Game one of the Central Interior Hockey League’s best of three championship series takes place in Quesnel tomorrow (Saturday) night.
This will be the third straight season that The Terrace River Kings and Quesnel Kangaroos have met in the league final, with the Roos winning both times.
Roos President and General Manager Tyler Coleman says they know what they’re up against.
“Terrace is a great hockey team. They’ve got a lot of skill and they’re a challenging opponent for anybody in the league. We’re going to come at them with everything we’ve got and keep playing our game with the intensity that we have been lately.”
Coleman was asked if the teams have similar styles.
“They seem to be a little more run and gun than we are in some aspects. But we tend to play a little more physical game, and I think that might be where our advantage is. We have size and strength and skill I think on our side, and we hopefully will able to, with our strong defensive core, be able to just shut them down.”
Tomorrow night’s game starts at 8 o’clock and not the usual 7-30.
Games two and three, if necessary, will be played in Terrace next weekend.
Coleman says it’s not just a league championship on the line this year.
“Because of COVID they weren’t sure that they were going to be able to have the tournament, and this year has been changed to a three game playoff series against the winner of our league versus the winner of the independent teams. Dawson Creek, Powell River and Trail played off and Dawson Creek came out on top, so whoever wins our league will be hosting the Coy Cup for a three day tournament against Dawson Creek. That’ll be at the end of March from the 25th to the 27th.”
Quesnel and Terrace split the season series with both teams winning on home ice.