hunder Bay Kings AAA Hockey
Media Update
Release date: Wednesday, March 29, 2017
Major midget Kings set for TELUS Cup West Regional in Steinbach, Man.
STEINBACH, Man. – The Thunder Bay major midget Kings are in Steinbach, Man., gearing up to begin play at the 2017 TELUS Cup West Regional, which gets underway Thursday and runs through Sunday.
Joining the Kings at the four-team event are the Saskatchewan Midget AAA League champion Regina Pat Canadians, the Winnipeg Wild, winners of the Manitoba AAA midget loop along with the host Eastman Selects from Steinbach.
Game action for Thunder Bay begins at 9 p.m. ET Thursday vs. Eastman.
The Hockey Northwestern Ontario AAA midget district champion will then meet Winnipeg Friday at 6 p.m.
They’ll then finish up round robin play Saturday at 1:30 p.m. vs. Regina.
Sunday’s title game will feature the top team teams in round robin competition with a berth to the TELUS Cup Canadian midget championship, April 24-30, in Prince George, B.C. on the line.
HOW THEY MADE IT: The Kings earned their way to the West Regional after sweeping the Kenora Thistles in the best-of-three HNO district championship.
Regina had a tough test in SMAAAHL quarter-final play before eventually getting by the Saskatoon Blazers in five games, in a series that went the distance.
The Pat Canadians then swept the Yorkton Maulers in three straight semifinal contests before doing likewise to the Tisdale Trojans in the league final.
As for Winnipeg, they disposed of the Parkland Rangers in the quarter-finals and then narrowly got by Eastman in a semifinal series that required a fifth and deciding game before going on to sweep the Yellowhead Chiefs in the Manitoba final.
The Selects upset the Winnipeg Thrashers in Round 1 in five games and then fell to the Wild in the semifinals.
KINGS OF THE WEST: The Kings have won the West Region four times, the last being in 1997 when they defeated the Tisdale Trojans from Saskatchewan in Arborg, Man., on a Monday after the Sunday final was postponed due to a powerful spring blizzard that dumped massive amounts of snow on southern Manitoba.
They also came away victorious in 1992, 1995 and 1996.
WEST IS THE BEST: The numbers confirm it that West Region winner boasts the majority of TELUS Cup National Midget Championship success over the years.
Since 1974, when the national midget event was first held as the Wrigley’s then the Air Canada Cup, a team from the West Region has won 18 of the 42 previous Canadian championships.
The West has also mined six silvers and eight bronze for a record 32 medals overall.
NATIONAL CHAMPS: Of the four organizations competing at the West Regional, two of them boast national midget titles.
Regina has four Canadian championships to their credit, winning it all in 1999, 1994, 1998 and 1993.
Thunder Bay meanwhile has won twice, capturing the then Air Canada Cup in both 1995 and 1997.
The Kings also medaled in their two other national appearances, claiming silver in 1992 and 1996.
The local Andrews midget side won a bronze at the 1983 event as did the Thunder Bay Bearcats in 1988.
NEXT YEAR: The Kings will host the 2018 TELUS Cup West Regional next April at Fort William First Nation Arena.
TELUS CUP West Regional
Schedule
All games at the T.G. Smith Centre
Steinbach, Man.
Start times Eastern Standard Time
Thursday, March 30
Winnipeg vs. Regina 6 p.m.
Thunder Bay vs. Eastman 9 p.m.
Friday, March 31
Thunder Bay vs. Winnipeg 6 p.m.
Eastman vs. Regina 9 p.m.
Saturday, April 1
Regina vs. Thunder Bay 1:30 p.m.
Winnipeg vs. Eastman 4:45 p.m.
Sunday, April 2
2nd round robin vs. 1st round robin 3 p.m.
Winner advances to TELUS Cup Canadian National Midget Championship, April 24-30, in Prince George, B.C.
