TEAMS ANNOUNCED FOR 7th ANNUAL SCHWAN CUP BOYS’ HOCKEY TOURNAMENT, DECEMBER 26-28, 2007
NEWS RELEASE
For Immediate Release: March 5, 2007
Contacts: Barclay Kruse, Schwan Cup Media Director
763.785.5634
bkruse@mnsports.org
Pete Carlson, Boys’ Schwan Cup Director
763.717.3881
pcarlson@superrink.org
Blaine, Minn. (March 5, 2007) – With high school hockey interest heating up for the MSHSL Boys’ Hockey Tournament this week, the National Sports Center announced the team lineup for the 7th annual Schwan Cup boys’ high school hockey tournament, December 26-28, 2007.
Schwan Cup is the among the most prestigious annual Minnesota high school holiday tournaments, is seen as a preview of the annual MSHSL state tournament, and a gauge of early-season quality among the top teams in the state.
Playing in the top blue division (formerly called the gold division) will be defending Schwan Cup champion Holy Angels, Centennial, White Bear Lake, Roseville, Duluth East, Hill-Murray, Moorhead and defending Schwan Cup bronze division champion, Minnetonka. Most of the blue division games will be played at the Xcel Energy Center in Saint Paul.
Playing in the red division (formerly called the silver division) will be defending silver division champion Edina, Benilde-St. Margaret’s, Blaine, Brainerd, Breck, Cretin-Derham Hall, St. Thomas Academy, and Wayzata. Most of the red division games will be played at Aldrich Arena in Maplewood. The championship game will be at the Xcel Energy Center.
Teams slated to play in the white division (formerly called the bronze division), will be Blake, Burnsville, Champin Park, Eastview, Mahtomedi, Maple Grove, Orono, and Stillwater. Most the white division games will be at Brooklyn Park Arena. The championship game will also be at the Xcel Energy Center.
First-round game pairings will be announced in September.
“We look at many factors in putting our brackets together,” said Pete Carlson, Schwan Cup boys’ director. “The most important are past performance in Schwan Cup and strength of the returning players. We also try to take into account the desires of each coach. It’s a balancing act, but we’re proud that year in and year out the Schwan Cup field is among the best of any high school holiday tournaments in the state.”
The Schwan Cup also includes a girls’ division, which will also be held December 26-28. This year the girls’ division will be expanded from five to six divisions, increasing the girls’ varsity field from 40 to 48 teams. The team roster for the girls’ division will be announced in late April.
Schwan Cup is an event of the National Sports Center. The tournament is also presented by the Minnesota Amateur Sports Commission, and the Minnesota Wild and its parent company Minnesota Sports & Entertainment. The Schwan Food Company is the title sponsor.