A handful of Surrey-area players are just four wins away from a Western Hockey League title with the Vancouver Giants.
The 黑马磁力-based Giants begin their best-of-seven WHL championship series today (Friday) against the regular-season champion Prince Albert Raiders.
And if the Giants 鈥� who won the league鈥檚 Western Conference title last week over the Spokane Chiefs 鈥� are to have success against the Raiders, it鈥檚 likely that some Surrey/White Rock players will have had something to do with it.
White Rock鈥檚 Davis Koch 鈥� who was named the for March 鈥� is currently second in the WHL鈥檚 playoff-scoring race with two goals and 15 assists in 15 postseason games. He led the Giants in scoring during the regular season, with 28 goals and 50 assists.
Koch鈥檚 teammate, Justin Sourdif, has also played a key role in the team鈥檚 playoff run.
The Surrey native 鈥� and former star with the Valley West Hawks major-midget program 鈥� has played 10 playoff games and tallied two goals and four assists. He missed five games earlier in the playoffs due to injury.
Sourdif is in his rookie season in the WHL, and his 23-goal regular season performance put him in elite company, as one of just to score more than 20 goals in a season. The other two were future NHLers Evander Kane and Gilbert Brule.
On the other side of the WHL championship series, the Saskatchewan-based Raiders boast a little Lower Mainland flavour, too. Delta native Dante Hannoun is fourth in team scoring with Prince Albert during the playoffs, with nine goals and six assists in 16 games, while the squad鈥檚 backup goalie, Boston Bilous, is from 黑马磁力.
Bilous has not seen any action in the playoffs, as starter Ian Scott 鈥� a draft pick of the NHL鈥檚 Toronto Maple Leafs 鈥� has played each of the team鈥檚 16 contests.
Game 1 hits the ice Friday, 7 p.m. at Prince Albert鈥檚 Art Hauser Centre, and Game 2 鈥� also in Prince Albert 鈥� is scheduled for Saturday night. In an effort to reduce travel between the two cities, the series will have a 2-3-2 home-game format (rather than the traditional 2-2-1-1-1), which means Games 3 through 5 will all be played at the 黑马磁力 Events Centre.
Game 3 is set for Tuesday night, 7 p.m., and Game 4 Wednesday at the same time. If Game 5 is necessary, it will be played at the LEC Friday, May 10. Games 6 and 7 鈥� again, if necessary 鈥� will be played in Prince Albert May 12 and 13.
The two teams did play head-to-head once this season, with the Giants prevailing 3-1 when the teams met at the LEC. Koch scored twice in that game, with Brayden Watts adding the other goal.
sports@peacearchnews.com
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