White Rock Whalers goalie Keegan Maddocks led his team to a series-clinching victory Monday night at Centennial Arena. Maddocks stopped 37 shots as the Whalers defeated the North Vancouver Wolf Pack 6-2 to win the series in six games. (Alistair Burns/White Rock Whalers photo)
Junior ‘B’ hockey team will now play Delta Ice Hawks in PJHL conference finals
For the first time in franchise history, the White Rock Whalers are off to the second round of the Pacific Junior Hockey League playoffs.
The junior ‘B’ squad punched its ticket to the next round of the post-season Monday night at Centennial Arena, after a convincing 6-2 win over the higher-ranked North Vancouver Wolf Pack.
The victory gave the Whalers a 4-2 win in the best-of-seven showdown. They now advance to the conference finals, where they’ll square off against the Delta Ice Hawks. Delta advanced after defeating the Richmond Sockeyes in their first-round matchup.
That series went the distance, with the Ice Hawks winning a decisive Game 7 by a 1-0 score Monday night. Surrey’s Carson Merriman scored the winning goal.
In Game 6 Monday, the Whalers – who are in their fourth season in the PJHL – staked themselves a 2-0 lead by the midway point of the first period, on goals from Jayson Beauregard and Matt Burry, though North Vancouver’s Matthew Carniel cut the lead in half just a few minutes after Burry’s tally.
Ryden Mathieson restored White Rock’s two goal lead with a goal of his own in the second frame – a shorthanded marker that was the only goal of the period for either team – and in the third period, the Whalers poured on some insurance goals, both off the stick of forward Ewan Rennie....
