Regis Jernstrom

This past weekend, Pittsburgh hosted the Presidents' Cup Tournament at two local rinks. 60 teams from around the United States and Canada came to Pittsburgh to compete in this three day event. The tournament was broken into thirteen divisions, ranging from Mites to Midgets.

Teams from as far away as Texas and Florida came to Pittsburgh because they knew the competition would be strong. One parent from the Geauga Maple Leafs, a Pee Wee team from Cleveland, stated “we came to Pittsburgh to see how our team compares to the best teams from around the Pittsburgh area. Everyone knows how strong the competition is in Pittsburgh and we want to see if we can compete at this high level. By playing these better teams, our kids improve their own skills and take what they learned back home.”

Several local teams competed in the tournament and many had very successful weekends. Four local teams made it all the way to the Championship games before losing in the finals. The Pittsburgh Ice Miners Squirt B team went 2-1-1 on their way to the Championship game. In the final game they lost a close game to the Kitchener Jr. Rangers 4-3.

In the Squirt A division the Wheeling Jr. Nailers team went 2-1 in round robin play and made it to the Championship game before losing 4-1 to the New Jersey Colonials. Also in the Squirt A division the Southpointe Rink Rats finished in third place with a 2-2 record.  Another Southpointe team had a successful weekend. The Pee Wee A team made it to the Championship game before failing to Milton Winterhawks.

The Pittsburgh Predators had three teams in the tournament and all three played well; the Pee Wee AA team finished in third place in their very strong division. The Bantam A Predators team had a 3-1 record in round robin play and made it to the Championship game. However, in the final game they were defeated by the Tampa Bay Jr. Lightning. The Bantam AA Predators team finished the round robin play undefeated (2-0-1) and in first place in their division. However, in the semi-finals the Predators lost to the Westchester Quakers 5-1.

The Pittsburgh area put on a great show for all the out of town participants and overall the weekend was a success for every player and team involved. With the strong play from many of the Pittsburgh area teams, they showed why Pittsburgh is so highly regarded when it comes to amateur hockey.