The Airdrie Techmation Thunder will face a familiar foe as they get their 2023 playoff run underway this evening.
After a bye through the first round courtesy of their second-place finish in the regular season, the Thunder will open their Heritage Junior Hockey League (HJHL) post-season tonight (Feb. 21) against the Mountainview Colts. Puck-drop is slated for 8:30 p.m. at the Ron Ebbesen Arena.
The Didsbury-based Colts will provide a great first post-season test for Airdrie. In their regular-season encounters, the two north division rivals faced each other six times. Both teams won two games apiece, Mountainview won once in overtime, and Airdrie won once in a shootout. The Thunder outscored the Colts 20-19 in those six games.
Regarding their regular-season standings, the Thunder finished in second place in the HJHL's north division with a 23-13-2 record, while the Colts followed closely behind in third place with a 21-15-2 record and 44 points.
The Colts advanced to the second round after sweeping the Three Hills Thrashers in their opening-round, best-of-three series last week, winning 5-2 and 5-1.
Airdrie and Mountainview have developed a history of facing each other in the post-season in recent years. Mountainview knocked Airdrie out of the first round of the HJHL playoffs in 2020, while the Thunder dusted the Colts in the playoffs last year and in 2019, en route to the HJHL championship.
After tonight's tilt, game two will be held in Didsbury tomorrow (Feb. 22) at 7:45 p.m. Game three will be back in Airdrie on Friday night (Feb. 24) with puck-drop set for 8 p.m. at the Ron Ebbesen Arena.
The winning team of the series between Airdrie and Mountainview will face the winner of the other north division semi-final series between the Rocky Rams and the first-seed Sylvan Lake Wranglers. The Rams advanced to the second round after beating the Red Deer Vipers in overtime on Saturday.
For scores, schedules, and other info, visit heritagejunior.com
