the gold cup was the usa hockey junior a national championship that the ushl participated in at the end of the season against the regular season and playoff champions of the other junior a leagues. the ushl stopped participation in the tournament after usa hockey realigned its designations and the ushl became a tier i league in 2001. the gold cup was discontinued after the 2003 tournament when the remaining tier ii junior a leagues merged. des moines participated in five gold cup tournaments and won three junior a national championships.