Youth hockey fans look to Chicago and Detroit for what may be the toughest league in the US.  Detroit’s Honeybaked, Little Caesars and Compuware  regularly clash with the Chicago Mission, the Young Americans and Team Illinois in the High Performance Hockey League.  This tier 1 AAA league produces players of the highest caliber, and they regularly travel all over North America to play other elite teams.  But the corridor between Motor City and the Windy City is well-worn with the tires of many a hockey family’s minivan.

This year, the Bantam Majors (mostly 2000 birthyears) will be the first time a great group of players can compete for a national championship, and two teams that have historically fought like Yankees and Red Sox are Honeybaked and the Mission.  For several years, the same group of kids have battled for bragging rights, with the Mission typically gaining the upper hand in national rankings.  That all changed earlier this month, when the Honeybaked 2000s took a decisive bite out of the Mission and, for the first time in recent memory, overtook the pride of Chicago in the national rankings and in the standings of the High Performance Hockey League.

Honeybaked has beaten the Mission before – just a few weeks ago, in fact, for the championship of the Bauer World Invitational (watch here) --  but rankers have been unconvinced. Until now.  On November 30, the Hammies won 4-2 in what Coach Trevor Edwards called a “well-played defensive game” in which Honeybaked limited the Mission to “just a handful of quality scoring chances.”  Edwards praised his team for a solid effort  from all 18 players.

Playing in Chicagoland’s Center Ice of Du Page arena, Honeybaked struck first blood five minutes into the first period when Jonathan Gruden scored off an assist by Jacob Simek. Six minutes later, though, the Mission answered with a Phillippe LaPointe tally, with helpers by Josef Martancik and Jacob Pavonka.  Honeybaked would not dally in extracting revenge. With three minutes left in the first frame, Max Ellis took an assist from Matt Shanklin to make it Honey baked 2, Mission 1 at the first pause.   It was showing signs of being a defensive grinder:  Chicago tallied 6 shots in the first, while Honeybaked landed 3.

The second period saw the Mission turn up the heat, and halfway through they equalized on a goal by Brady Smith.  But it would be the last time lighting the lamp for the Chicago side, as Honeybaked locked down their end of the ice. Jonathon Gruden loomed large for the Hammies, as he dished Bodie Wild and Valentino Passarelli for two ticks in the third.

One week later, MyHockeyRankings finally gave some love to “the other white meat” and moved the Honeybaked 2000s to number 1, ahead of the Chicago Mission.  It’s a sure sign that this year’s national championship will be hotly contested by these perennial rivals.

Edwards said, “Our team is… really playing with a lot of confidence right now. “ He added, “While it's nice to see the players get rewarded for doing the right things, we continue to remind them that it's only the start of December and we have a long way to go to reach the goals that they have set for themselves this season. "    

Game Summary

Mission

Goals: LaPointe (G), Smith(G), Martancik (A), Pavonka (A), Drury (A), Grabko Saves: (16 Saves on 20 SOG)

Honeybaked

Goals: Gruden (G, 2A), Ellis (G), Wilde (G), Passarelli (G), Shanklin (A), Kiefiuk (A)
Saves: Borgiel (12 Saves on 14 SOG)