USHL Clark Cup and CHL Memorial Cup action on the schedule

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JOHNS ISLAND, SC-This will be a big weekend in the world of junior hockey in North America as the premier junior leagues in both the United States and Canada pursue championship play in their respective leagues. The United States Hockey League and the Canadian Hockey League (Quebec Major Junior Hockey League-QMJHL), Ontario Hockey League-OHL and the Western Hockey League-WHL) are the top level junior leagues in North America. While similar in most ways USHL players retain their college eligibility for NCAA ice hockey while CHL players are considered professional by the NCAA. Junior players are generally between 16 and 20 and years of age.
 
Action in the best of five games series in the United States Hockey League Clark Cup Finals resumes Friday night at 7:00 PM. The series shifts to Dubuque, Iowa after the Green Bay Gamblers and Dubuque Fighting Saints split the opening two games in Green Bay. Wisconsin. The Gamblers won the opener 3-0 last Friday night and Dubuque came back to even the series 2-1 on Saturday. The USHL is the only Tier One junior hockey league in the U.S.
 
The Green Bay Gamblers are trying to repeat as the Clark Cup Champions after their win last year over the Fargo Force. The Fighting Saints who joined the league this season will host games three and four this weekend at their new 3,200 capacity Mystique Community Ice Center. A previous USHL team also known as the Fighting Saints skated in the USHL from 1980 to 2001.
 
Meanwhile to the north of the U.S. border the Canadian Hockey League (CHL) which is the umbrella organization for the three major junior leagues in Canada–the QMJHL, OHL and the WHL begins Memorial Cup action. The Cup which is emblematic of major junior hockey supremacy in the CHL features a host team and the individual league playoff champions in a nine day event. This will be the 93rd Memorial Cup competition.
 
CHL Memorial Cup action will be played on the home ice of the hosts the Mississauga St. Michael’s Majors, the Hershey Centre in Mississauga, Ontario. Individual playoff winners from the three leagues the Owen Sound Attack of the OHL, the Saint John Sea Dog’s from the QMJHL and the WHL Playoff Champions the Kootenay Ice and the host team play in an initial round robin. The overall round robin points’ leader draws a bye into the championship game while the teams that finish second and third in the initial standings play a semi-final game to determine the second finalist.
 
Memorial Cup games will be available on the NHL network in the United States and the Rogers Network and RDS in Canada. Opening action features the St Michael’s Majors facing off against the Sea Dogs. This weekend’s USHL action will be televised locally on Mediacom channel 109 in the Dubuque area and is available nationally on broadband sportscaster America One. PHN will be covering all of the action in both series.
 
Contact Phil.Brand@prohockeynews.com

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