About Us

The Northern Exposure AAA Hockey Tournament began in 2005 with a simple problem: empty summer ice. Brendan Flaherty, arena manager at Mars Lakeview Arena in Duluth, was looking for a way to fill the rink during the off-season. A friend of his was running Team Northwest out of Arizona at the time, and when Brendan reached out, Team Northwest brought their teams north for a weekend of summer hockey. That first tournament was the spark for what would become a two-decade tradition.

Brendan ran the tournament alongside his stepson, Kasey Yoder, for its first two years before stepping back and passing the reins to Kasey, who has carried it forward ever since. Except for a pause in 2020 due to COVID, the tournament has run every summer since its founding — growing to welcome teams from more than 20 states and several countries.

Through it all, the heart of the tournament never changed. Duluth itself has always been the draw — its lake, its charm, its ability to make a hockey weekend feel like a summer getaway. Brendan and Kasey built the tournament to be affordable, well-organized, and competitive, so that teams could focus on playing great hockey while enjoying everything Duluth has to offer.

Brendan passed away in 2021, but his vision is the foundation this tournament still stands on. He saw an empty sheet of ice and imagined a gathering point for hockey players and families from across the country — and that vision is still what brings everyone back to Duluth, summer after summer.

In 2026, the Tournament was sold to Matt and Abby Weis. Matt has six years of Hockey Tournament Operations, working with the Fargo Youth Hockey Association and most notably the Squirt International Hockey Tournaments. Matt and Abby look forward to adding some new elements into the Northern Exposure Hockey Tournament, ensuring the Tournament remains a highly sought after tournament in the region.