On Friday, two of the league's longtime rivals begin a best-of-five battle that promises to be fast, close and physical.
That's been the case all season when the Nanaimo Clippers and Cowichan Valley Capitals have met. In the 12 regular season games between the teams, the Capitals won six times and tied once while seven games in the series were settled by one or fewer goals.
One advantage the Caps can count on in the series is a motivated goaltender in Coastal MVP Chris Rawlings, who was amongst the league's top players during the second half of the season. Rawlings' 2008 season ended against the Clippers when he was still a member of the Powell River Kings, which should only enhance his desire to get past the third-place Island Division finishers.
And while Cowichan Valley finished out of the playoffs last season, they boast a number of players with recent postseason experience. Forward Anthony Perdicaro leads that group after a Fred Page Cup win with Penticton. Scoring leaders Kevin Walrod and Chris Zaires also gained a sense of playing on a big stage, each advancing to the Interior Conference finals with Westside.
The Clippers, meanwhile, will need clutch performances from forwards Russell Goodman, Eric Filiou and Tyler Pistone as well as blueliner Michael Boivin, a foursome who contributed to the team's Coastal Conference championship a year ago.
Nanaimo will also need one of its two netminders — Johnatan Jobin and Evan Smith — to distinguish themselves and grab the starter's job. The tandem split the Clipper's final six regular season games with each earning a single win.
Series schedule:
Friday, February 27th — Nanaimo at Cowichan Valley, 7:30 PM
Saturday, Febraury 28th — Nanaimo at Cowichan Valley, 7:30 PM
Monday, March 2nd — Cowichan Valley at Nanaimo, 7:30 PM
Tuesday, March 3rd — Cowichan Valley at Nanaimo, 7:30 PM
Wednesday, March 4th — Nanaimo at Cowichan Valley, 7:00 PM
