The second annual Air North Hockey Challenge will take place simultaneously in Whitehorse and Yellowknife this weekend.

The two northern capitals will be the sites of furious hockey action between the Whitehorse Mustangs and the Yellowknife Wolfpack.

The two organizations will renew their rivalries after Yellowknife won the inaugural challenge last season with a combined team record of nine wins, eight losses.

“Last year, when we tallied up the total number of wins and losses, Yellowknife won in a shootout,” said Whitehorse Minor Hockey Association president Carl Burgess.

“They’re in the same situation as us and they’re a good match. They’re definitely an equivalent association.”

Eight teams participated in last year’s event hosted in both cities, but this year, that number will swell to 12.

The midget, peewee and female Mustangs teams will host their rivals in the Yukon capital, while the bantam, atom and novice squads will hit the road to Yellowknife for the three-day tournament.

Each division will play four head-to-head games, with the winning association taking home “the hardware of pride,” Burgess said.

“It’s northern hockey,” added Yellowknife Minor Hockey Association president Steve Thompson. “It allows us to see how the other associations in the North are developing. (Whitehorse) is an association that faces the same challenges that we face.”

The Wolfpack play the bulk of their out-of-territory tournaments in the Edmonton area, he said.

“It’s a great opportunity,” Thompson said of the annual hockey challenge. “It’s more of an exciting thing than competitive. We want to show them what Yellowknife has to offer.

“The kids are really looking forward to it.”

Air North is helping out “a great deal” to make this tournament a reality, said Burgess.

The two associations’ relationship is expected to expand to two tournaments a year, he added.

“We’re trying to do it twice a year so each team visits their counterpart once,” said Burgess. “When we look at the hockey development side of it, both teams are getting eight competitive games at an incredibly low price.

“One of the key things for the development program through the year is to try and make 30-plus competitive games a year before their end-of-year championships or provincials.”

Meanwhile, seven teams have confirmed their attendance for a bantam and peewee tournament set to take place in Whitehorse over the Remembrance Day weekend.