CALGARY

Local teams dream of winning 42nd annual Mac's Tournament

CTVNewsCalgary.ca

Glenn Campbell CTV News Calgary Video Journalist

Published Wednesday, December 11, 2019 4:17PM MST Last Updated Wednesday, December 11, 2019 6:32PM MST

Members of the Calgary Buffaloes hope to hoist the Mac's trophy, which they are playing in this year as the top-rated local team competing against teams from Russia and the U.S. as well as other local competitors.

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CALGARY -- Huddled around the Mac’s trophy, members of the Calgary Buffaloes were going over the names of past winners. Sidney Crosby’s name is there and so is Patrick Laine’s, just to name a couple.

Farther down, under 2008 champions, they could discover the roster of the Calgary Buffaloes, who went the distance that year.

The Calgary Buffaloes are the hottest local team heading into the Mac’s AAA World Invitational Hockey Tournament. They lead the south division standings with a 14-4-2 record, (and just received an added jolt of adrenalin when former Buffalo Matthew Phillips, who scored 33 goals for the Buffs in 2014-15, was called up to the NHL Flames).

Captain Heath Armstrong said winning the Mac’s would mean everything to himself and his teammates because this tournament is so special for local players, many of whom grew up watching it from the bleachers at Max Bell Centre, where the tournament kicks off on Boxing Day every year.

“Well it means a lot," Armstrong said. "I’ve watched this tournament since I was little with my dad on T.V.

"Watching the final,” he added. “Coming to watch games in person meant a lot.”

Caden Smith, who captains the 14-4-2 Calgary Flames, seconds that opinion. He too grew up dreaming of playing in the Mac’s, including the 2015 Flames, team, which won it.

“For sure I used to go with all my buddies and watch different teams come in,” he told CTV at Wednesday’s press conference. “Watching international teams was lots of fun.”

The Mac’s tournament opens up on Boxing Day and wraps up on New Year’s Eve day. Being a short event, it’s not always the best teams that win. If you get hot at the right time, you have a chance to hoist the trophy.

Ray Bentham of the 7-10-2 Calgary Royals hopes that’s the case.

“Well we just need all 20 guys going. Once we have all 20 guys going, we’re a pretty tough team to play against,” he said. "We’ve got a pretty good offensive unit up front, so I think if we can pot a couple of goals and play strong defensively, then we’ll be tough to play against.”

The other local teams playing in the Mac’s are the Calgary Northstars, the Okotoks Bow Mark Oilers and the Airdrie CFR Bisons.

International teams competing at the Mac’s tournament this year include the AK Bars Academy out of Russia and one of the top teams in the United States, the Chicago Mission.