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Copperheads set to battle Bisons in South Division Final beginning Wednesday

Mar 6, 2018 | 12:39 PM

COALDALE – Playing for something bigger than hockey, the Coaldale Copperheads found a way to overcome the loss of a teammate to defeat the High River Flyers 2-1 in Game 5 of the HJHL semifinals on Saturday night (Mar. 3) to advance to the South Division final.

The Copperheads took Game 4 in overtime by a 3-2 score, after learning while travelling to High River that forward Morgan Simpson passed away Friday following a car accident.

Goaltender Nolan Berner was strong in between the pipes, and Ty Abbott and Tyler Anderson each finished with a goal and assist for Coaldale.

Chase Groeneveld scored the lone goal of the game for High River, coming on the man-advantage late in the second period.

The Copperheads will now face the Okotoks Bisons, the team that finished with the exact same record as the Copperheads in the regular season, in the best-of-seven HJHL South Division Final.

Coaldale claimed the top spot in the South Division due to a tiebreaker.

The complete regular season series is below:

Friday, Sep. 29 – Coaldale 4 Okotoks 1
Saturday, Nov. 18 – Okotoks 4 (shootout) Coaldale 3
Friday, Jan. 26 – Coaldale 6 Okotoks 3
Saturday, Feb. 3 – Okotoks 4 Coaldale 1

Game 1 of the South Division Final gets underway on Wednesday, Mar. 7, at the Coaldale Sportsplex at 8:15 p.m.

Full Series Schedule:
Game 2 – Friday, Mar. 9 in Okotoks @ 8 p.m.
Game 3 – Saturday, Mar. 10 in Coaldale @ 8:30 p.m.
Game 4 – Monday, Mar. 12 in Okotoks @ 8 p.m.
Game 5 (if necessary) – Wednesday, Mar. 14 in Coaldale @ 8:15 p.m.
Game 6 (if necessary) – Friday, Mar. 16 in Okotoks @ 8 p.m.
Game 7 (if necessary) – Saturday, Mar. 17 in Coaldale @ 8:30 p.m.