The KIJHL Playoffs kick off on Friday night around the league and in Beaver Valley, the Nitehawks (1) play host to the Spokane Braves (4), a playoff matchup not seen for over twenty years.
Series Schedule against Spokane:
Game 1 | March 6th @ 7pm – Beaver Valley Arena
Game 2 | March 7th @ 7pm – Beaver Valley Arena
Game 3 | March 9th @ 7pm – Spokane – Eagles Ice Arena
Game 4 | March 10th @ 7pm – Spokane – Eagles Ice Arena
*Game 5 | March 13th @ 7pm – Beaver Valley Arena
*Game 6 | March 14th @ 7pm – Spokane – Eagles Ice Arena
*Game 7 | March 16th @ 7pm – Beaver Valley Arena
The Hawks sit as the top seed in the Neil Murdoch division and top the Kootenay Conference through 44 games of the regular season. The Hawks led the league in goals scored with 208 and had 14 players with 20 or more points this season. Led by 19-year-old assistant captain Brady Magarell, the Hawks were the deadliest team 5-on-5 with 162 of their 208 goals being scored at even strength. The Hawks took on the Braves six times this season, winning four of the six meetings. It was also a high scoring season series as in five of the six games, the winning team scored six goals. Beaver Valley out-scoring the Braves 30-17 in the season series and averaged 34% on the power play against them.
While the Hawks carried the season series and the balance of play over the Braves, they aren’t a team to take lightly. The Braves overturned a sluggish start to the season, winning just three games through the first two and a half months of the season to pass the Nelson Leafs and taking the last spot in the Neil Murdoch division.
Nitehawks Leading Scorers:
Magarrell (33-42-75)
Leenders (23-30-53)
Walker (21-23-44)
Gandha (10-29-39)
Clement (20-9-29)
The Braves come into their first round playoff series against the Hawks as an underdog, but they won’t let that fool anyone or themselves. As mentioned above the Braves turned around a 3-16-0-1 start to finish 15-25-3-1. Going into December the Braves were 8 points back of the Leafs who had games in hand, they turned that around and finished nine points ahead of the lone team in the division to miss the playoffs. The Braves went 12-9-3-0 on their run to the post season, beating the Hawks, Bruins, Rebels and Leafs all at least once. While the Braves don’t have home ice advantage they won’t be worried as they come into Beaver Valley, a place they have won twice already this season. Spokane picked up their first win of the season back in September, winning 6-4 over the Hawks. The Braves then picked up a narrow 3-2 win in February over the Hawks. The Hawks would get revenge in the final meeting of the season down in Spokane winning 6-1. The Braves powerplay against the Hawks has also been well above their season average, averaging 27% on the man advantage against the Hawks.
Braves Leading Scorers:
Oien (24-27-51)
Sellers (19-25-44)
Race (15-21-36)
Rendall (13-18-31)
Leonard (13-15-28)
The Nitehawks are encouraging fans to arrive early, as we’ll be handing out playoff rally towels to every fan coming to tonight’s game! Puck drop in Game 1 of the Neil Murdoch Division Semi-Finals is set for 7pm! Get ready to Bring the noise BV!
