Finals resume or begin in all nine leagues during Easter long weekend
By Ron Valentine
With it being three weeks away until the start of the Centennial Cup, presented by Tim Hortons, at the Max Bell Centre in Calgary, each of the Canadian Junior Hockey League’s nine-member leagues are now down to their respective best-of-seven championship series.
The Trenton Golden Hawks host the Milton Menace in Game 1 of the Ontario Junior Hockey League Championship Series on Saturday.
In the Alberta Junior Hockey League final it will be the top seeded – and Centennial Cup host – Calgary Canucks against sixth-seeded Grande Prairie Storm. In the CJHL final Top 20 teams rankings, the Canucks were rated 15th. The Canucks eliminated the Drumheller Dragons in one semifinal while the Storm upset the Whitecourt Wolverines in four games. The Inter Pipeline Cup starts Friday at the Ken Bracko arena in Calgary.
In the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League, the Melfort Mustangs, who reached the national championship game last season in Oakville, will play the Weyburn Red Wings in the Canterra Seeds Cup final. Melfort was ranked fifth in the final CJHL Top 20. To reach the final, Melfort bested the Yorkton Terriers in four games and Weyburn beat the Flin Flon Bombers in six. They start Saturday in Melfort at the Northern Lights Palace.
In the Manitoba Junior Hockey League, the Northern Manitoba Blizzard will face the Dauphin Kings in the Turnbull Cup final. In the semifinals, the Blizzard got past the Winkler Flyers, ranked sixth in the country, in four straight and the Dauphin Kings beat the Portage Terriers in six. Friday, April 18, is the date of the first game of the series in Dauphin at the Credit Union Place Arena. Neither club was ranked in the CJHL’s final rankings.
The Superior International Hockey League final will feature the Dryden GM Ice Dogs and the Kam River Fighting Walleye from just outside of Thunder Bay. The ‘Dogs, ranked 13th in the country, swept the Red Lake Miners and the Walleye got past the Thunder Bay North Stars also in the minimum number in their semi finals. The quest for the Bill Salonen Cup will begin Saturday in Dryden at the Memorial arena.
The Greater Sudbury Cubs, who represented the Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League last year, have reached the final again. They will meet the Hearst Lumberjacks in the Copeland Cup/McNamara trophy final. The Cubs beat the Soo Thunderbirds in four games in a semifinal and the Lumberjacks got past the Timmins Rock in five games. Sudbury earned a seventh overall ranking in their regular season. Games 1 and 2 are in Sudbury tonight and Friday at the Gerry McCrory Countryside Sports Complex.
In the Central Canada Hockey League, the Carleton Place Canadians will compete for the Bogart Cup after besting the Navan Grads in their semifinal. The Canadians received an honurable mention in the final CJHL rankings. Their opponents will be the Rockland Nationals, ranked third in the country. They eliminated the Smiths Falls Bears. Both series went to the maximum of seven games and ended Wednesday night. The final begins Monday in Rockland.
Quebec’s LHJAAAQ final series sees the Valleyfield Braves playing the College Francais de Longueuil, who represented the League in Oakville last year. The clubs play for the NAPA Cup and Valleyfield currently leads by two games to one. The Braves were ranked 12th and the College were ranked 17th in the final CJHL Top 20 rankings. Game 4 goes at the Colisee Jean Beliveau on Friday.
In the Maritime Junior Hockey League, the Edmundston Blizzard, ranked first overall in the final CJHL Top 20 rankings, will meet the Pictou County Weeks Crushers. Both teams registered four-game sweeps in the semifinals with the Blizzard beating the Campbellton Tigers and the Crushers upsetting the Summerside Western Capitals, who were ranked 10th in Canada. The final for the MetalFab Cup starts Friday at the Centre Jean Daigle in Edmundston.
With files from the Canadian Junior Hockey League
