The Moose Jaw Warriors and Saskatoon Blades will meet for the final time of the 2018-19 season on Sunday at SaskTel Centre.
It’ll be a small preview of the important games to come a couple of weeks from now.
With their 3-1 win over the Regina Pats on Friday night, the Warriors officially clinched a playoff spot, ensuring a third-place finish in the Western Hockey League’s East Division.
Their 36-19-6-2 record gives them 80 points, 12 up on the Brandon Wheat Kings, who have only four games remaining. The Warriors also sit 12 points back of the Blades for second, meaning their position both in the standings and as a playoff opponent has been set.
Game 1 and 2 of the series takes place Mar. 22 and 23 in Saskatoon, with Games 3 and 4 returning to Moose Jaw on Mar. 26 and 27.
The Blades have the season edge with a 4-1-0-0 record, with the Warriors’ lone win coming on Dec. 7 in Saskatoon. The most recent meeting saw Saskatoon take a 4-2 win at Mosaic Place on Mar. 5.
The regular season champion Prince Albert Raiders (52-9-2-2) have clinched first place and will play the lowest remaining wild card team between Red Deer (32-25-4-2), Medicine Hat (32-36-4-2) and Brandon (30-26-4-4), all of whom are battling for the final two playoff spots.
The Edmonton Oil Kings (38-18-4-4) and Lethbridge (37-18-5-5) are tied for first place in the Central Division, with the winner getting the higher ranked wild card team. The second place finisher in the division will take on the Calgary Hitmen (36-23-5-1) in their first-round series.
