While the World Juniors will be going ahead in a bubble, organizers of the annual Macs Midget Tournament in Calgary announced yesterday that they won't be having their tournament this year.

The U18 AAA Moose Jaw Warriors made the final of the prestigious tournament last year for the first time in franchise history, losing 6-2 to the Calgary Buffaloes in the final after seven hard-fought games.

"Obviously it's disappointing but it doesn't come as too big a surprise, with just the way things are going and where we're at with not knowing when we're going to be able to start league games," Warriors head coach Trevor Weisgerber. "Just with interprovincial travel and everything like that we were figuring it was going to come out sooner than later."

The tournament has been held annually since 1978. With only the top five teams from the Saskatchewan U18 AAA league guaranteed to be going every year, it has been seen as a measuring stick at the midway point of the season. Last year's tournament was a momentous event for the Warriors, many of whom played in Calgary's Scotiabank Saddledome for the first time in their lives in the New Year's Day final. 

"For us, last year that was a goal that we had set as a team, and obviously in the future, that's going to be a goal that we set till Christmas that we want to make sure that we are qualifying for that tournament every year," Weisgerber said. "This year, who knows when we'll be starting and the goal will be just to start out well, and depending on how many games we end up playing in the league, that we're ready to go once the playoffs start."