The AJHL and BCHL Finals are set!
ENERFLEX CUP
Spruce Grove vs. Grande Prairie
This best of 7 for the AJHL Championship pits the top two teams from the Northern Division. The Storm have bolted out to a 2 game lead thanks to 4 goals on the man advantage, and Spruce Grove (who lost just 7 games in the regular season) is now behind the 8-ball.
Former Vees tough-guy Elias Grossmann has played 11 of the Storm’s 17 playoff games but has yet to suit up in the league finals due to injury.
Games 3 and 4 run on Saturday and Sunday from Grande Prairie.
AJHL piece on the contrasting styles of play
FRED PAGE CUP
Powell River Kings vs. Vernon Vipers
The Kings and Vipers have put together fantastic seasons to this point and are coming off series victories over very talented clubs (Victoria and Salmon Arm). The Vipers are a physically imposing, deep, and defensively minded club. Meanwhile, the Kings have a lethal power play, six 20-year-old forwards, and an uncanny knack of lighting the lamp.
Travel will be a pain in the butt should this series go six or seven games, as the trip between the Okanagan and the Sunshine Coast is a full day affair sporting 2 ferry rides and often some Greater Vancouver gridlock.
Much like the contrasting styles on display in Alberta, these teams have achieved success through different methods. Here’s the BCHL’s preview
Games 1 and 2 are Friday and Saturday in Powell River. (I’ll take Vernon in 7).
