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Its time for the start of the Four Star Cup Finals between the Colorado Mammoths and the Vancouver Whalers in the SMJHL, the series is about to begin tonight around 6pm EST… Colorado played basically two games last night while the Whalers are well rested heading into this series, we are all eager here to see which team takes the first WIN in the finals. In the regular season the Colorado Mammoths came out hot and were on top of the league for the first couple of weeks until they hit a cold streak and couldn’t quite find the chemistry among their players allowing many team to pass them… including the Vancouver Whalers. The Whalers come out pretty strong as well and maintained chemistry throughout the season keeping them a playoff contender team.

The Mammoths just squeezed into a playoff position at the end of the season making them finish in 6th place, they made it passed the Prince George Firebirds in the first round and went into the second round as the underdog team. If you were to ask many people around the league who would be coming out of that series between the two teams… The St. Louis Scarecrows who finished first in the regular season or the Colorado Mammoths who just barely made it into playoffs, many people would have St. Louis as the favorites. However, that was not the case as Colorado shut down the Scarecrows in a triple overtime Game 7 (Doesn’t get much better than that) to cut the season short for the Crows. Unfortunately for the Crows next year they are losing quite a great chunk of their best players, however they have some very promising young players who I know can fill the shoes of players such as Crossfit, Auston and Langabeer… I won’t be surprised if we see them in the playoffs year after year.

Then there is the Vancouver Whalers who were fighting for a first place spot against the St. Louis Scarecrows for the Laurier Trophy but finished short by two games. They got a bye for their first round of playoffs and were able to have about a week off to relax and size up the opposing team which happened to be their rivals the Kelowna Knights. This was such a fun series and both organizations made sure the rival was strong (Skill > Will and #skilltowin) but still kept it very classy which makes us very proud here. Every game it was packed house with fans from both clubs, some of the loudest games we have ever heard and you could tell the players could feel the energy. Luckily for the Whalers they won 3 games in a row putting them in a good position for the rest of the series including game 4 but the Knights were not ready for their season to end and took the sweep away from the Whalers. Game 5 came, were not sure what was said by captain Odjick and the Whalers staff but they came out blazing and won the second round series taking them to the Four Star Cup Finals against the Colorado Mammoths.

These two teams are lucky to have such great General Managers and Coaches who are willing to put in extra time to make sure their teams will succeed, coming into this series when looking at both teams it’s basically a coin flip to who will come out on top. Whatever team does come out with the Four Star Cup we are proud of both of the teams as we know it isn’t an easy process getting to this point. Both teams play a very defensive game and we know this will be a tough series for these young players.

To finish things off were here with Vancouver Whalers assistant captain Sophia Bennett for an interview regarding their current playoff run against the Colorado Mammoths.

Reporter: “Well Sophia it sure is good to see you, we haven’t met up with you since you just entered the SMJHL and were about to play your first game ever with the Vancouver Whalers. What can you say for yourself about how you’ve grown in this league and how you are feeling about your current team?”

Sophia: “It’s good to see you too, wow I can’t believe it’s already been that long… I already have two regular seasons done since then. I’d say this is one of the best things that’s ever happened to me. I can’t be more thankful than I am right now. Coming in this league only knowing a couple players I was very nervous. I think the Whalers were honestly the best fit for me as a player I can’t imagine playing anywhere else. I quickly adjusted to this league last season and I plan to stay another full season, I’m having so much fun in Vancouver but I can’t wait to be in Los Angeles with my boyfriend and play for the Panthers. I enjoy every single one of my teammates and I’m so glad we get to share this playoffs run together and hopefully bring a cup back home to Canada… Where it belongs [laughs]”

Reporter: “That’s good to hear, we knew they were at the top of your list as to where you wanted to go… we are glad it all worked out. So heading into this series is there anything you guys are focusing on?”

Sophia: “I don’t want to give too much away, this is one of the biggest series of my life but basically both of our team have some very strong defenders, we have Kik and they have Krugs… those are two players that I think both teams have their eyes on. Were gonna play a very defensive game against them and hopefully our forwards can continue to produce like we have been all season. But that’s all I can really say before Coach Phelps yells at me… ”

Reporter: “No worries, I completely understand. Speaking of Phelps you’ve been playing on a line with him for most of the season how would you say your chemistry is coming along on the ice and what do you think makes you guys work so well together”
Sophia: “Hmm... Well we are pretty good friends off the ice as well, so I think that helps quite a bit I’m not scared to tell him what I think we should do and it doesn’t bother me when he gets frustrated I always try to make light of any situation. If one of us is having a bad game we can pick each other up when were down and I know that Phelps will be able to find me no matter where I am on the ice. He’s an incredible passer so I always know to be ready because it’s coming right on my stick. We’ve had pretty good chemistry this season, I can’t see us changing too much headed into the finals”

Reporter: “The Whalers had a pretty good draft last season is there anything you want to say about the rookies on your team?”

Sophia: “Oh man… Don’t even get me started, our team is so lucky to have the rookies that we do. One of the rookies that caught my eye was Isak, he is going to be a beast in these upcoming seasons and I can’t wait to watch him grow into a solid player. Then there’s Twain who has had a huge locker room presence and once he gets some more playing time he’s gonna kill it. Than we have some more awesome rookies Lindqvist, Jukka, Rossi II and Bauer who I couldn’t be more proud of and of course I cant forget about Chiclets, he always has our backs when we need it and is going to play a big role in the upcoming season. We also signed a free agent Barbashev who has been a huge help on the blue line, unfortunately this could be our last season playing together but hopefully we can snag him in the upcoming draft. They have made a huge impact on our team and we couldn’t have made it this far without each and every one of them."

Reporter: “Oh wow, lots of praise for the rookies that’s great to see. Thank you for taking the time to answer all of my questions, we are rooting for the Whalers and wish you guys nothing but good luck”

Sophia: “Thank you for having me and hopefully next time I see you I will have a cup under my belt [smiles]”

That’s it for today’s recap of the Vancouver Whalers and the Colorado Mammoths series, we look forward to see which team comes out of the series with a Four Star Cup and can’t wait to watch some more playoff hockey.