Justin Thistle doesn’t know what to expect when he steps on the ice Thursday, but he won’t be the only person feeling the same way.

Thistle and his teammates will hit the ice at the Membertou Sport and Wellness Centre for their first Blue and White Contractor Cup.

The high school hockey tournament will return for the first time in four years with the Wildcats hosting the eight-team event, beginning Thursday night.

“It’s my first Blue and White tournament, so it’s going to be exciting and interesting for sure,” said Thistle, the captain of the Wildcats “I think we’ll do good."

The tournament will feature two divisions — four teams in each — honouring Adrian Morrison and Dugga MacNeil.

Joining Sydney Academy in the Adrian Morrison Division will be the Memorial Marauders, Richmond Hurricanes of Louisdale, and Forest Heights Falcons of Chester Basin.

Meanwhile, the Dugga MacNeil Division will feature the Riverview Redmen, Glace Bay Panthers, Dartmouth Spartans and Prince Andrew Panthers of Dartmouth.

The four-day event will mark the second tournament in as many weekends for the Sydney Academy club.

Last week, the team participated in the popular City of Lakes tournament in Dartmouth, surprising many by posting an undefeated 3-0 record in the round robin with wins over the Dartmouth, Prince Andrew and Sussex.

The Wildcats, who finished the round robin in second place out of 16 teams, knocked off Kennebecasis Valley of New Brunswick 4-3 in the quarter-final, before losing to Leo Hayes High School of Fredericton 9-0 in the semifinals.

Alex Chenhall, a forward for the Wildcats, believes Sydney Academy has momentum going into the Blue and White tournament after the successful performance last weekend.

“We came out and worked hard as a team and threw the body and we have to keep that going this weekend,” said Chenhall, who has two assists in 13 regular-season games this year.

“We played as a team and we were able to take advantage of our opportunities and we have to keep that going moving forward, even beyond this tournament.”

The local high school tournament was called the Sydney Academy Invitational Tournament when it first hit the ice on Nov. 30, 1989. The event later changed to the Blue and White tournament, recognizing the school’s colours.

The first tournament was played at Centre 200 and featured seven teams including clubs from across the province and even Newfoundland and Labrador.

Longtime Academy hockey coach Dugga MacNeil and Peter Mombourquette, the school’s principal at the time, were the co-chairs for the tournament.

The event was established after the Cape Breton Metros Hockey Association decided not to host its annual invitational tournament, which started in the early 1970s and attracted high school teams from across Canada.

The Cole Harbour Cavaliers won the inaugural tournament, defeating the Prince Andrew Bombers 3-2.

Sydney Academy is led offensively by Dante Basque, a former Cape Breton Jet, with three goals and 10 assists, while Ethan MacInnis leads the team in goals with seven and has 11 points in 13 contests.

Defenceman Belle Jacobs believes the Wildcats are progressing every game and have become a much better team since the start of the season.

“We have a totally different team,” said Jacobs, who made Sydney Academy history this season becoming the first female to play for the school’s boys hockey team.

“We’re pretty deep this year and we know we can compete with the higher-end teams in the province and now we have a chance to win.”

Sydney Academy will open the tournament Thursday with a game against Memorial. Puck drop is slated for 7:30 p.m.

The Wildcats will finish the round robin with games Friday at 5:30 p.m. against Richmond and Saturday at 12:30 p.m. against Forest Heights.

The semifinals are scheduled for Saturday at 5 p.m. and 7 p.m., while the championship game will be played Sunday at 11 a.m.

Thistle expects the school community and general public will support the team and the tournament.

“I think there will be a lot of fans and a lot of noise,” said Thistle. “Hopefully we can give the fans what they’re coming to see, but we have to play hard as a team.”

TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE

Sydney Academy Blue and White Contractor Cup

Thursday

• 6 p.m. – Glace Bay vs. Riverview
• 7:30 p.m. – Sydney Academy vs. Memorial

Friday

• 12 p.m. – Riverview vs. Dartmouth
• 12 p.m. – Glace Bay vs. Prince Andrew
• 1:30 p.m. – Richmond vs. Forest Heights
• 4 p.m. – Dartmouth vs. Prince Andrew
• 5:30 p.m. – Sydney Academy vs. Richmond
• 7 p.m. – Memorial vs. Forest Heights

Saturday

• 8 a.m. – Glace Bay vs. Dartmouth
• 9:30 a.m. – Memorial vs. Richmond
• 11 a.m. – Riverview vs. Prince Andrew
• 12:30 p.m. – Sydney Academy vs. Forest Heights
• 5 p.m. – 1st Morrison vs. 2nd MacNeil
• 7 p.m. – 1st MacNeil vs. 2nd Morrison

Sunday

• 11 a.m. – Championship game

*All games at the Membertou Sport and Wellness Centre