 straight games and is unbeaten in its last 20 since a 7-2 loss to the second-ranked Chicago Mission Aug. 28. They also opened the season with a 6-5 loss to the Mission and were 1-2-0 before the current unbeaten streak. LC has recorded six shutouts and held 11 opponents to zero or one goal.  During one stretch, Little Caesars played six of seven games against top-10 teams, posting a 5-0-1 record in those contests and recording victories over the Nos. 4,6, 8 and 9 teams. They also beat Ontario’s Nos. 1, 3, 6 and 8 teams and followed those victories up with wins against the USA’s Nos. 7 and 10 clubs. The Jr. Kings come to Chicago with a 20-5-1 record and having outscored their opponents, 133-40. They have won six-straight games, outscoring their opponents, 46-2, during that stretch while recording four shutouts. Prior to that streak, they tied Ontario’s No. 8 Toronto Nationals, 2-2, and dropped a 3-2 decision to USA’s second-ranked Chicago Mission. Four of the team’s five losses have come against teams ranked among the nation’s top eight.

 

#9 Glenview Stars vs.  #11 Adirondack North Stars

Level: 16U USA Girls Tier 2

Date: Saturday, November 5

Time: 10:15 a.m. EDT

Location: Bill Gray’s Regional Iceplex – Rochester, N.Y.

Event: Roc City Girls Fest

Stream: LiveBarn

Illinois-based Glenview doesn’t quite bring a perfect record into the Girls Fest, but the Stars are unbeaten through their first 18 contests at 14-0-4. They have allowed just 10 goals in their first 18 outings while scoring 68. Glenview has recorded nine shutouts on the year, and only one opponent has scored more than a single goal. No. 23 Badger City netted a pair in a 2-2 tie Sept. 16. Other ties have some against No. 29 Honeybaked, the No. 12 Steel City Selects and No. 6 Little Caesars. The Stars also have beaten Steel City twice and skated to victories against the No. 15 Chicago Hawks and No. 16 North Shore Warhawks. Adirondack brings and impressive 8-1-0 record of its own to Rochester and holds a 58-8 scoring advantage over its opponents. The Northstars have recorded five shutouts and allowed more than one goal twice. Their only loss came against the No. 28 Princeton Tiger Lillies in the second game of the season Sept. 17, a day after beating Princeton, 4-1. Adirondack has played just three different opponents in its opening nine contests.

 

#8 Charles River Blazers vs.  #10 Pittsburgh Penguins Elite

Level: 12U USA Girls Tier 1

Date: Saturday, November 5

Time: 1:00 p.m. EDT

Location: Paul Louis Arena – Rochester, N.Y.

Event: Roc City Girls Fest

Stream: LiveBarn

The Blazers play in the New England Girls Hockey League, one of the most competitive circuits in the country, and bring a 5-7-1 record into Girls Fest. That record is deceiving, however, as Charles River has played the toughest schedule of any top-10 team and the second most-difficult 12U slate in the nation to date. The Blazers are 2-1-1 in their last four contests and 4-4-2 in their last 10. They are 1-2-0 vs. the No. 5 Bay State Breakers, 0-2-1 vs. the No. 4 Boston Jr. Eagles, 0-3-0 vs. the top-ranked East Coast Wizards and 3-0 vs. No. 25 Assabet Valley. Pens Elite heads to Rochester with a 16-4-0 record and having outscored its opponents, 82-33. They are 12-1-0 in their last 13 contests leading up to the tournament. Pens Elite opened the season by going 4-3-0 prior to the recent hot streak. Two of their four losses have come against the third-ranked Madison Capitols. They have recorded seven shutouts and held 10 opponents to zero or one goal.