The defending league champions kick off their playoff run on Wednesday night when they take on the Little Black Bear Blues at Kaplan Field.
The Canadians lost their final two games of the regular season 6-3 to Little Black Bear on July 22 and 13-10 to the Earl Grey Rockets on July 29 to cap the regular season with a 5-6-1 record, good enough for fourth place in the six-team league.
That landed the local squad in the fourth-fifth place game, with the winner advancing to face the first-place Golden Hawks (11-1-0) on Monday, Aug. 16. The loser of that contest will drop to the ‘B’ side bracket, where they’ll take on the loser of the Hawks’ quarter-final game.
The Moose Jaw Giants, meanwhile, had a little more luck on their side down the stretch, downing Little Black Bear 11-6 on July 28 and taking a 7-6 victory over the Piapot North Stars on Aug. 3. That was good enough for an 8-2-2- record, second place and a first-round bye.
They’ll next face the winner of Earl Grey and Standing Buffalo in the late game on Aug. 16, with the winner advancing to the semifinal. The loser will drop down to the ‘B’ side and take on the loser of Earl Grey and Standing Buffalo.
The ‘A’ side semifinal is set for Thursday, Aug. 19, ‘B’ side semifinal for Monday, Aug. 23 and championship game for Tuesday, Aug. 24.
All playoff games are at Kaplan Field in Regina.
