Following a 3-2 home-ice defeat to the Terrace River Kings Sunday, the Williams Lake Stampeders are uncertain whether they, or the Smithers Steelheads, finished first in the Central Interior Hockey League regular season.
“We’re not sure what’s happening yet or who our playoff opponent will be,” Stampeders head coach Dave Lauzon said.
Both the Stampeders and the Steelheads posted 12-win, four-loss records during the season, and both are tied with 24 points. The River Kings, meanwhile, also finished with 24 points, however, amassed one less win.
“Hopefully we’ll know something later in the week,” he said.
In Sunday’s final regular season game — on the Stampeders’ fan appreciation day — Terrace’s Colten Braid hammered one past Stamps’ netminder Justin Foote just five minutes into the contest, before Williams Lake’s Wilfred Robbins evened it up just 30 seconds later.
Austin Legros would put the River Kings up 2-1 later in the period on an unassisted marker.
Terrace’s Ben Reinbolt lit the lamp near the midway point of the second frame for the period’s only goal to give the River Kings the one-goal cushion they would need to claim the victory.
Andrew Fisher cut the deficit to one, however, it wasn’t enough as Terrace skated away with the 3-2 win.
“It was a well-played game,” Lauzon said. “We started slow. Once you get behind a team with similar talent it’s hard to come back. We ended up winning the second and third periods, I think.
“A bounce here and a bounce there and it would have been a different story.”
For updates on the Stampeders’ playoff schedule visit the Stampeders’ Facebook page or the team’s website at www.wlstampeders.ca.