For the first time since moving to the city seven seasons ago, Surrey Knights are in the playoffs.
The Pacific Junior Hockey League franchise secured a post-season berth Tuesday (Feb. 7) when conference rival Aldergrove Kodiaks lost 7-3 to Delta Ice Hawks in Ladner.
The result secured 5th place in Harold Brittain Conference standings for the Andy Liboiron-coached Knights, who have 12 wins in 45 games this season.
The PJHL’s Stonehouse Cup playoff format will have Surrey playing a best-of-three “Survivor Series” with the fourth-place team in their conference, Chilliwack Jets, in the days after the league’s regular season ends Sunday, Feb. 12.
The winner of that series will then play the league-leading Langley Trappers.
— Knights Hockey (@SurreyKnights) February 8, 2023
A big congrats to the Knights, may the hockey gods bring them further success.
— Halaw Group (@Halawgroup) February 8, 2023
The Knights are in Langley tonight (Wednesday) to play the Trappers, will host Delta at North Surrey Sport & Ice Complex on Thursday (Feb. 9), then finish their regular season against Grandview Steelers at Burnaby Winter Club on Sunday evening (Feb. 12).
The Knights have had a tough time winning games since moving from Langley for the 2016-17 season, so a trip to the playoffs is worth celebrating.
The franchise has never won the PJHL championship, dating back to 1999 when it started out as Queen’s Park Pirates. The team played home games in North Delta from 2003 to 2014 (first as the Flyers, then Devils) before moving to Langley for two seasons as the Knights, followed by their move to North Surrey.
To start the 2021-22 season, Liboiron, originally from Kitchener, Ontario, took over bench-boss duties from Gerry Leiper, who focused on general-management work for the Knights.
This season, forward Jake Thompson has led the way with 18 goals and 39 points, followed by Robbie Toor (33 points) and Parkor Sarai (31). In net, goaltenders DJ Cash, Maddox Osaka and Mason Upton have shared the crease to record a combined 0.894 save percentage.
tom.zillich@surreynowleader.com
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