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DALLAS, Texas - Trips to the north are common for the Wenatchee Wild Hockey Academy’s teams. Even a trip to the east is reasonably common, when the destination is Coeur d’Alene Academy or a Canadian Sport School Hockey League showcase host on the Prairies in Canada.

Trips to the south aren’t quite as common, but the Academy Under-18 and Under-17 teams both made the visit to Texas this past weekend for their annual appearance in the United States Hockey League’s Frosty Cup tournament. The tournament is held each year in conjunction with a pair of USHL regular-season games in the Dallas area and began with an event at the Cotton Bowl in January of 2020, in the wake of the National Hockey League’s Winter Classic game held there.

Each of the Academy teams involved in the tournament spent some time in the win column – the Wild U18 team knocked off the Phoenix Jr. Coyotes 2-1 in a shootout Friday afternoon, alongside losses to the Jersey Hitmen and Philadelphia Jr. Flyers. A 7-6 overtime loss to the Westchester Express closed out the weekend for the U18 group.

The U17 team also enjoyed a win in the tournament on Friday, opening the weekend with a 3-2 defeat of the Twin City Mavericks in a shootout. The Phoenix Jr. Coyotes, Seacoast Spartans and Westchester Express all notched wins over Wenatchee for the weekend in 16-and-under play.

“It was a great tournament. The USHL does a great job,” said Academy director Troy Mick. “Frank Butler with the league has done a phenomenal job every year we’ve been down there. It’s good competition – the U18s played well for the most part, just with some inconsistency, and then we ran into some injuries during the tournament. Guys just have to commit to 60 minutes, and the 16U’s were the same. When we play, we can play with the best of them.”

Wenatchee’s 2008 team was also busy on the weekend, playing a pair of games against Sno-King. After a long return trip to Washington, the Academy programs will make a pair of long trips this weekend as they return to CSSHL play. The Edge School in Calgary will host a four-day showcase for the Wild U18 squad, while the U17 group travels to the RINK Academy in Winnipeg for a four-day league event.

The 14-and-under team has a chance to pick up a PNAHA state championship this weekend with a decisive third game against the Seattle Jr. Kraken. They’ll look to follow the success of Wenatchee’s U18 team, who also recently clinched their state championship and a spot in the USA Hockey district tourney.