Aces down North Stars as playoffs continue across region

Editor’s Note: This story was written to be published in the Feb. 20th edition of The Carillon

The Ste Anne Aces have been comfortable throughout the entire South East Manitoba Hockey League season, and that dominant play continued into the first round of the post-season.

The Aces made short work of their local rival Ile des Chenes North Stars, sweeping the best-of-five quarterfinal series. Ste Anne out-scored Ile des Chenes 19-7 through the three games.

The Aces held a moment of silence before game one to honour Pauline Lansard, who died Feb. 12 after a battle with cancer. Lansard was a mainstay on the sidelines for many Ste Anne sporting events, and leant her support to the senior team as well.

The North Stars kept up with the first-place Aces for the first fifty minutes of the series, even taking a second period lead in game one, before a goal scoring outburst in the final frame for the home side. Ste Anne got five goals from five different goal-scorers over 10 minutes in the third period to clinch game one.

Matt Bailey was the standout offensively for the Aces in the series. As of Feb. 18, he led the league in post-season points with two goals and six assists.

The Aces will be without star forward Brendan Walker in the first two games of their second round series, after the star forward was ejected from game three and suspended after a checking from behind major penalty.

Red River is facing a long climb back into their first round series, after sixth-place Warren won the first two games of their series. While the Wild were able to strike back in game three, the series could already be over, with game four taking place after press time in Warren Feb. 19.

Former Steinbach Piston and Bemidji State University alumni Justin Baudry was named the league’s defenseman of the year earlier this month. He had 21 points in 17 regular season games for Red River in his third season with the Wild.

If a game five is needed, it will be in St Jean Feb. 21 at 8 p.m.

The Springfield Winterhawks, which finished in second place in their first season in the SEMHL, currently lead Winkler 2-1 after a 7-2 win Feb. 18. Springfield will host a game five if it’s needed Feb. 22 at 8 p.m.

Despite the Altona Maroons folding before the start of this season, there will still be playoff hockey in Altona, as game four of the series will be in Altona Feb. 21.

HTJHL

The Macdonald Swarm and Steinbach Huskies made short work of their first-round series, sweeping Landmark and Mitchell to advance to the Hanover Tache Junior Hockey League semi-finals.

In game one in Steinbach, the Huskies completed an outstanding comeback. After falling behind 3-0 in the first period, they were able to climb back into the game, with Ian Friesen’s second of the game with a minute left standing up as the game-winner.

Friesen showed great instincts, picking up a rebound and firing a spinning backhand to put the puck into the net past Carter Zilinski and give the two-time defending champions a perfect start to the post-season. The Huskies last loss in post-season play came early in the 2023 when Niverville shocked a top seeded Steinbach squad in game one of a series.

Game three was also at the T.G. Smith Arena in Steinbach, and fans packed the building, standing completely around the outside of the boards in addition to filling the bleachers to watch the Huskies clinch the series. It was clear there was lingering bad blood between the two teams, as there was a lot of hesitation to start the traditional post-series handshake line, with some players opting out entirely.

The league has moved to a divisional format this year, with teams playing their division rivals until the championship series.

The Swarm are waiting for the winner between Niverville and Red River to round out the West Division bracket, with the Clippers leading the series 2-0. Game three goes Feb. 20 at the Niverville Centennial Arena.

In the East Division, Ste Anne has been blanked twice in Oakbank, and will look to get back in their best-of-five series with Springfield in the friendly confines of the Maurice Chaput Arena Feb. 20 and Feb. 22 if necessary. If a game five is needed it will be in Springfield Feb. 23.

High School

Both the Springfield and Steinbach Regional Sabres advanced through the preliminary round of the Winnipeg High School Hockey League playoffs, defeating West Kildonan and JH Bruns respectively. Both teams are now in the middle of three-game series against higher-seeded opponents

Steinbach made quick work of the Wolverines, who were severely undermanned following suspensions from both the league and the team after a brawl following the end of a game in Springfield. The Wolverines only brought nine skaters to game one in Steinbach, with suspensions, absences and injuries limiting their line-up.

Springfield needed three games to get past the Broncos, winning game one and three on home ice in Oakbank.

Steinbach Regional are currently playing the Westwood Warriors, losing game one Feb. 18, with game two finishing after press time Feb. 19, while Springfield is taking on the Oak Park Raiders. The Sabres took down the higher-seeded Raiders 6-4 in game one at the Eric Coy Arena Feb. 18. Game two is set for Feb. 20 at 3:30 p.m. in Oakbank.

In the second division (Winnipeg Free Press), the Gabrielle-Roy/Pointe des Chenes co-op team are taking on the Dakota Lancers in a preliminary round series. The Third division (Price) Lorette Scorpions earned a first-round bye after finishing in third place in the league standings, while debutantes Niverville are playing the Windsor Park Royals.

The Zone 4 hockey playoffs are also underway, with the Morris Mavericks advancing to the semi-finals. They’re playing Carman in a three-game series, with game two set to take place in Morris Feb. 21 at 7:30 p.m. Morden is taking on Winkler’s Northlands Parkway Collegiate in the other semi-final.

In the Manitoba Women’s High School Hockey League, playoff schedules are yet to be posted on the league’s website, with the qualifying rounds finishing Feb. 21. Lorette Collegiate plays in the second division, with Springfield playing in the third division.

U18 AAA

A pair of rival programs will once again do battle in the playoffs, as the top-seeded U18 AAA Eastman Selects will be taking on the Interlake Lightning in the Manitoba Women’s Female Hockey League quarterfinals.

The Lightning defeated the Central Plains Capitals in a play-in series to earn the right to face Eastman in a best-of-five series.

The Selects defeated Interlake last season in the playoffs. That Lightning team featured Vayda and Delainey Rigaux, a pair of Winnipeg twins who moved programs and now play for Eastman.

Game one was completed after press time in Niverville Feb. 19. Game three and five (if necessary) will also be in Niverville at 7:15 p.m. Feb. 25 and 1:30 p.m. March 1.

On the male side, a pair of tough losses have the Selects on the outside looking in of the playoff picture. They first lost to 10th-place Kenora Feb. 15 before dropping a key match-up with Pembina Valley in Morden the next day. Four teams are within a single point in the standings, with only three remaining playoff spots available.

Eastman will have the opportunity to control their own destiny, as they play a back-to-back against sixth-place Parkland this weekend to round out the regular season. The Rangers have 48 points while Eastman has 47, meaning a positive result will have the Selects in the playoffs.

Check out the playoff edition of the Carillon Sports Scoreboard for upcoming games and results, available weekly on page 4B of The Carillon.