SUMMERSIDE, P.E.I. – For the 43rd time, Canada’s top Junior A teams have gathered, this year in Summerside, to battle for the National Junior A Championship, beginning Saturday, May 11. This year marks the third time Summerside has hosted the national championship, along with 1989 and 1997, more than any other city.

The host team, the Summerside Western Capitals, are joined by four regional representatives: the Brooks Bandits (Wets #2), Minnesota Wilderness (Central), Surrey Eagles (West #1) and Truro Bearcats (East). The five teams will take to the ice at CUP, hoping to earn one of the two berths in next Sunday’s nationally-televised championship game.

The Western Capitals are looking to win the national title on home ice for the second time in as many tries, having beaten Surrey 4-3 in the championship game in 1997. A win would make them the first host team to win the RBC Cup since the Weyburn Red Wings in 2005, and just the seventh since the introduction of a host team in 1985. The Eagles are the only other team with National Junior A Championship experience, winning the national title in 1998, while the Bandits, Wilderness and Bearcats are all making their first appearances.

The championship game will be held May 19 at 7 p.m. AT/3 p.m. PT and will be shown on TSN/RDS, Hockey Canada’s official broadcasters (check your local listings). All preliminary round games and the semifinals can be seen live via webcast through FASTHockey at hockeycanada.fasthockey.com. Fans can watch all the action for free by following three steps:

STEP 1: Visit hockeycanada.fasthockey.com and sign up for a free FASTHockey account.
STEP 2: Like the RBC Cup on Facebook at www.facebook.com/rbccup.
STEP 3: Just prior to the game, click the RBC Cup LIVE link on the RBC Cup Facebook page to watch.

A number of ticket options are still available, including single-game tickets, full-tournament packages, Flex 10 packages, which include 10 tickets to be used at any preliminary round games, and more. For more information on tickets, CLICK HERE.

NOTE TO MEDIA: Keegan Goodrich, Hockey Canada’s coordinator of media relations, will be on site at the 2013 RBC Cup and will be the media contact for interviews, information or photos. He can be reached at 403-519-5754 or [email protected].

For more information on the 2013 RBC Cup, visit www.hockeycanada.ca/rbccup, or follow the tournament via social media at www.facebook.com/rbccup and www.twitter.com/hc_rbccup.