The Regina Rebels are proud to host the 2010 Esso Cup, Canada's National Female Midget Championship. This prestigious Hockey Canada event will be held from April 18-24 at the Co-operators Centre, Regina's new state of the art hockey facility at Evraz Place.

With just three months remaining until the first game, the 2010 Esso Cup Host Committee is inviting anyone interested in volunteering for this event to apply now.  There are numerous opportunities for enthusiastic volunteers to participate, including hosting, transportation, team services, facility operations, game day operations and security.

The Sask First Midget Program has had many success stories tied to it over the years.  One such story ran in the January 21 edition of the Saskatoon Star Phoenix.

Please follow the link to the article on Eli Lichtenwold who decided to take part in the Sask First Midget tournament last year in Zone 6 and parlayed that experience into a spot on the SMAAAHL's Saskatoon Blazers roster.

http://www.thestarphoenix.com/sports/Lichtenwald+juggles+hockey+basketball/2466701/story.html

REGINA, Sask. - Hockey Canada, in partnership with the Saskatchewan Hockey Association, Saskatchewan Female Midget AAA Hockey League and host team Regina Rebels, announced Friday that tickets for the 2010 Esso Cup are now on sale.

The second annual National Female Midget Championship runs from April 18-24 in Regina, Sask. at the state-of-the-art Co-operators Centre at Evraz Place. Six teams, including the host team and five regional champions, will face off in the week-long tournament. A five-day round robin will be followed by two semifinals, the winners of which will compete against each other in the nationally-televised gold medal game.

The Saskatchewan Hockey Association (SHA) and SaskEnergy are extremely excited to present the 3rd annual SaskEnergy Hockey Day in Saskatchewan event this weekend in communities across the province.

The event takes place in communities throughout Saskatchewan annually on the third Saturday in January with the SHA choosing one location yearly to serve as the provincial host of the event. The Town of Lanigan, this year’s host community, is raising funds for a new ice plant for the local arena. One of the criteria for the selection of the provincial host is that there must be a capital project of some magnitude for the communities’ arena. Activities this weekend in Lanigan begin with the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League (SJHL) All Star game Thursday at 7:00.  The event also includes a Friday night banquet; local minor hockey games; the Saskatchewan Female Midget AAA league (SFMAAAHL) All Star game, with the weekend wrapping up Sunday afternoon with the Prairie Junior Hockey League (PJHL) All Star Game.

Be sure to check out www.hockeydayinsask.ca for everything related to the event.

Saskatoon, Sask. - Canada's gold medal streak at the IIHF World Junior Championship has ended at five with a 6-5 overtime loss to the United States in Tuesday's gold medal game at Credit Union Centre in Saskatoon.

Trailing 5-3 with time ticking away, Jordan Eberle (Regina, Sask./Regina, WHL) scored twice to force overtime, and also became Canada's all-time leading goal scorer at the World Juniors, passing John Tavares. Canada, which fought back from 2-1 and 3-2 deficits, also got goals from Luke Adam (St. John's, N.L./Cape Breton, QMJHL), Greg Nemisz (Courtice, Ont./Windsor, OHL) and Taylor Hall (Kingston, Ont./Windsor, OHL).

Saskatoon, Sask. - Canada has advanced to the gold medal game at the 2010 IIHF World Junior Championship following a 6-1 victory over Switzerland on Sunday. Canada will face USA in the gold medal game on Tuesday, January 5, beginning at 7 p.m. CT.

SASKATOON, Sask. - On Wednesday, Hockey Canada announced the men's Olympic hockey roster that will be nominated to the Canadian Olympic Team. The announcement was made at a press conference in Saskatoon, Sask. that was broadcast live on 13 networks in partnership with Canada's Olympic Media Broadcast Consortium.

Canada's Men's Olympic Team executive director Steve Yzerman (Nepean, Ont./Detroit, NHL) made the announcement, along with the members of the team's management staff: Bob Nicholson (president/CEO, Hockey Canada), Johnny Misley (executive vice-president, hockey operations, Hockey Canada) and associate directors Doug Armstrong (Sarnia, Ont./St. Louis, NHL), Ken Holland (Vernon, B.C./Detroit, NHL), Kevin Lowe (Lachute, Que./Edmonton, NHL) as well as head coach Mike Babcock (Saskatoon, Sask./Detroit, NHL).

The Saskatchewan Hockey Association office hours for the holidays are posted below.

Thursday, December 24 - Closed
Friday, December 25 - Closed
Monday, December 28 - Closed
Tuesday, December 29 - Open
Wednesday, December 30 - Open
Thursday, December 31 - Open until noon
Friday, January 1 - Closed
Monday, January 4 - Regular business hours resume.

The SHA would like to wish all its membership a very safe and fun holiday season, and wishes everyone all the best in the new year.

SASKATOON, Sask. - Hockey Canada will nominate its men's hockey roster to the Canadian Olympic Team for the 2010 Olympic Winter Games during a special press conference on December 30 at 11 a.m. CT/noon ET at WorldFest in Saskatoon.