Storm to play Mustangs in second round of KIJHL playoffs

Whether the extra rest proves to be an advantage remains to be seen.

“We’ve had some time to recover since our series and, obviously, they’ll have only a few days, but them coming out of that competitive environment, I think they’ll have that edge just a little bit,” Storm forward Nolan MacPherson said. “It’ll be a good test for us initially. I think we have to match their physicality, match their intensity and bring consistent effort.”

The Storm finished first in the Doug Birks Division during the 2025-26 regular season with 66 points from 44 games (32-10-1-1), nine points ahead of the second-place Mustangs (26-13-2-3).

However, the Mustangs won the head-to-head series again the Storm, taking four out of five games in the regular season.

“In some of those games, maybe we came out a bit slower than we would have liked,” Storm assistant coach Harrison Ewert said. “I think we’ve had a pretty good focus on staying on the D-side of the puck and playing defensive hockey in the playoffs so far and it’s worked out for us. We’ll look to do the same moving forward.”

The Mustangs won the first game 7-6 in overtime on Oct. 3. The Storm responded with a 4-0 shutout victory at home on Nov. 28, but the Mustangs rattled off three straight wins: 6-3 on Jan. 9, 6-0 on Jan. 31 and 6-5 on Feb. 13. The Mustangs won both games in Williams Lake and two out of three games in Kamloops.

“[We need to] definitely be more defensive-minded, for sure,” Storm forward Luca D’Amore said. “Especially in playoff time, there are not many games that are going to be 6-5. It’s just trying to get those 1-0, 2-1 gritty wins and always being on the D-side is definitely going to help.”

Game one between the Storm and Mustangs takes place Friday (March 20) at McArthur Island in Kamloops. Puck drop is at 7:00 p.m.

The winner of the best-of-seven series will play the KIJHL regular season champion Revelstoke Grizzlies or the Princeton Posse in the Okanagan/Shuswap Conference final.

by Aaron Schulze

Storm to play Mustangs in second round of KIJHL playoffs

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