EL Wildcats v. Soo Eagles


By
March 9, 2017

Two teams with strikingly-different strengths will face off when the Soo Eagles and Elliot Lake Wildcats meet in a best-of-three, preliminary-round series.

Game 1 in the playoff set is slated for Friday night at 7:30 at Pullar Stadium in the Michigan Soo.

Over the course of the 2016-2017 Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League regular season, the Eagles finished in fourth place, just four points ahead of the fifth-ranked Wildcats in the six-team West Division.

The Eagles posted a record of 27-26-3 compared to the Wildcats mark of 23-26-7.

But goals for and against are where the big differences lie between the two teams.

The Eagles scored 222 goals and allowed 204.

The Wildcats scored 157 goals and allowed 174.

Suffice to say that as the Eagles are much-better offensively, the Wildcats are much-better defensively.

Eagles associate coach and general manager Bruno Bragagnolo is expecting a close series.

“As much as we have home-ice advantage if the series goes to three games I think the difference could be which team shows more discipline and takes the fewer penalties,” said Bragagnolo.

Bragagnolo referred to Elliot Lake as “one tough opponent. They work hard and they play with structure. They don’t stop coming at you. If we are going to beat them, we are going to have to out-work them.”

Eagles forward Brad Hofelich, who finished second on his team in scoring with 28 goals, 35 assists, 63 points, is likewise expecting a hard-fought series.

“Elliot Lake has a good team,” Hofelich offered. “I think we have an edge offensively but they don’t give up a lot of goals.”

Wildcats coach and general manager Corey Bricknell did not respond to a request for comment from HockeyNewsNorth.com.

The winner of the series will advance to the next round of the playoffs against the Soo Thunderbirds, who finished in first place during the regular season.

PHOTO: Elliot Lake Wildcats and Soo Eagles will face off in a first-round NOJHL playoff series.


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