PLAYOFF UPDATES: Habs put on the brink in CRJHL playoffs

A spectacular comeback has the La Broquerie Habs on the brink of elimination in the Capital Region Junior Hockey League playoffs.

The Habs looked all but guaranteed to nab a 2-1 series lead in their best-of-five quarterfinal series against Selkirk, as they built a 3-1 advantage in game three with just a minute to go, but Theo Courchene and Dawson Bergagnini managed to strike for Selkirk in the final moments to tie the game.

Bergagnini tipped home a point shot to tie the game with just three seconds left.

In that overtime period, Logan Saluk, who has scored four goals in three games for Selkirk these playoffs, scored on a two-on-one rush to give Selkirk the victory.

La Broquerie won game two in double-overtime after losing game one. Game four goes March 1 at 7 p.m., with game five if necessary the next day. Both games are in La Broquerie.

The CRJHL announced their award winners earlier this week, with St Malo’s Colton Magne earning top defenseman nods. Jeremie Collette was named co-most sportsmanlike alongside Beausejour’s Nikolas Bear.

St Malo’s Teagon Fillion was nominated for the league’s most valuable player award with Ashton Cure up for rookie of the year. La Broquerie’s Jaxon Loewen was nominated as the league’s top goaltender, but lost out to the league’s most valuable player, Beausejour’s Dylan Liske.

The Warriors nabbed a first-round bye after finishing first in the regular season.

Female U18 AAA

The Eastman Selects dominated their first-round series of the Manitoba Female Hockey League, scoring three consecutive shutout victories over the Interlake Lightning.

The Selects finished top of the league and looked the part in the quarterfinals, nabbing 3-0 and two 4-0 victories. Sophia Heidenger was the offensive standout, nabbing three goals and two assists to help the Selects to victory.

Isabelle Labossiere and Addison Tomes combined to record three shutouts, stopping all 62 shots they faced in the series.

The Selects were the only team to advance in three games in the first round, with the second and third place Winnipeg Ice and Avros all having early stumbles in their series.

SEMHL

All season long in the South East Manitoba Hockey League, it seemed like the Ste Anne Aces and Springfield Winterhawks were on a collision course.

As the league enters their semi-finals, the previous two league finalists are hoping to spoil the Eastman party. After an early series loss, the Winterhawks got past the Winkler Royals, defeating them in game four, hosted in Altona. Ste Anne cruised past Ile des Chenes, sweeping their rivals out of the playoffs.

It should be no surprise to see the Morden Bombers and Warren Mercs advance into the next round of the playoffs to play Springfield and Ste Anne. Those two franchises bring a wealth of experience, having lost the 2023 and 2024 league finals to Ste Anne.

The Mercs ramped up nicely in the playoffs, upsetting the higher-seeded Red River Wild in four games, while the Bombers needed an overtime victory in game five to squeak by Notre Dame 3-2.

Warren and Ste Anne began hostilities Feb. 25, with Ste Anne notching a 5-0 win to take game 1.

The teams split their regular season match-ups this year, with the Aces dominating 11-4 on home ice in the early season before dropping a game Nov. 22 in Warren.

Springfield and Morden began Feb. 26, with the score unavailable at press time. The Winterhawks nabbed two victories over the Bombers this season, completing their season series before mid-November.

The league also announced their award winners earlier this month, with the Red River Wild’s Justin Beaudry named the SEMHL defenseman of the year.

HIGH SCHOOL

The Winnipeg High School Hockey League playoffs continue to roll on, now without the Steinbach Regional Sabres. The Sabres dropped consecutive games to lose out to the Westwood Warriors in their league’s quarterfinals.

Their Platinum Promotions Division compatriot Springfield Sabres continued on, defeating the higher-seeded Oak Park Raiders. They’re now taking on the Vincent Massey Trojans in the semis.

Lorette and Niverville are playing each other in the Price Division (third division) quarterfinals after Niverville swept their first-round series. The Scorpions took game 1 3-0 Feb. 24. Game 2 goes in Niverville Feb. 27 at 3:30 p.m.

In the Zone 4 hockey semi-finals the Carman Cougars got by the Morris Mavericks 2-1, winning game three in Carman by a narrow 3-2 margin.

In the second division of the Manitoba Women’s High School Hockey League, the Lorette Scorpions advanced past the Sturgeon Heights Huskies in the qualifying round and are playing the CPET Canadiennes in the quarterfinals.

In the third division, the Springfield Sabres are taking on the St John’s Ravenscourt Eagles in their quarterfinals.

HTJHL

The Hanover Tache Junior Hockey League are into their division finals. With an expanded 10-team line-up, the league has divided into East and West divisions. The top two teams in each division are playing in the best-of-seven league semi-finals.

In the West Division, the Macdonald Swarm took game one of the West final, defeating the higher-seeded Niverville Clippers 4-2. The Swarm fell behind 2-0 after a Hunter Mangin goal, with Andrew Thompson sparking the comeback just 30 seconds later.

The Springfield Xtreme have only lost two games so far this season, in the regular season and playoffs combined, and that continued through game one of their series against Steinbach.

In the rematch of last year’s finals, the Xtreme took a 1-0 series lead after a 4-2 victory. Game two was Feb. 26 after press time.

For more photos of playoff action around the region, check out Carillon Sports Second Shots, posted every Wednesday on TheCarillon.com.