Pembina Valley Twisters storm into MMJHL finals
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This article was published 05/04/2024 (304 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
The 2024 Manitoba Major Junior Hockey League (MMJHL) finals are set up to be an instant classic.
The Pembina Valley Twisters and St James Jr Canucks not only finished as the league’s best two regular season teams, but have also yet to lose in the MMJHL playoffs through two rounds.
Pembina Valley locked up their spot in the finals with a hard fought 3-0 victory over St Boniface April 1 at the Southdale Arena in Winnipeg.
“We had a good couple games, it could have gone either way,” head coach Braeden Beernaerts said after the game.
“Like the first round, we just seemed to find the way to get the timely goal.”
In game four, that timely goal came off the stick of Mark Plett in the second period. Riley Goertzen and Cody Clark notched insurance goals in the third period to clinch the victory.
“We’ve got four lines rolling and we were relentless,” Beernaerts said.
“We knew this third period had to be our best third period. We always thought (in) the last few games we’ve had a couple gears to go up, and we found that gear tonight.”
It was yet another dominant season for St James, who are building a mini-dynasty in the MMJHL. They lost eight games this season, although two of those came at the hands of Pembina Valley.
For the Twisters a pedestrian start to the season was soon forgotten when the calendar turned to December. The team rattled off a 13-game winning streak and cemented second place in the standings well before the playoffs began.
“Somebody’s eventually going to have to lose here,” Beernaerts said, laughing.
“It’s going to be super exciting… We’re going to throw all we can at them, and keep going. We know we have little things to work on.”
Beernaerts was a member of the last Pembina Valley team to hoist a MMJHL championship, helping the team win one in 2019. He’ll be looking to add another ring to his finger as a coach after this series.
Steinbach hockey fans should see a familiar face on the ice if they make the trip out to Morris to watch the Twisters in the finals. High school standout Lucas Jolicoeur has joined the team for their playoff run after making a few appearances for the team during the regular season.
“We just felt he brings that grit, he brings that skill, he can score, he can hit,” Beernaerts said.
“He plays like he’s 6’5, and he’s a smaller body… He’s been doing really well.”
The finals will kick off April 5, with the Canucks hosting game 1 at the St James Civic Centre. The Morris Multiplex will play host for Pembina Valley’s home games in the series, with games two, four and six outside of the perimeter. Game two will go April 7 at 7 p.m. with game four April 13.