In the regular season, Miniota-Elkhorn C-Hawks posted the THHL’s best record at 17-1-0-0. The C-Hawks have swept their earlier series on the way to finals. The Bombers had a 12-6-0-0 regular season record to finish second in the THHL Eastern Division to the Gladstone Lakers. They beat the Lakers, 3-1, in the Eastern Divisions finals. The Bombers and C-Hawks only tangled once during the regular season. Miniota-Elkhorn triumphed, 9-3, on Nov. 6 in Elkhorn.
“We have not seen Minnedosa since very early in the year, but we know they are a solid, talented team that are well coached and have a hard working team playing in front of excellent goaltending,” M-E head coach Garth Mitchell said. “We will need to do an excellent job of puck management and be defensively solid. Should be an excellent series.”
The best-of-five affair starts Friday in Elkhorn. Game two goes Saturday in Minnedosa. The third contest is back in Elkhorn on March 31. If needed, game four is April 1 in Minnedosa and game five on April 2 in Elkhorn.
The finals are a meeting of two former North Central Hockey League squads. The C-Hawks moved to the THHL this season after winning three straight NCHL titles. The Bombers departed the NCHL In 2015.
The Bombers have been led in playoff points by Shane Jury. The former Neepawa Junior A player has 10 goals and 15 points in nine games. Veteran hometown product Matt Saler has 13 points in nine games. He played Junior A in B.C. and Alberta before suiting up in the U.S. in the NCAA Division III ranks. The Bombers utilize both Devon Fordyce and Jayson Argue between the pipes. Fordyce leads the team with a 5-0-0-0 playoff record and a 1.40 goals against average. He played major junior, Junior A, and in the Canadian college ranks. Argue, who played Junior A and NCAA Division I, has a 3-1-0-0 record this postseason and a 3.63 GAA.
Cory Gardham has backstopped the C-Hawks to seven playoff wins. He has a 1.71 GAA. Ian Oliver has one win for Miniota-Elkhorn and a 1.00 GAA. Elkhorn product Jason Bowles, a former NCAA Division I player, paces the team with 26 playoff points in eight games. Fellow homegrown player Taylor Sanheim, who played major junior hockey, had a league-high 13 goals through eight postseason contests.
The C-Hawks advanced to the finals by beating the Killarney Shamrocks 3-0, for the Western Division. After winning the first two games 10-3 and 8-1, Miniota-Elkhorn battled to prevail 5-2 in the third contest on March 15.
“Game three versus Killarney was a different game from the first two games and was definitely one that could have gone either way,” Mitchell said.
Defenceman Brad Cole scored twice in the third period, including an empty net goal, to help seal the victory.
