The CCM World Invite hosted over 700 teams in the Chicago area last weekend, with over 1,000 games in over 50 venues. An amazing feat. YHH took in play at the Major Squirt level in Pleasant Prairie, WI (just west of Kenosha). 

The Vaughan Kings (Ontario) took home first place with a 5-3 win over Team Illinois Sunday afternoon. The Kings had six players that skated in The Brick on their squad including Alessandro Di Iorio, Nasean Faria, Alexander Hage, Oliver Tang, Adam Valentini and Dima Zhilkin. All played for Toronto Pro except Zhilkin.

Team Illinois had a great weekend winning their pool which included Islanders Hockey Club and then they beat Chicago Fury for the third time in this young season. TI has an explosive blend of size, speed and talent.

2008 Players to Watch

Alessandra Di Iorio, Vaughan Kings - High-scoring forward who sees the ice well.
Robin Kuzma, Chicago Mission - Great motor, pushes the pace on every shift.
Jack Hextall, Team Illinois - A fun players to watch who makes plays all over the ice.
Zack Klaich, Chicago Fury - Puck-rushing defenseman who always has his nose in the play.
Dima Zhilkin,  Vaughan Kings - Hard-nosed player with high-end skill.

Level Champions

2009 - Chicago Young Americans
2008 - Vaughan Kings
2007 - Chicago Mission
2006 - Anaheim Jr. Ducks
2005 - Toronto Marlboros
2004 - Little Caesars
15U - Gentry Galaxy 

Five highly-rated Bantam teams converged on Grand Forks, North Dakota last weekend for a showcase of hockey. Highly rated Minnesota Bantam AA Chaska Chanhassen, Shattuck-St.Mary's, Rink Academy (Winnipeg, MB), Notre Dame (Saskatchewan) and the hometown Grand Forks Aviators. Here are the scores for each team.

Notre Dame > Grand Forks (4-1)
Grand Forks > Rink (3-2)
Shattuck > Rink (4-3, OT)
Chaska > Rink (3-2)
Shattuck > Notre Dame (4-1)
Shattuck > Chaska (15-2)
Notre Dame > Rink (3-2)

Players to Watch

Carter Anderson (Rink Academy) - Anderson proved to be a great all-around player who made a ton of plays.
Max Burkholder (Chaska Chan) - Burkholder did his thing, moved pucks and made hard plays look easy.
Andrew Fan (Shattuck) - Sturdy power forward who stirred things up in all games.
Isaac Howard (Shattuck) - The speedy forward had the game-winner versus Rink Academy on Friday.
Jake Tracey (Notre Dame) - Tracey is a slick, puck-moving defenseman from Lincoln, New Brunswick. 

The 12UA season unofficially kicked off over the weekend in the north metro, as Andover, Edina Green, Orono-Westonka, and Stillwater met in Blaine and Andover for a slate of games. 

Each team played three times, with Edina Green emerging from the pack with a 2-1 record. The Hornets fell to Stillwater 2-0 to open the jamboree before rattling off wins over Andover and Orono-Westonka. The Ponies, the aforementioned only team to beat Edina, went 1-1-1, tying Orono-Westonka and closing the weekend with a loss to Andover. 

A young Andover squad was locked in low-scoring contests in all three games, falling to Edina Green 3-0 before earning a 2-1 win over Orono-Westonka and a 1-0 victory over Stillwater. Orono-Westonka went winless over the weekend at 0-2-1, with the tie coming against Stillwater where Alexandria Pleimann scored in the game's final minute to force the draw.

Shattuck-St. Mary takes home the crown at the 2018 International Invitational Tournament in New Hope, scoring 21 goals over three games en route to wins over Tier I Elite, Red Bull Salzburg, and Minnesota White in consecutive days. 

Four players from the Sabre lineup were named to the all-IIT team, with forwards Brendan Brisson and Dylan Schneider, goaltender Carsen Stokes, and defenseman Jackson Lacombe all earning spots. John Jason Peterka of Red Bull Salzburg and Mike Koster of Minnesota White rounded out the all-IIT selections. 

Schneider ranked among the tournament's leading scorers with three goals and five points, just one point behind teammates Scott Morrow (9 points)for the tournament-lead. 

The Sabres and Minnesota White engaged in a highly-entertaining championship game on Sunday, with Shattuck-St. Mary's tallying three goals in the third period to cement an exciting 9-5 win. Morrow, Schneider, and Brisson all recorded two goals in the win for the Sabres, while Minnesota White was led by Josh Luedtke's goal and assist.