A very quiet Week 5 in the Sask West Hockey League (SWHL) wrapped up on November 25th. The defending Champions Wilkie Outlaws continue to lead the league with a 6-0 record. The Kindersley Sr Klippers hold second place at 4-1, while the Biggar Nationals are at 3-3 which is good for third place. The Edam 3 Stars (2-2) and the Macklin Mohawks (2-3) are tied for fifth place, with the Hafford Hawks (1-4) and the Unity Miners bringing up the rear (0-4-1) as of November 25th.
The Hafford Hawks hopped on the bus and headed to the Credit Union Legacy Centre in Macklin for the Saturday night tilt against the Mohawks, and it was the home team who dominated to an 8-1 win.
Raegan Feser’s first of the year and newcomer Jetlen Houcher scored in the first to give the Mohawks a 2-0 lead after 20 minutes. Brandon Lesko scored on the power play to make it 2-1, but Carson Pickett and Foster Steinhubel extended the lead to 4-1, which is what the scoreboard read after two periods. Macklin continued to pile it on in the third with 4 goals in an 8-minute span starting with Pickett’s second of the night. Corey Doetzel, Ian Hillis and Carter Fleck also scored in the final frame.
Joel Gryzbowski took the loss, stopping 37 of 45 shots. Trevor Martin notched his first win stopping 24 of 25 shots.
Another chapter of the Wilkie Outlaws/Unity Miners rivalry was written on Saturday at the SaskCan Community Centre, and it had the Miners wanting to rip the pages out after the 13-2 Outlaws win.
Rory Gregoire’s 9th of the year on the power play got the scoring party started, but Colby Ralston tied the game up at 1 just 5 minutes later. Andrew Herle, Rick Cey, Ryne Keller and Gregoire all scored after that to give Wilkie the 5-1 lead after one period. The barrage continued in the middle frame as Mike Sittler, Blake Young, Mitch Suchan and Cey all potted markers and left the ice with a 9-1 two period lead. Not much changed in the 3rd as Brett Schell and Ryne Keller scored, and Cey & Gregoire made the hats fly with hat-trick goals. Dayln McCubbing scored his first of the year late in the third to wipe a little bit of the salt off the open wound.
Brett Vanderveer saw a lot of rubber in the loss, stopping 60 of 73 shots, while Curtis Sander stopped 28 of 30 shots in the “W”
The lone Friday game had the Unity Miners travel west to Macklin to visit the Mohawks, and it was the home team once again coming away with the 7-1 victory.
Carson Pickett and Hunter Steinhubel scored within the first five minutes of the game, but Davis Chorney replied for the Miners and the teams left with a 2-1 Mohawk lead after 1 period. Jetlen Houcher made it a 3-1 game on the power play midway through the period. Ian Hillis scored in the later stages of the period to make it 4-1 after 40 minutes. Colton Waltz, Cort Shapka and Houcher all scored in the final frame for the Mohawks on their way to an easy victory.
Ryan Rewarts took the loss, stopping 37 of 44 shots, while Owen Bosch got the win stopping 32 of 33 shots.
The Wilkie Outlaws special teams have been on a tear to start the year, going 10/25 (40% efficiency) with the extra man, tops in the league. Their penalty kill is third with an 88.24% rate, behind the Biggar Nationals (2nd, 88.89%) and the Edam 3 Stars (1st, 93.75%). Another shout out to Brett Vanderveer for facing an onslaught of shots this weekend.
Four games are on the schedule in week 6, as a huge marquee matchup Friday night with the Wilkie Outlaws hosting the Kindersley Sr Klippers, and the Unity Miners hosting the Hafford Hawks. Saturday also sees two games, with the Hawks and Miners clashing again in Unity and the Biggar Nationals welcoming the Edam 3 Stars.
