The Rogers BCHL Playoffs are set to kick off tomorrow night with all eight series in action. We will preview each first-round matchup, starting with the four Coastal Conference series.
#1 Surrey Eagles vs. #8 Cowichan Valley Capitals
Head-to-Head:
Surrey won the season series 4-0 with one win coming in overtime.
Top Performers:
Surrey – F Caden Cranston (86 points), F Aaron Schwartz (81 points), F Ryden Evers (53 points), G Ajeet Gundarah (.931 save percentage)
Cowichan Valley – F Luke Lavery (46 points), F Matthew Swanson (42 points), F Brock Cummings (34 points), D Frédéric Deschênes (27 points)
Breakdown:
The Eagles were front-runners all year long. After starting the season on a 12-game winning streak, Surrey never looked back, finishing with the league’s best record at 44-8-2 and winning the franchise’s third Ron Boileau Memorial Trophy as the BCHL’s regular season champion. With the league’s top-two scorers in Caden Cranston and Aaron Schwartz, the Eagles were an offensive powerhouse this year and finished with a league-best 225 goals. On the defensive side, they managed to allow the second-fewest goals in the BCHL and a lot of that had to do with goaltender Ajeet Gundarah who finished with the best save percentage in the league with a mark of .931.
Cowichan will have their work cut out for them, but having played them four times already this year, they will have a gameplan in place to try and slow them down. The Caps were led by two veteran forwards with 19-year-old Luke Lavery and 21-year-old Matthew Swanson leading the charge offensively. Lavery, who is in his fourth season in the BCHL, will be relied on for leadership and to contribute on the score sheet as he led Cowichan in goals (22), assists (24) and points (46) this season.
#2 Chilliwack Chiefs vs. #7 Langley Rivermen
Head-to-Head:
Chilliwack won the series 6-2 with two of their wins coming in overtime.
Top Performers:
Chilliwack – F Mateo Mrsic (45 points), F Willyam Gendron (43 points), F Brady Milburn (42 points), G Vladimir Nikitin (2.76 GAA)
Langley – F Vitaly Levyy (52 points), F Oskar Komarov (39 points), F Ryan Schelling (37 points), D Luke Ashton (36 points)
Breakdown:
The Chiefs used a committee approach to scoring this year and it worked well for them as they finished with the second-best record in the Coastal Conference. Mateo Mrsic, midseason acquisition Willyam Gendron and Brady Milburn all finished within three points of each other for the team scoring lead and they will look to continue that balanced attack in the postseason. On defence, Chilliwack has relied heavily on Olivier Beaulieu and Brian Morse to provide offence from the back end with the two finishing the year with 30 and 27 points respectively. In net, Vladimir Nikitin has been rock solid for the Chiefs since returning from the Division 1A World Junior Championships in December where he led Kazakhstan to a gold medal and was named the tournament’s Top Goaltender.
The Rivermen started to find their game in March as they reeled off five-straight wins during the month to lock in the seventh seed and gain some momentum heading into the playoffs. Even though they lost three straight to close the season, they were all close games against some of the top teams in the conference. The Riv also beat the Chiefs the last two times they matched up. Langley forward Vitaly Levyy has been the go-to guy on offence this year, just as he was last season, leading the team in scoring in both of his BCHL campaigns. On defence, the Riv can rely on NHL draft prospects Luke Ashton to provide both offence and defence as the hulking blueliner can put up points, as well as intimidate with his physical play.
#3 Alberni Valley Bulldogs vs. #6 Coquitlam Express
Head-to-Head:
The two teams tied their season series 2-2.
Top Performers:
Alberni Valley – F Nicholas Beneteau (63 points), F Hayden Stavroff (35 goals), D Jax Wismer (34 points), G Callum Tung (.917 save percentage)
Coquitlam: F Drew Garzone (47 points), F Jake Manfre (42 points), F Cole Melady (41 points), G Adam Manji (.904 save percentage)
Breakdown:
The Bulldogs will look to recreate their playoff magic from last season as they made a run to the Fred Page Cup Finals for the first time in franchise history. Alberni has several returning players from last year’s team who will count on their playoff experience to give them an edge over their opponents. One of those players is team captain Nicholas Beneteau who is in his third and final season with the team. The 20-year-old finished tied for fourth on the BCHL scoring list and his 46 assists were third-most in the league. Offseason acquisition Hayden Stavroff also had a monster season for the Bulldogs, leading the BCHL in goals with 35. The team got a boost in net as well with Callum Tung proving his ability as a starter in his first full season in the league, finishing with a solid .917 save percentage, fifth-highest in the BCHL.
The Express will have a new look to start the postseason as they made a change behind the bench and appointed former assistant Jeff Wagner as the team’s interim head coach. Wagner will look to rally a Coquitlam team that struggled to put wins together down the stretch. He will rely on players like Drew Garzone, Jake Manfre and Cole Melady to create offence for the team. The Express defeated Alberni twice this year, which should give them some confidence heading into the series.
#4 Victoria Grizzlies vs. #5 Nanaimo Clippers
Head-to-Head:
Nanaimo won the season series 5-2.
Top Performers:
Victoria – F Chase Pirtle (52 points), F Luc Pelletier (45 points), D Nathan King (38 points), G Oliver Auyeung-Ashton (.907 save percentage)
Nanaimo – F Mike Murtagh (63 points), F Luke Buss (55 points), D Brett Merner (42 points), G Chazz Nixon (.932 save percentage)
Breakdown:
The Grizzlies passed the Clippers in the final stretch of the regular season and will get home-ice advantage as a result. Victoria also got last year’s Rookie of the Year back during the final month of the season as goaltender Oliver Auyeung-Ashton returned from an injury after being out for over two months. The Grizzlies other goaltender Owen Bresson filled in admirably while Auyeung-Ashton was hurt and finished the year with an impressive .914 save percentage. On offence, Chase Pirtle led the way with 52 points, good enough to tie for 12th overall in the league. On the blueline, Nathan King was the Grizz’s representative at the All-Star Game in January and it was a well-deserved honour as he piled up 38 points to finish tied for fourth in BCHL defenceman scoring.
The Clippers lost some momentum during the final month of the season and, as mentioned above, ended up losing home-ice advantage because of it. That being said, they should be a confident team entering this series as they defeated Victoria five of the seven times they played this year. They also have some of the top offensive players in the league on their roster, including Mike Murtagh who finished tied for fourth in league scoring, Luke Buss who put up the fifth-most assists and Brett Merner who finished as the BCHL’s third-highest scoring defender. Nanaimo also got a midseason boost in net with the addition of Chazz Nixon who has put up very strong numbers since joining the team in December.
