Hockey playoffs continue to ramp up across region
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This article was published 22/02/2024 (471 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
Eliminations and final games of the regular season capped off another week of competitive playoff action across various leagues across the region.
HTJHL
In the Hanover-Tache Junior Hockey League, the semi-finals are set. While top-seeded Steinbach and Springfield easily advanced over St Clements and Landmark in three-game sweeps, the other two series saw upsets.
The Niverville Clippers came back from a 4-1 deficit in game five against the Red River Mudbugs to knock out the third-seeded team.
Luke Elliott scored what turned out to be the game-winning goal after the Clippers won a puck battle below the goal line early in the third period. The puck was sent to the faceoff dot, where Elliott was in position to wire a one-timer home and give Niverville the lead for good.
Any chance of a Red River comeback was snuffed out when Ethan Franz and Liam Collettte were both whistled for cross-checking with exactly two minutes left in the game and their team down one goal.
Niverville will play league-leaders Steinbach in a rematch of a playoff series from last season. The Huskies went 4-0 against the Clippers this season, but needed overtime to keep that perfect record intact.
Game one of the series goes Feb. 23 in the T.G. Smith Centre, with games in Niverville Feb. 24 and 27.
The Lorette Comets were able to overcome the Macdonald Swarm’s home-ice advantage, picking up two wins in Sanford en-route to a 3-1 series win.
A scheduling quirk meant three of the first four games of the series took place in Macdonald’s home rink, but Lorette appeared unbothered, defeating the Swarm 5-4 in game one, and picking up a blowout 9-5 win in game four to clinch the series.
Lorette took a 8-2 lead early in the third period, leaving a lot of room for error as a Macdonald comeback attempt petered out with seven minutes to go in the game.
The Comets have already started their series against Springfield, dropping game one in Oakbank 5-4 Feb. 19. The series will go to Ile des Chenes on Feb. 23, then back to Oakbank Feb. 24.
The semi-finals and the finals in the HTJHL are seven-game series.
SEMHL
The Ile des Chenes North Stars staved off elimination by the skin of their teeth, managing a 3-1 victory over Ste Anne Feb. 17.
The North Stars had been blown out 10-3 the night before, but managed to hold back a potent Aces attack to extend the series to at least four games.
Ste Anne directed chance after chance towards the Ile des Chenes net in the third period of game three, but were twice denied by the post, before Matt Osadick capped off a hat trick performance with what seemed like the North Stars first shot of the third period with just under two minutes to go.
Game four will take place in Ile des Chenes Feb. 24, and game five will be back in Ste Anne Feb. 28 if the North Stars can force it.
The other former Carillon league team, the Red River Wild, were upset in the first round by the Winkler Royals. A 2-1 loss set the tone for the series, as Red River could never put a complete effort together on both ends of the ice.
The Wild scored five goals in game two, but gave up seven, then could only muster a single goal in game three, dropping the series to the lower-seeded Royals.
High School
While the Steinbach Regional Secondary School Sabres were eliminated by St Paul’s in the Platinum Promotions division of the Winnipeg High School Hockey League (WHSHL), lower division action is about to pick up.
The Gabrielle-Roy/Pointe des Cenes Cavaliers and Springfield Sabres are both one game into their second-round series in the Winnipeg Free Press (tier 2) division, with Gabrielle-Roy/Pointe des Chenes up 1-0 and Springfield down 1-0 at press time Feb. 21.
The Cavaliers are up against the Jeanne-Sauve Olympiens, which finished 11th in the standings this season, and the Sabres are playing the John Taylor Pipers, which finished fifth. Both teams earned a first round bye after finishing in the top four in the regular season.
In the Price Division of the WHSHL (tier three), the Lorette Scorpions are facing off against the Louis Riel Voyageurs.
The Manitoba Women’s High School Hockey League’s playoffs are underway as well, with Division 2 Lorette waiting for the results from a qualifying round, and Division 3 Springfield matching up against JH Bruns in a quarterfinal match-up. Home games in Oakbank will take place Feb. 26 and 29 if necessary.
In Zone 4 action, the Morris Mavericks fell in the quarterfinals to Morden.
Eastman Selects
The Female U18 Eastman Selects playoffs begin this week, with a quarterfinal showdown against the Interlake Lightning. The Selects went 3-1 in the regular season against the Lightning, including a victory in the final regular season game of the year Feb. 17.
The Female U18 Selects play home games in Niverville, with the five-game first round series beginning on Feb. 21 after press time. Other home games include game three at 7:30 Feb. 25, and a game five if necessary March 2.
Their male counterparts will need some help just to make the playoffs. They currently sit ninth in the league standings, needing to leapfrog the Norman Northstars in the final weekend of regular season action. The Northstars are three points ahead.
Eastman will play Kenora Feb. 21 (with results unavailable at press time), before a back-to-back against 11th-place Parkland at their home rink in Beausejour. Norman will host the third-place Southwest Cougars at their home rink for a pair of games in the final weekend as well.
The male U17 Eastman Selects, which play out of Ste Anne, will kick off their playoff schedule against the Westman Ice Bandits. The Selects will be looking for revenge after the Ice Bandits knocked them out of last year’s playoffs.
Game 1 of their series will take place Feb. 22 in Ste Anne.
The male U15 Selects are leading their series against the Winnipeg Bruins (Brown) squad. The U15 team plays out of Landmark.
CRJHL
The St Malo Warriors are awaiting the results from the first round of the Capital Region Junior Hockey League playoffs.
The Warriors finished second in the league standings, earning a bye in the first round, which will see Arborg play Beausejour and North Winnipeg play Lundar.
The lowest ranking team remaining will play first-place Selkirk. The defending champions finished the regular season with only six losses.