The Arcola-Kisbey Combines weren't just playing for themselves during the Big Six Hockey League playoffs.
The Combines were struck by the worst kind of tragedy in December when players Brennan Luffman and Shaun Seghers were killed in an accident on their way to a game.
The team went out and defeated the Oxbow Huskies 3-2 in a shootout that night, unaware of what had happened to their teammates.
The Combines played for Seghers and Luffman from that point on, displaying their No. 6 and No. 26 jerseys in the Arcola arena, and they fought to a fifth-place finish with a record of 9-11-1.
Arcola ramped up their game for the playoffs, first taking out the Carnduff Red Devils, then facing the second-place Midale Mustangs.
After falling behind 2-0 in the best-of-five series, the Combines reeled off three straight wins, including two shutouts. The clincher was an impressive 5-0 victory in Midale.
Unfortunately for Arcola, they didn't have enough to challenge the powerhouse Bienfait Coalers in the final, and the Coalers swept the series to repeat as league champions.
But the Combines made their mark.
While the deceased players will never be forgotten by friends and family, the Combines made sure that others will also remember them.
It was an extraordinary run against stacked odds, and that's something to take pride in.
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Not surprisingly, the Humboldt Broncos and Yorkton Terriers are leading their respective conference finals in the SJHL playoffs.
Yorkton leads the Highway 10 series 2-1 over the Melville Millionaires after the Mils took Game 3 on Monday night.
By all accounts, the Terriers dominated the game, outshooting the Mils 40-23, and had it stolen away thanks to a stellar performance by Melville goalie Alex Wakaluk.
Meanwhile, the Broncos won a pair of one-goal games to take a 2-0 lead entering last night's game in Flin Flon.
Although it appears the top team in each conference - Humboldt and Yorkton - is headed toward a meeting in the league final, both of them are playing strong opponents and I don't expect either series to be over quickly.
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Carlyle native Brenden Morrow was traded by the only NHL team he's ever played for on Sunday.
The Dallas Stars traded Morrow, their 34-year-old captain, to the Pittsburgh Penguins along with a third round pick for defence prospect Joe Morrow (no relation) and a fifth round pick.
The veteran left winger had to waive his no-trade clause in order to make the deal happen.
Although it's probably not easy to leave the team that drafted him and employed him for 13 NHL seasons, Morrow has never won a Stanley Cup and this represents an excellent chance for him to do that.
Morrow, who missed the Stars' 1999 Stanley Cup victory by one season, is expected to play on a line with Evgeni Malkin and former teammate James Neal. And that's Pittsburgh's second line.
Morrow isn't the same player he once was. At 34, he's logged a lot of mileage. There's no telling how many years he has left in the NHL. Here's hoping he gets to hoist the Cup.
Contact Josh Lewis at 634-2654 or sports@estevanmercury.ca. It's too bad Rick Mercer didn't cross the border to do another Talking to Americans feature after visiting Estevan on Monday.
