The Prince Albert DQ Chill ended their regular season with a bang, beating the Martinsville Marauders 9-5 last Friday at the Art Hauser Centre in Midget AA hockey action. The final game victory leaves the team in prime position as it heads to the postseason.
The win was the Chill’s 21st of the regular season, which saw the team finish with a 21-4-1-0 record (the one in that record is a tie; the Chill had no overtime losses this year). Over the team’s last 10 games, it’s tallied a 7-3 record.
That leaves the Prince Albert team in second place out of 14 teams in the Centre Four Hockey League. Last year, the Chill finished in sixth place with a 14-9-3-2 record.
The top eight teams will make the playoffs this year. The highest-ranked teams will play the lowest-ranked in the postseason’s first round.
The Chill have already been seeded: They’ll face the Marauders, who finished seventh in the league, in a five-game, first round series that kicks off on Sunday in Prince Albert.
P.A. will host Martensville at 5:15 p.m. at the Kinsmen Arena. The teams will alternate game sites until one wins the series.
Another high point for the Chill this year has been the play of centreman Tanner Hendriks, who sits second overall in the league in points scored.
Through 25 games played this year, he has 20 goals and 34 assists for 54 total points.
He nabbed six of those points (three goals and three assists) in the Chill’s 9-5 over the Marauders on Friday.
Two of the centreman’s Chill teammates round out the top 20 in points leaders.
Forward Caden Joanis sits at 15th overall with 31 total points, courtesy of 21 goals and 10 assists. Joanis’ 21 goals led the team this year in goals scored.
And fellow forward Jackson Kowblick hit the 30 points mark this year with nine goals and 21 assists, good enough for 19th overall in the league.
Come Sunday, the Marauders will need to contain those three skaters if they want to have a shot at gaining momentum in the series; through Hendriks’ 25 games this year, he was held off the points sheet by opposing teams only twice, back in October and November.
Martensville will also need to muster some offence if it hopes to extend its postseason beyond the first round. The Chill won both games between the two teams this year, by a combined score of 12-7.
Along with the Friday game, the Chill beat the Marauders on Oct. 8 by a score of 3-2. Hendriks’ second-period, power play goal proved to be the game winner.
If needed, games three and five of the first round series will also be played in P.A. Game three is scheduled for Feb. 23 at 7:15 p.m. at the Steuart Arena, and game five is set for Feb. 28 at 4:45 p.m. at the Kinsmen.
Game two is set for Feb. 21 at 7:15 p.m. in Martensivlle, and game four, if needed, is slated for Feb. 25 at 2:30 p.m. in Martensville.
