It’s not enough for the Calgary Canucks to roll out the red carpet for the top junior hockey teams from across Canada.
The host team of the Centennial Cup – a 10-team tournament taking place in Calgary from May 8-18 – would like to keep the trophy around for more than just the 11-day event.
The Alberta Junior Hockey League (AJHL) representatives were the 15th-ranked team in the Canadian Junior Hockey League (CJHL) rankings heading into the tourney, but their 3-1-0 record through four games in the preliminary round of the Centennial Cup put them in first place in Group B. That top spot clinched a bye to the semifinals.
The Canucks will play that semifinal matchup at 4 p.m. on Saturday, May 17th at Ken Bracko Arena at Max Bell Centre.
“We’ve been struggling with our starts, and we haven’t been scoring the first goal, but to rebound quickly was huge for us. Battling back and coming out as hard as we did was good for the group,” said Calgary forward Jack Plandowski in an article on the team’s website.
During the preliminary round, the Canucks opened the tournament with a 3-1 victory over the Melfort Mustangs and followed that up with a high-scoring 11-6 win over the Braves de Valleyfield.
Their first loss came at the hands of the Rockland Nationals of the Central Canada Hockey League, who scored a 7-2 triumph.
The Canucks rebounded with an 8-2 win over the Edmundston Blizzard to wrap up the preliminary round. Plandowski paced the offence in that game with a hat trick.
“You’re just happy to get the win. But to help out offensively is always great, so it feels really good,” said the Canucks forward, who won the 2024-25 Ernie Love Trophy as the AJHL’s top point getter and goal scorer.
In the four games the Canucks have played, Plandowski has six goals, while Nathan Maloney has six assists and nine points. Bowden Singleton also has six helpers. Calgary goaltender Lukas Renaud is 2-1 with an .897 save percentage and a 3.18 goals-against average.
The Centennial Cup championship game takes place at 5 p.m. on Sunday, May 18th at Max Bell Centre.
Related Link: https://www.calgarycanucks.ca/nucks-news-canucks-clinch-bye-to-2025-centennial-cup-semifinals.