Nashville, Tenn. (March 5, 2007) - The road to the eighth annual Predators Cup Tennessee High School Hockey Championship begins this weekend. Eight teams will compete in the tournament starting with preliminary round-robin games on March 8-9 and ending with the finals at the Sommet Center on Saturday, March 22.

2007 Preds Cup Champion Pope John Paul II

Nearly 30 teams from Knoxville, Memphis and Nashville area high schools compete in independent league play for seeding placement into the state tournament. Games will open this Saturday, March 8 at 11:25 a.m. when Pope John Paul II, the 2007 Preds Cup and 2008 Nashville Cup champs, take on the Metro Pirates, Knoxville’s No. 1 seed, at Southern Ice Arena (215 Gothic Court, Franklin). All-day passes to this weekend’s game are just $2.

The top two teams from each division will advance to the Predators Cup Championship Series March 21-22 at Centennial Sportsplex (222 25th Ave N, Nashville), with the championship game played at the Sommet Center on March 22 at approximately 5:15 p.m.*
*Championship game will begin 45 minutes after the conclusion of the Predators vs. Blackhawks game and is open to the public and free of charge, seating is general admission.

Teams competing for the 2008 Predators Cup:
Knoxville area high schools: Metro Pirates and Metro Warriors
Memphis area high schools: Collierville and Germantown
Nashville area high schools: Father Ryan, Hendersonville, Pope John Paul II and Ravenwood

The Nashville Predators established the Predators Cup during the 1999-00 season as part of the team's mission to increase the visibility of hockey on the amateur level in Tennessee. To see previous state champs, in addition to tournament schedule/results, visit www.nashvillepredators.com/predscup.