The Battleford Beaver Blues' promising season came to an abrupt end last Friday, losing 6-5 in overtime to the Shellbrook Silvertips in game three of the first round of the SPHL playoffs.
Kevin Bendall led the way for the Blues with two goals and an assist in the loss. Bendall enjoyed a successful season, scoring seven goals while tallying nine assists in 13 games. He was also the leading scorer in the postseason walking away with two goals and two assists during their three-game sweep.
Keegan Sparrow is another player that had a solid night, working to keep his season alive, with two assists. The forward was one of the best offensive minded players in the SPHL this season, tallying 29 points in 15 games. Finishing with 16 goals and 13 assists.
Jon Hosegood continued his successful playoff play, scoring a goal, giving him two in the two games he suited up for against Shellbrook. Roddy Hoffman and Brent Salzl (two goals in playoffs) rounded out the scoring.
Regular season leading scorer, Mike George, enjoyed an incredible campaign for the Blues, but fell silent in the playoffs. George led all players in the Battlefords with 15 goals and 17 assists in 16 games this year, but wasn’t able to find his way onto the scoresheet in three games against the Silvertips. Shellbrook did a fantastic job of matching up with the big forward, shutting him down.
While we are talking about big time scorers, look no further than Dylan Smith, who led the SPHL with 57 points (36 goals, 21 assists) in 17 games. He was also instrumental in the first round sweep, tallying four goals and four assists in three games, following up with a two goal, one assist performance in game three.
Mitch Wourms also had a fantastic night with four assists. Wourms had 17 helpers in his 16-game season.
Devon Dicus, Josh Elliot, Brett Mason and Brennan Thomporowski also notched goals in the win to send Shellbrook to the second round against the first seed in Hafford.
The loss for the Battlefords came after they enjoyed a good season, finishing fifth in the standings with a 11-6 record.
The Blues kind of sputtered their way into the playoffs, losing three of their last four games before game one against the Silvertips.
A proud franchise, you can expect the Battleford Beaver Blues to be right back in playoff contention next year.
