Opening day match-ups set for 2011 BCIHL Championships in Burnaby

A pair of intriguing match-ups will be on tap when the 2011 B.C. Intercollegiate Hockey League Championships open at the Bill Copeland Sports Centre on Wednesday, March 23rd.

In the tournament opener, the fourth-seeded University of Victoria Vikes will take on fifth-ranked Trinity Western University at the Burnaby Winter Club (4:30 PM). The club split their four meetings this season, most recently earning a win each when TWU visited Vancouver Island in February.

The winner of Wednesday's early game knows that the road only gets more difficult, as a battle with top-ranked Thompson Rivers University awaits the following evening at the Bill Copeland Sports Centre.

In Wednesday's second game, the host Simon Fraser University Clan will welcome Okanagan College to Copeland for a 7:30 PM faceoff. SFU got the better of the season series between the teams with three wins from four meetings, but the Coyotes proved what a tough match-up they could be in dropping a tight 3-2 decision in Burnaby on March 5th. That game was settled on a late Kyle Boyko goal with just over a minute remaining in regulation.

The winner of the SFU-OC match-up is assured a Friday meeting with the winner of the TRU vs. UVic/TWU winner. The losers of Wednesdays game will meet on Thursday afternoonat the Burnaby Winter Club (4:30 PM) in an elimination showdown.

For the full 2011 BCIHL Championships schedule, click HERE.