After first round series sweeps, the Virden Oil Kings and Miniota-Elkhorn C-Hawks advanced to the Tigers Hill Hockey League West Division semfinals.
The top-seeded C-Hawks tangle with the No. 4-seeded Rivers Jets. The best of five series started on Tuesday with Miniota-Elkhorn hosting. Game two is Saturday in Rivers. The C-Hawks host game three on Feb. 28. If needed, game four would be in Rivers on March 4 with the C-Hawks playing host to game five on March 5.
The No. 3 Oil Kings now take on the West Division’s No. 2-seeded Killarney Shamrocks.
“It should be a good series with the teams separated by a single point in regular season and a lingering rivalry from last year's playoffs,” coach Ryan Mathieson said.
Game one is Friday in Killarney. The Oil Kings host game two Sunday. The third contest is March 1 in Killarney. The last two games, if needed, have not been set yet.
Oil Kings
In the West Division quarterfinals, the Oil Kings beat the No. 6-Hartney Blues 6-2 in Virden on Feb. 13. They completed a sweep on Feb. 16 on the road with Colin Cook scoring in overtime to lift the Virden squad to a 7-6 win.
“The Blues have a strong team,” Mathieson said. “We needed to be at our best to get the wins we did and a deciding game three could have gone either way. Getting out of that series healthy, with everyone available for round two will be huge for us.”
Devon LeBlanc led the Oil Kings in the first round of the playoffs with four goals and six points. Tanner Lewis and Derek LeBlanc each had three assists. Tristan Rinn backstopped Virden to both wins. He had a 3.75 goals against average.
Killarney beat the Melita Bisons, 2-0, by scores of 8-1 and 6-1. In that series, Isaac Friesen had three goals and five points while Reid Gow recorded four assists and five points. Brian Archibald backstopped the Shamrocks to both wins and had a 0.968 save percentage.
C-Hawks
The Jets got past the Deloraine Royals 3-2 and 5-3. Joben Smith paced Rivers in the first round with four points. Josh Belcher had a team-high two goals. Goalie Riley Lamb had a 2.50 goals against average and a .921 save percentage.
“We will have to play a complete team game versus Rivers as they have a solid, talented, hardworking team with excellent goaltending,” Miniota-Elkhorn coach Garth Mitchell said.
In the first round, the C-Hawks swept the No. 8 Souris Elks – 8-3 and 15-1. Taylor Sanheim scored four goals and recorded four assists for eight points in game two on Feb. 17 to help Miniota-Elkhorn close out the series. Jason Bowles had seven points with five assists and two goals. Kelsey McLeod, Josh Martin, and Parker Johnson also scored twice. Ian Oliver had 12 saves for the C-Hawks.
“We generated a lot of offensive opportunities against Souris with a strong attack and forecheck,” Mitchell said.
Sanheim had six goals and 13 points in the series. Jason Bowles recorded nine assists and 11 points.
