The Moose Jaw Minor Hockey provincial qualifiers have been completed, with a full slate of teams set to move on to the next round of competition.
In the U13 AA Tier II division, the Warriors White took an 8-2 win over the Warriors Red and followed up with a 4-1 victory to win their qualifier series. They’ll now face Regina in their provincial semifinal, while Saskatoon takes on Prince Albert in the other semi.
The Crushed Can Mighty Ducks had a bit of a battle to emerge as Moose Jaw’s representative in the U13 AA Tier III division. The Ducks opened with an 8-2 win over the Crushed Can Royal Rage and 7-1 victory over the Crushed Can South Stars to advance to the qualifier series against the Crushed Can Predators. There, the Predators took a 4-2 win in the opener before the Mighty Ducks rebounded with 6-1 win in the rematch, setting up a winner-take-all mini-game, where the Ducks would come away with a 1-0 victory.
They follow the same schedule as the Tier II division, facing Regina in the semifinal.
The U15 AA Tier III tournament was another close one, with the Mad Greek Mafia punching their ticket to the Sask Hockey playoffs. The Mafia opened with a 2-1 win over the Mad Greek Hornets to advance to the Moose Jaw final, where they battled to a 5-5 tie with the Mad Greek Stealth in the first game. That set up a winner take all battle to decide the spot, and the Mafia would edge the Stealth 2-1. The Mafia will now play Saskatoon in their SHA semifinal, with the winner advancing to face Regina for the provincial title.
The U15 AA Tier II Warriors received a bye to provincials and will face the winner of Regina and Saskatoon for the championship.
The aforementioned first-round playoff series all have to be completed by Mar. 13, with dates to be scheduled.
In the U13 A Female Division, both the Carpet One Mavericks 1 and 2 should have a legitimate shot at contending for the provincial title, with their first-round series having already been scheduled. The Mavericks 2 face the Weyburn Wings in their quarter-final, with the first game set for Thursday, Feb, 16 at 7 p.m. at the Bert Hunt before reverting to Weyburn on Sunday, Feb. 26 for Game 2. The winner of that series moves on to face Swift Current in the semifinal.
The Mavericks 1 join Warman in receiving a bye to the semifinal, with the opening game of that series taking place on Saturday, Mar. 4 at 2:45 p.m. followed by Game 2 in Warman on Saturday, Mar. 11.
In the U13 AA, U15 AA , U18 AA and U15 A Female divisions, the Sask AA Hockey League and Sask Female AA Hockey League champions will also claim their respective provincial banners.
For updates on all the series as they progress, be sure to visit www.hockeysask.ca.
