The Howe Sound Men's Hockey League regular season went right down to the wire this year, setting the stage for a playoff round where literally anyone could walk away with the title.
With a 6-1 final victory over the Chiefs last Friday (Feb. 25), the Predators won the regular season title in the very last game, edging out the Flyers by a single point.
The Flyers took over first place last Wednesday (Feb. 23) with a big 3-2 win over the Preds, coming back from a 2-1 deficit in the first period to score a pair of unanswered goals from Dan Sargent and Travis Moyle, who was in on all three Flyer goals.
But it wasn't enough as the Preds used the last game of the season against the fourth-place Chiefs to seal the title.
The Red Wings also had a strong showing this season and very nearly joined the two top teams in a three-way tie heading into the final stretch, but a loss against the Predators on Feb. 16 pushed them into third place, where they finished out the season with a 6-3 win over the Chiefs last Wednesday (Feb. 23).
That sets up the Predators against the Chiefs in the first best-of-five semifinal with the Flyers taking on the Red Wings in the other series.
Game one of the Preds/ Chiefs series Wednesday night (March 2) saw the Chiefs win 5-4.
The Flyers and Red Wings start their series tonight (March 4). Game two in both series takes place this Wednesday (March 9) with the Preds and Chiefs at 8:45 p.m. and the Flyers and Wings at 10:30 p.m. The Predators and Chiefs tangle again in game three next Friday (March 11) at 9:55 p.m.
The winners of the two series will advance to the finals starting on Wednesday, March 23.
