Two goals separated the Vancouver North East Chiefs from another appearance at Canada's national men's under-18 AAA hockey championship.
The Burnaby-based club were swept by the Calgary Buffaloes, 2-0, in its best-of-three Pacific regional series this past weekend.
Both games took place on the Chiefs' home ice at Scotia Barn (6501 Sprott St.) on April 6 and 7.
Defence prevailed in the contests, each ending in one-goal deficits for Vancouver North East, 3-2 and 1-0, and depriving them of a trip to the 2024 TELUS Cup in Membertou, N.S.
Chiefs' goaltender Nathan Claydon combined for 36 saves on 40 shots between the two matches.
The 17-year-old led the BCEHL's men's U18 AAA division with a regular-season record of 17-2-0-2, including a league-high seven shutouts. He posted the second-best save percentage at .917.
Callum McSherry and Iverson Graveline were the Vancouver North East goal-scorers in the series against Calgary.
The Chiefs claimed its second BC Elite Hockey League (BCEHL) title in three years to face the Alberta-champion Buffaloes in regionals.
The blue, red and white defeated the Okanagan Rockets 2-0 in the best-of-three B.C. finals by scores of 5-0 and 4-1.
The Chiefs finished the 2023-24 season campaign with a 28-4-2-2 record, good enough for second in this year's BCEHL standings.
New Westminster's Lucas McDonald led the team with 32 goals and 58 points in 34 games. Tyson Moss of Port Moody had the most assists with 37.
McDonald, Moss and Claydon were all named to this year's men's U18 AAA all-star team.
