Things are getting exciting for the Whitehorse Huskies – starting this weekend with a two game series against the Fort St. John Flyers.

"This is gonna be a good game,” said coach Randy Merkel.

The Fort St. John Flyers are the host of this year's coveted Allan Cup – the prize the Huskies' players hope to hoist over their heads once more.

Unlike the Huskies, who chose their final team at the carding deadline last month, the Flyers will be using this weekend to select the team that will play in the Allan Cup.

"They are actually picking their team this weekend,” Merkel said.

That means 28 players will be arriving in Whitehorse this week to skate in the two games, and the team will have the chance to rotate fresh players. Merkel said the number of players on the team shouldn't help give the Flyers more gas to get a win.

"Personally I don't think so,” Merkel said.

The change-up of players could help the Huskies, however, as the Flyers work to find the best line combinations.

The Huskies team has been practicing together since the previous game series against the Powell River Regals in February.

Merkel is happy with how the team has bonded, and is optimistic for the outcome of the weekend.

"I'm encouraged with the Huskies, we've gone a long way,” he said. "I think we're doing pretty good.

"We are now a legitimate AAA team.”

Merkel said the Flyers have had two years to build the team that will hit home ice for the Allan Cup.

"I am going to say they're going to be pretty damn good.”

But the Huskies' coach is not concerned after what he saw against the Powell River Regals.

"We're competing with these teams,” he said. "We competed very well with Powell River at the last set of games.”

The Flyers have a bit of a leg up, as many top-level players were attracted to the city once it was chosen to host the Allan Cup.

"In the hockey world the Allan Cup is a very prestigious thing,” Merkel said. "To have an Allan cup ring is a very high honour.”

To get a crack at that honour, more and more professional hockey players are being blended into the AAA league as some professional teams fold. Merkel said several pro teams have crumbled in recent years, leaving numerous hockey greats without a team. They then join AAA leagues to keep on the ice.

"If six teams have folded, that still leaves 150 pro players,” Merkel said. "The senior levels are getting stronger.”

Merkel said his team would not have been able to keep going if it weren't for the support they have received from the community.

"We're had some really good help with some very core sponsors,” Merkel said.

Merkel mentions Air North, the Roadhouse, Northern Vision Development, the High Country Inn, the Gold Rush Inn and Yukon Electric.

For this series, Saturday will be Mustangs night. Yukon Electric has purchased tickets for every member of the Whitehorse Mustangs to attend the game on Saturday. Merkel said the team members should wear their jerseys for free admission.

"We really want a lot of Mustangs present,” Merkel said.

The games will have a beer garden in the upper mezzanine for attendees as well.

Merkel said he is thankful for the support and help of the local dog groups that use the facility, for reorganizing to allow the beer garden to go ahead.

"The dog groups that had the beer garden were extremely cooperative,” he said. "I really want to personally thank them.”

This game will feature level five referees, that will need to be flown in. There is only one level five referee in the territory, and he was unavailable for the weekend.

Hockey Canada and the B.C. Amateur Hockey Association is loosening the rules for the linesmen. They will allow the Whitehorse Games to be played with level three linesman to help lower the costs associated with travel.

Also in attendance will be a chief referee, that is being flown in by Hockey Canada and the B.C. Amateur Hockey Association.

What Merkel is most looking forward to, is that the scores for this game will be posted Canada wide for other AAA teams to look at, as Merkel has been doing to other teams as the play-downs for the Allan Cup progress.

"When we win or lose this, our scores will be posted across Canada on the Allan Cup website,” he said.

Merkel is calling on the fans to come out and cheer the team on this weekend, as they head into their final games before the Allan Cup playoffs.

"If you love hockey and you want to see this level of hockey in Whitehorse, I would hope that you would come out and support us,” Merkel said.

Hockey fans can expect a great game series.

"You can appreciate very fast paced, hard hitting hockey,” he said of the series this weekend. "It's very disciplined at this level.”

And Merkel promises his team will be up for the fight against the Flyers.

"We're not gonna lay down for anyone.”

The games are bringing in the 28 players of the Flyers, as well as coaching staff and more. Merkel said the trip helps benefit the city and the children that come out to watch.

"Many of the kids are coming forward and saying they're really enjoying these games,” Merkel said. "It is a good thing.”

Merkel is hoping the team continues on so that Whitehorse has a team they can call their own.

"We don't really have a team like this in Whitehorse that we can really rally and get behind.”

The Huskies have received some criticism that the team does not have enough local members, but Merkel said the team has more local content than most AAA teams.

Merkel adds that the Regals have about five local members, most of which moved to the town specifically for the team.

Powell River has seen some new citizens move to the town due to the team, and Merkel said that has already happened in Whitehorse.

When the team was in operation in the early 90s, many of the players moved to Whitehorse – and many stayed.

"Some of them still live here,” Merkel said.

Former Husky Jay Glass came up to join the team and never left. He now coaches the FSC Bantam Mustangs team.

"These guys stayed and lived here,” Merkel said.

There are many more examples, and Merkel hopes more of his imported players will be convinced to stay in the Yukon long after they finish their time with the Huskies.

"The guys that come here, they really like it here,” he said.

Merkel helps encourage relocating to Whitehorse to all his imported players, and promises to keep it up if the team continues next year.

"That will be a goal of the Huskies,” he said. "I'm already trying to work on some of these players to decide they want to live here.”

For the imported players that are already here Merkel said they want to win these games for themselves and the city.

"They all wanna win,” he said. "Expect us to come out and fight.”

After this weekend, the Huskies will play their first league games from April 1st to 5th in a five game series against the Powell River Regals here in Whitehorse. Those games will also have a beer garden that will run the entire duration of the five-day series.

The winners of that series will go directly to the Allan Cup tournament that will be played in Fort St. John from April 19th to 24th. The format will be a round robin between six teams in a pool, with the winners moving onto the semi-finals.