The Terrace River Kings put an emphatic end to the Prince Rupert Rampage’s 2013-2014 Central Interior Hockey League campaign over the weekend.
After falling to the Rampage in game one on Jan. 25, the Kings took full advantage of home ice and eliminated Prince Rupert from the CIHL playoffs with a series of one-sided wins on Feb. 1 and Feb 2.
On Saturday night the Rampage found themselves down 3-1 through the first period of play. Terrace controlled much of the play in the second period, but Rampage netmider Warren Hanson turned away everything he faced and neither team was able to notch a goal in the frame.
That would not be the case in the third, however, as the River Kings lit the lamp three times to even the best-of-three series at one game apiece with a 6-1 victory.
Tensions were high on Sunday as both teams teetered on the brink of elimination. But much like Saturday’s game, the River Kings controlled the play while keeping the Rampage offence at bay until there were just two minutes on the clock. The end result was a 7-1 victory for the River Kings that allows them to advance into the CIHL Western Conference championship game.
Around the League
The River Kings will be competing for a spot in the CIHL championship game against the defending champion Smithers Steelheads, who swept the Kitimat Ice Demons from the playoffs on Saturday night with a 3-1 home victory.
In the east, the Williams Lake Stampeders earned their spot in the conference finals after sweeping Lac La Hache from the playoffs with a 7-3 victory on Saturday night. The Quesnel Kangaroos, meanwhile, forced a game three with a 4-3 victory over the Houston Luckies on Saturday. They then earned a spot in the eastern championship with another 4-3 win on Sunday.
