The War Wages On

The 2007 NOR PAC Pacific Division Finals begins tomorrow in Vancouver, WA at 6:00 PM. The third seed Eugene Generals will face the first seed Fort Vancouver Pioneers in what could be the most intense series in NOR PAC playoff history. The Pioneers have certainly had the edge over the Generals this season, but a victory over the Pioneers wouldn’t be the first time the Generals have prevailed as underdogs. The Generals will have an even more difficult battle tomorrow when eleven of the Generals players serve the second game of their two game suspension.

“The team was able to rally around each other in the first series, and I expect them to do no less this time around,” Generals Head Coach Chris Hartly stated. “Fort Vancouver is a different animal, however, and the mistakes we made in the Seattle series will have to vanish if we want to make a return trip to the Cascade Cup Finals.”

The idea that there is no love lost between these two organizations is certainly an understatement, and that feeling should carry over to the ice this weekend. The rivalry began in the Generals first game last season, and has continued ever since. The Generals were the only team to beat the Pioneers in a season series last year (4-2), and the Pioneers were the only team to beat the Generals in a season series this year (1-8).

The Generals were only able to get one win in nine tries against the Pioneers this season, but were involved in five one goal games (won one). The Generals also lost games to the Pioneers by two, four, three, and seven goals. The Generals were on the verge of winning several games of the series, but just weren’t able to come away with a victory. That mental block could have been erased when the Generals defeated the Pioneers 4-3 in their second to last meeting of the regular season, but the Pioneers scored eight goals in the second period the following night and eventually went on to crush the Generals by seven goals. The Generals will have to forget about that loss, and put everything they have into beating the Pioneers.

The Generals do have the top three Pacific Division playoff scoring leaders in Lucas Romero, Michael Frei, and Ryan Schank, and the second ranked goaltender in Nick Maynes. The Generals will be without Frei for the first game of the series, but he will be made available for the remainder of the series. The Pioneers boast the top goaltender in the playoffs with Michael Smith and the have the Pacific Division’s fifth top playoff scorer in Tye Lewis. This series is where the big guns from both teams will have to shine in order for their team to prevail.

The Saturday game at 6:00 PM and the Sunday game at 3:15 PM will be held at Mt. View Ice Arena in Vancouver, WA. Both games will be broadcast on GiTV. For more information on upcoming playoff games and GiTV please visit eugenegenerals.com.

For more information:
Chris Bilder, Public Relations/Marketing, Eugene Generals
541-359-4154 (office)
541-680-6222 (cell)