Port Coquitlam Trailblazers sweep opening round series
After dispatching North Vancouver Wolfpack, Trailblazers set to square off against Delta Ice Hawks
The show goes on for the Port Coquitlam Trailblazers.
Fresh off clinching the franchise’s first Pacific Junior Hockey League (PJHL) postseason berth, the local Junior A hockey club swept the North Vancouver Wolfpack in a best-of-three opening round over the weekend.
The two victories — 7-4 on Friday and 4-2 on Sunday — gave the second-year club its first two postseason wins and the club’s first series victory in franchise history, serving as another highlight to an impressive turnaround from a seven-win inaugural season.
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“I’ve been here for all the firsts, the first preseason game, goal, home game, win, everything,” said Ryan Ross, the team’s general manager. “First playoff game in PoCo was something special.”
Like the regular season, Port Coquitlam was led by a pair of Tri-Cities products.
Coquitlam native Matthew Biros led the team in scoring with four goals and one assist, including one tally that went viral on social media. He was joined by Markus Jack, who grew up in Port Coquitlam and scored four points in two games.
“He’s our captain, been here through the bad parts when we weren’t very good,” Ross said. “I gave him a big hug afterwards, reminded him of where we were this time last year and he’s like ‘job’s not done.’”
Burnaby product and rookie Charlie Gardiner also scored four points in the opening round matchup against the Wolfpack.
Keiran Caughran led the team in net, allowing five goals in the series to secure a 0.934 save percentage and 2.50 goals against average.
Port Coquitlam had little time to rest on its laurels after the victory.
The Trailblazers were back in action Tuesday evening — two days after dispatching the Wolfpack — for the first game of a best-of-seven series against the Delta Ice Hawks.
Port Coquitlam split four regular season matchups with Delta. The two teams last met on Jan. 31, which saw the Trailblazers squeak out a 6-5 victory in a shootout.
The series is expected to shift to Port Coquitlam on Friday for Game 2.
Puck drop is scheduled for 7 p.m. at the Port Coquitlam Community Centre.
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