Five of six teams that will compete at the 2010 Esso Cup have been confirmed, with the final spot at the second annual National Female Midget Championship to be determined this weekend following Ontario’s Midget provincial championship.

The Esso Cup kicks off Sunday, April 18 and runs through Saturday, April 24 in Regina, Sask., where the host Regina Rebels will welcome five regional champions to the week-long tournament at the state-of-the-art Co-operators Centre at Evraz Place.

The most recent teams to earn their way to the national championship include the Remparts du Richelieu (Quebec), who defeated the Cyclones du Bas St-Laurent 4-1 in the provincial championship match-up April 4.

The Edmonton Thunder (Pacific) also claimed their place at this year’s Esso Cup last weekend, earning two shutout wins in a series against the Thompson-Okanagan Rockets. The Thunder is the only team to make it to the national championship two years in a row.

The Notre Dame Hounds (West) also swept its two-game championship series against the Pembina Valley Hawks, but just barely, as both games were decided by a single goal. The Hounds edged the Hawks 4-3 in the first game April 2 and 4-3 in the second April 3.

The Moncton Rockets (Atlantic) beat out Metro Boston Pizza of Halifax by a score of 4-1 late last month to make their way to the 2010 Esso Cup.

The sixth and final team will be decided on Sunday, April 11, when the final four of 24 teams competing this weekend in the Toronto area will face off in semifinal and medal games at the Midget provincial championship in Ontario.