Ten weeks after the post-Christmas tournament was cancelled for the second consecutive year as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Mac's U18 AAA Invitational hockey tournament is kicking off in a rebooted format in Calgary today.
The Mac's – typically one of the most prestigious U18 AAA hockey tournaments in western Canada – will begin this morning and wrap up on April 10.
The Airdrie CFR Chemicals Bisons will compete in the tournament as one of the host teams. Their first game will take place this evening at the Father David Bauer Arena against the Yale Hockey Academy, a prep-school team from Abbotsford, B.C. Puck-drop is slated for 6:15 p.m.
Yale finished the 2021-22 season in third place in the Canadian Sport School Hockey League (CSSHL), but only managed one win from three games at the CSSHL western championships in March.
Tomorrow, the Bisons will return to the ice to face the Fort Saskatchewan Rangers at 3:30 p.m. at the Max Bell Centre. The Rangers were the top team in the Alberta Elite Hockey League's (AEHL) U18 AAA North Division this season, and finished runner-up in the provincial playoffs.
The Bisons' pool play will conclude April 8, when they take on the Chicago Mission at the Flames Community Arena at 2:45 p.m. The Mission play in the U.S.-based High Performance Hockey League, which includes AAA teams from Michigan and Illinois.
This year's Mac's features 24 teams from Canada, the U.S., and Europe. The tournament, usually held the week after Christmas, is a hot bed for discovering future hockey stars. Previous players who have featured at the Mac's and gone on to successful NHL careers include Jarome Iginla and Sidney Crosby.
For more information and schedules, visit macstournament.ab.ca
