The Aldergrove Kodiaks will play for the Pacific Junior Hockey League championship after eliminating the Abbotsford Pilots.
The Kodiaks’ Spencer McHaffie scored on the first shift on Tuesday night at Abbotsford’s MSA Arena and Aldergrove never looked back, winning game five 4-1 to eliminate the higher-seeded Pilots.
The Kodiaks were leading 1-0 when they struck for a pair of power-play goals 40 seconds apart in the final 64 seconds of the first period.
Ryan Simpson and Scott McHaffie netted the goals, which effectively put the game out of reach.
Spencer McHaffie scored his second of the night on another power play early in the second.
Abbotsford’s Brandon Daase ruined Mark Menicucci’s shutout bid with a power-play goal with seven minutes to play.
The Kodiaks outshot the Pilots 33-18 that night and scored on three of 14 power plays, while the Pilots scored on one of three. Spencer McHaffie was the game's first star and Stefan Gonzales was second star.
Aldergrove, which finished nine points behind Abbotsford for first place in the Harold Brittain Conference during the regular season, won the final four games of the best-of-seven series.
The Pilots had won game one 8-1 and had third-period leads in both games three and four.
Included in the four wins were a pair of double overtime victories for the Kodiaks in both games three and four.
The Kodiaks will play either the Richmond Sockeyes or the Delta Ice Hawks for the PJHL championship. Richmond leads the series 3-1 with game five set for tonight (Thursday).
In photo below, Aldergrove Kodiaks celebrate after winning the semi-finals series against the Abbotsford Pilots on Tuesday, March 12 at Abbotsford's MSA Arena. The 4-1 win was the Kodiaks' fourth victory in the series and advances the team to the finals against the winner of the other division, either Richmond Sockeyes or the Delta Ice Hawks.
