Both senior hockey squads swept their THHL West Division quarterfinals series, 2-0. Next up for the defending champion C-Hawks are the Hartney Blues.
Miniota-Elkhorn’s best-of-five series will start in Elkhorn at 8:30 on Feb. 23 and move to Hartney on Feb. 25. The third game will be in Elkhorn on Feb. 28 and, if needed game four will be in Hartney on March 1 and game five back in Elkhorn on March 2.
The Oil Kings take on the Rivers Jets in the division semifinals. That best-of-five series was slated to start on Thursday in Virden, after the Empire-Advance deadline. The Oil Kings host game two on Saturday. The Virden team heads to Rivers on Feb. 27 and, if needed, Feb. 29. A fifth contest would be in Virden on March 3.
Oil Kings
The Oil Kings, the No. 2 West Division seed, beat the No. 7 Deloraine Royals 10-2 on the road and 7-0 at home. Tristin Rinn turned away 25 shots to post the shutout in the second contest. Rinn allowed only one goal over two contests and had a .966 save percentage. Jeremy Johnson paced Virden in the first round with six goals and nine points.
“Everyone stepped up while we were missing some players,” Johnson said. “Everything worked out from our net first. Rinn stood on his head both games. We were short on the backend playing with only four D-men both nights. They stood their ground and were making plays. We took care of our end and moved the puck up out of our zone. In the O-zone, all three lines were controlling the puck and making plays to the net. All three lines had good chemistry and were supporting their linemates—all in all, the whole team put in a full effort both nights. We were tough on the puck and won key battles during the game.”
No. 3 Rivers swept the No. 6-seeded Melita Bisons, 2-0. The Jets won 2-1 and 4-3. Joben Smith led the team with three points. Goaltender Riley Lamb posted a 2.00 goals against average.
C-Hawks
Against No. 8 Souris, the top-seeded C-Hawks won 11-2 at home and 7-1 on the road.
C-Hawks forward Jason Bowles led the team and all THHL first round scorers with 11 points. Taylor Sanheim paced league with seven goals in the opening round. Goalies Ian Oliver and Cory Gardham each helped the team to a win.
The No. 4 Hartney Blues beat the No. 5 Boissevain Border Kings in three games. They won 4-0 in overtime, fell 6-2 on the road, and won 3-1. Mark Agnew paced the Blues with three goals and five points. Goalie Justin Holder was 2-1-0-0 in the series with a 3.17 GAA.
