Sixty teams from across the prairies are coming to Moose Jaw to compete in the fourth annual Epic Ice Melt spring hockey tournament. 

The tournament will feature several divisions with players between the ages of eight and 14. 

Trevor Weisgerber with Epic Hockey said the tournament has grown exponentially over the past few years. He said they have grown from 48 teams last year. 

The tournament used to run Friday to Sunday, but it has grown so much they had to add an extra day and start the tournament Thursday afternoon. 

“Next year we’ll look to grab a couple more rinks and be able to expand it back to that Friday, Saturday, Sunday. We do it as an ice breaker, more or less, for the beginning of the spring season to get teams some games under their belt,” Weisgerber said. 

The tournament will feature teams from Moose Jaw, Kindersley, Yorkton, Estevan, Humboldt and all over Saskatchewan as well as a couple of teams out of Lethbridge. 

About 148 games in total will be played at the Red Knight Arena (CFB Moose Jaw), Barkman Arena (Caronport), Bert Hunt Arena, Wally Boschuk Arena, the Moose Jaw Events Centre and in Rouleau for the younger divisions. 

“We have just under 1,000 players and then you have parents and grandparents and just other people coming to watch. There will be 3,000 to 4,000 people easily in town,” Weisgerber said of the economic impact the tournament will have on the city. 

For some of the older players, it will also be an opportunity to showcase their skills for scouts. 

“There’s going to be quite a few kids that will be going in the Bantam Draft in June. Just on our team alone, I know we have some guys that for sure will be going and on other teams as well. I’ve reached out to some scouts already to say ‘Hey, we’re in town if you guys want to come watch and see some of these guys again before the draft, it would probably be a good time for it,’” said Weisgerber. 

All of the action gets underway on Thursday afternoon. You can find more information about the tournament and live scoring at epicicemelt.com.