BCEHL PLAYOFF UPDATE - MARCH 22-24
For Immediate Release
March 20, 2024
Saanichton, B.C. - Congratulations to the Okanagan Rockets on capturing the U17 Championship last weekend! We now move on to the final week of the BCEHL Playoffs, where the Female and integrated U18 leagues hit the ice for their Championship Finals. The Female U18 Final will feature the top two regular season squads, the Fraser Valley Rush and Thompson-Okanagan Lakers, while the U18 Final will see the second-seeded Vancouver NE Chiefs and fourth-seeded Okanagan Rockets go toe-to-toe. Let's take a look at what to keep an eye on!
Female U18 AAA
The Championship Final in the Female U18 league will see a clash between the top-seeded Fraser Valley Rush and the second-seeded Thompson-Okanagan Lakers. The Rush and the Lakers' met on eight occasions during the regular season, where Fraser Valley took home five wins, and Thompson-Okanagan were victorious in the other three. The Rush swept their best-of-three semifinal against the Vancouver Island Seals, where forward Hannah Dods picked up eight points (5g-3a) across both games. The Lakers' also moved on with a 2-0 series victory in their semifinal matchup against the Greater Vancouver Comets. Forward Holly Magnus led the way in scoring with four points (1g-3a) in the series.
Playoff Format
March 8-10 (Survivor Series - Best-of-Three)
- (5) Vancouver Island Seals vs. (4) Northern Capitals
The Vancouver Island Seals advanced with a 2-0 series win
March 15-17 (Semifinals - Best-of-Three)
- (1) Fraser Valley Rush vs. (5) Vancouver Island Seals
The Fraser Valley Rush advanced with a 2-0 series win
- (2) Thompson Okanagan Lakers vs. (3) Greater Vancouver Comets
The Thompson-Okanagan Lakers advanced with a 2-0 series win
March 22-24 (Championship - Best-of-Three)
- (1) Fraser Valley Rush vs. (2) Thompson-Okanagan Lakers
Friday's Female U18 Playoff Game
Thompson-Okanagan Lakers @ Fraser Valley Rush - 6:00 p.m. - Langley Twin Rinks
Saturday's Female U18 Playoff Game
Fraser Valley Rush @ Thompson-Okanagan Lakers - 12:30 p.m. - Langley Twin Rinks
Sunday's Female U18 Playoff Game (If Necessary)
Thompson-Okanagan Lakers @ Fraser Valley Rush - 9:15 a.m. - Langley Twin Rinks
U18 AAA
The Championship Final in the U18 league is set between the second-seeded Vancouver NE Chiefs and fourth-seeded Okanagan Rockets. In their five-game regular season series, the Chiefs were winners of the first four contests, while the Rockets took the fifth. It took overtime in the third-and-deciding game of the semifinal between the Chiefs' and Cougars' to determine the series winner. Chiefs' forward Charles Robinson found the back of the net with 6:43 remaining in the extra frame to propel his squad to the Championship Final. Okanagan swept their semifinal series against the top-seeded Fraser Valley Thunderbirds, and were led on the scoresheet by forwards Mason Rudolph (0g-5a) and Aiden Bruce (3g-1a).
Playoff Format
March 8-10 (Quarterfinals - Best-of-Three)
- (1) Fraser Valley Thunderbirds vs. (8) Thompson Blazers
The Fraser Valley Thunderbirds advanced with a 2-0 series win
- (2) Vancouver NE Chiefs vs. (7) Greater Vancouver Canadians
The Vancouver NE Chiefs advanced with a 2-0 series win
- (3) Cariboo Cougars vs. (6) Vancouver NW Hawks
The Cariboo Cougars advanced with a 2-0 series win
- (4) Okanagan Rockets vs. (5) Valley West Giants
The Okanagan Rockets advanced with a 2-1 series win
March 15-17 (Semifinals - Best-of-Three)
- (1) Fraser Valley Thunderbirds vs. (4) Okanagan Rockets
The Okanagan Rockets advanced with a 2-0 series win
- (2) Vancouver NE Chiefs vs. (3) Cariboo Cougars
The Vancouver NE Chiefs advanced with a 2-1 series win
March 22-24 (Championship - Best-of-Three)
- (2) Vancouver NE Chiefs vs. (4) Okanagan Rockets
Friday's U18 Playoff Game
Okanagan Rockets @ Vancouver NE Chiefs - 3:00 p.m. - Scotia Barn
Saturday's U18 Playoff Game
Vancouver NE Chiefs @ Okanagan Rockets - 5:00 p.m. - Scotia Barn
Sunday's U18 Playoff Game (If Necessary)
Okanagan Rockets @ Vancouver NE Chiefs - 10:30 a.m. - Scotia Barn
U17 AAA
Congratulations to the Okanagan Rockets on being crowned 2023-24 BCEHL U17 Champions!
The U17 Championship Final took place between the fourth-seeded Okanagan Rockets and eighth-seeded Thompson Blazers. The best-of-three series saw the Rockets claim Game 1, backed by a 27-save shutout from goaltender Tyson Adams. A three-point performance (2g-1a) from forward Keegan Sanders helped the Blazers storm back in Game 2 with a 5-2 victory. It came down to Sunday's series-deciding Game 3, where Okanagan ultimately hoisted the U17 Championship trophy with a 6-2 victory.
Playoff Format
March 1-3 (Quarterfinals - Best-of-Three)
- (1) Greater Vancouver Canadians vs. (8) Thompson Blazers
The Thompson Blazers advanced with a 2-0 series win
- (2) Vancouver NW Hawks vs. (7) Cariboo Cougars
The Vancouver NW Hawks advanced with a 2-1 series win
- (3) Fraser Valley Thunderbirds vs. (6) Vancouver NE Chiefs
The Fraser Valley Thunderbirds advanced with a 2-0 series win
- (4) Okanagan Rockets vs. (5) Valley West Giants
The Okanagan Rockets advanced with a 2-0 series win
March 8-10 (Semifinals - Best-of-Three)
- (2) Vancouver NW Hawks vs. (8) Thompson Blazers
The Thompson Blazers advanced with a 2-0 series win
- (3) Fraser Valley Thunderbirds vs. (4) Okanagan Rockets
The Okanagan Rockets advanced with a 2-1 series win
March 15-17 (Championship - Best-of-Three)
- (4) Okanagan Rockets vs. (8) Thompson Blazers
The Okanagan Rockets defeated the Thompson Blazers with a 2-1 series win
U15 AAA
Congratulations to the Fraser Valley Thunderbirds on capturing the BCEHL U15 Championship!
The U15 Championship took place at Langley Twin Rinks from February 29 - March 3. All nine teams skated in four round-robin games, followed by a single-elimination knockout stage, where eight teams were seeded based on the results of the round-robin stage. Sunday's championship final saw the Fraser Valley Thunderbirds take on the Thompson Blazers. A pair of goals from Jaemin Andy Kim helped the Thunderbirds to a 2-1 victory and the U15 Championship.
If you can’t make it out the games you can stream all BCEHL games live at: www.playfullscreen.com.
To stay up to date on everything going on in the BCEHL visit the website to view schedules, standings, stats, and scores: BCEHL.net, follow @BCEHL on X, @BCEHL_AAA on Instagram, and join the conversation by using #BCEHLAAAHOCKEY
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