Esso Cup 2025: Jr. Oilers Move to the Front of the Pack
Updated April 22 at 1:30 a.m. EDT
The final week of the 2024-25 North American youth hockey season is upon us with the arrival of Canada's U18 Boys and Girls club national championships.
Sunday, April 20, marked the begining of the Esso Cup in Lloydminster, Alberta, as six U18 Girls teams from around Canada converged to compete for national prominence.
Joining the host Lloydminster Steelers, No. 11 in our Week 30 MHR Canada Girls U18 Tier 1 Rankings, are the champions of Ottawa and Quebec along with the champs of the Atlantic, Western and Pacific Regions. This year's field includes the following teams:
- #1 Edmonton Jr. Oilers White (Pacific) - 2-0-0, 6pts
- #3 Saskatoon Stars (Western) - 1-1-0, 3pts
- #6 Laurentides-Lanaudiere Stars (Quebec) - 1-1-0, 3pts
- #8 North York Storm (Ontario) - 1-1-0, 3pts
- #11 Lloydminster Steelers (Host) - 1-1-0, 2pts
- #30 Eastern Stars (Atlantic) - 0-2-0, 1pt
The tournament began Sunday, April 20, at 1 p.m. EDT when the No. 8 North York Storm took on the third-ranked Sasatoon Stars. Other Day 1 matchups included the No. 1 Edmonton Jr. Oilers facing the sixth-ranked Laurentides-Lanaudiere Stars at 5 p.m. EDT, while the host Steelers played the 30th-ranked Eastern Stars in prime time at 8 p.m. EDT.
All Esso Cup games are being played at Centennial Civic Centre in Lloydmiinster and can be viewed live and on demand at HNLive.ca.
Esso Cup Format
All six teams play each other once - for a total of five games per club - in the preliminary round. There are three games per day until the opening round concludes with the host Lloydminster Steelers taking on the Laurentides-Lanaudiere Stars at 9:00 pm EDT April 24.
The teams that finish first through fourth in the preliminary round advance to play in the semifinals April 25 at 5 and 9 p.m. EDT. The bronze-medal game is scheduled for April 26 at 3 p.m. EDT, with puck drop for the gold-medal game set for 7 p.m. EDT that same day.
2025 Esso Cup Preliminary Round Schedule
Sunday, April 20
#3 Saskatoon Stars 5, #8 North York Storm 4
The North York Storm fell into a 4-0 first-period hole they never could quite climb out of as Saskatoon held on for the 5-4 victory after storming in front by scoring four times in the first 19:58 of the game. Kolbee Ashe, Peyton Birnie, Mickenzie Petford and Sadie Green tallied in the opening frame for the Stars and Mikayla Broadfoot's third-period goal gave them some breathing room with the Storm breathing down their necks. Broadfoot and Petford eadh also assisted on one of the first-period markers, and Halle Ducehne handed out a pair of helpers for the winners. Tarynn Sutter earned the win in goal with 31 saves.
#1 Edmonton Jr. Oilers 4, #6 Laurentides-Lanaudiere Stars 1
Julia Curran scored twice, inclduing a late third-period shorthanded insurance goal, as Edmonton tailled four straight times after falling behind in the opening period. Abigael Blais gave the Stars a 1-0 lead 11:30 into the opening frame, but Curran, Tavia Koscielnuk and Evie Hanson responded with the next four tallies as the Jr. Oilers won on Day 1. Hanson also assisted on Koscielnuk's goal, and Paige Smith dished out a pair of helpers. Taya Christie stopped 13 shots to pick up the win in goal.
#11 Lloydminster Steelers 2, #30 Eastern Stars 1 (OT)
In a Day 1 prime-time thriller, the hosts took a 1-0 lead 7:36 into the third period only to see Eastern's Emily Gardiner tie it and force overtime with 3:25 remaining. Kalie Cole beacme the hometown hero, however, striking at 4:37 of the extra session to give the Steelers the win. It was Cole's second goal of the game; Raevyn Neahr and Natalie Tychkowsky assisted on Cole's two tallies, while Grace Deveau made 18 saves to earn the victory in goal.
Monday, April 21
#6 Laurentides-Lanaudiere Stars 5, #3 Saskatoon Stars 2
Maika Gauthier recorded a hat trick to lead one group of Stars past the other on Day 2. After a scoreless opening period, Gauthier scored three times in span of 4:05 of the middle frame as Laurentides-Lanaudiere took control of the contest. Halle Duchene and Sadie Green responded before the end of the period, though, to cut the margin to 3-2 heading into the final 20 minutes. Ann-Laurence Dutil and Mirqndaq Dinelle scored with less than four minutes remaining, however, to put the game out of reach. Amelie Lebreux made 27 saves to earn the win in goal.
#8 North York Storm 7, #30 Eastern Stars 2
Lily Paisley scored four times, three of them as part of a six-goal North York run after the Stars had taken an early 1-0 lead, as the Storm rolled to the Day 2 win. Trailing 1-0 after Taylor Hunter's first of two goals, Paisley scored at 7:23 and 18:50 of the first period to kickstart the Storm. She scored her third of the game in the middle frame sandwiched between goals by Chloe Martin and Catelyn Clark. Lauren Kruzel had the other North York Goal, with Ellie Harding dishing out four assists and winning netminder Ryleigh Maxwell making 28 saves.
#1 Edmonton Jr. Oilers 2, #11 Lloydminster Steelers 1
The hosts made a run at the nation's top-ranked team but came up just short as Keira Grant's power-play goal 20 seconds into the third period proved to be the difference. Harlee Houle finished with 36 saves to keep the Lloydminster in the game, while winning netminder Ella Dunham-Fox stopped 14 shots. The Steelers scored first 13:23 in to the game, with Raevyn Neahr and Jamie Hensch setting up Skylar Heinrichs. Parker Small tied the game for Edmonton on the power play at 4:37 of the middle frame.
Tuesday, April 22
1 p.m. EDT - #6 Larentides-Lanaudiere Stars vs. Eastern Stars
5 p.m. EDT - #3 Saskatoon Stars vs. #1 Edmonton Jr. Oilers
9 p.m. EDT - #11 Lloydminister Steelers vs. #8 North York Storm
Wednesday, April 23
1 p.m. EDT - #30 Eastern Stars vs. #1 Edmonton Jr. Oilers
5 p.m. EDT - #8 North York Storm vs. #6 Laurentides-Lanaudiere Stars
9 p.m. EDT - #3 Saskatoon Starts vs. #11 Lloydminster Steelers
Thursday, April 24
1 p.m. EDT - #8 North York Storm vs. #1 Edmonton Jr. Oilers
5 p.m. EDT - #3 Saskatoon Stars vs. #30 Eastern Stars
9 p.m. EDT - #11 Lloydminster Steelers vs. #6 Larentides-Lanaudiere Stars
Friday, April 25 - Semifinals
5 p.m. EDT - TBD
9 p.m. EDT - TBD
Saturday, April 26 - Championship Saturday
3 p.m. EDT - Bronze Medal Game TBD
7 p.m. EDT - Gold Medal Game TBD
CLICK HERE for the complete Esso Cup schedule
CLICK HERE for Esso Cup team rosters
CLICK HERE for the Esso Cup standings
CLICK HERE for Esso Cup player stats
CLICK HERE for Esso Cup teram stats
In Ontario and Quebec, the provincial champions are awarded automatic bids to compete for the Esso Cup. Provincial champions in other parts of Canada advance to regional tournaments to compete for berths in the national-championship tournament.
CLICK HERE for the Road to the Esso Cup bracket
Ontario Provincial Champions
The North York Storm, ranked No. 8 in our MHR Week 18 Canada Girls U18 Tier 1 Rankings, were the final team to qualify for the 2025 Esso Cup. They captured the Ontario Women's Hockey Association championship April 13 to get another crack at Esso gold after earning the silver medal at the 2024 championship. North York was the fourth seed after last year's preliminary round but beat the Edmonton Jr. Oilers to advance to the gold-medal gamve vs. the Regina Rebels. The Rebels won the game and the championship, 2-1.
The Storm were 19-1-2 in OWHA league play this season and were 47-9-7 overall. They outscored their opponents, 190-69, recording 23 shutouts in the process. Three of those clean sheets came in succession at OWHA Provincials as they beat the No. 41 Central York Panthers, 2-0, the No. 49 Clarington Flames, 2-0, and the No. 32 Peterborough Ice Kats, 1-0. From there, North York went on to capture the Ontario champioship with a 2-1 victory against the No. 12 Stratford Aces in the gold-medal game.
They have 16 players returning from their 2024 Esso Cup team. Ontario has placed a team in the gold-medal game for the past three years and has not finished lower than fourth place in the 14 years that the tournament has been held.
The North York Storm open play vs. the No. 3 Saskatoon Stars April 20 at 1 p.m. EDT. They were unbeaten in their final seven contests (5-0-2) and were 20-2-4 in their final 26 outings.
Quebec Provincial Champions
The Laurentides-Lanaudiere Stars overcame stiff competition from the Outaouais Intrepid, Quebec A’s and Mauricie 55 Stars to earn a trip to the Esso Cup. The Stars are ranked No. 6 in Canada after posting a 44-11-0 record and outscoring their opponents, 208-71.
Laurentides-Lanaudiere knocked off the 16th-ranked Intrepide twice by a single goal, 3-2 and 4-3, after beating No 50 Mauricie, 4-0, the weekend of April 4-6, to capture the provincial title.
The sixth-ranked Stars open play at the Esso Cup vs. the top-ranked Edmonton Jr. Oilers at 5 p.m. EDT April 20. They won their final six games and nine of their last 11.
Pacific Region Champions
Ranked No. 1 in our MHR Week 30 Canada Girls U18 Tier 1 Rankings, Edmonton Jr. Oilers White knocked off the fourth-ranked St. Albert Slash to capture the Alberta Elite Female Hockey League title before beating the No. 8 Greater Vancouver Canucks for the Pacific Region championship and a berth in the Esso Cup. The Jr. Oilers enter the Esso Cup with a 49-7-1 record and having outscored their opponents, 230-58.
Edmonton swept the Comets in two games by scores of 3-2 and 4-0 after also sweeping the Slash by a combined score of 8-1 in two games of the AEFHL championship series. The Jr. Oilers bring a 14-game winning streak to the Esso Cup and posted a 17-3-0 record in their final 20 outings, with two of those losses coming against Rink Hockey Academy Kelowna, the second-ranked U22 team in Canada. Ironically, the other loss was a 2-1 overtime setback against the Lloydminster Steelers, the Esso Cup host team and the Jr. Oilers April 21 opponent.
The Jr. Oilers face the No. 6 Laurentides-Lanaudiere Stars on Day 1 of the Esso Cup, April 20 at 5 p.m. EDT.
West Region Champions
After finishing second in the Saskatchewan Female U18 AAA Hockey League with an 18-8-4 record, the third-ranked Saskatoon Stars hit their stride in the playoffs by sweeping the Weyburn Gold Wings in two games; knocking out the Swift Current Wildcats, two games to one; and taking two of three from the No. 2 Battlefords Sharks. They capped their run to the provincial and league title with a resounding 6-1 Game 3 victory.
From there it was on to the West Regional Championship, where Saskatoon dropped the opening game to the ninth-ranked Eastman Selects of Manitoba, 2-1, before squeaking by in Game 2, 5-4, and recording another resounding Game 3 victory, 6-0.
Overall, the Stars went 35-16-1 and outscored their opponents, 196-120. They are making their fifth Esso Cup appearance, but its also their first trip to the tournament in five years. Following a three-game skid Dec. 13-15, Saskatoon went 20-6-0.
The Stars open play at the Esso Cup against the No. 8 North York Storm April 20 at 1:00 p.m. EDT.
Atlantic Region Champions
The 30th-ranked Eastern Stars, one of three teams called Stars at this year’s Esso Cup, enter the tournament with an overall record of 43-11-3 and having outscored their foes, 185-90. They went 17-1-1 in their final 19 contests and swept the Western Wolves in four straight games to capture the Prince Edward Island championship before winning the Atlantic title.
Eastern won five straight games in the Atlantic Region Championship, overcoming the No. 52 Greenfoot Capitals, the No. 31 Northern Selects, the No. 79 Moncton Rockets and the No. 96 Eastern Ice Breakers en route to the title. The Stars beat the Northern Selects, 2-1, in overtime during the preliminary round and 3-1 in the championship game.
The Eastern Stars open play at the Esso Cup vs. the Lloydminster Steelers April 20 at 9:00 p.m. EDT.
Host Team
The 11h-ranked Lloydminster Steelers are as formidable as any host team likely to be found anywhere, entering the Esso Cup with a record of 32-21-1 and having outscored their opponents, 119-98.
Lloydminster finished fourth in the Alberta Elite Female Hockey League regular-season standings with a 17-11-0 record and behind the nation’s Nos. 1, 4 and 14 teams. The Steelers bowed out in the league quarterfinals, however, getting swept by 18th-ranked Calgary Fire Red, two games to none. They have been off since, March 7, and concluded their season by dropping five of their last seven games.
Lloydminster opens play at the Esso Cup April 20 vs. the Eastern Stars at 9 p.m. EDT.
