Bloomfield Unified Headed to Berkley Hockey Invitational

Eight teams will battle it out this weekend during the inaugural Berkley Hockey Invitational, which kicks off Thursday at the and runs through Saturday evening.

The Berkley-Ferndale Unified squad will open the tournament at 9 a.m. against Carleton's Airport High School in what Berkley-Ferndale coach Jeff Fleming hopes will become a tradition.

"We're going to try to do this (tournament) year after year," he said.

The other six squads include Bloomfield Unified, Marysville, Lutheran North (Macomb), Romeo, Chippewa Valley and Port Huron High School, Fleming said.

"We're excited to have all of 'em," he said.

Each team will play three games, with four games total each day. The championship matchup will be played at 4 p.m. Saturday.

"The kids appreciate any support from the community we can get," Fleming said. "We have a pretty good fan base of students and we have a pretty good season going."

That's, perhaps, a modest way to put it. Berkley-Ferndale Unified is 9-0 in the Oakland Activities Association white division.

"It's important for us to come off break here and get back to work," Fleming said. "They've put a target on their back and it's a good target to have."

If you go

When: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday; 2 p.m. to 10 p.m. Friday; 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday

Where:

Why go: Cheer for the Berkley-Ferndale Unified team and help generate momentum for a new event at the arena.

Cost: $5 per game or $10 for the weekend

What else: Proceeds, along with entry fees, will be used to cover tournament expenses. Any extra funds raised will benefit the Berkley-Ferndale Unified team, which is not subsidized by , Fleming said.

Send us your tournament photos! Upload a photo here and tell us what's happening in the shot and who's pictured. , first become a registered Patch user if you aren't already, then add the photo by clicking on "add your photos & video."