The National Sports Center, owner of the Schwan’s Cup high school hockey tournament, announced the full field and schedule for the boys’ and girls’ divisions of the 18th annual Schwan’s Cup high school hockey tournament, Dec. 26, 2018-Jan. 1, 2019.

Girls’ preview
The Schwan’s Cup girls’ division will be played Dec. 26-28, at the Schwan Super Rink and Ridder Arena. The 40 girls’ teams are divided into five divisions – Gold, Silver, Bronze, and Open American and Open National. 

The Gold Division is loaded, with six of the eight teams ranked in Let’s Play Hockey’s Dec. 19 rankings. The division is led by No. 2AA Blake, the defending Gold Division champion. The division also features No. 5AA Andover. Centennial, runner-up in the Gold Division last year, returns as well. Also in the mix is No. 3A Proctor/Hermantown, No. 8A Mahtomedi and No. 12A St. Paul United. 

Two other champions return: No. 9A Duluth Marshall, Bronze champion now promoted to Silver; and Luverne, defending its title in the Open National Division. 

Boys’ preview
The 28 boys’ teams will be divided into four divisions – Gold, Silver, Bronze and Open Divisions. 

The Gold Division will play its first two rounds of games at Aldrich Arena and the final day at Ridder Arena on Dec. 29. Other divisions will play their first two rounds at the Schwan Super Rink at the National Sports Center in Blaine Dec. 29 and 31.

Championship games for those divisions will be played Jan. 1, at Ridder Arena in Minneapolis. 

The Gold Division will be a four-team round-robin format, with the championship going to the team with the best record. All other divisions will be eight-team bracket format. 

Three MSHSL State Tournament teams from 2018 will play Schwan’s Cup this year – Centennial and Hill-Murray in the Gold Division and St. Michael-Albertville in the Silver Division. 

Three Schwan’s Cup champions will return to defend their titles. Cretin-Derham Hall, the champion in the Silver Division, has been promoted to the Gold Division. Hudson, Wis., Bronze Division champion, moves up to the Silver Division, and Simley will return to defend its championship in the Open Division. 

Here is a summary of the 2018 Schwan’s Cup format:

Wednesday, Dec. 26: Girls’ Gold Division quarterfinals at Ridder Arena; all other girls’ quarterfinal games at the Schwan Super Rink.

Thursday, Dec. 27: Girls’ Gold Division semifinals and consolation games at Ridder Arena. All other girls’ semifinals and consolation games at the Schwan Super Rink. First-round games in boys’ Gold Division at Aldrich Arena.

Friday, Dec. 28: All five girls’ championship games at Ridder Arena. Girls’ tournament concludes. Second-round games in boys’ Gold Division at Aldrich Arena

Saturday, Dec. 29: Final-round games in boys’ Gold Division at Ridder Arena. Boys’ Gold Division concludes. Quarterfinal games in boys’ Silver, Bronze and Open Divisions at the Schwan Super Rink. 

Sunday, Dec. 30: Off day. 

Monday, Dec. 31: Boys’ Silver, Bronze and Open division semifinals and consolation games at the Schwan Super Rink.

Tuesday, Jan. 1: Boys’ championship games in Silver, Bronze and Open Divisions at Ridder Arena. Boys’ Silver, Bronze and Open divisions conclude. 

The National Sports Center’s in-house webcasting service, NSCgamecast, will provide live-streaming broadcasts of all the games from Ridder Arena on Dec. 26-29, and Jan. 1: http://www.nscsports.org/page/show/1598209-schwan-cup.

Single-day ticket prices are $10 for adults and $8 for students and seniors. An all-tournament pass is $27 for adults and $15 for students and seniors. All tickets are general admission and may be purchased at the door. Passes are sold separately for boys’ and girls’ tournaments. Children 10 and under are admitted free, and high school passes will not be accepted. 

Girls’ Gold Division first-round match-ups • Dec. 26 • Ridder Arena
- St. Paul United vs, Mahtomedi, 12 p.m.
- Andover vs. Rogers, 2:30 p.m.
- Holy Family Catholic vs. Blake, 5 p.m.
- Centennial vs. Proctor/Hermantown, 7:30 p.m.

Girls’ Silver Division first-round match-ups • Dec. 26 • Schwan Super Rink
- Buffalo vs. Spring Lake Park, 12:30 p.m., SSR #4
- Delano/Rockford vs. Duluth Marshall, 3 p.m., SSR #4
- Bloomington Jefferson vs. Cambridge-Isanti/Mora/Pine City, 5:30 p.m., SSR #4
- Rochester Lourdes vs. Duluth, 8 p.m., SSR #4

Girls’ Bronze Division first-round match-ups • Dec. 26 • Schwan Super Rink
- St. Francis/North Branch vs. Totino-Grace, 12:30 p.m., SSR #2
- Moose Lake Area vs. East Ridge, 3 p.m., SSR #2
- Minneapolis vs. International Falls, 5:30 p.m., SSR #2
- Irondale vs. Red Wing, 8 p.m., SSR #2

Girls’ Open/American Division first-round match-ups • Dec. 26 • Schwan Super Rink
- Chisago Lakes vs. St. Paul/Henry Sibley, 12 p.m., SSR #3
- Owatonna vs. Cap City Cougars, 2:30 p.m., SSR #3
- Green Bay Area. vs. Northern Lakes, 5 p.m., SSR #3
- Marshall vs. University School of Milwaukee, 7:30 p.m., SSR #3

Girls’ Open/National Division first-round match-ups • Dec. 26 • Schwan Super Rink
- Waseca vs. Western Wisconsin Stars, 12 p.m., SSR #1
- Albert Lea vs. Eveleth-Gilbert, 2:30 p.m., SSR #1
- Arrowhead vs. North Shore, 5 p.m., SSR #1
- Luverne vs. Fairmont, 7:30 p.m., SSR #1

Boys’ Gold Division • Dec. 27 • Aldrich Arena 
- Centennial vs. Cretin-Derham Hall, 1 p.m.
- Hill-Murray vs. Burnsville, 6:30 p.m.

Dec. 28 • Aldrich Arena
- Hill-Murray vs. Cretin-Derham Hall, 1 p.m.
- Burnsville vs. Centennial, 6:30 p.m.

Dec. 29 • Ridder Arena
- Cretin-Derham Hall vs. Burnsville, 1 p.m.
- Centennial vs. Hill-Murray, 6:30 p.m.

Boys’ Silver Division first-round match-ups • Dec. 29 • Schwan Super Rink
- St. Cloud vs. Tartan, 12 p.m., SSR #4
- Breck vs. Hudson, 2:30 p.m., SSR #4
- Minneapolis vs. St. Louis Park, 5 p.m., SSR #4
- Park of Cottage Grove vs. St. Michael-Albertville, 7:30 p.m., SSR #4

Boys’ Bronze Division first-round match-ups • Dec. 29 • Schwan Super Rink
- Totino-Grace vs. Minnehaha Academy, 11:30 a.m., SSR #3
- Mounds View vs. Holy Angels, 2 p.m., SSR #3
- Spring Lake Park vs. St. Paul Academy, 4:30 p.m., SSR #3
- University School of Milwaukee vs. Rogers, 7 p.m., SSR #3

Boys’ Open Division first-round match-ups • Dec. 29 • Schwan Super Rink
- Princeton vs. Marshall, 12 p.m., SSR #2
- Simley vs. Henry Sibley, 2:30 p.m., SSR #2
- Southwest Christian/Richfield vs. Pine City Area, 5 p.m., SSR #2
- Chisago Lakes vs. Bloomington Kennedy, 7:30 p.m., SSR #2