The top Junior A clubs from British Columbia and Alberta are currently battling for their respective league championships and a spot in the Doyle Cup. With that goal -- and a trip to the RBC Royal Bank Cup -- in sight, the league semi-finals series are about to begin.
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With only four teams remaining and both division final series beginning Friday, the race to the Alberta Junior Hockey League's Enerflex Cup is starting to get down to the wire.
The South Division match-up is set following a seven-game battle that saw the Brooks Bandits and Camrose Kodiaks go the distance before the Bandits triumphed with a 4-0 win in the series-deciding game.
The Olds Grizzlys, led by Jordan Kwan's league-leading 17 points in 11 playoff games, will be taking on the Bandits in the battle to represent the Soutd Division in the Enerflex Cup Finals.
In the North Division, the Spruce Grove Saints will take on the Grande Prairie Storm for a place in the finals. A series marks an encounter between the division's top two regular season seeds. The Storm finished the season trailing Spruce Grove by 12 points.
AJHL Playoff Point Leaders:
1. Jordan Kwas, Olds Grizzlys, 7/10/17 in 11
2. Brance Orban, Olds Grizzlys, 10/6/16 in 11
3. Zahn Raubenheimer, Grande Prairie Storm, 8/8/16 in 10
Point Leaders from remaining teams:
1. Olds Grizzlys -- Jordan Kwas, 7/10/17 in 11
2. Grande Prairie -- Zahn Raubenheimer, 10/6/16 in 10
3. Sherwood Park Crusaders -- Reese Rolheirser, 5/11/16 in 10
4. Brooks Bandits -- Jarret Granberg, 5/6/11 in 7
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Meanwhile, the British Columbia Hockey League's Coastal and Interior Conference Finals begin Friday, and the regular season standings have been true to form in determining the league's final four.
On the coast, the RBC Cup host Victoria Grizzlies are set to face off against the Mainland Division champion Powell River Kings. The Grizzlies, who are coming off a hard-fought seven game series win over Cowichan Valley, were the BCHL's regular season points leader while the Kings led the league in goals with 251.
In the interior, the Vernon Vipers and Salmon Arm SilverBacks will renew a regular season rivalry that saw the two teams go down to the wire for the conference crown. The Vipers and SilverBacks are both well-rested after five-game series wins in their conference semi-finals matchups.
BCHL Playoff Point Leaders:
1. Darcy Oakes, Powell River Kings, 5/9/14 in 5
2. Kyle Bodie, Powell River Kings, 7/5/12 in 5
3. Chris Zaires, Cowichan Valley Capitals, 4/8/12 in 10
Point Leaders from remaining teams:
1. Powell River Kings -- Darcy Oakes, 5/9/14 in 5
2. Salmon Arm SilverBacks -- Conor Morrison, 5/6/11 in 5
3. Vernon Vipers -- Sahir Gill, 4/5/9 in 5
4. Victoria Grizzlies -- Jonathan Milhouse, 4/4/8 in 7
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The winners of the AJHL's Enerflex Cup and the BCHL's Fred Page Cup will move on to face one another in the Doyle Cup and battle for a spot in the RBC Royal Bank Cup, which kicks off in Victoria, B.C. on May 2nd.(Nathan also is a writer for Maineiacs Post to Post and the Maine Hockey Journal. He can be reached at fourniern@students.nescom.edu)
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