It's that time of year again when the BCHL website adds its playoff bracket.
Under the Scoreboard tab, you can find the playoff bracket with the postseason schedule laid out. All playoff game dates are there through to the Fred Page Cup which is set to begin in early April.
As of March 8, the only thing known for sure is who the eight playoff teams are (Penticton, Merritt, Prince George, Chilliwack, Surrey, Powell River, Cowichan Valley and Coquitlam) and that the Penticton Vees will have home ice advantage.
In the Interior Conference, the Chilliwack Chiefs officially qualified for the postseason with a 4-2 win over Vernon on March 6. They have games in hand on the two clubs ahead of them in the standings and could possibly catch the Merritt Centennials for second place if everything broke their way.
Prince George has the tall task of hosting Penticton twice in the final weekend of the regular season. The only mitigating factor is that the Vees will not be at home where they are undefeated in regulation this season.
Merritt closes the campaign with a home-and-home set against the Trail Smoke Eaters.
In the Coastal Conference, everything was still up for grabs going into the final weekend. Powell River, with games in hand on each of the other playoff clubs, could retake first place from the Surrey Eagles but they face three games on the road to finish up.
Coquitlam could conceivably move up to second if they win their final game as that would tie them with Powell River and they had six wins versus the Kings this season. Coquitlam would need Cowichan Valley to acquire no more than two points in the standings however and would need Powell River to lose all their remaining games.
Cowichan Valley could still finish first if they won their final two games and Surrey lost their one remaining game. They'd also need Powell River to acquire no more than three points.
