By TERRY PUGH
For two teams that missed the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League (SJHL) playoffs this year, both the Warman Wolverines and Humboldt Broncos put on a show for their fans last weekend.
The Broncos won both contests, but by narrow margins: 3-1 on Friday, March 13 in Warman and 3-2 on Saturday, March 14 in Humboldt.
For the Wolverines, the last two regular season games provided the opportunity to give their fans a taste of what next season could have in store. The game was fast, physical and intense.
And if the team recognizes the home-grown talent available in the coming years, it could make a big difference on both the score sheet and the crowd size.
The Wolverines’ Kanyan Unger and Trey Markus, both from Warman, along with Carter Bergen of Hague and Bennett Leibel of Saskatoon gave outstanding efforts in a losing cause during Friday’s home game. Unger notched the only marker for Warman in that match-up late in the second period to give his team a spark after falling behind 3-0.
On the Broncos’ side, defenseman Teigan Semchyshen of Warman did more than his share of work keeping the Wolverines away from capitalizing on their scoring chances.
In Friday’s game, the Broncos scooped up the momentum early with an opening-minute goal by Marik Mamic. Kristian Lacelle added two more markers in the second period for Humboldt before Unger replied for Warman. The third period was scoreless as Warman goaltender Griffin Wright and Humboldt netminder Brady Holtvogt turned away everything that came their way.
In Saturday’s game, the Wolverines came out flying. Cam Sarna got Warman on the board first with a late first-period goal. His teammate Owen Parks made it 2-0 for Warman early in the third, but Humboldt rallied with three straight goals by Kristian Lacelle, Teigan Semchyshen and Kayson Christian to seal the deal for the Broncos.
Nicholas Goodwin made 31 saves in the Warman net while Matthew Bradley recorded 35 saves for the Broncos.
While the Wolverines finished the season with a record of 14 wins, 36 losses, 3 ties and 3 overtime losses, it marked an improvement by 6 points over last season’s record of the Notre Dame Hounds.
But perhaps the biggest difference for the team is the elevated energy off the ice.
The atmosphere in Friday’s game was electric, with a near-capacity crowd including a generous sprinkling of minor hockey teams that kept up a constant barrage of enthusiastic cheerleading. A nice touch was the Warman High School band’s excellent rendition of the national anthem at the start of the game.
The SJHL playoffs kick off this week with the Estevan Bruins taking on the Flin Flon Bombers, the Melville Millionaires going up against arch-rivals Yorkton Terriers, the Melfort Mustangs tangling with the Battlefords Stars, and the Weyburn Red Wings against the Nipawin Hawks. Scores and schedules are on the SJHL website.