Eatonia Huskies move on to WMHL Semi-Finals: Leader eliminated
By Jordan Parker
The Eatonia Huskies are making an impact in the White Mud League playoffs.
The team pulled a big 5-3 win in game one on Friday against the Frontier Flyers. They played to a hometown crowd, and held a food drive for FoodMesh Kindersley.
Game two of the series on Sunday saw them come away with a 6-1 victory to punch their ticket to the WMHL semi-finals.
The playoff run comes after a season that say Eatonia dominate the standings, only to drop from top spot to second in the final weekend.
“Our fate was in our hands, and we didn’t show up to play,” said Eatonia’s Ryan Adams.
Their final season game saw them drop a 12-2 decision to the Shaunavon Badgers, a loss that paved the way for the Gull Lake Greyhounds to best Eatonia’s 9-2-1 record and pull ahead for first.
“We’re happy to be having playoffs, and we just got ready to go. It was a tough loss, but we know to come ready every night,” he said.
He spoke about playoff hockey, and the fact it’s just higher-intensity. The Huskies managed to fend off eight of nine powerplays for Frontier, though failed to capitalize on six chances of their own in Game 1.
However, they did score two short-handed goals, from Quinton Somerville and Taylen Solvberg.
“The playoffs are just a different kind of game. Everything ramps up,” said Adams. “You just need to show up to play and push hard.”
After an absence from the league, Adams is happy to see the support from the area for the team.
“It’s just a great thing. The energy is so amazing, and the crowd and buzz around town is awesome,” he said.
“We’re playing big-scale hockey in full rinks. Playoffs are just really enjoyable.”
Meanwhile, the Leader Flyers are battling hard. After a second-to-last finish with a 3-9-0-0 record in the regular season, they managed a big win against the Maple Creek Senior Hawks on Friday 8-3.
It wasn’t meant to be for the Flyers as Maple Creek came away with 10-3 and 5-3 wins over the weekend to win the series in three games.
The playoffs cap off a season for the Flyers and Huskies that saw them return to the league after an absence, and both rallied for a hard-fought hockey weekend.
The Huskies will now play the Maple Creek Hawks in one semi-final, while the Gull Lake Greyhounds will battle with their Highway #37 rivals, the Shaunavon Badgers. The Badgers defeated the Cabri Bulldogs in two-straight game to advance. Gull Lake had the first round bye.