The Stettler Imperials' quest for the Ralph Wiest Memorial Trophy continues as the team starts round two of the East Central Senior Men's Hockey League playoffs on Feb. 28.
Third-place Stettler faced the sixth-place Irma Aces during round one of the best-of-five series. The Imperials held all the high cards, defeating the Aces in four games.
Game four of the series was held on Feb. 22, and was a game which could have gone either way; Stettler and Irma each picked up a single goal in the first period, Stettler picked up a pair in the second while Irma picked up a trio. Stettler was able to tie the game, and keep Irma from scoring again, forcing overtime, which was put away with a goal by Erik Rost around 2:30 into the overtime frame.
Heading into round two of the playoffs, the Imperials start on the road at 8:30 p.m. against the Sedgewick Sabres before returning to Stettler on March 1.
The Sedgewick Sabres are seeded second overall in the league and have handed Stettler two losses so far this season and proven a challenge for Stettler previously, sweeping the Imperials during the second round of the playoffs during the 2023-24 season.
Game 2 goes at 7:30 p.m. at the SRC in Stettler on March 1.
