The St. Albert Slash host the Greater Vancouver Comets in the Esso Cup Pacific Regional midget AAA female hockey playoff this weekend at Go Auto Arena.
Faceoff times in the best-of-three series are 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday and game three, if needed, is 1 p.m. Sunday.
The winner advances to the Esso Cup national championship, April 23 to 29 at Morden, Man.
The Comets are the British Columbia champions after sweeping the Northern Capitals, winners of the last two playoff finals, by scores of 9-1 and 5-1.
The Comets finished 4-0 in two playoff series after going 29-1 (131 GF/34 GA) in the six-team B.C. league.
The Slash completed the inaugural Alberta Female Hockey League provincial tournament with a 2-2 record by blanking the Rocky Mountain Raiders 2-0 in the final after going 27-2-1 (119 GF/44 GA) in the regular season.
The AFHL championship is the first provincial title in team history after the Slash made their Alberta Major Midget Female Hockey League debut in 2004/05.
The Slash hosted the 2011 Esso Cup and the AMMFHL provincial finalists finished fifth out of six teams.
The Esso Cup was established in 2009 and last year in Weyburn, Sask., the Brantford Ice Cats defeated Express du Richelieu in the gold-medal final and the Alberta/Pacific regional champion Raiders were bronze medallists.
Pacific regional teams have combined for two silver and four bronze at the Esso Cup.
The fifth annual Donnie MAC Cup fundraiser for Lung Cancer Canada will raise the roof at the Akinsdale and Kinex arenas April 8.
The hockey tournament, as well as local businesses and individuals through the Donnie Mac Cup initiative, have raised more than $50,000 in the fight against lung cancer.
Donations will be accepted at the tournament, online through Derek MacMillan at [email protected] or at MAC Insurance at No. 8, 44 St. Thomas Street in St. Albert and MAC Registries at 14228 Stony Plain Road.
Last year’s event featured 57 players, the majority were St. Albert Minor Hockey Association alumni, on four teams for the two-hour competition.
This year’s Donnie MAC Cup starts at 2:30 p.m.
Players and goalies interest in participating can contact MacMillan at 780-458-1441 for more information.
The fundraiser is held in memory Don MacMillan, a St. Albert resident who died of lung cancer in 2011 at age 61, as well as others affected by the disease.
