THUNDER BAY – It will be a busy weekend for the Thunder Bay Kings as all four of their AAA clubs will be in action this weekend down in Minnesota.
Both the major and midget sides will be in Blaine, Minn., for Round 4 of North American Prospects Hockey League play while the bantam Kings will also be there looking for a third consecutive tournament title as they compete in the North American Hockey League’s Future Prospects event.
Meanwhile, the peewee Kings will travel down Highway 61 to take part in the Spirit of Duluth tourney.
Saturday has the major midget under-18 team taking to the ice twice as they tangle with the Esmark Stars of Pennsylvania at 10:30 a.m. before having a 7:30 p.m. encounter with the Sioux Falls Stampede.
They will then take on CarShield AAA from suburban St. Louis, Missouri at 1 p.m. Sunday prior to wrapping competition Monday at 11:30 a.m. vs. the Shattuck-St. Mary’s Sabres U-18 side of Faribault, Minn.
As for the minor midget Kings, they open up Round 4 in the NAPHL Saturday as well with a 1 p.m. match-up against Meier AAA of Michigan.
Sunday features two contests for the under-16 squad starting with 11:30 a.m. meeting with the Everett Silvertips of Washington State before facing off with the Washington Capitals at 7:30 p.m.
The Dallas Blackhawks Elite will provide the opposition Monday at 1 p.m.
The Thunder Bay bantams have a trio of round robin games on their slate, with six teams overall vying for the title.
Friday features them going up against the U-14 Everett Silvertips at 10 a.m. before concluding the day vs. another club from Washington St., the Wenatchee Wild 6:30 p.m.
They then meet Omaha AAA Saturday at 1:30 p.m.
Semifinal play will be held Sunday while the title contest is slated for Monday at 1:30 p.m.
Over in Duluth, the peewee Kings start Friday as they meet the Edina Hornets at noon before dropping the puck against the Eastview Lightning at 8 p.m.
Their lone contest Saturday is against the Centennial Flames at 3:45 p.m.
A total of 16 peewee teams will go in search of the championship in Duluth with medal games being held Sunday.
All NAPHL and NAHLFP games will be streamed live online via HockeyTV.com.
