Morinville Jets sweep quarter-finals series

by Stephen Dafoe

After ending the 20203-2024 Capital Junior Hockey League regular season in second place, the Morinville Jets joined the St. Albert Merchants in sitting out the qualifying round of playoffs.

That series resulted in the Jetys entering the quarter-finals against the Beverly Warriors in a best-of-five series, with Morinville having a home-ice advantage.

The Jets started the series in Morinville on Tuesday, Feb. 20, narrowly defeating Beverly 4-3. They widened the gap in the second game the following night, defeating the Warriors 4-1.

A 6-1 win over the Beverly Warriors on home ice Sunday night gave the Morinville Jets their third consecutive win in the best-of-five quarter-finals series, advancing them to the next round.

Jets’ President Brent Melville said a format change this year will see the top two West Division and East Division teams against each other in the semi-final for a best-of-five series, followed by West Division and East Division playoff champs in the final best-of-seven series.

As such, the Jets move on to that semi-final series with long-time rivals, the St. Albert Merchants, who also swept their best-of-five series in three straight games.

Game one of the series was on Sunday, Mar. 3, in St. Albert. Details were not available by the press deadline.

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Morinville Jet Cody Laliberte, seen in this file photo from the Jets Feb. 11 game against the Red Wings, led the Jets in points over the three games with eight points, followed by season leader Ethan Dechamplain with seven points. – Stephen Dafoe File Photo