The playoffs in the Twin Rivers Hockey League (TRHL) continues tonight with the Rosthern Wheat Kings having a chance to clinch their fifth finals berth in league history with a win over the Clavet Cougars. Here, the Shellbrook Elks are celebrating a second round win over the Allan Flames to knot the series at one heading into Game 3 this Saturday. (Image Credit: Shellbrook Elks Senior Hockey Club/Facebook)

By Logan Lehmann

Senior Hockey

Hague looks to advance in provincial semifinal as TRHL teams eye finals berth

Feb 27, 2026 | 3:00 PM

As the Twin Rivers Hockey League (TRHL) continues through its semifinals, the Hague Royals are on the brink of securing a seat in the senior ‘D’ provincial semifinals. 

The Royals dominated in their first quarterfinal game over the Ituna Avalanche last weekend, winning 10-1 in front of their home crowd in Hague. The series will close out this weekend, as Game 2 is slated for Saturday in Ituna at 5 p.m., and if necessary, a deciding Game 3 will be played in Hague on Sunday at 3 p.m. 

The Royals team has persevered in their previous two provincial series, coming back in Round 1 to topple the Kelvington Wheat Kings 2-1, before edging out a fellow TRHL team in the Birch Hills Blackhawks, also by a 2-1 score. Meanwhile, the Avalanche had a bye into the second round where they downed the TRHL’s Allan Flames, 2-1, to advance into the quarters.  

The winner between Hague and Ituna will play the winner of the Lucky Lake/Beechy Lakers and the Macklin Mohawks, with that series currently sitting 1-0 in favour of Macklin. Like Hague/Ituna, their series will also wrap up this weekend with Game 2 slated for Saturday at 7 p.m. in Lucky Lake, and a possible Game 3, also in Lucky Lake, on Sunday at 6 p.m. 

TRHL playoffs continue to roll as Rosthern looks to punch ticket to finals 

Fuel Stop brawl

Instigator of Fuel Stop brawl gets community-based sentence

5m ago

Trade

China suspends some canola, seafood tariffs on Canada after Carney visit

13m ago

Court proceedings

Prince Albert murder case results in life sentence

55m ago

One of two spots in the TRHL finals could be filled Friday. 

The Rosthern Wheat Kings are on the cusp on clinching their first finals berth in two years and can advance with a Game 3 win over the Clavet Cougars.  

A win would mark Rosthern’s fifth straight playoff win, as well as their fifth finals appearance since the league’s inception in the 2016-17 season. The Wheaties have yet to raise a banner within the TRHL, as they lost the series 3-1 to St. Louis in 2017, 3-1 to Birch Hills in 2018, 3-1 to Warman in 2019, and 3-2 to Birch Hills again, more recently, in 2024. 

So far in their run, Rosthern downed Hague 2-0 in the best-of-three opening round playoff series, taking Game 1, 5-3, and Game 2, 4-2. Now against Clavet, the Wheat Kings are up 2-0 in the best-of-five second round series, winning Game 1, 5-1, and Game 2, 5-2.  

Both Ben Zultok and Brayden Anderson lead Rosthern in scoring in the playoffs, each scoring eight points, followed by Aaron Campbell with six, and Matt Hildebrandt with five. Nathan Dancy has led all goaltenders in the postseason so far, posting a 3-0-0 (W-L-OTL) record with a 1.67 goals against average (GAA) and a .937 save percentage (SV%). Backing him up has been Kristjan Johnson who’s appeared in just one game, registering a win with a 3.00 GAA and a .903 SV%.  

For Clavet, they made it to the semifinals with a 2-0 first round sweep of Dalmeny, where they won 7-2 and 3-1. Eric Popadynee has led the way with six points while Travis Goebel, Devin Morre, and Spencer Hoehn aren’t too far behind with three each. In goal, WHL alumni Ethan Chadwick has appeared in all four playoff games thus far, managing a 2-2-0 record with a 3.25 GAA and a .926 SV%. 

Game 3 between Rosthern and Clavet kicks off at 8 p.m. from the Rosthern Jubilee Sports Centre. If necessary, Game 4 will be played in Clavet on Saturday, March 7 at 8:30 p.m., and Game 5 will be in Rosthern on Sunday, March 8 at 6 p.m. 

On the opposite side of the bracket, the Shellbrook Elks and the defending TRHL champion Allan Flames are deadlocked at one in a series that could be decided this weekend. 

The Flames made the semis following a sweep of the Bruno T-Birds in the first round, winning 6-2 and 5-4.  

In Round 2, Game 1, Allan managed to squeeze out a narrow 4-3 victory in overtime behind some shorthanded heroics from Cam Brossart, before Shellbrook returned the favour in Game 2 with a commanding 6-3 win.  

Fueling the Flames in the playoffs has been Brock Harrison with a league-leading nine points. Casey Knight sits solely in fifth with seven points, while Brossart and Evan Pasternak are a bit further down tied with five. Robbie Hufnagel has played in all four games for Allan this postseason, notching a 3-1-0 record, a 3.36 GAA and a .928 SV%. 

Like the Flames, Shellbrook swept their first-round opponents over the Cudworth Trickey Maroons, taking Game 1 in overtime 9-8 before cruising to a 10-3 win in Game 2. Regular season scoring champion Cole Dupperreault sits tied for second in playoff scoring with eight points, while Jody Blais, Kaiden Couture, Dallas Galloway, and Nick Martin are tied with six. Alex Bell has been the third best goaltender in the playoffs with a 2-0-1 record with a 3.16 GAA and a .912 SV%, while backup Todd Bazley has a win with a 7.74 GAA and a .795 SV%. 

Puck drop for Game 3 between Allan and Shellbrook is set for Saturday, Feb. 28 at 7:30 p.m. from the Richardson Pioneer Recreation Centre in Shellbrook. Game 4 is slated for Sunday, March 1 in Allan at 7:30 p.m., while Game 5 has yet to be scheduled. 

A full playoff bracket can be found by clicking here.

— 

loganc.lehmann@pattisonmedia.com