Beavers await the Cubs
Two teams that combined for 180 points during the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League regular season will face off in the West Division playoff finals. It will be the no. 1 seed Blind River Beavers up against the second seed Sudbury Cubs.
Blind River finished atop the overall regular season standings of the NOJHL with 91 points, which was two more than Sudbury. And both teams recently completed comeback wins in their respective opening round playoff sets.
Sudbury spotted the Soo Thunderbirds a two games to one series lead before winning the next three. Blind River, meanwhile, overcame a more daunting task in eliminating the upstart Espanola Paper Kings. Down three games to one, Blind River won three straight elimination matches before taking Game 7 from Espanola before a standing room only crowd of more than 550 fans on Easter Sunday in the Milltown.
Beavers head coach and general manager Kyle Brick gave full marks to his players for the frantic series comeback win over the Paper Kings.
“I couldn’t be happier for my guys, they showed a lot of resilience in this series,” Brick relayed to Hockey News North. “At the end of the day, my best players were my best players and they were definitely the difference in games five, six and seven.”
And now it will be the Beavers of Blind River versus the Cubs of Sudbury for West Division laurels.
“We are excited to move on and face the Cubs … it is going to be another great series,” said Brick.
NOJHL West Division Final
Sudbury Cubs vs. Blind River Beavers
Best-of-seven series
Game 1: Thursday, April 4 @ Blind River 7 p.m. (Blind River Community Centre)
Game 2: Saturday, April 6 @ Blind River 7 p.m. (Blind River Community Centre)
Game 3: Monday, April 8 @ Sudbury 7:05 p.m. (Gerry McCrory Countryside Sports Complex)
Game 4: Tuesday, April 9 @ Sudbury 7:05 p.m. (Gerry McCrory Countryside Sports Complex)
Game 5*: Thursday, April 11 @ Blind River 7 p.m. (Blind River Community Centre)
Game 6*: Sunday, April 14 @ Sudbury 7:35 p.m. (Gerry McCrory Countryside Sports Complex)
Game 7*: Tuesday, April 16 @ Blind River 7 p.m. (Blind River Community Centre)
* — if necessary