Several Coast hockey players, playing at the junior or university level, saw their teams exit the playoffs early after pretty good regular seasons.
Leading point-getter Brady Bjornson of Roberts Creek, the longest-tenured member of the North Shore Wolf Pack, was named team MVP.
The Wolf Pack left Squamish last year for a fresh start in North Vancouver, and despite losing their last four games of the regular season and being bounced in five games in the first round of the playoffs by the Richmond Sockeyes, it wasn't all bad news for the Pack.
"Overall it was definitely a successful year, but we would have liked to extend the series, at least get another home game," said head coach and general manager Matt Samson. "Getting to the playoffs was the goal, but the big picture is success and we're just looking to build on that."
After three trying seasons based in Squamish, the Wolf Pack moved to North Van last summer and proceeded to put up their best results to date, finishing fourth in the tough Shaw Conference. Their win in Richmond to open the playoffs was the first victory against the Sockeyes after six regular-season losses.
With the series over, the Wolf Pack will now look ahead to next year. The move from Squamish to North Vancouver worked out very well, Samson said, with the North Vancouver Minor Hockey Association, the North Vancouver Recreation Commission and a group of other dedicated parents and volunteers combining to make it a smooth transition. The team is hoping to forge even stronger relationships with the North Shore hockey community and the talented players coming out of the local associations.
In the Western Hockey League, Madeira Park's Joe Antilla, saw the Kootenay Ice swept 4-0 by the Edmonton Oil Kings in the first round of the playoffs.
Antilla finished the regular season with 14 goals and 44 points and had one assist in the playoffs.
In the British Columbia Hockey League, Sechelt's Kyle Horseman had three goals and seven points in 40 games with the Trail Smoke Eaters in his first year with the club. Trail had a tough season, finishing last in the Interior Conference and out of the playoffs.
At Geneseo University, Halfmoon Bay's David Arduin and the Knights suffered through an injury-plagued season that saw more than 100 "man-games" missed by starting players. Geneseo finished the conference regular season with a fourth place record of 7-8-1 and fell in the first round of the SUNYAC tournament to fifth-seeded Fredonia, 4-1.
Arduin combined 10 goals with nine assists for 19 points.
- With files from Andy Prest, North Shore News
