The first annual No Hit Midget Tournament, hosted by the St. Albert Minor Hockey Association, is shaping up to be a big hit this weekend.
Eight teams have been confirmed for the three-day competition at the Akinsdale, Kinex, Mark Messier and Go Auto arenas.
“At first I was going to try for eight teams and if we don’t fill the eight spots we’ll go down to four but as soon as I put it on the website it exploded and I’ve got over 20 teams on the waiting list,” said Paul Reid, the SAMHA midget director. “It has far exceeded my expectations as far as how many clubs contacted me regarding information. There is obviously a huge appetite for tournaments where there are associations that now have teams in no hit leagues.”
SAMHA is represented by the Flyers and Warriors and they will be joined by the Airdrie Avalanche, Beaumont Braves, Bow River Bruins, Canmore Eagles, Cochrane Rockies and Vancouver Thunderbirds.
The 18-game draw starts 4 p.m. Friday and wraps up with Sunday’s final at 4 p.m. at Go Auto Arena.
Games are the normal three 20-minute stop time periods.
“Fans can expect to see some great hockey. You can still have great hockey at any level of play,” Reid said. “We also get to showcase our city and our facilities to other teams and even other provinces with Vancouver coming in.”
Last year’s decision by Hockey Edmonton to eliminate body checking in bantam and midget, except for the top tiers and levels of play, prompted Reid to put the wheels in motion for the no hit tournament.
“When I found out that (Hockey Edmonton) was taking hitting away below tier two, I thought we had to do something for these kids to have a tournament because there is just nowhere for them to play in one.”
The no hit concept is still a work in process.
“My thoughts are that the majority of the players still want to have hitting in hockey. At the beginning of the season we did offer the players either hit or no hit and we had only five players out of I think 87 who registered opted for the no hit,” Reid said. “I understand that Hockey Alberta will be making a decision province-wide at their AGM in June, so that way everyone will be uniform.”
The Flyers (10-6) and Warriors (8-7-3) compete in the Hetchler midget 4A interlock division with six other teams
In pool A, the Warriors skate 5 p.m. Friday against Cochrane at Akinsdale Arena and Saturday’s games are 8 a.m. against Vancouver at Akinsdale Arena and 6:15 p.m. against Canmore at Kinex Arena.
In pool B, the Flyers play at 8 p.m. Friday against Beaumont at Go Auto Arena and Saturday’s start times are 8:45 a.m. against Airdrie at Mark Messier Arena and 7:45 p.m. against Bow River at Go Auto Arena.
