The KIJHL Playoffs officially gets underway Friday as the Kimberley Dynamiters clash with the Creston Valley Thunder Cats while the Fernie Ghostriders battle the Columbia Valley Rockies.
MyEastKootenayNow.com did a full preview of both best-of-seven series earlier this week. Those stories can be found below:
(#1) Kimberley Dynamiters vs (#4) Creston Valley Thunder Cats
(#2) Fernie Ghostriders vs (#3) Columbia Valley Rockies
The Kimberley Dynamiters are the top-seed in the Eddie Mountain Division, after winning the KIJHL’s President Cup as the regular season’s top team with an impressive 40-6-0-3 record. Kimberley enters the playoffs on a four-game winning streak, while the Creston is4-5-0-1 over their last ten games.
Game 1 between the Dynamiters and Thunder Cats gets underway at 7:00 pm on Friday at the Kimberley Civic Centre, while Game 2 will be played at the same time on Saturday.
Holding on to the second seed, the Fernie Ghostriders scored 216 goals this year, second-most in the KIJHL behind the Revelstoke Grizzlies (224). Fernie also enters the playoffs on a five-game winning streak, while the Rockies have lost six straight.
The Ghostriders and Rockies open Game 1 at 7:30 pm Friday from Fernie Memorial Arena, while Game 2 will drops at 7:30 pm on Saturday.
Wade Dubielewicz, Head Coach of the Columbia Valley Rockies said the 2019/2020 KIJHL Playoffs will be a good one.
“I hope everybody comes out to Fernie and Invermere and Kimberley and Creston,” Dubielewicz told MyEastKootenayNow.com. “It’s an exciting time of year, some great hockey and it’s going to be a lot of fun.”
The winner of the respective Division Semifinal series will advance to the Eddie Mountain Division Final, followed by the Kootenay Conference Championship, and then the 2020 Teck Cup. The KIJHL champion will then advance to the 2020 Cyclone Taylor Cup in 100 Mile House for a shot at the Junior B Provincial Championship.