Defenceman, Ashton Harty and his NorthWest Stars U18 AA teammates are in action down the road in Regina this weekend. (Martin Martinson/battlefordsNOW Staff)

By Martin Martinson

In action this weekend

U18 NorthWest Stars attend Fred McBeth Western Canadian Tourney

Jan 12, 2024 | 5:04 PM

The NorthWest Stars U18 AA hockey team are in action this weekend in Regina, for the Fred McBeth Western Canadian U18 AA Tournament.

Taking place at the Queen City’s Co-operators Centre Friday through Sunday (Jan. 12-14), the NorthWest Stars are guaranteed to play three games through the round-robin schedule, with the potential for more come the start of the playoff rounds, Sunday.

Currently in the midst of a bit of a rebuilding year, sitting 11th in the Saskatchewan AA Hockey League’s ‘Centre Four Standings’ with a 4-13-2-1 record through 20 games, the NorthWest Stars have played some of their best hockey of late, with at least a single point in two of their last three games, coming off a 6-3 win over Warman last weekend.

Head coach, Lee Ulmer said the key to keeping the ball rolling heading into this weekend will be putting together ‘a full 60 minutes,’ playing to their strengths as a mobile group and skating hard throughout.

“When we have had success, we have a good forecheck going and [we] manage the puck well,” the Stars’ bench boss said.

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The NorthWest Stars kicked off their tournament schedule Friday with their first game at 2:40 p.m. against the Regina Vics.

Following their opening game, the team will then get the rest of the evening off, before returning to action Saturday for two more games. The Stars will face the Parkland Elks bright and early at 8:15 a.m. Saturday, followed by a game against the Saskatoon Crunch at 5:40 p.m.

The NorthWest Stars are one of 16 teams from Western Canada attending the Fred McBeth tournament this year. Broken up into four pools of four, each team will play the other three in their pool once through round-robin play to determine seeding heading into the playoff rounds.

The playoff rounds will then begin Sunday, with the top two teams from each of the four pools advancing to close out the tournament.

NorthWest Stars’ tournament schedule at a glance:

Fri, Jan. 12: vs Regina Vics (Rink #4) 2:40 p.m.

Sat. Jan. 13: vs Parkland Elks (Rink #6) 8:15 a.m.

Sat. Jan. 13: vs Saskatoon Crunch (Rink #3) 5:40 p.m.

Sun., Jan. 14: Playoffs to be determined.

The full tournament schedule, with updated scores throughout the weekend, can be found here.

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Martin.Martinson@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @MartyMartyPxP1