Kitimat Ice Demons face the Williams Lake Stampeders - again - for the Rio Tinto Alcan Cup in CIHL finals - Saturday

The preliminaries are over and the Williams Lake Stampeders are the CIHL East Division champions by virtue or two straight wins over division-leaders, the Smithers Steelheads. The Stampeders traveled to Smithers, with a home win under their belts and finished off the Steelheads with a 6-4 road win - and a game to spare. Meanwhile, the embattled Kitimat Ice Demons needed two decisive home ice wins, 6-2 Saturday and 9-1 Sunday to dispatch the pesky Hazelton Wolverines and win the West Division championship. They now advance to the CIHL playoff finals against East Division champions, the Williams Lake Stampeders. The Ice Demons are the defending CIHL champions having won in a three-game final last season against the Houston Luckies. The Stampeders, after winning their home ice opener by a one goal 6-5 margin last week, came into Smithers and shocked the home town fans with the come-from-behind 6-4 win to advance to the league finals for the first time since 2007, when they lost to the Kitimat team after losing game one at home, winning game two in Tamitik and losing the decider in a thriller, also at Tamitik. An injury-riddled and short-handed Ice Demons lost the opening game of the division finals in Hazelton on Saturday, Feb 7, but came back this weekend with two improved efforts that swept Hazelton aside. On Saturday, the Ice Demons, with scoring centers Terry Whelan and Trent Bossence back in the lineup, had a tentative start to game two, but took a 2-1 lead into the second period, and didn't really look back, ending the second with a 4-2 lead and adding two in the third for a solid 6-2 win behind the big goaltending of Jamie Moran. The Demons unloaded 35 shots at Wolverines goalies Cody Smith and Cory Croft, while the Wolverines had only a total of 17 on Jamie Moran, including only three in the decisive third period. Demons had Saturday goals from Terry Whelan (3), Andre Baldo and Jeff Baker, with a rocket top-corner shot that gave Croft no chance to make the score 5-2 and Gerard Baldo added the finishing touch with just under three minutes remaining in the game. Assist were earned by Derek Wakita (3), Trent Bossence (2), Greg Sabey, Jeff Mildenberger, Jeff Baker and Jeremy Baldo. Ken Johnson had a goal for Hazelton in the first to tie the game at 1-1 and by captain Stu Barnes, in the second to keep the Wolverines in the game at 4-2. Demons had two unanswered goals in the third as the tiring Wolverines couldn't cope with the Demons speed. On Sunday, knowing the shot at the championship was on the line, the Demons had a focused first period, scoring five times in the first 13 minutes on goals by Terry Whelan (Andre Baldo) inside the first minute. Terry Whelan (Derek Wakita, Jeff Mildenberger) got his second, with less than three minutes gone. Derek Wakita (Gerard Baldo, Jeff Mildenberger) had his first of three in the game three minutes later before Jeff Baker made it 4-0 unassisted, two minutes later. The Demons were up 5-0 at the end of the period, on a goal by Blaine Markwart (Jeff Mildenberger, Jeremy Brady) and made it 7-0 in the second on goals by Ian Coleman (Jeremy Brady, Jeff Baker) and Derek Wakita (Steve Venman, Chris Vilness) before the Wolverines got a consolation power play goal by Mitch Marshall (unassisted). But the Demons kept their foot on the accelerator and Ian Coleman (Blaine Markwart, Jeff Mildenberger) and Derek Wakita, (Ian Coleman, Chris Vilness), with his hat-trick goal, scored 22 second apart to finish the period at 9-1. Cory Croft had replaced Cody Smith in goal again for the Wolverines, who could not handle the Demons control game or speed. They tried to slow them down with hitting, but took a number of penalties, including a slash followed by an exchange with referee Bill Konkin, from Burns Lake, that earned Wolverines' Al Tolmie an early trip to the showers with a game misconduct. Adam Buick, who fought Mitch Hobenscheild on Saturday, took on Hazelton super-pest Phil Morrison in the third period Sunday and both were banished. Trent Bossence was ejected from the game with a first period hit from behind on Morrison, and took a vicious cross-check from Colin Jack who took a double minor. Stampeders and Steelheads felt one-another out early and Robin Gilbert put the visitors into the lead before the Steelheads got the 1-1 tying goal on a power play close to the end of the period. Feeling like "déjà vu all over again" the Stampeders fell behind 3-1 in the second before Wilfred Robbins scored the first of five straight markers for the visitors that left the Steelheads looking at elimination. Brent McIsaac (2), Robin Gilbert and Jason Wright added goals for the Stampeders and Smithers scored a consolation goal, with a minute remaining, disappointing their many fans who had been anticipating a CIHL championship run. The Ice Demons will travel Friday for game one of the finals in Williams Lake, Saturday before the two teams will settle the best-of-three finals in Kitimat Feb. 28 and March 1. It will be a tight schedule for both teams, who will line up as starters in the Coy Cup which goes March 3-7 in Terrace, with the Terrace River Kings playing host. The Ice Demons are the defending CIHL champions and Coy Cup champions from the 2007-08 season.