BURSTWhile the Central Interior Hockey League (CIHL) playoffs yielded some drama leading up to the divisional finals, the outcome of the finals was about what was to be expected.
The league championship will be contested between the defending champion Terrace River Kings and their eastern division opponent from last year, the Quesnel Kangaroos.
The Kings and Roos were the class of the league in 2025-2026, racking up 29 and 28 points respectively for first and second place in the Senior AA men’s league.
After dispatching the Wolverines 5-2 in Terrace on Feb. 28, the River Kings needed just one of the remaining two games to secure their berth to play for the Cameron Kerr Memorial Cup.
There was never much doubt that it would be the case, as the Kings’ Chapen Leblond beat Wolverines netminder Brayden Evans just a minute-and-a-half into the first period on March 7 in Hazelton.
Halfway through the second frame, Ben Reinbolt would make it 2-0 for the visitors.
As close as Hazelton would get in the game was within one, as Sean Maktaak tucked one past Terrace’s Daniel Paul with less than two minutes to play.
In the final 20 minutes, though, Paul was steadfast as his teammate Mason Richey added not one, but two insurance goals for a 4-1 final and a date with Quesnel.
Surprisingly, only one of the five goals in this game was scored on a power play, given how frequently the penalty box was occupied. Terrace racked up a total of 71 minutes in the sin bin, while Hazelton had 68.
Meanwhile, the Smithers Steelheads were in Quesnel for Game 2 of the Eastern Division final after losing Game One 3-5 at home.
In terms of physicality, this game was the antithesis of the Terrace-Hazelton muck-up, with only 22 minutes of penalties between the two teams.
On the scoreboard, though, it was all Quesnel.
The Kangaroos set the tone for the night in the first period, running up the score to 4-0 on markers by Christopher Thon and Brody Dale, and two from Josh Maser.
Smithers showed some life early in the second period as Kevin Fillier found the back of the net at just 00:32.
Quesnel wasn’t having any of it, though, as Maser completed his hat trick just 20 seconds later. Before the Steelheads were able to respond, Chad Kimmie made it 6-1, and the rout was on.
Fillier got one back with just over a minute to play in the second.
In the third period, Smithers once again scored early on a goal by Brendan Moore. But also once again, Quesnel had the answer as Tanner Cochrane scored just 30 seconds later.
The Roos would answer two more times before the 60 minutes expired, for a 9-3 final and another date with Terrace for the league title.
The championship series starts March 14 in Quesnel, with Games 2 and 3 (if necessary) scheduled for March 21 and 22 in Terrace.
The winner of that three-game series will earn a trip to the 2026 Coy Cup, which brings together four of the best Senior AA teams in the province, for a winner-take-all round-robin.
Typically, the Coy Cup is contest between the winner of the CIHL, winner the North Peace Hockey League (NPHL), a representative from the southern part of the province, and the host team.
This year, the host team is the Dawson Creek Canucks, so it is automatically in. As of press time, the Canucks were leading the NPHL. If they should win the league, a second team will be selected to represent the NPHL.
The Powell River Regals have also qualified.
Terrace is the reigning champion.