Photo Courtesy - Mike Henson, London Free Press

GOJHL West Playoffs

(2) London Nationals vs (5) LaSalle Vipers

The London Nationals are off to the Western Conference Finals after ousting the LaSalle Vipers in five games.

Game #4 of the series was played on Tuesday night in LaSalle. The home team had won every game up until that point, but London pulled out a 6-2 win. The game was tied 2-2 in the second, then London scored four unanswered goals over the next period and a half. Max Vinogradov continued his strong playoffs, picking up a goal and two assists, with George Diaco doing the same.

London closed out the series the next night on home ice with a 7-2 victory. The Nats scored the first four goals of the game to bury the Vipers early on. George Diaco had recorded another goal and two assists, while Isaiah Payne had two goals and an assist. Through the first two rounds of the playoffs, the Nationals have four players in double-digit point totals: George Diaco (4g, 8a), Cal Davis (1g, 12a), Christian Polillo (6g, 7a), and James Turner who is second in the GOJHL goal-scoring race with 11 goals, also adding four assists.

The Nationals are looking to win their fifth Western Conference title in a row this year and have been in every Conference Final Series for the better part of the last decade.

(1) Leamington Flyers vs (6) Komoka Kings

The Komoka Kings were looking to continue their playoff magic on Tuesday in Game #4 of their semi-final series against the top-seeded Leamington Flyers. The Kings had the chance to take a commanding 3-1 series lead on home ice on Tuesday and would come away with a 5-2 win. Dario Beljo would score what turned out to be the game-winner in the second period with a powerplay goal. Beljo finished Game #4 with two goals and an assist, with Kurt Watson chipping in a goal and an assist.

The Kings had a chance to close out the series on Thursday evening in Game #5, byt the Flyers would push back with a 4-1 win on home ice. Three Flyers had multi-point nights, with goaltender Zach Borgiel stopping 21 out of 22 shots.

Game #6 of the series will be played on Saturday evening in Komoka, with the Kings getting another chance to take the series. If the Flyers win, it would force a Game #7 on Sunday evening back in Leamington.