Robertson Cup schedule announced

In their first-ever trip to the Robertson Cup, the Traverse City North Stars will kick off the tournament against a pair of teams who dueled in last year’s Cup finals.

The Stars open the NAHL’s championship tournament on Tuesday, May 4 against host Wenatchee, then take on three-time defending Robertson Cup champion St. Louis the following afternoon. The league announced yesterday the five-team round-robin schedule, which will yield this year’s two finalists for the championship game on Sunday, May 9.

Wenatchee was the top team in the NAHL during the regular season. The Wild finished 45-10-3, while St. Louis was 44-11-3, but Wenatchee breezed through its two playoff series with 3-0 sweeps. The Bandits, on the other hand, went to a decisive fifth game in the first round against Texas and the South Division finals against Topeka.

The North Stars will square off against Bismarck on Thursday, May 6 before closing out the round-robin portion of the tourney on the next day against Fairbanks. All Robertson Cup games are available live via webcast on the b2 Network. Links to the webcast can be found at the team’s website.

There will be a coffee-and-cake send-off for the team on Sunday, May 2 at Centre ICE arena. The team practices at 10 a.m., followed by refreshments, photos and autographs, and NAHL North Division Playoff Champion t-shirts. The team bus is slated to depart Centre ICE at noon.

The Robertson Cup champion represents the NAHL’s playoff champion and USA Hockey’s Tier II Junior A national champion. The oldest junior hockey trophy in the United States, the Robertson Cup is named in honor of Chuck Robertson, a pioneer of junior hockey in the NAHL and youth hockey in the state of Michigan. Robertson was the owner of the Paddock Pools Saints when they won a record seven straight NAHL championships from 1976-83. For more information on the Robertson Cup Championship Tournament, visit RobertsonCup.com.

2010 ROBERTSON CUP SCHEDULE

Tuesday, May 4
Bismarck vs. St. Louis, 2:05 p.m. PT/5:05 p.m. ET
TRAVERSE CITY vs. Wenatchee, 6:35 p.m. PT/9:35 p.m. ET

Wednesday, May 5
TRAVERSE CITY vs. St. Louis, 2:05 p.m. PT/5:05 p.m. ET
Fairbanks vs. Wenatchee, 6:35 p.m. PT/9:35 p.m. ET

Thursday, May 6
Fairbanks vs. St. Louis, 2:05 p.m. PT/5:05 p.m. ET
TRAVERSE CITY vs. Bismarck, 7:05 p.m. PT/10:05 p.m. ET

Friday, May 7
Fairbanks vs. TRAVERSE CITY, 2:35 p.m. PT/5:35 p.m. ET
Bismarck vs. Wenatchee, 7:05 p.m. PT/10:05 ET

Saturday, May 8
Fairbanks vs. Bismarck, 2:35 p.m./5:35 p.m. ET
St. Louis vs. Wenatchee, 7:05 p.m. PT/10:05 p.m. ET

Sunday, May 9
Championship Game, 5:05 p.m. PT/8:05 p.m. ET