The Weyburn Red Wings finished the regular season in eighth place overall, which means they will have home ice advantage in the Wild Card series. They will face up against the Kindersley Klippers, who finished ninth. The Wild Card series will be a best-of-five. Weyburn will host games one and two on Thursday, March 9 and Friday, March 10 at Crescent Point Place.
Game three is scheduled in Kindersley on Sunday, March 12. If needed, game four is in Kindersley on Monday, March 13, and game five will be back in Weyburn on Wednesday, March 15.
Jacob Wozney, centre for the Red Wings, felt that the team had slightly underachieved during the regular season. “We didn’t underplay, we had a lot of games where we played really well, but we just didn’t come out on top. We also had a lot of games where we didn’t play great, but we did come out on top. It was a good season.”
“I think that for the last two weeks of games, we have been playing playoff hockey,” said Wozney. “We have been getting ourselves ready for the playoffs and we just have to keep playing the way we have been playing.”
“The Klippers are very much like us. They are a hard-working and skilled team. They have good D-men and goaltending. We just have to go into the playoffs like we are playing the best team in the league,” said Wozney.
The Weyburn Red Wings finished their regular season with back-to-back losses against the Estevan Bruins, who finished third overall in the league.
While in Estevan on Friday night, the Red Wings lost 3-2 to the Bruins. All of the goals were scored during the second period of action. The Bruins started the second period by scoring all three of their goals. Then Connor Burk scored a power play goal for Weyburn, followed by a goal scored by Carson Rose.
Both Jack MacLennan and Carter Phair were in net for the Wings. MacLennan stopped all 20 shots while he was in net. Carter Phair stopped eight out of 11 shots.
Then during a home game on Saturday night, the Red Wings lost 4-3 to the Bruins. The Bruins took an early lead with a goal in the first period.
Then both teams scored goals in the second period, with Cordel Larson getting Weyburn on the scoreboard. In the third period, the Bruins scored their third goal of the game. Jacob Wozney scored a power play goal for the Wings, and nearly 30 seconds later, Aiden Wagner scored for Weyburn to tie up the game.
In the overtime period, Estevan scored to claim the win. MacLennan was in net for the Wings. He stopped 21 out of 25 attempts.
For Larson, a Grade 10 Weyburn player, it was a great opportunity to have some ice time for the Red Wings, and to also score a goal during the evening.
“It is huge to be here. There are a bunch of great guys on the team and they have really shown me the ropes,” said Larson. “It is an awesome experience for me. I have grown up watching the Red Wings all my life, so being able to finally play a game with them is very exciting. I have been learning how to stay calm during the game, no matter what happens out there, and to try as hard as I can.”
Larson definitely feels that the experience was invaluable and has better prepared him to come back for the Spring and Fall Camps for the Red Wings.
Saturday night also featured the third annual Calcutta fundraiser for the Red Wings. During the Calcutta, players competed in a shootout. Eight players also competed for the title of ‘Fastest Skater’ and ‘Hardest Shot’.
