Two weekends remain in the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League 2024-25 regular season. Two playoff spots remain as the Golden Rockets and Creston Valley Thunder Cats vie for that final spot in the Eddie Mountain Division. In the Doug Birks Division, the Williams Lake Mustangs are very close to clinching as they currently have 35 points with two games remaining. They are eight ahead of the Chase Heat, who have five games remaining.
Then there is the pursuit of the Presidents Cup for the overall Regular Season Champion.
The Facebook post from earlier in the week provides a deeper look at the chances for each team.
Bill Ohlhausen Division
The Princeton Posse are fresh off a 2-1 loss to the Merritt Centennials. Grady Sterling-Ponech said they had a really good practice on Wednesday.
“We were working on correcting some of the areas we thought we struggled in, and are looking forward to an important weekend,” said Sterling-Ponech as they host Fernie on Friday and visit Chase on Saturday. “Our group knows how important playing with detail and executing our game plan is come playoff time. We are preparing for how much the intensity will rise.”
Sterling-Ponech noted they’ve had some hard fought wins in Revelstoke recently and are working hard to dial in their details and habits.
The defending KIJHL Teck Cup champion Revelstoke Grizzlies are feeling confident and starting to click, said Daniel Wittenberg.
“We’re working well offensively and defensively, and everyone is buying into the system,” said Wittenberg, who returned to action on Jan. 10 and has eight points in 11 games after recovering from an injury. “These last four games are important to build momentum going into the playoffs.”
The Calgary native added they’ve been very happy with their penalty kill as it has been limiting high-danger chances. He also added where they’ve improved.
“We’ve been getting better at maintaining possession in the offensive zone and creating scoring opportunities through quick puck movement,” he said.
The Grizzlies are focused on being sharp in all three zones. Wittenberg added the main thing is consistency, especially on the little things: managing the puck, winning board battles, and not giving up odd-man rushes.
On Tuesday, the Merritt Centennials earned a 2-1 road win in Princeton over the Posse and goalie Andrew Krakora said the group played a selfless and fast style. That aligns with their team identity and how they will continue to find success.
“I felt as if I was seeing the puck well and playing with confidence,” said Krakora, who made 46 saves. “My job was made significantly easier by the willingness of teammates putting their bodies on the line to block shots.”
The group is focused on its principles of staying disciplined, together and playing fast, which has made them successful.
“We hope to play well in this final stretch and carry momentum into our playoff run,” said Krakora, who is 11-8-0 with a 2.49 goals against average and .928 save percentage.
With a playoff spot clinched, the Sicamous Eagles are focusing on that and getting themselves out of their slump. The good news is they are starting to get players back.
This weekend the Eagles have a home-and-home set against the Revelstoke Grizzlies and Colton Fleming said with the possibility of facing the Grizzlies in the opening round, it’s about showing Revelstoke what they can do. A confidence boost for the playoffs.
“I think we’re coming together as a great group,” said Fleming. “We’ve got Kael Svenson, who is one heck of a goalie and Gabe Bergeron just had one of his best games this year against Revelstoke. We have a pretty good crew, we just need to put every piece that we’ve been working on together and we will have a good run.”
The Kelowna Chiefs want to finish off strong in their final four games. Owen Miller said it’s about enjoying the moment, and for some of the 20-year-olds, this is it for their hockey careers.
“The group has felt our play in 2025 has been better, taking down a few of the top teams (Revelstoke and Princeton) in the league,” said Miller.
The rookie credits team success to his 12-game point streak in which he produced 17 points between Dec.17 to Feb. 2.
“I feel I’ve been playing well recently, using my skill and skating abilities to create opportunities,” said Miller. “Carrying into next year, I think it’s important for me and the guys coming back to take our experience and learn from it. Use it as motivation to be better next year.”
Osoyoos Coyotes head coach-GM Ken Law said the final four games for their group still matters.
“Maybe play the spoiler to a team still trying to move up,” he said. “Most of the play is for pride and to show that you have a desire to return.”
Mason Rudolph is on a four-game points streak for the Osoyoos Coyotes with two goals and six points in that stretch. The rookie from Kelowna leads the Coyotes with 37 points in 39 games.
“Mason is a gifted player as far as hockey sense, but he still needs to get a true scorer’s touch and this only works if he’s willing to shoot the puck even if he’s known for his playmaking. He needs to show and play with some selfish commitments when in good scoring areas.”
Another Kelowna native, Spencer Fleck is second with 35 points in 40 games. He’s had a big year offensively after posting six points in 13 games last season.
Doug Birks Division
100 Mile House Wranglers captain Ethan Davey said they’ve been playing pretty well, but knows there is work to be done.
“We definitely need to patch up a few things. I wouldn’t say we’ve played our best hockey in our last three games even though we’ve won,” he said.
The captain said it’s mostly about the defensive zone, and getting pucks out. They have been trapped in their zone a few times.
“It’s just little things, there’s not a lot to it,” he added.
They want to get into playing their best hockey and Davey feels they are very close to being at their best.
“There’s not a lot of work to be done.”
The Kamloops Storm are getting excited about making a big playoff push.
Noah Paulsen, this week’s Young Guns selection, said they are focused on consistency.
“That’s probably been our biggest struggle this year is stringing a bunch of wins together,” he said. “Get momentum going by winning these four before moving into the playoffs.”
Paulsen said they like how they are forechecking, and when the team works hard and plays by their playbook, they’re effective.
“We can beat any team in this league,” he said.
Warren Roberts-Lee has found early chemistry with Quesnel River Rush linemates Cash Anderson and Isaiah Bagri. The trio combined for 14 points against the Kamloops Storm in two games.
“It felt like I was there for the whole year, there was no awkwardness,” said Roberts-Lee, who was picked up from the Sicamous Eagles. “We just connected really fast. That was definitely a surprise for me, but it’s a really good surprise. I’ve enjoyed it.”
The addition of Roberts-Lee, who started the season playing for Duquesne University in the American Collegiate Hockey Association, gives the River Rush seven 20-year-olds. Roberts-Lee likes the fact everyone is on the same page for the ultimate goal.
“We’re all in it to win the championship. That’s a really good thing to be behind and a good team to come to,” he said.
The coaching staff has the players fine tuning things.
“We just have to put all the effort in and leave it all out there,” said Roberts-Lee.
The Williams Lake Mustangs are a confident group with two regular season games remaining – today in Quesnel and next Saturday hosting 100 Mile House.
“Our team morale is high and we have built all season to get to this point,” said captain Jacob Shtaif. “All the guys are ready to go and ready to leave it out there to bring team success. We are feeling confident in our ability to play good playoff hockey.”
As they try to secure the final playoff spot, Shtaif said they have worked on playing “mistake free.”
“Really minimizing our turnovers and making simple decisions,” he said. “The more we minimize small mistakes, such as passing errors and blue line turnovers, the more we can roll and improve our pace.”
Chase Heat captain Kaleb Preymak said they are focused on playing the right way to close out the regular season.
“We’ve had a lot of success against some really good teams lately, but we’re trying to string together a full 60 minute effort and finding some wins,” he said. “It’s a young group. We don’t lack skill, it’s our mindset.
“When we play simple and fast, we’re finding a lot of success,” he continued. “We’re able to score, defend well, defend tight, and break the puck out nice and easy.”
When they complicate plays and do too much, they create issues.
That’s a problem that head coach-GM Kyle Evans said happens when they fall back on old habits and struggle.
“When the chips are stacked against you, that really shows what kind of character each player has,” he said. “We’ve stressed that regardless of how the playoff race turns out, everybody still has something to play for, whether being scouted for college or higher level of junior opportunities, auditioning for a spot next year. It’s learning how to deal with difficult situations in life. The only way we can overcome this is to keep working hard, dialing in a few details, emphasizing our game and hoping we get some help from the hockey gods.”
