Happy New Year: Opening Weekend Features a Pair of Big USA Tier 2 Events
It seems like just yesterday that we were crowning USA Hockey national champions for the 2024-25 season. Believe it or not, it’s been four months since the puck last dropped for a sanctioned USA Hockey game, but that all changes this weekend as the 2025-26 youth hockey season officially gets under way in the United States.
As of this weekend, results of sanctioned games in the U.S. can count toward a team’s rating on MYHockeyRankings.com.
In what has become an August tradition, the first weekend of the new campaign features one of the season’s top USA Boys Tier 2 showcases in Pennsylvania as the Mid-Atlantic Showcase Series kicks off its year with the Mid-Atlantic Summer Showcase, Meanwhile, a little farther north in Massachusetts, the East Coast Wizards are hosting their annual girls Tier 2 August Showcase.
The two events include some of the nation’s top Tier 2 boys and girls programs, with a total of 115 teams competing.
Being held at four suburban Philadelphia rinks, the Mid-Atlantic Summer Showcase boasts 89 teams competing at the 10U through 18U age levels. The Wizards August Tier 2 Showcase features 26 teams in the 16U and 19U age groups playing at Edge Sports Center in Bedford, Mass.
Mid-Atlantic Showcase play runs Aug. 15-17, while the Wizards Tier 2 August Showcase got underway Thursday, Aug. 14 and also runs through Sunday, Aug. 17.
Most games from both tournaments should be available for live and on-demand viewing via LiveBarn.
Mid-Atlantic Summer Showcase
Being held at four suburban-Philadelphia venues, the Mid-Atlantic Showcase includes 89 USA Tier 2 boys teams competing in 21 divisions across six age groups. There will be A and AA divisions, with teams traveling from as far away as Western New York to the north and North Carolina to the south.
As usual, the 16U and 18U AA divisions will be highly competitive, with teams needing to win six games to capture the championship. Both divisions feature traditional Tier 2 powerhouse programs that sent teams to USA Hockey Nationals in April, including the Carolina Jr. Canes, Long Island Rebels, Montclair Blues, Philadelphia Blazers, Team Philadelphia, Reston Raiders and Wilmington Nighthawks. Other perennially strong programs such as Genesis Hockey Club, the New Jersey Jets and Rochester Coalition will be competing at those age levels as well.
Several returning district champions and state finalists also are participating in Pennsylvania. The Lehigh Valley Phantoms, who are in the 16AA South Division, went to 14U AA Nationals last year. Genesis and the Philadelphia Blazers were highly ranked 12U AA teams last season, and both are in the 13U AA division this year. Genesis won the 12AA Atlantic District championship and finished with a record of 59-8-1, while the Blazers went 56-11-5.
All 185 Mid-Atlantic Summer Showcase games can be viewed on LiveBarn from Hatfield Ice Arena, Oaks Center Ice, Ice Line Quad Rinks and PNY Sports Arena.
CLICK HERE for all Mid-Atlantic Summer Showcase schedules, standings and results.
East Coast Wizards Tier 2 August Showcase
A smaller event but equally strong, the East Coast Wizards Tier 2 Showcase began play Thursday, Aug. 14, and runs through Sunday, Aug. 17. The tournament features a dozen 16U girls teams, with 14 teams competing at the 19U level.
Games are being played at the Edge Sports Center in Bedford, Mass., and should be available for live and on-demand viewing on LiveBarn.
Both age groups include many traditional national USA Girls powerhouse programs. In addition to the host East Coast Wizards, who often send both Tier 1 and Tier 2 teams to USA Hockey Nationals, other programs that are frequent Nationals participants or produce highly ranked teams such as Assabet Valley, the Boston Jr. Eagles, Massachusetts Spitfires, Steel City Selects and Bay State Breakers are competing.
CLICK HERE for East Coast Wizards Tier 2 August Showcase schedules, standings and results.
