Willow Cree Chiefs assistant captain Darwin Morin takes the draw against the Dalmeny Sabres. (Willow Cree Chiefs/Facebook)

By Logan Lehmann

Playoff preview

Senior Hockey: TRHL wraps up regular season, playoffs set to start Friday

Feb 5, 2025 | 4:00 PM

The regular season in the Twin Rivers Hockey League (TRHL) wrapped up this past weekend, making way for the playoffs to begin this weekend.

Game one in each of the four first-round playoff matchups will begin on Friday with each series being a best-of-three.

How the playoff bracket looks ahead of Friday. (Twin Rivers Hockey League)

In the East Division, the first-place Allan Flames will face off with the Cudworth Tricky Maroons while the Bruno T-Birds will line up with the defending TRHL champions Birch Hills Blackhawks.

Allan was crowned champions of the regular season following the final weekend of play, ending the year with a 13-2-1 (W-L-OTL) record for 27 points, while Cudworth squeaked into the final Eastern playoff spot with a 5-8-2 record for 12 points. Head-to-head this season, the Flames have prevailed in either contest while outscoring the Tricky Maroons 13-7 in those two games. Allan will also look to Cam Brossart come playoff puck drop after he finished the regular season second in league scoring with 19 goals and 16 assists for 36 points in 16 games. Since 2021, Cudworth has gotten the better of Allan winning four of six contests against the Flames.

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Game one is set for Friday at 8:30 p.m. in Allan, while game two is the following day in Cudworth on Saturday at 8 p.m. If necessary, game three will be played Friday, Feb. 14 at 8:30 p.m. in Allan.

In the other Eastern matchup, Bruno will be making their first playoff appearance since rejoining the league in the 2023-24 season. The T-Birds ended the regular season third in the division donning an 8-7-1 record for 17 points. Meanwhile, Birch Hills is back in the postseason in search of their fifth straight finals appearance and third championship since the 2019-20 season. Unlike last year, the Blackhawks ended the regular season second in the East with a 9-6-1 record while riding back-to-back wins into the playoffs. In two games against each other this season, Birch Hills has dominated Bruno winning both contests by a combined score of 17-3.

Puck drop for game one is set for Friday at 8:30 p.m. in Birch Hills. Game two is slated for Friday, Feb. 14 at 8 p.m. in Bruno and, if necessary, game three will head back to Birch Hills on Saturday, Feb 15 for a 7:30 p.m. start.

The Birch Hills Blackhawks pose for a championship photo after winning the league last year, defeating Rosthern in the finals three games to two. (Birch Hills SR. Blackhawks 2.0/Facebook)

On the opposite side of the bracket in the tightly contested West Division, the division-winning Willow Cree Chiefs will battle the Dalmeny Sabres, while the Rosthern Wheatkings will go head-to-head with longtime rivals the Shellbrook Elks.

Willow Cree finished the season atop the West for the third straight year, ending this year at 12-4-0 and finishing the regular season in second. Willow Cree netminder Nathan Dancy is also the best in the Twin Rivers, donning a perfect 9-0-0 record with a 2.55 GAA and a .934 SV%, making him the only goalie league-wide with less than a 3.00 GAA and more than a .920 SV%. For Dalmeny, they ended the year fourth in the division while finishing with the fifth best record at 10-5-1. Dawson Rowley led the charge with 14 goals and nine assists for 23 points. Head-to-head this year, the Chiefs came away the victors in both matchups, winning 4-2 on Dec. 20 and 4-3 in a shootout on Jan. 5.

Game one gets underway from Beardy’s Memorial Arena on Friday at 8 p.m. while game two goes at 8:30 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 15 in Dalmeny. A possible series-deciding game three is set for Sunday, Feb. 16 at 8:00 p.m. in Beardy’s.

(Willow Cree Chiefs/Facebook)

Meanwhile in the other West matchup, Shellbrook will look to extend their win streak to five when they face off with Rosthern. The Wheatkings enter the playoffs on a two-game skid, losing one in a shootout and the other in overtime. Despite the lowly ending to the regular season, the Wheatkings finished second in the West at 10-2-4 while the Elks were close behind in third at 11-5-0. Rosthern is led by TRHL scoring leader Ben Zultok who ended the year head and shoulders above the rest with 26 goals and 20 assists for 46 points in 15 appearances. Shellbrook also has a top scorer of their own in Cole Dupperreault who finished third in league scoring with 26 goals and seven assists for 33 points in 11 games.

Game one is set for Friday at 8 p.m. in Shellbrook and game two is slated for Friday, Feb. 14 at 8:30 p.m. in Rosthern. If necessary, game three will be played the following day on Saturday, Feb. 15 at 8:30 p.m. in Rosthern.

(Rosthern Wheatkings/Facebook)

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loganc.lehmann@pattisonmedia.com