The Michigan Amateur Hockey Association hosted its 2023 September Tier 1 Showcase in Troy to officially kick off the new hockey season for all the 18U, 16U, 15O and 14U AAA teams. The annual event gives a first look at top players and teams from across the Great Lakes State, which makes it a must-see weekend for scouts of junior and college programs.
Here is a look at which teams made early impressions as the AAA circuit gets underway for the 2023-24 youth hockey season.
18U DIVISION
Riley Fast celebrates a Friday night goal with his Biggby 18U teammates. (Photo by Michael Caples/Take Your Shot)
Biggby Coffee was the lone 18U team to post a perfect record at the MAHA Tier 1 Showcase, as the East Lansing/Ann Arbor-based program finished 3-0 and a 10-goal differential over those contests.
The “Roll Beans” boys posted a 7-3 win over Little Caesars on Friday to start the weekend with a bang.
Saturday, they continued their winning ways with an even more stringent defense, as they topped HoneyBaked 5-1.
Saturday, they wrapped things up with a close battle against Belle Tire; Biggby emerged with a 3-1 victory.
One of the top performers for Biggby over the weekend was Riley Fast – the East Lansing native turned in a hat trick on Friday, including one goal batted in out of midair. He was a presence at both ends of the ice all weekend.
Three teams – Victory Honda, Fox Motors and Belle Tire – finished with 2-1 records on the weekend.
Victory Honda won both of its games against Michigan competition, as the VH boys battled to a 3-1 win over Fox Motors on Saturday and a 8-0 win over HoneyBaked on Sunday. Their lone loss came to the lone out-of-state team from the weekend, as Chicago Mission prevailed 4-1. The win over Fox puts VH in the ‘second place’ spot for 18U after the weekend.
Fox may have dropped the Saturday battle with Honda, but other than that, they didn’t give up a single goal on the weekend. The Grand Rapids club blanked HoneyBaked 5-0 Friday, while they recorded a 7-0 win Sunday against Compuware.
16U DIVISION
Tommy Spencer celebrates a goal for his Victory Honda 16U squad. (Photo by Michael Caples/Take Your Shot)
Two teams went undefeated at the 16U level of play during the weekend’s festivities – Victory Honda and the Oakland Jr. Grizzlies.
Honda won 7-4 in a Friday battle with Little Caesars, then they gave up only one goal the rest of the weekend. In Saturday’s game with Belle Tire, VH registered a 3-1 win; in Sunday’s game, they dismantled Biggby to the tune of 8-0.
Victory Honda outscored its opponents by a 13-goal margin at the Showcase.
The goaltending tandem will be a strength for the VH 16U squad, as Wesley Jefferson-Swint – fresh off of representing USA Hockey at the Under-17 Five Nations Tournament – took care of the games against Caesars and Biggby. His crease mate, Mason Gudridge, has traveled from Colorado to suit up for VH this season, and he looked strong in his contest against Belle Tire, allowing a single goal.
Meanwhile, the Oakland Jr. Grizzlies squad showed that they aren’t afraid of close games. The OJG team played in a series of tight contests but prevailed in all three – 3-1 over Belle Tire, 3-2 over Fox Motors, and 4-2 over Compuware.
That’s good for only a five-goal differential over the weekend, but all that matters is what shows up on the standings.
15O DIVISION
Camden Nimmer (left) and Beckham Edwards (center) embrace their Little Caesars 15O teammates after a goal. (Photo by Michael Caples/Take Your Shot)
Little Caesars was the only 15O team to skate through the Showcase weekend unscathed, as they posted a 3-0 record to start in-state play with a bang.
Their first game was no walk in the park, however, as the battled rival HoneyBaked to a 2-1 final score.
Little Caesars did not give up a goal for the rest of the weekend, as they beat Fox Motors 6-0 on Saturday and Belle Tire 10-0 on Sunday.
The Caesars 15O team boasts an impressive roster as the players enter their junior draft-eligible season, with plenty of them vying for the attention of USA Hockey’s National Team Development Program, the USHL and the OHL. Belleville’s Ethan Garden has long been considered one of the top prospects in the 2008 birth-year, while the additions of Camden Nimmer, Beckham Edwards, and Logan Stuart (son of former Red Wings defenseman Brad Stuart) strengthen a stacked line-up for Caesars.
Plenty of teams will be lining up to challenge LC throughout the season, however. Four other teams recorded 2-1 records at the Showcase, showing the depth and balance of the birth-year.
The Oakland Jr. Grizzlies – last year’s state champions in the age group – registered a 8-4 win over Victory Honda and a 8-1 win over Biggby in their ‘home ice’ games at the Showcase before dropping a 3-1 decision to HoneyBaked in their Sunday finale.
Honda bounced back from that Friday loss by beating Belle Tire 5-1 and Biggby 5-2.
Fox Motors, meanwhile, battled Belle Tire to a 2-1 win and shook off their Saturday loss to Little Caesars in time to beat Compuware 4-2 on Sunday.
Compuware recorded a 9-0 win over Biggby on Friday and won a 3-2 overtime thriller over HoneyBaked on Saturday.
It will be fun to watch how the 2008 class performs in their big 15-Only season.
14U DIVISION
The Little Caesars 14U team scored 26 goals in three games at the September Tier 1 Showcase. (Photo by Michael Caples/Take Your Shot)
If there was an award given out for most dominating Showcase weekend, it would go to the Little Caesars 14U team, as they had no problems dismantling the competition in Troy.
Coached by Michigan great David Legwand, the 2009 LC squad started things off with a 7-1 win over Compuware on Friday before a 12-1 victory over Biggby on Saturday. On Sunday, they continued their scoring ways, as LC posted a 7-2 win over Belle Tire.
That’s a goal differential of +22 for Little Caesars.
Some of the teams they didn’t see at the Showcase will certainly present a challenge for LC, however.
HoneyBaked picked up a 7-1 win over Biggby on Friday before prevailing in a 2-1 battle against Victory Honda on Saturday. They wrapped up their Showcase weekend with a 1-1 tie against the Oakland Jr. Grizzlies.
Despite the one-goal loss to HB, Honda registered an 8-1 win over Belle Tire and a 4-1 win over Fox Motors.
The OJG ‘09s actually played to two different ties on the weekend, as they also tied Fox Motors on Friday. The 14U age group was the lone birth-year that did not have overtime at the Showcase.
