Recap by Mackenzie Grafton
The Canucks will take on the Grande Prairie Storm in the first round of the Inter Pipeline Cup AJHL Playoffs as the Storm have won their Play-In series 3-1 over the Olds Grizzlys.
The Storm will head into the Playoffs as the sixth seed, playing the third-seeded Calgary Canucks.
Samuel Lyons would lead his team with four goals and one assist against Olds, along with goaltender Nicholas Jones going 3-1 with a 0.932 SV% and a 1.93 GAA.
“They’re very structured, very well coached, they’ve got lots of depth,” said Head Coach Brad Moran, “We got to make sure we’re sharp throughout, it’s a lot of games in a short amount of time.”
The Canucks and Storm faced off four times during the regular season splitting the series evenly at two games a piece.
Home ice advantage may play a factor in this series as each team won both their home games during the regular season matchup.
“Just be that much more on our game, I think we gave them some opportunities up there, and they took advantage of it,” added Moran on his thoughts on their play up in Grande Prairie, “I think we play the same way as we do here and make sure we limit their opportunities.”
The first meeting came back on October 10, 2023, at home at Ken Bracko Arena. The Storm held a lead on two different occasions with the Canucks edging the Storm in a 5-4 comeback win.
In December, the teams played back-to-back nights at the Bonnetts Energy Centre, with Storm taking both games by scores of 8-4 and 4-2.
In the last meeting, the Canucks would come out with a 7-2 victory on January 20 back at Ken Bracko Arena.
Game One goes Friday, March 15, here at Ken Bracko Arena with a 7 PM puck drop.
Regular Season Stats
- Head-to-Head Record: 2-2-0
- Calgary Canucks:
- Record: 3rd – 31-23-3
- Powerplay: 6th – 17.7%
- Penalty Kill: 2nd – 83.2%
- Key Players
- Goals: Ty Hipkin – 25G
- Assists: Bowden Singleton – 46A
- Points: Bowden Singleton – 67P
- Goaltending: Julian Molinaro – 27-16-1, 0.916 SV%, 2.60 GAA, 6 SO
- Grande Prairie Storm
- Record: 6th – 24-26-7
- Powerplay: 4th – 19.6%
- Penalty Kill: 6th – 79.7%
- Key Players:
- Goals: Alex Atwill – 23G
- Assists: Alex Atwill – 35A
- Points: Alex Atwill – 58P
- Goaltending: Nicholas Jones – 16-17-4, 0.907 SV%, 2.71 GAA, 1 SO
Upcoming Home Playoff Games
