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Oil Kings to meet Cariboo Cougars at Telus Cup

The upstart Leduc Chrysler Oil Kings have clinched a spot in the Telus Cup national midget hockey championship. The Oil Kings became the first team to join the B.C.
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The upstart Leduc Chrysler Oil Kings have clinched a spot in the Telus Cup national midget hockey championship.

The Oil Kings became the first team to join the B.C. champion and host Cariboo Cougars at the national tournament when they beat the favoured Foothills CFR Chemical Bisons of Strathmore 3-1 on Sunday in Leduc. With the victory, the Oil Kings wrapped up the best-of-five Alberta Midget Hockey League playoff championship series in four games.

The Oil Kings opened the series with a 3-1 win in Strathmore and took Game 2 on home ice in double overtime, 5-4. The Bisons stayed alive with a 4-3 double OT victory in Strathmore on Friday.

During the regular season, the Oil Kings finished in third place in the AMHL's Dodge Division with a 14-15-5 record. Meanwhile, the Bisons ended up second to the Calgary Buffaloes in the Chrysler Division with a mark of 25-6-3.

In the earlier rounds of playoffs, the Oil Kings started with a best-of-three division quarterfinal win against the MLAC Beverly Optimists (3-2 in overtime and 2-1) and then went the distance in the best-of-five division semifinals against the St. Albert Tire Warehouse Raiders (4-3 overtime loss, 5-4 overtime win, 3-2 win, 3-2 loss, 5-2 win). Next, in the best-of-five division final, the Oil Kings swept the Sherwood Park J. Ennis Kings but two of the victories required extra time. Leduc prevailed 2-1 in overtime in Game 1 and 3-2 in triple overtime in Game 2. The Oil Kings then ended the series with a 6-3 win.

The Bisons' march to the final started with a first-round bye. In the division semis, they downed the Calgary Flames 3-1 in games (5-4 win, 6-5 overtime win, 3-1 loss, 5-4 overtime win) and, in the division final, they knocked off the regular-season champion Buffaloes. In that best-of-five, the Bisons dropped the first game 2-1 but rebounded with three consecutive victories - 1-0 and a pair of 3-2 double-overtime decisions.

Normally, the Alberta champion and B.C. champion meet in a regional series for the right to go to the Telus Cup as Team Pacific. But, because the Cougars are the host club, the Pacific series has been deemed unnecessary.

For scheduling purposes at the Telus Cup, the Oil Kings will be slotted in as Team Pacific and will open against the Cougars at 7:30 p.m. on April 24. The tournament runs through April 30 at CN Centre and will also feature champions from the West, Central, Quebec and Atlantic regions.

Full-event packages are available for $79 through the Hockey Canada website (hockeycanada.ca).