Following three games played in four days, the hometown Stettler Imperials have punched their ticket into the next round of the East Central Senior Men’s Hockey League playoffs.
The action started on Friday, Feb. 23, when the third-place Stettler Imperials hosted the sixth-place Hughenden Jets in a jam-packed Stettler Recreation Centre (SRC) for the first in a best-of-three series.
Thanks to some heroics by Devan Shanks, Claye Spady, Brett Shingoose, and Quade Cassidy, the Imperials remained in the driver’s seat, winning the game with a solid 6-2 score, despite being outshot by the Jets.
The series continued in Hughenden on Feb. 24.
While the Imperials had the opportunity to end the series, it was not meant to be; Jets goaltender Wyatt Johnson held the Imperials to just one, scored by Quade Cassidy on the powerplay in the second period.
After that, Hughenden scored four straight, including a short-handed goal halfway through the third.
The final score in Hughenden was 4-1 for the Jets.
Both teams had a recovery day on Feb. 25, before the winner-take-all game back at the SRC on Feb. 26.
The Imperials again opened the scoring, thanks to a powerplay goal by Claye Spady just before the halfway mark in the first period.
Both teams got on the score sheet again in the second, with Quade Cassidy scoring for Stettler and Brett Dubac scoring for Hughenden.
Finally, in the third, Erik Rost and Adam Ternes added to the scoring with a trio of goals between them, and Tanner Sather and Brennan Anholt scored for Hughenden.
Penalties in game three were 55 minutes worth for Hughenden and 11 for Stettler.
The final score in game three was 5-3, with the Jets outshooting Stettler 41-27.
Watch for the schedule of the next round of playoff action to be announced on the Stettler Imperials Facebook page.
