Fort St. John Senior Flyers Prepare for NPHL Playoffs Against Dawson Creek Canucks
The Fort St. John Senior Flyers head coach emphasizes the need for favourable circumstances to compete against the Dawson Creek Canucks in the upcoming NPHL playoffs.
FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. -- Fort St. John Senior Flyers' head coach says the team will need to have bounces go our way to have a chance at advancing in the North Peace Hockey League (NPHL) playoffs.
He stopped by Moose Media's podcast "This Week in the Peace" for a chat with host Steve Berard on Friday, February 7th.
After a disastrous 0-10-0 start to the season, things seemed to turn a corner for the Flyers in mid-December after an 8-7 win over the High Prairie Regals.
Nystrouk was appreciative of former coach Craig Faulkner, who left the team midway through the 2024-25 NPHL season. He said being appointed the man in charge behind the bench was not "on his bingo card".
"I have the utmost respect for Craig," said Nystrouk. "He's been a guy that anybody can call on at any time."
"He had some personal things come up, and then he had to step away from the team."
The Flyers face the top-seeded Dawson Creek Canucks in the first round of the west division playoffs. While Dawson Creek took three of four games during the regular season, a high mark of the Flyers' turnaround was a 7-4 win on January 16th against their rivals.
According to Nystrouk, the victory snapped a ten-game losing streak against the Canucks. "It was very satisfying," said Nystrouk. "The guys all came together really well. [Goaltender] Landon Hatton had some timely saves and we had bounces go our way."
Nystrouk also said veterans like Cayle Bell have "found an extra gear," buoyed by a four-goal game during the win over Dawson Creek. "He finally got that monkey off his back, so to speak," said Nystrouk. "He's been a captain and leader on and off the ice."
The best-of-seven NPHL series will kick off on February 10th in Dawson Creek at the Memorial Arena, while game two will take place at the North Peace Arena on Tuesday, February 11th. After heading back to Dawson Creek for game three, game four will take place in Fort St. John on Saturday, February 15th. All games will start at 8:30 p.m.
More information about the Flyers is available on the team's Facebook page.
