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The Calgary Northstars have a respectable 11-5-3 record in AMHL action, and captain Cameron McAdam knows that his team will need to have a strong start to even qualify for the playoff round.

“You’ve got to be prepared for it, because it is do-or-die every game,” said McAdam, one of five returning players on the Northstars. “We’re really hoping that since we have some guys with some really good experience, and we have some really strong players that we can utilize what we learned from last year and have a better tournament.”

The male division will feature five international teams, one in each pool. The Belarus National Under-17 team will attempt to win its second straight Mac’s Cup, while the Hungarian National Under-18 squad is back once again. The field also features three American teams in the New York Jr. Islanders, the Carolina Jr. Hurricanes and the Ontario (California) Jr. Reign.

RAIDERS LOOK TO REPEAT

The Rocky Mountain Raiders have high hopes that they can win their second straight Mac’s Cup in the female division.

“We’re one of the favourites, and we fully intend to repeat,” said Raiders head coach Paul Pozzi boldly. “We were very resilient last year. We went through our pool undefeated. We’ve had a really good start to our season this year.”

The Okotoks-based team currently sits atop the Alberta Female Midget AAA Hockey League standings with a 12-4-2 record.

“We were really successful last year, but this year’s a new year, and we’ll have to play our game, and hopefully, we’ll come out with the win,” said Raiders captain Breanne Trotter.

Although the Calgary Fire have struggled so far this season with a 3-10-3 record, co-captain Mackenzie Lausberg believes her team can get on a roll heading into the annual event.

“Last year, just being able to make it to semis, we know this year that we have to watch our penalties and make sure that we work hard,” said Lausberg, who would like nothing more than to steal back bragging rights from the Raiders. “It’s always fun to play them, so hopefully this year, we can take the title and shake it off.”