Silvertips make playoffs

North Island Silvertips player Curtis McCarrick, right, bangs a puck out of mid-air and into the net Sunday in a B.C. Major Midget League hockey game against the Thompson Blazers at the Nanaimo Ice Centre.

GREG SAKAKI/The News Bulletin

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The North Island Silvertips are back in the playoffs, but now that they’re in, they’ll need to be giant killers.

Nanaimo’s B.C. Major Midget League team (11-26-3) qualified for the post-season on the last day of the regular season and now head to the mainland to face the No. 1-seeded Vancouver Northwest Giants (34-2-4).

The ’Tips beat the Thompson Blazers 6-0 on Sunday at the Nanaimo Ice Centre to snag the eighth and final seed in the BCMML playoffs.

The Blazers had beaten the Silvertips the day before, setting up the final-day drama.

Coach Jason Dubyna said his team kept it loose and calm, and was ready for puck drop.

“[From] our first shift, we rolled through all the lines, everybody came out with good energy and was playing hard.”

Curtis McCarrick and Liam Shaw each scored twice, Nick Gomerich had a goal and three assists and Kyle MacDonald also tallied in the win. Liam Giroux earned the shutout win.

Dubyna said playoff hockey will be valuable experience for the teens, and the Silvertips are excited to get the opportunity to extend their season.

“Obviously we’re really excited about that,” said McCarrick. “[The Giants] are a good team but maybe we can go in there and surprise them with our work ethic.”

GAME ON … The entire best-of-three series will be played on the Lower Mainland, starting Friday (March 8) in North Vancouver and then moving to Burnaby for Game 2.

sports@nanaimobulletin.com