Editing VHL 2024 (section)

==== Mainers (3) vs. Newfoundland Sailors (6) ====
The Mainers entered this matchup as strong favorites, as the team, led by a two-time reigning Golden Puck winner [[Carlos Ortega]], had enjoyed a consistently nearly league-topping regular season, while the Sailors' performance had noticeably dropped off in the last few months. While the Sailors had held a three-point lead as late as matchday 19, they had since fallen down to sixth. Despite this, some pundits pointed to the Mainers' demoralizing two losses in the final two matchdays, which saw them lose what could've been their first Earle Trophy. Additionally, this matchup was the most closely followed of the four quarter-finals, as both the Mainers and the Sailors (along with the Spirits, on the other side of the bracket) were competing to sign Carlos Ortega, whose contract with the Mainers was up at the end of this season.

The Sailors took a massive upset victory in the first game, winning 5–1 as the visitors and featuring a spectacular hat-trick from Sailors captain [[Danilo Lorenz]]. Commentator [[Walter Cobb]] described the Mainers' loss—their third in a row, if taking the two final matchdays of the league into account—as "utterly crushing," a sentiment echoed by a frustrated Dominique Bergeron, manager of the Mainers. His side responded convincingly, however, with their own dominant 6–2 victory in front of their home crowd, featuring four goals from Ortega. With the next two games at the Kaufman Arena, the Sailors had an opportunity to swing the series in their favor. They did just that with a 3–2 win in their first game at home. Ahead of the fourth game, pundits described the Mainers as "completely shattered," and Cobb noted that Ortega was "the only thing keeping them going." In the fourth game, Sailors goaltender Stefán Kaczmarek held Ortega and the Mainers to a shutout, while the Lorenz-led home side found the back of the net three times to secure their entry into the semi-finals. The Sailors' series upset against the Mainers was widely celebrated in Newfoundland, and Cobb said that Lorenz had quelled "any doubt that he's not still the greatest player in the VHL."