White Mud league rolling into playoffs

By Jordan Parker

With the final season in the White Mud Hockey League wrapped up, playoffs are on the horizon.

The Leader Flyers find themselves in sixth place, and will face the Maple Creek Hawks in the first round.

“We aren’t sitting where we’d like to be at the end of the year,” said Riley Feiffer of the Flyers.

“We finished the season with a win, and our last four games were all close. We just need to be ready for the playoffs.”

Leader finished the season tied for last in the league with the Frontier Flyers, who had the chance to push higher in the standings with two games left.

With their 3-9-0-0 record, Leader may not have done what they wanted to during games, but Feiffer was so happy about what the team accomplished.

They finished their regular season on January 21, 2023, with a 9-6 offensive effort against the Cabri Bulldogs.

“It was definitely a confidence booster for us all. There’s no better way to go into the playoffs than with a win,” he said. “We just need to practice and get ready for what’s next.”

Recently, Leader went to Gull Lake and lost 6-5 to that powerhouse team, and they showed themselves they can compete at a high level.

“That game could’ve gone either way. It proves that though we’re bottom of the league in the standings, we can go up against any time,” he said.

He says the Leader team is ready for anything with playoffs around the corner.

“Our team is at our best when we play a hard, physical game. We’re ready for anything and anyone,” he said.

The Eatonia Huskies finished their season Saturday with a 9-2-1 record, good enough for a second place finish.

“We’re so ready for playoff hockey. We really just can’t wait to get things going,” said Eatonia’s Ryan Adams.

The team has overperformed and gone above even the players’ expectations this season.

“We realistically didn’t expect things to go this well this season. It’s been awesome to see all the guys buy in,” he said.

“The team was rewarded for playing with everything they had. There were always good turnouts for games, and the crowd was fantastic the whole way.”

The guys got last week off as they had Ladies Night Out and Banger Bingo as a fundraiser for the team. It was a huge success.

“We had two games the weekend before, so the guys were pretty beat up and stiff. It was a nice break, and the ladies had a great time at the event,” he said.

“There were over 180 people there, and the money went toward our senior team.”

He’s ready for whatever the playoffs throw their way, and the team will face the Frontier Flyers in the first round.

“The intensity is going to ramp up, and I doubt we’ll see big blowouts,” he said. “They’re going to be challenging tilts, and I’m excited to get rolling.”

Eatonia’s Huskies are hoping to continue getting the great crowds to see them.

“We’re expecting a full barn, and it could be a huge playoff for us. We’re out to win things,” he said. 

“We’ve had a pretty amazing season so far. We are super happy with how things went so far.”