The 2016-17 hockey season came to an end for the Weyburn Red Wings on Tuesday evening, as they lost 4-3 to the Battlefords North Stars, who swept the Wings in four straight to win the quarter-final SJHL playoff series.
This followed the game on Monday evening when the North Stars won 8-1, with both games played at Crescent Point Place.
The Red Wings will hold their season-end awards night banquet on Friday, March 24, at the Knox Hall. Tickets are $25 each and are available from the Red Wings office. The doors open at 6:30 p.m. with supper at 7 p.m.
In the game on Tuesday night, team captain Mike Eskra got the Wings on the scoreboard first with a goal at 14:07 of the first, assisted by Tyran Brown, and less than a minute later the Battlefords tied the game with a goal by Troy Gerein.
In the middle frame, the Stars took the lead for a goal by Keaton Holinaty, but Weyburn responded with two goals.
Carson Rose scored at 8:31, assisted by Jacob Wozney, and Ben Hiltz scored a minute a half later, assisted by Aiden Wagner and Ryan Rothenburger.
Their one-goal lead was short-lived, however, as the North Stars tied it at 17:50, with a goal by Connor Sych, and they scored the game-winning goal in the third period, with Ben Allen potting the puck.
Goalie Jake MacLennan was between the pipes for the entire game, facing 32 shots. Both teams were unsuccessful on the power-play.
In game one of the quarter-final series against the North Stars, held in Battleford on Friday night, the North Stars took a 4-3 victory over the Red Wings.
The North Stars opened the game with two goals in the first period, then added two more in the second period. The Red Wings scored once in all three periods. Aiden Wagner scored a goal in the first period, Tyran Brown scored in the second period, and Connor Burk scored a power play goal in the third period.
Both Jake MacLennan and Cody Levesque spent time in net for the Red Wings. With nearly 28 minutes in the net, MacLennan stopped 18 out of 22 goals. Levesque stopped 16 goals, with just over 31 minutes in the net.
The North Stars had a stronger showing for game two, which was also held in Battleford. The North Stars won 8-3 over the Red Wings on Saturday night.
In the first period, Ian Parker scored a short-handed goal for Weyburn. The North Stars scored three goals, two of which were during power plays, to claim an early lead. Battleford had a strong start to the second period, adding three more goals to their lead. Braden Mellon scored with one minute left in the second period to give Weyburn their second goal.
In the third period, the North Stars scored two more times. Mellon scored his second goal of the night, this time unassisted. Levesque was in net for the Red Wings for a full 60 minutes. He stopped 30 out of 38 shots on net.
Game three of the playoff series was held in Weyburn on Monday night. The North Stars won 8-1 over the Red Wings. The first period started with a 1-1 tie, after both teams scored once. Cody Chasse scored the goal for Weyburn, and ended up being the only Wings player to score a goal for the entire game.
The North Stars scored four times in the second period, then added three more goals in the third.
MacLennan was in net for a full 60 minutes. He stopped 28 out of 36 attempts on net.
