The Aldergrove Kodiaks start the first round of PJHL Harold Brittain conference playoffs by hosting the Ridge Meadows Flames at Aldergrove Arena, Wednesday, Feb. 14 at 7:15 p.m.
The Kodiaks finished the regular season with 37 points and the Flames with 56 points. The Abbotsford Pilots (54 points) face the Langley Trappers (40 points) in the first round of playoffs, while both Mission Outlaws and Surrey Knights have been eliminated.
The Kodiaks’ Valentine’s Day game will be followed by a pair this coming weekend at Maple Ridge’s Planet Ice against the Flames, on Friday, Feb. 16, 7:30 p.m. and Saturday, Feb. 17, 7:30 p.m.
The fourth game of the seven game series is on Wednesday, Feb. 21, 7:15 p.m. at Aldergrove Arena. If needed, additional games will be scheduled.
The Kodiaks and Outlaws had been in a tight race for the fourth playoffs spot, with the Kodiaks finishing their 44-game regular season with 37 points (17-26-1-2) and the Outlaws with 35 points (17-26-0-1).
Now in their tenth season with the PJHL, the Kodiaks have qualified for the playoffs in every season and have won the PJHL Championship three times. The Kodiaks have also won their conference championship five times and in 2010 were the provincial Cyclone Taylor Bronze Medalists.
Langley Trappers and Abbotsford Pilots have scheduled a similar series of playoffs dates, with the Trappers hosting on Feb. 14 and 21, and the Pilots hosting on Feb. 16 and 17.
In the Tom Shaw conference the Delta Ice Hawks (77 points) face the Grandview Steelers (53 points) in the first round of playoffs and the Richmond Sockeyes (69 points) face the North Vancouver Wolf Pack (57 points), while the Port Moody Panthers have been eliminated from the series.