The Esso Cup is only 39 days away as the Pembina Valley Hawks get set to kick off the Manitoba Female Midget Hockey League's championship series tonight against the Westman Wildcats.

The City of Morden will be the host for the six best "AAA" female midget hockey teams in the country as they compete to be crowned national champions.

"It's quite an honour that we got selected. We have the facilities and we have the volunteers. Everything kind of fell in place," explained Morden Mayor Ken Wiebe. "It didn't hurt that in 2012 the Pembina Valley Hawks, which is a regional team, won the Esso Cup. It all helped and we are very happy that we were awarded the tournament."

This tournament will feature teams representing a variety of regions across the country and will all be coming to Morden and the Pembina Valley region.

"We've got teams from the Atlantic, Pacific, Ontario, Quebec, a Western team, and there's always a host team that gets to play in this as well. It's quite an honour and the final game, which is on Saturday the 29th of April. Will be televised so we are going to get national coverage on this," said Wiebe. "It's not only great for the City of Morden, but for the entire region as a whole because these girls are not just from Morden, but the whole area. It's great to see."

According to Wiebe, a quantity of people are coming to the area it'll have a large impact on the local economy. 

"I think there will be quite a financial boom for the local business. It's from the 23rd to the 29th," said Wiebe. "That's six days of hockey. If they come the day before and stay until the day after that's a fair bit of hotel rooms and restaurant meals as well. I think local business' will appreciate this tournament being here, from their bottom line and perspective." 

Wiebe noted there is a bit of a buzz around the entire community and are looking forward to the Esso Cup tournament being held April 23rd to 29th at the Access Event Centre in Morden. 

Previous Volumes; 

Road To The Esso Cup Volume 1 

Road To The Esso Cup Volume 2

Road To The Esso Cup Volume 3 

Road To The Esso Cup Volume 4