The SRSS Sabres hockey team isn’t putting their equipment away just yet.
One month ago, their season ended as they lost to the Lord Selkirk Royals in a best-of-three series in Winnipeg High School Hockey League (WHSHL) Platinum Promotions Division playoffs. Flash forward to last Sunday, the two teams met again, and the Sabres defeated the Royals 4-2 to secure a wildcard spot in Provincial AAAA High School Hockey Championship, the first in school history. With the win, the Sabres have proven they are here to stay.
Captain Seth Bergman says defeating the team that ended their WHSHL season to punch a ticket to provincials was a “big shift.”
“Finding out we get to play against them is one thing, but then beating them and realizing we're going to go to provincials, it’s just so much more motivating and just a whole different level of excitement," Bergman says.
Dauphin Clippers, Garden City Gophers, Steinbach Regional Sabres, Portage Collegiate Trojans, Westwood Warriors and the St. Paul’s Crusaders are six teams vying for the championship banner. To move on to the semifinal round, the Sabres have to win at least one game in their pool, and they are in a pool with the Clippers and Gophers.
Assistant captain Lewis Hartung understands the assignment.
“It's a good feeling. The golf clubs aren't out yet, we still got one more weekend. It's a little nerve-wracking, though, first Sabres team to wear the white and yellow from our school this late in the year, so we got to make the whole school proud.” Hartung says.
For their first game in the round-robin, they face off against the Dauphin Clippers of the Westman High School Hockey League, a team they have never faced.
“All we got to do is just focus on our game. We got here for a reason, and that's because we know how to win a hockey game. If we just skate hard and all three lines are doing their jobs, I think we got a good chance,” he adds.
For assistant captain Mark Plett, it’s an honour to lead and represent the team on Manitoba high school hockey’s biggest stage.
“It's a good feeling that we're the leaders going into this. Beginning the year, we didn't really have a goal. We just wanted to play and see how many games we could win. But, now we're here, and now we're ready,” Plett explains.
Head Coach John Laninga reflects on his coaching career and the determination of the co-captains.
“It is pretty special, and this for me, over the years, thinking back, I can't really think of something more special than this, at least from my hockey memory bank,” Laninga says. “It's a long season, as you know, five to six months. From the leadership group, I'm just proud of these guys, the job that they've done leading us through what was a really tough season last year for them in their grade 11 year, to really have some success this year and get to provincial championships,”
He adds that they are “confident” going into the weekend.
“We're here for a reason, so we feel like we're right in the mix this weekend," he says. "We've got that wild card label, but we've had competitive games with these top teams in our league all season.”
The Sabres kick off provincials action on Friday at the Hockey for all Centre in Winnipeg. They play the Dauphin Clippers at 3 PM and host Garden City Gophers at 7 PM. Admission details can be found on the MHSAA website.
With files from Clayton Dreger.