Now onto pool A....
Peace River tied the Calgary Blazers tonight by a score of 2 all. I know many people would love to see a Peace River/ Whitecourt provincial final for 2 reasons. The first, an NWJHL team has never won the Russ Barnes trophy. And 2, that would take the 4 year rivalry to the big stage. But, I know 9 returning veterans that would LOVE to play Beaumont in the finals instead. A crack at redeeming last year's loss.
So, here is the road to glory for Peace River. The Navigators take on Beaumont tomorrow, and Darcy Haugan's toughest test yet.
If the Navigators beat Beaumont......
Then that's a tall drink of water to chug. The Chiefs are the only undefeated team in the tournament (aside from Leduc, but I mean have won both games) and have outscored their opponents 12-4. But if Darcy's squad pulls off a win, then the Navs will take top spot with 5 points and a 2-0-1 record. Calgary and Okotoks would be non factors, because the Bisons are already eliminated after losing twice and Beaumont already has 4 points. So the Navs would take top seed.
If the Navigators tie Beaumont......
Then the Chiefs would finish first overall in pool A with a 2-0-1 record and Peace River would finish second with a 1-0-2 record. Calgary and Okotoks would be eliminated, regardless of the outcome.
And if the Navigators lose to Beaumont......
Then that's where it makes the difference. They would end up with a 1-1-1 record, and would await the outcome of the Okotoks and Calgary game. Calgary would need to win in order to enter the tie breaker, which would automatically hit the 3rd level (since Peace and Calgary tied today, and would both have 1 win apiece). Again, the one with the highest percentage will advance.
For the semi finals.....
The top seed in each pool will play the 2nd seed in the opposite pool. Then the 2 winners would go head to head on Sunday afternoon at 1:30.
Tomorrow's games are at 9:30 and 12:30. We will see what happens. In the meantime, I think Shawn Gervais may do a few more tweaks to the line up to keep fresh bodies rotated. I wouldn't be surprised if he came right back with Jordan Panasiuk between the pipes again.
Well I should head to bed. Aaron Rawlake the president of the Northeast League will be joining me for color commentary tomorrow morning.
