Some of the region's top competitive hockey teams are battling it out this weekend at the International Silver Stick Mid-Am Fort Wayne Regional tournament.
More than 40 teams from across the Midwest will play Friday, Saturday and Sunday at the SportONE/Parkview Icehouse, culminating with champions crowned Sunday in the 10U, 12U/peewee and 14U/bantam divisions.
Nine local teams from the Parkview Sports Medicine Force will take the ice in their respective divisions.
"This is absolutely the biggest tournament we have here that's sponsored by the Fort Wayne Amateur Hockey Association," tournament director Jeremy Faux says.
Fort Wayne's hockey community has hosted the regional qualifying tournament since 1972 at McMillen Ice Arena.
"It's a long tradition in Fort Wayne," Faux adds.
Winners from this weekend's tournament will advance to various Silver Stick international final tournaments in February 2019. Winning teams will head to either Port Huron, Michigan; Pelham, Ontario, Canada; Sarnia, Ontario; or Forest, Ontario, Faux says.
Through a partnership with Parkview Sports Medicine, FWAHA teams now have more ice time, weekly hockey skills sessions, dry-land sports performance training and athletic training services.