With the calendar flipping to March minor and senior hockey teams from around the region have been hot on the trails of a provincial title.
Peewee B
The lone local to compete in Peewee B provincials was Humboldt.
It was a tough trip to provincials for the Humboldt boys, as they suffered 9-3 losses both at home and on the road, which resulted in an 18-6 series loss to Tisdale, eliminating Humboldt from provincial action.
Peewee C
The lone local squad competing in Peewee C provincial action was Watrous.
Watrous enjoyed a solid provincial tournament, winning their first round thanks to a 5-5 tie and a 5-2 win over Porcupine Plain.
The 10-7 series win moved Watrous into the next round of provincials where they took on Preeceville.
Unfortunately for Watrous, the momentum built up from round one could not be carried over to round two as they suffered losses of 6-2 and 5-0.
The 11-2 series loss officially put an end to Watrous’ hopes of winning a provincial title.
Peewee D
The busiest of the peewee provincials for local teams came in the Peewee D division where Lanigan, Wynyard, Muenster, and St. Brieux were all in action.
The provincial tournament was a short one for Lanigan as they suffered losses of 5-3 and 6-2 against Dinsmore, resulting in an 11-5 series loss, officially eliminating Lanigan from provincial action.
Joining Lanigan in the quit exit line was St. Brieux, whose losses of 5-1 and 6-2 against Muenster left them with an 11-3 series defeat.
Muenster meanwhile, managed to move into the second round of provincials thanks to their aforementioned victory over St. Brieux.
In the second round Muenster took on Wynyard.
Unfortunately for Muenster, they were unable to keep rolling as they suffered losses of 12-3 and 3-2 resulting in a 15-5 series loss.
Wynyard meanwhile, will be moving on to round three as their series win over Muenster and their first round 24-3 series win over Hudson Bay has them playing for a spot in the provincial final.
Bantam A
Bantam A provincials featured a pair of teams as Cudworth and Muenster were both in action.
Unfortunately it was not a very good time for either team as both suffered ugly round one losses.
Cudworth’s provincial trip resulted in a 15-5 series defeat at the hands of Battlefords, thanks to losses of 7-2 and 8-3.
Things went even worse for Muenster as they were handed a 16-5 series loss by Martensville.
After losing 7-2 in game one, Muenster was unable to flip the script on Martensville and suffered a 9-3 loss in game two.
The series losses see both teams wave goodbye to their hopes of winning a provincial title.
Bantam B
The busiest of the four levels of provincial bantam action came in Bantam B where Wynyard, Drake and Humboldt were all in action.
The most successful of the four teams was Wynyard, who picked up a 34-6 win over Langenburg in round one thanks to wins of 20-3 in game one, and 14-3 in game two.
The win moved Wynyard into round two where they took on Melville.
Must like in their first round series, Wynyard’s offense was firing on all cylinders as they piled up 19 goals en route to a 19-11 series victory thanks to wins of 14-7 in game one, and 5-4 in game two.
The win moved Wynyard into round three where they took on Drake.
Drake met Wynyard in the third round after beating Preeceville 9-8 in round two.
It was an especially close series between the two teams, as they tied 4-4 in game one, before Drake won 5-4 in game two.
Drake had a first round bye.
In their third round series, it was Wynyard who came out on top, rolling to wins of 6-2 and 9-2 to take the series 15-4.
With the win Wynyard, moves into the provincial semi-finals where they will take on Shaunavon.
Rounding out the local flavour was Humboldt, who suffered a 10-5 series defeat at the hands of Melfort, thanks to a 6-3 loss in game one, and a 4-2 loss in game two.
Bantam C
The lone local Bantam C provincial entrant was Watrous, who took on Leoville in round one.
Watrous rolled through the series winning 8-0 in game one and 9-4 in game two to take the series 17-4.
Thanks to their lopsided victory, Watrous will move into the provincial semi-finals where they will take on St. Walburg.
Bantam D
Lanigan was the lone local in the Bantam D provincial tournament and did not last long.
Lanigan was knocked out in the first round of provincials after losing the series 21-3 against Hudson Bay.
It was a rough pair of contests for Lanigan, who struggled to keep the puck out of the goal in either game, losing 13-2 in game one, and 8-1 in game two.
Midget B
Midget B provincials featured a pair of teams as Wynyard and Naicam were both in action.
It was a tough trip to provincials for Naicam as they failed to get out of the first round, losing 10-9 in heart breaking fashion to Preeceville.
The series started out excellently for Naicam as they picked up a 7-2 game one win, setting the stage for an easy game two and an easy advancement.
Unfortunately for Naicam, game two was not easy as they gave up seven goals, in a 7-2 loss, eliminating them from playoff contention.
Wynyard meanwhile, enjoyed a little more success as they were able to move into the second round.
Wynyard took care of business in round one, knocking off Outlook 11-8 thanks to wins of 7-5 in game one and 4-3 in game two.
The win moved Wynyard into round two where they took on Unity.
Unforutnately for Wynyard they were not able to duplicate the success they enjoyed in round one as they fell 9-8 to Unity.
After tying 5-5 in game one, Wynyard was unable to pull out the game two win losing 4-3.
Midget C
The lone team competing in Midget C provincial action is Muenster, who have enjoyed a solid provincial tournament thus far.
Muenster kicked off provincials by picking up a 6-2 series victory over Clavet thanks to a 3-1 win in both game one and two.
With the series win Muenster moved into the second round where they took on Shellbrook.
After a difficult opening round, Muenster rolled through the second round knocking off Shellbrook 13-2 thanks to a 4-1 win in game one and a 9-1 win in game two.
With the win Muenster moves into the provincial semi-final where they take on Delisle.
Midget D
Just two local teams took part in Midget D provincials, with Cudworth and Lanigan both in action.
The more successful of the two teams was Cudworth, who managed to win their first round series 4-3 over Paradise Hill.
The series was a defensive battle between two evenly matched teams as Cudworth picked up a 3-2 win in game one, before managing just a 1-1 tie in game two.
The series victory moved Cudworth into the second round of provincials where they took on Macklin.
After edging by in their first round series, Cudworth’s magic ran out in round two as losses of 6-0 and 6-1 left Cudworth with a 12-1 series defeat.
Lanigan meanwhile, failed to get out of the first round as they dropped a 9-5 series decision to Redvers thanks to losses of 6-3 and 3-2.
Senior A
The Senior A provincial tournament featured a trio of local teams with Wynyard, Wakaw, and Watrous all in action.
The first round pitted a pair of locals against one another as Wakaw took on Wynyard.
Wakaw rolled through round one, knocking off Wynyard two games to none thanks to a 2-0 win in game one and a 6-3 win in game two.
With their win, Wakaw met Waldheim in round two.
Waldheim was fresh off knocking Watrous out of provincials in three games thanks to a 6-3 win in game one and a 3-2 win in game three, with a 7-2 loss sandwiched in the middle.
Waldheim continued to be the local giant killer as they knocked off Wakaw in three games thanks to a 5-2 win in game one and a 5-3 win in game three, with a 4-1 loss sandwiched in between.
Senior C
One of the busiest provincial tournaments featuring locals came in the senior C division where Drake, Lanigan, LeRoy, and Raymore were all in action.
Lanigan struggled at provincials this year falling in the first round to Kerrobert thanks to a 14-6 series defeat.
Provincials got off to a tough start for Lanigan as they fell 6-2 in game one and could never recover losing game two 8-4.
The remaining trio each moved into the second round.
Drake moved into the second round thanks to a 9-4 win over Delisle, as they picked up a 5-1 win in game one and a 4-3 win in game two.
LeRoy meanwhile, moved into the second round to take on Drake as their 2-2 tie in game one and 8-1 win in game two gave them a 10-3 series victory over Hague.
With their wins the two teams played each other in the second round.
Drake emerged from the series as the champion as they picked up wins of 6-1 and 1-0 to win the series 7-1 and move into the provincial semi-finals.
Raymore meanwhile, also moved into the second round as they knocked off Wawota in round one 8-6.
After picking up a 4-2 win in game one, Raymore did just enough in game two to emerge as the series victor as they managed just a 4-4 tie in game two.
With the win Raymore moved into the second round where they took on Theodore.
After managing just a 4-4 tie in game one, Raymore was unable to pull out the game two win, losing 7-2, which gave Theodore an 11-6 series victory.
