The Cochrane Chaos are moving on to the south final of the Alberta Junior Female Hockey League playoffs after beating the Calgary Jags in a best of three semifinal series by 4-1 and 5-2 Friday and Sunday (Feb. 20).
The six-year-old team has never won the league championship, but head coach Derek Loomer said he believes that could all change for the powerhouse team this year.
"Every year, our team has gotten a little bit better and goes a little deeper," said Loomer. "Some of the girls have been with us four, or even five years now, so they've become a lot more experienced, a lot more mature and have really been able to provide that leadership we need."
The Chaos won all but two games in their regular season, one against the Edmonton Wolves and another against the Lethbridge Eagles, who they will be competing against in a best of three series for the south.
The team was unable to compete for the provincial title in 2020 and 2021 due to COVID-19 restrictions.
"I would say our team last year would have been as great of quality as the team we have this year, we just never really got an opportunity to play unfortunately," said the coach. "But this year has certainly been one of our best ever as far as a regular season goes."
Their back-to-back wins against the Jags, eliminating the need for a third semifinal game, means the team is able to set up a cadence where they will play Game 1 of the south final series this Friday, Feb. 25, and Game 2 and three next weekend.
"It really allows us to get into a regular rhythm again to be prepared to play going into the next couple games which gives us a bit of an edge," said Loomer.
"Lethbridge is our next opponent so that's who we're really focused on right now."
If the team can put two wins past the Eagles, they will face either Edmonton or the Llyodminster Rustlers of the north division for the provincial title, both of whom they had the chance to compete with at a showcase in Red Deer earlier this month.
They won both of those games.
The Wolves beat Cochrane for the league championship in 2019 and given the Chaos' recent track record, Loomer said the team is eager and hopeful for a shot at redemption.
"If we're fortunate enough to get through this playoff season, it would be nice to have that opportunity to go back and play against them and maybe get a result in our favour this year," he said.
The puck drops for Game 1 against the Eagles at Spray Lake Sawmills Family Sports Centre at 7:30 p.m. Friday.
