The Esso Cup semifinals are booked, with the Edmonton Jr. Oilers, Regina Rebels, and Thompson-Okanagan Lakers bringing a west coach feel along with Ontario's North York Storm rounding out the final four.
The Esso Cup semi finals are here with a decidedly West Coast appeal to the games as Edmonton, Regina, and Thompson-Okanagan finished one through three respectively in the standings. The fourth team, the North York Storm are the Ontario representatives at the tournament. Here's a look at the tournament and each semi-final matchup.
On-Ice Leaders Through Round Robin
Regina Rebels forwards Stryker Zablocki and Berlin Lolacher finished 1-2 in scoring in the Esso Cup round robin stage both recording nine points in five games. Lolacher, a Mercyhurst commit, did it with a tournament leading eight goals, while Zablocki, a Northeastern commit and member of Canada's U-18 national team scored six goals in that span. From the Edmonton Jr. Oilers, they brought a more balanced approach to finishing first overall in the preliminary round games. Defender Ella Llyod, who is another Northeastern commit, along with Daniella Martorana and 2008 born defender Ciara Lang each tied atop their team's scoring with five points. From the North York Storm, Sydney Bowness was the team's top scorer with eight points in five games, while Thompson-Okanagan had four players tied with three points each. In the crease, Edmonton's Ella Dunham-Fox and Okanagan-Thompson's Reese Sliskovic were the top two goaltenders posting 0.98 and 1.33 GAA respectively, along with .957 and .965 save percentages.
Semi-Final #1: Edmonton Versus North York
The first meeting between these two teams happened only a day before the semi-final. Edmonton won that game 4-1, but it was North York who topped the shot chart outshooting Edmonton 25-23, including a 15-5 third period. The game was one of special teams with Edmonton scoring twice on the powerplay and once shorthanded, and North York scored their lone goal on the powerplay as well. The two teams will look to stay out of the box in this crucial game. Claire Carruthers of the Edmonton Jr. Oilers, who is committed to play U Sports hockey next season for St. Francis Xavier, had North York's number in the game scoring twice. On paper, Edmonton is the favourite here, but it's single elimination time, and as North York proved in their tournament opening win over Regina, anything can happen.
Semi-Final #2: Regina Versus Thompson-Okanagan
This game features the tournament's two top scorers from the Regina Rebels, facing off against the well balanced attack of the Thompson-Okanagan Lakers. Regina outshot the Lakers 39-26 in their preliminary round game resulting in a 6-2 Regina win. Zablocki scored a hat trick, and Berlin Lolacher added another. Gap control will be a key consideration for Thompson-Okanagan as they look to manage not only this pair, but also Addison Greve and defender Brooklyn Nimeegers who can also break games open. Reese Sliskovic came into the net for the Lakers following the first period, and Thompson-Okanagan looked to settle from there on out. They'll look to carry that momentum over to this game.
The bronze medal game is scheduled for Saturday, April 27 at 12pm PDT, with the gold medal game following at 4pm PDT in Vernon, British Columbia.