BCHL: The final-four teams are set for the BCHL semifinal playoffs.
The Wenatchee Wild will take on the Vernon Vipers in the Interior Division final, while the Prince George Spruce Kings will play the Victoria Grizzlies in the Island/Mainland Division final, with the victors facing off for the Fred Page Cup title.
Wenatchee and Vernon should prove an intriguing match up. Both teams played in the second round of last year’s playoffs where the Vipers won the first two games, but Wenatchee stormed back to win four straight, including the final two games in overtime.
Related read: Game 7, Smoke Eaters succumb to Vipers
Wenatchee is the defending league champions and are looking to be the first team to repeat since Vernon won three in a row from 2009 to 2011.
The biggest matchup in this series is between two veteran leaders. Wenatchee Wild captain Lucas Sowder and the BCHL’s active regular-season games-leader Jagger Williamson. Sowder has been all-world for the Wild in the playoffs and leads the postseason with 20 points in 13 games.
Williamson, who played all of his 233 regular-season games in Vernon, is leading his team with 14 points in 12 games. Both players bring a wealth of experience to this series, Sowder having won a championship last season and Williamson with his 38 points in 47 playoff games over the past five years.
The Vernon franchise has 12 Fred Page Cup titles to its name, starting with their first in 1970 when they were the Vernon Essos and, most recently, winning their third-straight trophy in 2011.
Wenatchee won it’s first and only title last year in their third season in the BCHL, taking out the Trail Smoke Eaters in the Interior final in five games. The Wild have nine players returning from last year’s championship team.
Related read: Smoke Eaters focus shifts to Wenatchee
Vipers forward Lane Zablocki is the lone NHL draft pick in this series as he was taken in the third round by the Detroit Red Wings in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft.
Prince George lost to the Wild in the league final last year and is hoping to avenge that loss this season. The Spruce Kings are well-rested after sweeping the RBC Cup defending champion Chilliwack Chiefs.
Victoria needed seven games to dispatch the Powell River Kings, and arguably have the best forward line in the BCHL led by BCHL leading scorer Alex Newhook.
Despite all the firepower on both teams, the biggest matchup in this series will be in the crease. Spruce Kings goalie Logan Neaton recorded a league-best 1.92 goals-against average, while, Grizzlies netminder Kurtis Chapman posted a .933 save percentage to lead the league in the regular season.
Both goalies have carried their stellar play into the postseason, each recording two shutouts. Neaton currently leads the playoffs with a .943 save percentage and a 1.29 goals-against average, with Chapman sporting a .929 SP and a 2.26 GAA.
Victoria has four players listed on NHL Central Scouting’s North American Skaters: Newhook (#16), Alexander Campbell (#42), Jeremie Bucheler (#113), Carter Berger (#181). Prince George defenceman Layton Ahac is also listed as #114 among North American skaters.
Grizzlies forward Riley Hughes is the only NHL Draft pick in the series. He was taken in the seventh round by the New York Rangers in the 2018 NHL Entry Draft.
Prince George is looking for it’s first Fred Page Cup title after losing in the finals last season. The Grizzlies franchise has one previous championship in 2001 when they were known as the Victoria Salsa. The city of Victoria has also seen one more title when the Victoria Cougars took home the trophy in 1969.
KIJHL: The Revelstoke Grizzlies won the Okanagan-Shuswap Conference title on Tuesday and will get set for a rematch with the Kimberley Dynamiters in a best-of-seven KIJHL championship series.
The Grizzlies beat the Kelowna Chiefs 3-1 in Game 6 to capture their second straight conference title, and will face off on Mar. 29 in Kimberley against the Dynamiters.
Kimberley won the Kootenay Conference title in five games over the Beaver Valley Nitehawks with a 3-2 win in triple overtime. The Dynamiters claimed home ice due to their better regular season record. The Dynamiters finished second in the league with 88 points versus the Grizzlies 85 points. Kelowna won the regular season title with 89 points.
The Grizzlies won their only regular-season tilt, 3-2. Last year the two teams played for the championship and the Dynamiters won in six.
Game 2 will be in Kimberley March 30, Games 3 and 4 in Revelstoke on April 1 and 2. Game 5, if needed, is scheduled for April 4 in Kimberly, Game 6 on April 6 in Revelstoke and Game 7 on April 8 in Kimberley.
The winner of the KIJHL championship qualifies for the Cyclone Taylor Cup,awarded to the top Jr. B team in BC. The championship pits the top teams from the KIJHL, the Pacific Junior Hockey League, and the Vancouver Island Jr. Hockey League, as well as host Campbell River, against each other and runs from April 11-14.
sports@trailtimes.ca
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