The 2026 Rogers BCHL Cup Finals between the Brooks Bandits and the Nanaimo Clippers begins on Friday. We get you set with a full preview of the series.
Brooks Bandits (Interior Conference champions) vs. Nanaimo Clippers (Coastal Conference champions)
Head-to-Head:
The two teams did not meet in the regular season this year and have not played each other since Brooks officially joined the BCHL last season.
Top Playoff Performers:
Brooks – F Dmitrijs Dilevka (25 points), F Isaac Johnson (20 points), D Tanner Winegard (13 points), G Zach Zahara (2.17 GAA)
Nanaimo – F Tanner Bruender (16 points), F Jack Rimmer (16 points), Charles Béland (13 goals), Eliot Séguin-Lescarbeau (2.33 GAA)
Road to the Finals:
Brooks:
Round 1 – defeated Spruce Grove Saints 4-0
Round 2 – defeated Sherwood Park Crusaders 4-3
Round 3 – defeated Cranbrook Bucks 4-1
Nanaimo:
Round 1 – defeated Alberni Valley Bulldogs 4-1
Round 2 – defeated Cowichan Valley Capitals 4-3
Round 3 – defeated Prince George Spruce Kings 4-0
Fast Facts:
- The teams have met once before in 2013 at the Western Canada Cup in Nanaimo where Brooks was victorious by a 7-2 score
- The Bandits are looking to win back-to-back championships in their first two full seasons in the BCHL
- Dilevka is the leading scorer in the postseason with 25 points in 16 games
- Zahara’s 2.17 goals-against average is third best in the playoffs
- Brooks leads the postseason with a plus-35 goal differential in 16 games
- This is the 10th time the Clippers have reached the championship series and the first since 2022
- Nanaimo has won the league title five times previously (1976, 1977, 1978, 2004 and 2007)
- Nanaimo’s 27 per cent power-play conversation rate is third best in the BCHL playoffs
- Béland leads the playoffs with 13 goals
- Séguin-Lescarbeau is tied for the most shutouts this postseason with two
Series Schedule:
Game 1: Friday, May 15 – 7 p.m. MDT at Centennial Regional Arena (Brooks)
Game 2: Saturday, May 16 – 7 p.m. MDT at Centennial Regional Arena (Brooks)
Game 3: Tuesday, May 19 – 7p.m. PDT at Frank Crane Arena (Nanaimo)
Game 4: Wednesday, May 20 – 7 p.m. PDT at Frank Crane Arena (Nanaimo)
Game 5: Friday, May 22 – 7 p.m. MDT at Centennial Regional Arena (Brooks)*
Game 6: Sunday, May 24 – 7 p.m. PDT at Frank Crane Arena (Nanaimo)*
Game 7: Tuesday, May 26 – 7 p.m. MDT at Centennial Regional Arena (Brooks)*
*If necessary
