Dineen Cup Championship Day 2: Junior Islanders headed home; Spud Kings poised for playoff rematch

IDAHO FALLS, Idaho (KIFI) – This afternoon at 2 PM, the puck dropped on the first elimination game of this Dineen Cup Championship between the South Shore Kings and the P.A.L. Junior Islanders. Just 39 seconds into the contest, the South Shore Kings got on the board by way of a Jake Kavanagh goal, putting one of the best teams in the NCDC up immediately.

Later in that first period, the Junior Islanders got to work, scoring a pair of goals. The first was from Tommy Sheehan, the second from Billy Collins. That was good enough for the Junior Islanders to be up 2-1 after one period of play. The second period was quiet, no goals for 20 minutes, and we went to the second intermission with the same score, 2-1 Islanders.

In the late stages of the third, the South Shore Kings tied things up with a goal from Andrew Jensen. Then, with just under 2 minutes left, Felix-Antoine Laflamme scored the go-ahead goal. The South Shore Kings took the win 3-2, and now the Junior Islanders are eliminated.

Tonight at 7 PM, the Idaho Falls Spud Kings will take on the Mountain Division Champions, the Grand Junction River Hawks. The River Hawks eliminated the Spud Kings in the first round of the Mountain Division Playoffs, 3 games to 1. Idaho Falls is still here at the Dineen Cup Championship because they were awarded a host auto-bid since the 2026 Dineen Cup Championship is being played in Idaho Falls at the Mountain America Center.

The winner of tonight's contest will earn a much-deserved rest day on Sunday and will play on Monday, April 27th for the Dineen Cup. The loser of tonight's game will play tomorrow, Sunday, against the South Shore Kings in an elimination game.