PLAYOFF RECAP: Sabres eliminated from league playoffs

The Steinbach Regional Sabres couldn’t continue their run in the top division of the Winnipeg High School Hockey League.

The Sabres managed to win their final home game of the season Feb. 29, keeping their season alive with a 3-2 overtime win over Oak Park thanks to a Peyton Froese goal, but a 4-2 loss in a winner-takes-all game February 28 in Winnipeg ended their season.

Oak Park’s David Sudoski scored the game winner with nine seconds into the third period, and they added on an empty-netter to finish the game. The Sabres are applying for a wildcard spot for the upcoming AAAA provincial championships.

In the indoor soccer ranks, the Sabres finished a strong season just short of a championship appearance, falling 1-0 to Glenlawn in the premier division semi-finals.

Steinbach will be hosting the outdoor provincial soccer championships this summer.

Last weekend was the AA Manitoba High School Athletic Association championships, with Carman defeating Morris in the semi-finals and Niverville in the finals.

Morris is taking on Morden in the Zone 4 championship series after beating Carman in the league playoffs. The team’s home game in the best-of-three final is March 6.

In the Price Division of the Winnipeg High School Hockey League,. Lorette and Niverville easily advanced to the semi-finals and are taking on Warren and West Kildonan respectively.

Springfield are taking on Dakota in the Winnipeg Free Press Division semi-finals.

In the Manitoba Women’s High School Hockey League, Gabrielle-Roy/Pointe des Chenes are taking on Vincent Massey in the quarterfinals. The team, in their first year of play, finished fourth in their division and were placed in the Division one playoffs. They play a home game in Ste Anne at 4 p.m. March 5.

Lorette are playing College Pierre Elliot Trudeau in the Division Two quarterfinals, with Springfield earning a bye to the semi-finals in Division Three.

SEMHL

The region’s three South East Manitoba Hockey League teams have made the semi-finals, with the Springfield Winterhawks and Ile des Chenes North Stars playing in one series, and Red River taking on Winkler in the other.

Ile des Chenes picked up a big win in an entertaining game one Feb. 28. The visitors took a 2-0 lead only for Springfield to flip the script and take a lead of their own. More twists were on tap, with Burke Heide scoring a late equalizer, setting up Matthew Osadick’s overtime winner.

Osadick was all alone at the side of the net, and managed to elevate a rebound above Steve Christie’s pad to give the underdogs an early series lead. Game two took place after press time March 4.

A blowout win by Winkler in game two of their series at St Jean has the Royals one win away from advancing to the finals.

U18 AAA

The Eastman Selects continue to cruise in the Manitoba Female Hockey League, winning game one of their series against Westman in convincing fashion.

Delainey Rigaux scored four minutes into the game, and the Selects never trailed during a 5-3 win. Game three and five (if needed) are in Niverville March 8 and 13.

In the male league, Eastman is tied 1-1 with the Winnipeg Thrashers after two games. The fourth and fifth seeded teams exchanged away game victories to kick off the series, with the lower-seeded Selects nabbing a 3-2 win Feb. 28 in the city.

Dominion City’s Crosby Mateychuk, the outstanding 2010-born defenseman who scored nearly 1.6 points per game in the U18 league is back with the team for the playoffs after a stint with Vancouver in the Western Hockey League.

CRJHL

The La Broquerie Habs couldn’t quite sweep the Arborg Ice Dawgs in quarterfinal Capital Junior Hockey League action, but three convincing wins in four games was more than enough to comfortably win the series.

After the Ice Dawgs nabbed a 4-3 win in game two, the Habs responded in dominant fashion, nabbing 8-2 and 7-1 wins in the next two games to clinch the series win.

Colton Pakoo scored a pair of goals in both game three and four.

St Malo, who earned a bye to the semi-finals after winning the league, is waiting, as third-seeded Selkirk and sixth-seeded Lundar are locked in a battle. Selkirk leads 2-1, with game four after press time March 4.

Second seed Beausejour easily defeated North Winnipeg 3-0.

HTJHL

The Hanover-Tache Junior Hockey League is also in their semi-finals, with the top four regular season teams represented in the best-of-seven semis.

Top seeded Macdonald bounced back from their second loss of the entire season against East St Paul to win their quarterfinal series. Niverville swept Steinbach in the quarters, and last played Feb. 22. Game one of their series is set for March 5 in Niverville, as scheduling issues has the higher seed starting on the road.

Mitchell and Springfield are playing in the other semi-final, with the Xtreme winning game one 3-2.

A full schedule of upcoming games is available in the Carillon Sports Scoreboard on page B4. For more photos from games across the region, check out Carillon Sports Second Shots, published weekly at www.thecarillon.com/sports.