Robertson Cup National Championship begins Friday
May 11, 2018
The 2018 North American Hockey League (NAHL) Robertson Cup National Championship, faces-off today with the opening games of the Semi-Finals at Fogerty Arena in Blaine, Minnesota. The event runs from May 11-14, 2018.
The Fairbanks Ice Dogs (Midwest), Shreveport Mudbugs (South), Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Knights (East), and Minot Minotauros (Central) have all advanced to the Robertson Cup Championship after winning their divisional playoff finals.
The teams were seeded 1-4 based upon their finish in the NAHL regular-season standings. The #1 seed Fairbanks Ice Dogs will face the #4 seed Minot Minotauros in the first Semi-Final, while the #2 Shreveport Mudbugs will face the #3 Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Knights in the other Semi-Finals. All Semi-Final series are the best of three.
TICKETS: Tickets for the 2018 NAHL Robertson Cup National Championship are sold at Fogerty Arena beginning at 2:30pm on Friday, May 11th.
For more information on the event, please visit www.robertsoncup.com
All games will be broadcasted live and in HD on HockeyTV
Schedule of events (game are best of three series, all times central)
Friday, May 11, Game 1’s
#1 Fairbanks vs. #4 Minot, 4:30pm
#2 Shreveport vs. #3 Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, 7:30pm
Saturday, May 12, Game 2’s
#1 Fairbanks vs. #4 Minot, 4:30pm
#2 Shreveport vs. #3 Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, 7:30pm
Sunday, May 13, Game 3’s
#1 Fairbanks vs. #4 Minot, 3:00pm*
#2 Shreveport vs. #3 Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, 6:00pm*
*if necessary
Monday, May 14
Robertson Cup National Championship Game, 7:00pm
Overtime Note: During the Robertson Cup Championship, if the score is tied after three periods of play the following shall take place: Teams shall return to their dressing room and the ice shall be resurfaced. A fifteen-minute intermission shall take place. A twenty-minute, sudden death, overtime period shall be played with 5 skaters a side. The game shall terminate upon a goal being scored and the Club scoring declared the winner. If no goal is scored, the same procedure as above shall be repeated until a winner has been determined.
The Robertson Cup is awarded to the national playoff champion of the NAHL. 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 championships from 1976-83.
One of the things the NAHL does better than any other junior league is seeing their players earn an NCAA opportunity while playing in the NAHL. To date, 236 NAHL players have already made NCAA commitments during the 2017-18 season. The NAHL’s Robertson Cup Championship will play a big role in that success, with dozens of players earning an NCAA opportunity following their participation in the event.
The event will be held in cooperation with the NAHL 18U Top Prospects Invitational Tournament, which will bring together eight different teams made up of 18U players from the North American Prospects Hockey League (NAPHL), Tier 1 Elite League, Minnesota High School Hockey, Atlantic Youth Hockey League (AYHL), and World Selects.
The event is also held in cooperation with the NAHL Future Prospects Combine. Now in its fifth year, the Combine will feature teams with players with birthyears 2002-05. The players will be introduced to and provided with a weekend that involves the 'NAHL Experience,' which will consist of competitive hockey, education of the future levels of hockey, academic preparation for NCAA hockey and exposure to professional, college and junior scouts.
