Eston Ramblers readying for provincials

By Jordan Parker

The Eston Ramblers may be finished regular season play, but they see provincials on the horizon.

They'll have two weekends off as they nabbed a first-round bye in provincials and are waiting for SVHL playoffs to also begin.

“It's just how things worked out. Usually we'd have started first weekend in February, but due to the bye, we have that off too,” said Eston player Cam Oliphant.

“We entered into a draw for the Saskatchewan Hockey Association provincials, and it was totally random who got the bye. It happened to be us.”

They sit in Senior C play, and will find out whether they'll get to play the Rosetown Redwings or Birch Hills following that series. Oliphant is happy for the time off.

“We've just been a bit banged up. This gives times for guys to get healthy, and people can get back. We can get folks on the ice a few times,” he said.

“For the most part, we know what level the competition will be at, but we're waiting to see who the winner is in that round. This is more about preparing and making sure we're ready to go when round two starts.”

In Senior A, Loreburn and LeRoy play first round, Kenaston and Davidson also play in Senior C, and the Dinsmore Dynamos and Porcupine Plain have a round one bye and will play each other in Round 2 as well. Senior D action will see Kyle and Biggar play as well as Delisle and Kerrobert in the first round, and the second round sees the Central Butte Flyers vs Carnduff and the Lucky Lake Lakers vs Theodore.

As for SVHL playoffs, the Ramblers had a regular season that saw some ups and downs.

“We came back flat after Christmas, but we began playing more of a team game. We were better defensively as of late. There are signs of how we can play, but we had to play a different style with some injuries,” he said.

“I think we're happy where we're at and with how we play. We just want to continue to play the right way.”

A formidable upcoming task will see the Ramblers play provincials while they also play SVHL playoffs, a task that's always tough on the players' bodies in Saskatchewan.

“That's typically just how it works. With our schedule, we had a weekend for make-up games at the end of January, but we didn't need it. Last year we had COVID issues that caused cancellations, but we just didn't have issues,” he said.

“We had that first February weekend for provincials, but didn't need it. But once we go to the second round of provincials, we'll be playing a lot of hockey between both.

Oliphant says the guys should be focused on putting games away efficiently for series.

“If you can close out series and put things away fast, it goes a long way. It's a whole lot more helpful if you're not having to go the extra 1-2 games. We just try to manage things and make sure guys don't get burned out,” he said.

“If things go right and the team stays healthy, you can go deep and have runs for provincials and playoffs. But there's also a lot of luck involved. We're excited.”

SVHL playoff schedules will be released shortly, as will Eston's provincial play against whoever wins the Rosetown/Birch Hills series. Watch for updates.