BCEHL PLAYOFF UPDATE - MARCH 20-22
For Immediate Release
Saanichton, B.C. - The BCEHL playoffs hit the pinnacle this weekend as both the Female U18 and the U18 league move into their championship finals. The best-of-three matchups will kick off on Friday night. Meanwhile the U17 Vancouver North East Chiefs swept their way to the championship!
Female U18 AAA
The Female U18 semifinals saw both series end in sweeps, which has set up a championship series where the top-seeded Greater Vancouver Comets will host the third-seeded Thompson-Okanagan Lakers. In the semifinals, the Comets were tested by the fourth-seeded Northern Capitals as they took Game 1 of their best-of-three 2-1 via the shootout. The Comets jumped out to a 3-0 lead through 40 minutes in Game 2 before ending the game and the series by a 4-1 score. The Lakers also swept their series against the Fraser Valley Rush in two tightly contested games. Thompson-Okanagan took the Friday matchup by a 3-2 score before taking Game 2 and punching their ticket to the finals with a 3-2 overtime victory. Jessie Umeris was the overtime hero for the Lakers.
Both teams come into the championship series each on winning streaks. The Lakers have won their last five straight dating back to the regular season, and the Comets have counted four in a row. The Comets have been on fire since November 22, as they have earned a 19-1-0-1 record (regular season and playoffs records) over that span. The Comets and Lakers split their eight-game regular season series with both squads earning four wins, but the Lakers won the season series due to the extra point earned from an overtime loss. The Lakers handed the Comets four of their five regulation losses this season. Thompson-Okanagan will look to try and make this a high scoring contest as they boast two of the top three scorers in the Female U18 league during the regular season. Kiran Keller led all scorers with 43 points (20g-23a) and Jessie Umeris finished third with 11g+23a=34 points. The Comets had one player in the top 10 in league scoring this season as Carolyn Koo finished tied for sixth in points with 14g+15a=29 points.
The Comets are expected to start Madison Kong in net for Game 1 as she started both games during their semifinal round. Kong has been dominant all season for the Comets as she led the league in wins (16), GAA (1.03), goals against (17), and shutouts (5). The Lakers will likely counter with Madison Guido between the pipes as she also started both games for the Lakers in their semifinal series. Guido finished the season with a 10-3-1-0 record and a 1.78 goals against average. She held a 2-1-1-0 record versus the Comets this year allowing six goals in four games while earning one shutout.
This series is a best-of-three with games going Friday, Saturday, and Sunday (if necessary).
For the full and detailed Female U18 schedule click HERE.
U18 AAA
Semifinal weekend saw both series end in two straight games as the defending champion and second-seeded Okanagan Rockets knocked off the third-seeded Cariboo Cougars, while the big news of the weekend was the fourth-seeded Thompson Blazers sweeping the top-seeded Vancouver North East Chiefs out of the playoffs. The Rockets earned their spot with a 4-2 and a 3-2 win over the Cougars. The Blazers and Chiefs played in a pair of high scoring contests. The Blazers took Game 1 by a 7-5 score. Cooper Sydor had a hat trick and defenceman Carter Bylycia added three assists. Game 2 was another barn burner with the Blazers earning their spot in the finals and ended the Chiefs season with a 6-5 victory.
The Rockets will host the championship best-of-three series this weekend. Okanagan won the season series with a record of 4-1-0-0. The teams have only met twice since the calendar turned to 2026, and they split that two-game set. The Rockets have been the league’s hottest team over the last 10 games (regular season and playoffs) as they have collected a 9-1-0-0 record and have outscored their opponents by a 54-19 count during that span. The Blazers have a 7-3-0-0 record over their last 10 games where they outscored their opponents 43-35. The Rockets' Brayden Jugnauth and Von Lakovic have seen their proclivity for points in the regular season carry over to the post season. Jugnauth finished second in regular season scoring with 58 points (32g-26a) and Lakovic finished tied for sixth with 42 (17g-25a). They are both currently tied atop the playoff scoring leaderboard with nine points each. Both players have tallied four goals and five assists. Joining the Kelowna tandem atop the leaders list is Blazers' forward Keegan Sanders who also has 4g+5a=9 points. Sanders is followed by teammates Carter Bylycia (1g+7a=8 points), Linden Bellman (4g+3a=7 points), and Cohen Baker (2g+5a=7 points) who sit in fourth and tied for fifth places respectively. Okanagan goaltenders Reed Russell and Finn McKiernan will look to cap the explosive Blazers offence. The two netminders have split the Rockets post season games so far. They also sit first and second in goals against average with McKiernan leading the way with a 1.33 GAA and Russell sporting a 2.00 GAA. The Blazers duo of Blake Mumford and Jasper Wood will look to hold the Rockets at bay. The tandem each took home a win last weekend. Mumford is 3-0 in the playoffs so far, while Wood sports 1-1 record.
This series is a best-of-three with games going Friday, Saturday, and Sunday (if necessary).
For the full and detailed U18 schedule click HERE.
U17 AAA
The top-seeded Vancouver North West Hawks and the second-seeded Vancouver North East Chiefs met up last weekend to determine who would be crowned champions in the U17 league this season. A mere two points separated these clubs in the regular season with the difference being the Hawks earned two extra points via overtime losses.
The Chiefs came out of the gate hard in Game 1 of the best-of-three championship, as they jumped out to a 4-1 lead after 20 minutes, but the Hawks subscribed to the adage, “If you are going to fall behind big, fall behind big early.” The league’s top team did not roll over, chipping away and with three consecutive goals they knotted the contest at fours with 7:18 remaining in the third period. The Hawks were not done there as they captured their first lead of the night 2:05 later when Ryder Fitzpatrick scored his second straight goal to give the home side the 5-4 lead with just under five minutes remaining. The Chiefs would respond as the game clock read 42 seconds Nolan Perry notched his third goal of the playoffs to tie the game and send it to overtime. In overtime, the Chiefs would dash the Hawks’ dream of the comeback when Philip Beedle notched his fourth of the playoffs to give Vancouver North East the 6-5 overtime win and the 1-0 lead in the series.
The Chiefs, once again, came out strong and built a large lead in Game 2 as they went up by a 4-0 score halfway through the game. The Hawks again would try to mount a comeback, while the Chiefs bent under the Hawks pressure they never relinquished the lead as they toppled the Hawks 6-4 and captured the organization’s first ever U17 championship!
U15 AAA
The Okanagan Rockets were crowned the BCEHL U15 champions on March 1st at the league’s playoff tournament. The Rockets had been the league’s top team all season having earned a 27-3-0-0 record in the regular season as well as a 6-0 record during the league’s championship tournament. With the victory, the Rockets become the U15 league’s first ever back-to-back champions.
To stay up to date on everything going on in the BCEHL visit the website to view schedules, standings, stats, and scores: BCEHL.net, follow @BCEHL on X, @BCEHL_AAA on Instagram, and join the conversation by using #BCEHLAAAHOCKEY
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