For the first time ever, the North Vancouver Wolf Pack won the Pacific Junior Hockey League (PJHL) title and a pair of 麻豆社国产natives had a lot to do with the win.
The Pack eliminated the Mission City Outlaws in six games with a 3-2 win on Friday (March 27) and now advance to the Cyclone Taylor Cup starting on Friday (April 3).
But the Pack couldn鈥檛 have won the championship without team captain Brodyn Nielsen and power forward Bret Higham, both of whom are products of the 麻豆社国产Minor Hockey Association.
Nielsen opened the scoring for North Vancouver in the deciding game and was fourth in PJHL playoff scoring with 26 points in 15 games. Higham suffered an injury and did not play in the final game but may return for the next series.
The franchise originally started in 麻豆社国产back in the 2008-09 season before moving to North Vancouver for the 2011-12 season. The Pack also won a regular season division title for the first time ever this season.
North Vancouver鈥檚 PJHL win means they move on to the Cyclone Taylor Cup, which determines the top Junior B team in BC. The Pack square off against the Campbell River Storm from the Vancouver Island Junior Hockey League on Friday, then take on the host Outlaws on Saturday (April 4) before concluding the round robin against the Kimberly Dynamites of the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League.
After the round robin the top two teams will play for gold and a BC title, while the other two teams play for bronze. The Cyclone Taylor Cup winner then competes for the top prize in the country for Junior B hockey 鈥� the Keystone Cup in Cold Lake, Alta. starting on April 16.
The Junior A journey is now over for Squamish鈥檚 Jarid Lukoseivicius after his Powell River Kings were eliminated by the Nanaimo Clippers in seven games in round two.
He scored 14 points in 13 playoff games for the Kings and now moves on to the University of Denver to play in the NCAA this fall. He scored 135 points in 116 games over two seasons in the BCHL.
The season is also over for Squamish鈥檚 Josh Thrower and the Vancouver Giants in the Western Hockey League. The Giants placed fifth in the BC division and failed to make the playoffs. Thrower picked up 14 points in 70 games for Vancouver.
Hockey is also almost done this season for Dalton Thrower and the Brampton Beast in the East Coast Hockey League. The Beast have failed to qualify for the playoffs and end the season on April 12.
Read The 麻豆社国产 for more details on how these local players fare.聽
