Weekend Recap: 2023 CCM Girls World Invite

Girls Hockey Takes Over Motor City

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One week after the conclusion of the CCM World Invite, the Girls got their moment on the big stage at the CCM Girls World Invite. From Idaho to Ontario, 85 teams traveled to the Motor City to battle it out to see who would be crowned champions. We want to thank all the attending players, coaches, and families for joining us in Detroit for 191 games of high-competition and plenty of fun. Check out the division breakdowns and see who came out on top.

 

JUMP TO: 10U | 12U | 14U | 16U | 19U

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10U Division

Champion: Naperville Sabres

Howie’s Hockey MVP: Breanna Watson, #17

The 10U Division featured a true underdog story. Winless with a 0-2-1 in pool play, the Naperville Sabres entered the four team playoff with nothing to lose. They would have to face the undefeated Metro Jr. Jets, who previously defeated them 7-3 earlier in the weekend. The underdog Sabres shocked the Jr. Jets upset them 4-2 for their first win of the weekend. The underdog storyline continued as they would have to face the other team that defeated them in pool play, the Florida Alliance. The Sabres offense exploded in the championship as they tallied seven goals to the Alliance’s four. It was a magical run for Naperville as they proved their resiliency and made a statement when the prize was on the line.

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12U Divisions

12U Supertacks Division

Champion: Little Caesars

Howie’s Hockey MVP: Brooklyn Nurkala, #30

Three undefeated teams remained going into the semi-final, the Dallas Stars Elite (3-0-0), Chicago Mission (2-0-1), and Fox Motors (2-0-1). Fox Motors and the Mission would face each other for the second time on the weekend, the first resulting in a 3-3 draw. The Mission made a statement shutting out Fox Motors to advance to the final. In the other semi-final match, the Stars Elite looked to keep their win streak alive versus Little Caesars. Little Caesars came to play and ended the Stars Elite’s weekend with a 6-1 win. Caesars would advance to the final to rematch the Mission, the only team to defeat them all weekend. The Mission could not repeat their previous performance versus Caesars as the final buzzer sounded, Caesars was on top 3-1.

 

12U Jetspeed Division

Champion: Ancaster Avalanche

Howie’s Hockey MVP: Lily Putignano, #29

As the 12U Jetspeed Division entered the semi-final games, we knew we were on the path to a cross border duel in the final. One semi-final would be a Michigan based matchup, and the other would be a battle of Ontario teams. The Livonia Knights defeated Honeybaked Gold 4-1, and the Ancaster Avalanche defeated the Toronto Leaside Wildcats 3-0. The Knights and the Avalanche would meet for the second time of the weekend in the championship, the first resulting in a 4-0 shutout victory in favor of the Avalanche. The Avalanche could not keep the Knights off the board in the final, but they still registered four goals on their path to a 4-2 championship victory.

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14U Divisions

14U Supertacks Division

Champion: Cambridge Roadrunners

Howie’s Hockey MVP: Lauren Stiles, #97

Entering their quarter-final match coming off a 6-0 loss at the hands of Little Caesars, the Cambridge Roadrunners may have gotten the wakeup call they needed. They defeated Biggby to earn their rematch with Little Caesars in the semi-final. Averaging over five goals for a game in their 4-0-0 start, the home-state Caesars was on fire. The Roadrunners clamped down and hung on to a 2-1 victory. Their final adversary would be the Windy City Storm, and it came down to a shootout. The Roadrunners prevailed in the shootout to win 2-1 and claim their banner.

 

14U Jetspeed Division

Champion: Steel City Selects

Howie’s Hockey MVP: Jovie Cagnacci, #33

Opening the weekend with a loss and a tie left the Steel City Select in a tight spot going into their last game of pool play. Their 2-0 defeat of the Chicago Hawks earned them the 8th and final seed to advance to the playoff rounds. Up against the the undefeated #1 seeded Florida Alliance to kick off the playoffs did not phase the Selects. The Selects shutout the Alliance 4-0 and followed it up with a 4-3 victory over the North Shore Warhawks to punch their ticket to the final. Their opposition, the Cleveland Lady Barons, was riding high following their 4-3 overtime victory over the West Dundee Leafs, but that ended quickly in the final. The Selects locked down their competition and won the game 3-0.

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16U Divisions

16U Supertacks Division

Champion: Florida Alliance

Howie’s Hockey MVP: Ava Christensen, #35

Entering Saturday 2-0-0, the Florida Alliance had already clinched a spot in the playoffs but had one pool play game remaining. They would lose that game 4-3 to Honeybaked, only to have to rematch them later that day in the semi-final. This time, the Alliance would be victorious, edging out Honeybaked 2-1 and advancing to face the undefeated Windy City Storm (3-0-1) in the final. In a tightly contested final, the Alliance pulled ahead and held off the Storm by the final score of 3-1 to be crowned champions.

 

16U Jetspeed Division

Champion: Coer d’Alene Lady Thunder

Howie’s Hockey MVP: Jessica Bobiles, #41

Regulation resolved nothing in the semi-final match between Belle Tire and the Chicago Hawks. A shootout was necessary to determine the final. One after another, players hopped onto the ice. Three shooters from each team shot, and still no resolution. They continued. Round eight. Round nine. Round ten… it seemed like this chess match would go on forever. It took fourteen rounds, but in the end Belle Tire was heading to the final to face the Coer d’Alene Lady Thunder. The Idaho-based Thunder stumbled out the gate with a loss in their opening game of the weekend, but were on fire since only succeeding four goals against over the four win streak that brought them to the final. The Thunder retained their dominance in the final as they shutout Belle Tire 5-0 to win the championship and earn their banner.

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19U Divisions

19U Supertacks Division

Champion: Little Caesars

Howie’s Hockey MVP: Paige Cline, #4

Little Caesars was dominant throughout pool play, averaging six goals per game in their four victories. Their opposition in the final would be a rematch with the team that played the tightest game of the weekend with them, the Florida Alliance. The Alliance had not displayed the explosive offense that Caesars had, but they had been shutting down their opposition all weekend, averaging only one goal against per game. Offense prevailed in the final, Little Caesars was shot out of a cannon and went on to win 7-1.

 

19U Jetspeed Division

Champion: Little Caesars Farmington Hills

Howie’s Hockey MVP: Maya Ferracciolo, #7

Having only given up one goal through their first four games, Farmington Hills Little Caesars gave up two in the semi-final to the Glenview Stars. Unfortunately for the Stars, two was not enough to defeat Caesars as the game ended in a 2-2 draw. Caesars finished the job in the shootout to advance to the final, where they would face the North Shore Warhawks. Like Caesar’s, the Warhawks had been shutting offenses down all weekend as they had only given up four goals through their four games. The final was a tight, low-scoring match, and Caesars was able to shut out the Warhawks 2-0 and win the title.

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Plenty of memories made over the CCM Girls World Invite this past weekend in Detroit. The next event up is the CCM Nashville Tier II and the next event up for the girls is the CCM Windy City Elite. Even though the season has begun, there is still limited availability in select divisions of our upcoming events, click here to see the 2023-24 event line-up.