Hockey Northwestern Ontario (HNO) in collaboration with Hockey Eastern Ontario (HEO) and Hockey Quebec are set to run the second annual Cross Border Challenge, May 15-18, 2025 at the Richcraft Sensplex in Ottawa, ON.
The Cross Border Challenge is a Program of Excellence (POE) event at the U14, U15 and U16 levels.
· U14 (2011 birth year) Competition will consist of 8 teams – 4 teams from Quebec and 4 Teams from HEO and HNO (combined)
· U15 (2010 birth year) Competition will consist of 4 teams – 2 teams from Quebec and 2 Teams from HEO and HNO (combined)
· U16 (2009 birth year) Competition will consist of 2 teams – 1 team from Quebec and 1 Team from HEO and HNO (combined)
· Athletes will participate in 2 on-ice practices led by Hockey Canada Skills Coaches in addition to playing a minimum of 3 games.
· HNO will be sending 10 athletes at each of the U14 and U15 age groups, 6 athletes at the U16 age group and 2 HNO officials.
Full Schedule can be found Here
Rosters will be announced at a later date
The POE is Hockey Canada’s elite development and competitive program that provides players with exposure to international competition concepts and some of the best high-performance coaching in the country. The program is offered by Hockey Northwestern Ontario to start and educate young athletes on the Hockey Canada POE Pathway (U17, U18, U20 and Olympic Teams)
This event is intended as a first step in enhancing the development of our athletes. Ages 14 to 16 are crucial for the High-Performance progress of the athlete. This will provide our elite athletes exposure to competition and development opportunities outside of HNO, which aligns with similar type programming that is being run in other regions of the country by other Hockey Canada Member Branches.
