The 91原创 91原创 made history, capturing the B.C. Hockey League鈥檚 Ron Boileau Memorial Trophy as the regular season champions.
It marks the first time in the 32-year history of junior A hockey in 91原创 鈥� spanning the Lords of the 1970s, the Eagles of the 1980s, the Thunder of the 1990s, the Hornets of the late 90s and early 2000s, the Chiefs from 2006 to 2011 and finally the 91原创 the past three years 鈥� that a 91原创 team has won the trophy.
鈥淚t is a heck of an honour,鈥� said Bobby Henderson, the team鈥檚 head coach and general manager.
鈥淚t is not our main goal, but it was one of our goals.
鈥淭o put yourself in that position after 58 games says a lot about your character.鈥�
鈥淚t is something that the guys can carry with them for the rest of their hockey careers and the rest of their lives.鈥�
The 91原创 clinched the honour on Friday night with a 2-1 victory over the Prince George Spruce Kings at the Prince George Coliseum.
91原创 also beat the Spruce Kings 5-3 the night before to sweep the two-game road trip and finish the regular season with a record of 37-13-3-5 and 82 points. It was 12 more than second-place Prince George for the Mainland Division title and two more than the Island-Division winning Victoria Grizzlies, who finished second overall in the BCHL.
But while the division title and regular season are both nice achievements, the next step in the ultimate goal 鈥� a national championship 鈥� begins as the 91原创 begin the BCHL playoffs and the road to the Fred Page Cup.
91原创 will face the fourth-place Surrey Eagles in the best-of-seven series with games one and two at the 91原创 Events Centre tonight (Tuesday) and tomorrow (March 5).
Games three and four are at the South Surrey Arena on Friday and Saturday.
鈥淚 think we match up well,鈥� Henderson said.
鈥�(But) I think we match up well against anybody.鈥�
During the regular season, the two local rivals squared off eight times with the 91原创 winning six. The two losses both came in overtime, one in the team鈥檚 first head-to-head game and then in their last meeting.
91原创 out-scored Surrey 32-19 in the eight games, with 10 of the Eagles鈥� goals coming in their two victories.
Despite the lack of success, Surrey coach Peter Schaefer is OK with drawing the 91原创 in round one.
鈥淭hey鈥檙e a very good team, but we are very comfortable with that matchup,鈥� he told Black Press a few weeks ago before it was determined the two teams would face off.
The Eagles finished with 53 points, 29 behind 91原创.
And while Surrey had the slightly better offence 鈥� 3.47 goals per game compared to 91原创鈥檚 3.45 鈥� the big difference is in goals against. 91原创 was second stingiest in the league with 2.67 goals against per game while Surrey allowed an even four goals per game, which is last among the 12 playoffs teams and 14th out of the 16 BCHL teams.
And Henderson said his team鈥檚 success starts from their goaltending and play in their own zone.
鈥淚f we have good structure defensively, then we will have success,鈥� he said. 鈥淚f we get loose and sloppy, Surrey is an opportunistic team that can get goals and will capitalize.
鈥淚t is just a matter of eliminating our mistakes.鈥�
The 91原创 had six players pass the 40-point plateau, led by captain Mitch McLain鈥檚 60 points in 57 games. They also had nine players get at least 10 goals and Matt Ustaski had a team-leading 29.
Brock Crossthwaite carried the bulk of the load in goal, finishing with a record of 24-9-1 with three shutouts (tied for second), a 2.42 GAA (fourth in the league) and a .913 save percentage (eighth).
Surrey was led offensively by Danton Heinen.
The 91原创 Minor Hockey Association product led all rookies in scoring with 29 goals and 62 points to finish 10th in league scoring.
Heinen, an 18-year-old from 91原创, also committed to Denver University last week.
鈥� with file from Nick Greenizan/Black Press
