Senior hockey playoffs at full throttle

The (3) Neilburg Monarchs swept the (6) Maidstone Jets 2-0, outscoring them 21-4 in the two games.

Then, the (5) Meota Combines upset the (4) Perdue Pirates, sweeping them 2-0 with a 4-1 win in game one and 7-3 win in game two.

Going into the next round, teams will now play a five-game series with Neilburg going against Turtleford and Meota facing off against Battleford. The winner from both series will play each other in the final.

History is also being made as this will be the first time the Combines and Blues will finish a playoff series against each other, said Combines Veteran Aaron Cadrin.

“We’ve been in the league for 11 years and this is the first time we are going to finish a playoff series with them. We played them in the playoffs during the covid year and we were up 2-0 but then the world shut down. So, we are excited for it, both our teams are really good and I think both teams have been waiting a long time for it to happen,” he said.

The first game for the semi-final will be this Saturday, Feb. 15 at the Battleford Arena with the Blues taking on the Combines at 8:00 PM.

SWHL

In the five-game series first round of SWHL playoffs, there were also some close games, but it was a clean sweep across the board for all the higher-ranking teams.

The (2) Wilkie Outlaws took the series 3-0 over the (7) Unity Miners, winning game one 15-2, game two 6-2 and game three 5-0.

The defending champion, (3) Kindersley Klippers faced off against the (6) Biggar Nationals and swept them 3-0. The closest game of the series was game one, where Kindersley won 4-2, then went on to win the next games 8-3 and 6-1.

Then, the (4) Edam 3 Stars also swept their series 3-0 over the (5) Macklin Mohawks. This was the closest overall series with the 3 Stars only winning game one by a score of 2-1, game two 6-3 and then game three 3-2.

Edam will now head to the semi-finals and face off against the (1) Hafford Hawks, who received a bye in the first round.

Wilkie will then take on Kindersley, who they lost to in last year’s final series 3-2.

“We’ve had a bit of a bit of a rivalry with them over the last 10 years and we’ve played them a lot, obviously we ended up on the wrong side of things last year and we’ll be looking for a little redemption, so It’ll be a good challenge and it’s one we are excited about,” said Outlaw veteran defenceman, Derek Keller.

The date and time for the semi-finals games are still yet to be determined.

Provincials

All while the league playoffs are happening, senior hockey provincials have also been going on. For the Senior A division, The Hafford Hawks lost the series in the first round 2-0 to Kenaston Blizzards and have been eliminated.

In Senior B, the Biggar Nationals and Kindersley Klippers have still yet to play their first game.

In Senior C, the Wilkie Outlaws swept the Outlook Ice Hawks 2-0 to advance to the next round, while the Unity Miners got swept by the Eston Ramblers. Wilkie will now take on Eston in the second round.

In Senior D, the Edam 3 Stars lead the Macklin Mohawks in the series1-0 after winning game one 8-4 and the Perdue Pirates are down 1-0 in the series to the Delisle Bruins after losing game one 10-2.

Visit the Hockey Saskatchewan website to view the full schedule of games.

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Austin.mattes@pattisonmedia.com

On X: @AustinMattes

by Austin Mattes

Senior hockey playoffs at full throttle

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