The Vancouver Island Seals’ Female Midget AAA quarter-final series against the Fraser Valley Rush was a tight one, with each game decided by one goal and all three games needed in the best-of-three series. The Seals came from behind to win the series and advance to the semifinals.
In the first game of the quarterfinals, the Seals, who were seeded fourth, beat the fifth-seeded Rush 2-1 Feb. 26 in Campbell River. Jodie Coward and Erica Pierce scored in the win, while Hunter Joseph scored the lone goal for the Rush.
Game 2, played Feb. 27 in Campbell River, needed double overtime to decide a winner. After more than 80 minutes of scoreless hockey, Fraser Valley’s Michaela Read scored to give the visitors the win and extend the series to three games.
The third and final game of the series was held Feb. 28 in Campbell River, the teams got off to a slow start, according to the Female Midget AAA website, but the Seals’ Lexxi Smith scored off a “gritty” assist from Brittney Savard to take a 1-0 lead in the first period and were able to hold on for the remaining two periods to claim the victory.
The Seals, who had a 12-16-2 record in the regular season and finished fourth in the standings, will now face the No.1 seed Greater Vancouver Comets in the semifinals March 4-6 on the Lower Mainland.
The Comets finished the regular season with a 23-4-3 record and spent most of the season at the top of the standings.
The team had a league-low 40 goals against during the regular season, and Comets forward Elexa Pakozdy was the league’s top scorer with 42 points in 30 games.