The Nuway Crushing Whitehorse Huskies will have to get past either the Powell River Regals or the Port Hardy North Island Capitals to gain access to the Coy Cup.
The Whitehorse senior men’s AA team will face the winner of a series between the two B.C. teams for a spot in B.C.‘s AA championship.
“I little twist to that, it sounds like if North Island wins they are likely to combine forces with Powell River, so one way or another we’ll be playing against Powell River,” said Huskies general manager Matt King. “It’s a bit of a strange format, but this is what they’ve decided down in B.C., so we’re going with it.”
The two B.C. teams, which will playoff the weekend of Feb. 20, have close ties. Port Hardy captain John Murgatroyd played for the Regals the last decade before the Capitals were brought back this season.
They have also played five games this season with the Regals winning four.
It has yet to be determined where and when the Huskies will face the winning team.
“We have offered to host the series up here in March,” said King. “Their preference is to play down there in Powell River so they can play in front of a home crowd. It all comes down to financing. We feel like we can afford to bring them up here. We hope to have great fan support we’ve had all year to help pay for the travel of the team.”
Huskies, who have a 4-2 season record, have faced both teams this season. They beat the Capitals 9-6 and 5-1 in a two-game series. They then split a two-game series against the Regals, winning 5-3 and losing 6-5 last month.
The Huskeis were going to face the Fort St. John Flyers - the defending Coy Cup champions - in a playoff series this past weekend for entrance to the Cup. But the series was scrubbed when the Flyers failed to win their division in the North Peace Hockey League, which would have given the team a bye in the first round of their league’s playoffs and made them available for a series against Whitehorse.
The Coy Cup will take place this March 22-26 in Terrace.
Contact Tom Patrick at
tomp@yukon-news.com