D/FW HS Hockey League Gold Tier Championship

#2 Allen Eagles VS. #4 Coppell Cowboys

Location & Time: 8:00 PM @ Farmers Branch Starcenter

Tonight's DFW HS Hockey Championship night will feature teams that have used strong goaltending with few sparks of offense to get them through to tonight's Final. Both teams have among the area's best goaltending as Derek Wilms has a 1.61 GAA through 3 playoff games. The early game will have the Silver Tier Title Game as Garland ISD will take on Plano East. While in the late cap, it will be Allen VS. Coppell for the Gold Tier Title.

His opposition tonight in net will be Allen's Spencer Harris has a strong 1.63 GAA, and one of the league's best SV% at .932 SV% and with the exception of Game 2 against Dallas Jesuit in the Quarterfinals has given up 3 goals or fewer with the help of a great offense.

One of Coppell's big worries for tonight is the secondary scoring as no one has more then 2 goals and during the regular season as only 2 players had double digit goals and Brandon Harley who lead the scoring with just 13 goals.

Coppell's defense is spouse to be really strong with players like Aaron Wright and Charlie Busch that are looking to join in on the attack. Meanwhile, players like Brad Harley are wanting to bring the hits and is not afraid to drop the gloves as well.

If Coppell is going to have a great shot of winning, a strong team defense is going to need to be the corner-stone of a successful game plan to bring the Gold Tier Championship back to Coppell tonight.

Allen is going to need to support Spencer Harris in the Allen net, but where I think this game will be won by Allen tonight is the stronger offense to support the Eagles with players like the Steen Brothers in Tyler and Bryce.

Tyler also finished in the top 5 during the regular season being surrounded by the Southlake Trio of Connor Morrow, Marcel Toure and Drew Cossu. Several players that could play a part in the secondary scoring with players like Taylor Ryan Jones and Alex Garrison who despite not scoring had a great game in the Semifinal against Southlake Carroll.

Watch out for Ben Owen as he's been able to join in on the offense while he can dish out some hits as well. Some other defensemen for Allen should include players like Mason Haunschild and Brian Clinton to give the Eagles a tough defensive presence on the ice.

During the regular season, both games between the two teams went OT with the Cowboys winning both times. However, the Eagles are looking to reverse that trend as both games were very close. This game should be another nail bitter with a low scoring game and don't be surprised if we see OT again here tonight.

Bottom Line: Expect both teams to have a great defense and goaltending. The main difference is going to be Allen's Offense. It's got more bite to it and with them being fresher from having an easier playoff road and better skill players, the Eagles will be winning the Gold Tier Championship.

Game Prediction: Allen Eagles 3 Coppell Cowboys 2 (OT)


Road to the Championship

Allen Eagles Regular Season: 18-4-2 38 PTS, 108 GF 55 GA

Allen's Playoff Run: Quarterfinals VS. Dallas Jesuit: Game 1 5-0, Game 2 6-4, Semifinals VS. Plano Senior 2-1


Coppell Cowboys Regular Season: 15-6-2 32 PTS, 86 GF 61 GA

Coppell's Playoff Run: Quarterfinals VS. Plano West: Game 1 3-2 (SO), Game 2 3-1, Semifinals VS. Southlake Carroll 4-2

Regular Season Head to Head Matchups

11/24: Allen 0 Coppell 1 (OT)

2/11: Game Cancelled due to Snow

2/18: Allen 3 Coppell 4 (SO)