By Joshua Boyd / NCDCHockey.com
The P.A.L. Jr. Islanders and the Mercer Chiefs will face each other for the Atlantic Division Championship in a series set to begin on Tuesday, April 8. This series and the New England Division Championship series both hold a lot of bearing for each of the four teams involved, as there will be three of the four teams from these series moving on to the Dineen Cup Championship Series, running April 25-29 in Wayne, N.J.
- The P.A.L. Jr. Islanders can advance to the championships in Wayne if they win the Atlantic Division Championship, and they can also advance as the Wild Card if they lose and the South Shore Kings win. A Northern Cyclones series win and a P.A.L. series loss would eliminate P.A.L. from championship contention.
- For the Mercer Chiefs, an Atlantic Division Championship is their only path to the Dineen Cup Championships, a result that would also eliminate the Northern Cyclones from championship contention in the event of a Cyclones series loss.
- In the New England Division, the Northern Cyclones can get into the championship tournament in Wayne if they win the division title or if they lose and the P.A.L. Jr. Islanders win.
- The South Shore Kings have clinched a berth in the Dineen Cup Championships, win or lose in the New England Division Championship series.
The Jr. Islanders defeated the Rockets Hockey Club three games to zero, winning the first two games 3-2 and 2-1 before putting up an 8-2 score on April 1 to close out the series.
The Mercer Chiefs won their series 3-1 against the Jersey Hitmen, winning three in a row after falling in Game 1 4-3 in overtime. They won 5-4, 4-3 and 2-1 all in regulation to finish the series on April 2.
During the regular season, P.A.L. was undefeated in regulation against Mercer, going 6-0-1-1
Full Series Schedule TBD. Check NCDCHockey.com for updates.
