The best-of-five playoff between the Morinville Jets and Stony Plain Flyers has developed into a homer series in the Capital Junior B Hockey League.
The best-of-five quarter-final is knotted at one win apiece after both teams were victorious on home ice by identical 5-2 scores.
The Jets host game three tonight at Ray McDonald Sports Centre and game four is Friday at Glenn Hall Centennial Arena. Start times are 8:30 p.m.
Game five, if needed, is 6:45 p.m. Sunday in Morinville.
The series winner advances to the best-of-seven semifinals to determine the finalists for the best-of-five Founders Cup championship and the two CJHL reps for provincials March 30 to April 2 in St. Paul.
Tyler Hagel’s hat-trick for the Jets paced the attack Friday.
Hagel was the CJHL's top scorer with 47 goals and 75 points in 32 games.
The Jets led 3-0 after 20 minutes on power-play goals by Riley VanBrabant and Hagel with a pair as Regan Regimbald assisted on all three markers.
Joshua Perrott made it 4-1 in the second.
Michael Wolosyhn and Brett Dubuc chipped in with two helpers apiece.
Shots were 34-32 for the Flyers as Colton Kucher backstopped the Jets to the win.
The teams combined for 28 infractions for 72 minutes.
The Flyers evened the series Monday with three goals during an 83-second span halfway through the third to snap a 2-2 stalemate.
Craig Hills and Regimbald scored in the loss.
The Jets were outshot 17-5 in the third and 33-29 overall as Kucher (five GA on 28 shots in 51 minutes played) and Jaedon McConnell (five saves) shared time in net.
The Flyers (17-18-3) were coming off a two-game sweep of the St. Albert Merchants in the opening round and the Jets (27-7-4) had a bye as the top team in the west division.
In league play, the Jets beat the fifth-place Flyers by scores of 5-2 and 7-2 in Morinville and 12-6 in Stony Plain after losing the season opener 3-2 in a shootout on the road.
The St. Albert Gregg Distributors Sabres can advance to the north regional final with a victory tonight in the Alberta Major Bantam Hockey League playoffs.
Faceoff is 7:45 p.m. between the Sabres and Maple Leafs at Clareview Arena.
The Sabres won the best-of-three series opener 2-1 Monday in St. Albert.
Game three, if needed, is 7:30 p.m. Friday at Akinsdale Arena.
The winner will play the Fort Saskatchewan Rangers or Grande Peace Storm in the AMBHL’s best-of-five final four playoff.
The Sabres (31-1-4) finished first overall in the AMBHL as the top team in the Nitro north division and the Maple Leafs (13-16-7) placed third in the Nitro standings.
All the scoring in game one of the Nitro north final took place in the first period. Austin Spiridakis and captain Mike Benning lit the lamp for the Sabres and Ryley Morgan assisted on both goals. Morgan leads the Sabres in playoff scoring with eight points in four games.
Shots were 39-19 for the Sabres and netminder Kyle Nelson started his first playoff game.
The Sabres needed a third and deciding game to eliminate in the Sherwood Park Flyers in the Nitro north semifinals and Benning’s three assists contributed to Saturday’s 7-1 decision in St. Albert.
The Sabres unleashed 42 shots on net as Tyson Greenway potted a pair in the third after Mathieu Gautier, Robert Kincaid, Matthew Reidy, Morgan and Spiridakis notched singles.
Ethan Barwick (2-1, 2.22 GAA) faced 22 shots by the Flyers (13-18-5), who forced a third game with a 2-1 overtime result in Sherwood Park.
The Sabres won game one 5-2 on home ice.
