I know a lot of the blog's local readers are fans of senior hockey, the SWHL in particular. Their playoffs begin this weekend so I thought I'd post part of the preview from today's West Central Crossroads.
I'll try to get a Klippers-Weyburn preview up later today.
I've also updated the Articles page with six or seven stories from the last six weeks or so. I've been lagging behind on that.
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The dust has settled and the match-ups have been determined for the first round of the Sask. West Hockey League playoffs, which begin tonight.
Eston defeated Luseland Sunday to earn top spot and a bye through the first round. Luseland took second and will renew their rivalry with Kerrobert in the opening round. Kindersley finished third and will take on Macklin, which lost out in a three-way tiebreaker with Eatonia and Unity. The Huskies and Miners play each other in a fourth vs. fifth match-up.
Luseland’s Kelsey Muench ended B.J. Becker’s reign atop the scoring race, winning this year’s title with 68 points to Becker’s 65.
2) Luseland vs. 7) Kerrobert
Game 1: Saturday in Luseland. Game 2: Feb. 13 in Kerrobert. Rest to be determined.
The Tigers took a leave of absence last season, but the rivalry between these clubs surely burns just as strong as before, especially at playoff time.
Kerrobert will be hard-pressed to knock off the red-hot Mallards, but Luseland coach Jerry Fischer said his team can’t let its guard down.
“Their goaltending is good and I think as a team, they’ve gotten better all winter. We have to be good at all aspects of the game,” Fischer replied. “They’ve been playing pretty good of late. We’ll try not to take them lightly.”
Tigers’ manager Doug Flahr echoed that sentiment, adding that both Rick Sobry and Mike Aldous are capable between the pipes.
“We’ve played much better of late. We seem to have more energy and we’re playing a little more organized, but we’re still battling the injuries,” said Flahr. “Our goaltending has been very good. They’ve both had lots of practice this year; we’ve allowed a lot of shots. It’s been pretty consistent and kept us in a lot of games.”
But Kerrobert is missing their top two defencemen, Mat Olson and Scott Elstad, both out for the season with shoulder injuries, which will make it much harder to keep the Mallards’ potent attack under wraps.
“Their team revolves around Kelsey Muench. We gotta keep him under control and that’s very hard to do,” said Flahr. “Not that he’s alone, they have other top end guys too, but he seems to run the show.”
The series should help both teams financially at a time when most clubs are struggling at the gate.
“It’ll be good, playing Kerrobert. They’re close. Hopefully we can fill the rinks,” Fischer nodded.
3) Kindersley vs. 6) Macklin
Game 1: Monday in Kindersley. Game 2: Feb. 13 or 16 in Macklin (depending on outcome of Kindersley-Maidstone SHA series). Game 3: Feb. 17 in Kindersley. Game 4: Feb. 20 in Macklin. Game 5: TBD.
The Red Lions took a step forward this season and the Mohawks took a step back, but it’s easy to forget that the two teams were separated by only three points in a league that had tremendous parity this year.
Kindersley has no trouble scoring goals, while Macklin is more of a defence-oriented team which relies on good goaltending, which it got this year from Mike Clague.
“Our penalty kill has been awesome this year and Mike Clague has been great,” said Mohawks coach Jim Meredith. “We just gotta start putting the puck in the net a little more consistently.”
For the Red Lions, much of the focus is on improved defensive play and discipline.
“We can score goals, we can do all the hard hitting and all that stuff, but it’s gotta come from work effort. Macklin’s a (hard working) team. We’re going to have to try to win games 3-2 or 2-1,” said Kindersley coach Dean Dorsett.
“They’re a tough team,” Meredith said of his opponents. “You gotta play them the same way and stay out of the penalty box and put them in it.”
Sheldon Reschny and Cole Fern are the focal point of the Macklin attack and Dorsett said his club will have to shut them down, especially Reschny, to have a chance.
“The guy carries the puck, he does everything. He wins 80 or 90 per cent of the draws. He carries the puck on the power play, he does everything for them. He’s their key guy, and Fern and him play pretty well together and they’ve got some key defencemen.”
Meredith concurred, adding that Reschny is “probably one of the best defensive forwards in the league.”
4) Eatonia vs. 5) Unity
Game 1: Friday in Eatonia. Game 2: Tuesday in Unity. Game 3: Feb. 11 in Eatonia. Game 4: Feb. 13 in Unity. Game 5: Feb. 18 in Eatonia.
These two teams needed a tiebreaker to determine their playoff position, and there is little doubt it will be a long series.
“I don’t think anybody’s going to win this series in three games,” said Miners coach Dale Robertson.
The Huskies came out of the gate on fire, sitting in first place for a time before Christmas. But a second-half slide knocked them to fourth and they are looking to turn it around in a hurry.
“We gotta get better defensively and we’re going to have to shut down the Adam Shirley line and play him fairly close,” said Eatonia coach Sam Somerville. “We have to get quite a few shots on (Unity goalie Ryan Knapton) and get some traffic in front of him.”
Unity has a plethora of offensive weapons, including Adam Shirley, Ashton Hewson, Justin D’Entremont and Scott Hennings, and they are without a doubt a more dangerous team than their record would suggest.
“We’ve got a team that can put the puck in the net. Our defensive team play is sometimes lacking,” said Robertson. “We have played a little better and not allowed so many goals, and hopefully that continues into the playoffs.”
The Huskies, meanwhile, have gotten standout goaltending from Clint Wirth and boast an upgraded offensive corps that includes Jarvis Smigelski, Mike Thompson, Cam Aitken and Jay Hern.
“Their work ethic is great. They’ve got a fairly big team. They’ve got good goaltending,” said Robertson. “I think we stack up pretty good against Eatonia.”
Meanwhile, here are confirmed dates for provincial action involving Sask. West teams:
Kindersley Red Lions vs. Maidstone Jets (A): Wednesday in Maidstone, Feb. 11 in Kindersley, Feb. 13 in Maidstone (if necessary).
Unity Miners vs. Porcupine Plain Blues (B): Saturday in Porcupine Plain, Feb. 12 in Unity.
Eston Ramblers vs. Allan Flames (C): Saturday in Allan, Feb. 12 in Eston.
Macklin Mohawks vs. Conquest Merchants (C): Saturday in Conquest, Feb. 12 in Macklin.
Kerrobert Tigers vs. Wilkie Outlaws (C): Tuesday in Kerrobert, Feb. 11 in Wilkie.
Luseland Mallards vs. Dinsmore/Lucky Lake Dynamos (D): Sunday in Luseland, Feb. 11 in Dinsmore. Luseland defeated Turtleford 7-6 in their first round series.
Eatonia Huskies vs. Dundurn Wheat Kings (D): Saturday in Dundurn, Feb. 12 in Eatonia.
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