PLAYOFF RECAP: SEMHL final features a familiar match-up

The Springfield Winterhawks looked good on paper heading into their first season in the South East Manitoba Hockey League season, and that has translated into reality.

Boasting a slate of experienced players in their line-up alongside local former NHL player Quinton Howden and a crop of former Ste Anne Aces, it was expected the team would be competitive from the start of the year. Those predictions have now come true, as the two local teams will lock horns in the league finals which kick off later this week.

The Winterhawks and Aces led the league from the start of the year in the standings and took care of business in the first two rounds of the playoffs, with Springfield sweeping Notre Dame and the Aces taking out last year’s league finalists Warren.

The Winterhawks had a goal explosion in the first two games of the final, scoring seven goals in game one and eight in game two before a more tight-checking 5-2 victory in game three to advance.

The re-match of last season’s SEMHL finals followed a familiar script, as Ste Anne swept past Warren in the league’s other semi-final series.

The Aces did it while undermanned, with Matt Bailey out with an injury, and Brenden Walker suspended for the first two games of the series for cross-checking an Ile des Chenes player in the final game of their first round series.

Adam Hughesman stepped up in their absence. With over 200 games of professional experience, including a brief stint in the AHL and five years in Europe, the former Morden Bomber was an absolute force against Warren.

He finished the series with five goals and two assists, powering the Aces to three straight easy victories.

Only a single game of the final was scheduled as of press time, with Ste Anne hosting Springfield for game one of the best-of-seven final March 8 at 8:15 p.m.

CRJHL

The La Broquerie Habs had their chances, but just couldn’t overcome a tough game three loss in the Capital Region Junior Hockey League quarterfinals.

In the decisive game four of the series March 1, the Selkirk Fishermen came out on top, defeating the Habs 6-2 to win the series 3-1. La Broquerie led 3-1 in game three of the series with a minute left, but conceded two goals in regulation before losing in overtime.

The Fishermen and St Malo Warriors wasted no time beginning their semi-final series, playing game one in St Malo March 4, with the Warriors winning 5-2, powered by a three point night from Ashton Cure. They didn’t come out of the game unscathed, with Logan Fillion suspended three games following an incident late in the game.

Fillion was whistled for a gross misconduct alongside Selkirk’s Zach Lemire, who was suspended for a single game. It was Fillion’s second misconduct suspension of the year, escalating the penalty to three games.

Game three (March 9, 6 p.m.), game five (March 17, 8 p.m.) and game seven (March 21, 8 p.m.) are scheduled to take place in St Malo.

The other semi-final series has Lundar taking on Beausejour.

HTJHL

The Hanover Tache Junior Hockey League semi-finals are rolling on, with the Niverville Clippers holding a 3-2 advantage over the Macdonald Swarm in the West Division finals.

The teams have battled back and forth, with Niverville nabbing a 6-5 overtime win in game three in Sanford, as Deegan McGarry erased a last-minute equalizer in extra time. The Clippers also took a key game five victory in Niverville March 4, beating the Swarm 6-2.

In the East Division finals, the Steinbach Huskies staved off elimination in an absolute classic, defeating the Springfield Xtreme 1-0 to stay alive in their East Division Finals series.

Twice Springfield celebrated what they thought were winning goals, only for referees to wave off the play.

While there wasn’t much complaining when referees ruled the puck was knocked into the goal with a high stick mid-way through the second period, the protests were fiece in overtime when when a rush chance appeared to get caught up in goaltender William MacDonald’s pads as he pushed from right to left, knocking the net off its moorings.

Referees ruled the puck didn’t cross into the net, and play continued, with Bauer Kasdorf wristing home a powerplay goal from the point past a screed Dylan Kizlik with under a minute to go in the second overtime to break a 0-0 deadlock.

The Xtreme were protesting the decisive penalty after David Hazlitt was whistled for cross-checking when he dumped a Steinbach player well after the whistle had gone.

Hazlitt was ejected from the game for a gross misconduct following the call and appeared to challenge a Steinbach fan after getting ejected from the T.G. Smith Centre ice surface, forcing linespeople to step off the ice and in between the player and fans.

The league suspended Hazlitt for for five games following the incident.

Both goalies were obviously spectacular, with Kizlik stopping 85/86 shots and MacDonald a perfect 70/70 on the night.

For more photos of game action from across the region, including U18 AAA and High School games, check out the Carillon Sports Second Shots on thecarillon.com/sports every Wednesday.