The Shellbrook Elks are set to take on the league-best Rosthern Wheat Kings in the Twin Rivers Hockey League finals that begin on Friday night. Here, the Elks are seen celebrating a playoff win over the Allan Flames on Feb. 28, 2026. (Image Credit: Shellbrook Elks Senior Hockey Club/Facebook)

By Logan Lehmann

Senior Hockey

Rosthern, Shellbrook look to capture first TRHL title as finals start Friday

Mar 12, 2026 | 3:05 PM

And then there were two. 

The finals for the Twin Rivers Hockey League (TRHL) gets underway on Friday between a pair of teams who have yet to hoist the championship: the Rosthern Wheat Kings and the Shellbrook Elks. 

Rosthern won the league’s regular season posting a 14-2-0 (W-L-OTL) and have been on a roll in the playoffs, sweeping Hague in the quarterfinals 2-0 (5-3, 4-2) and Clavet in the semifinals 3-0 (5-1, 5-2, 7-3). At the same time, Shellbrook finished third in the standings with an 11-5-0 record, and have been surging in the playoffs having only lost once where they swept Cudworth in round one 2-0 (9-8 OT, 10-3) and took down the defending champs in Allan, winning 3-1 (3-4 OT, 6-3, 9-6, 6-3).  

Both Rosthern and Shellbrook have had their fair share of opportunities to win the league before, but neither have been able to get over the hump.  

The Wheat Kings have made the finals four times before, including in the inaugural TRHL season in 2016-17 where they dropped the best-of-five final series in four games to the St. Louis Blues. They made it again the following year in 2018 and lost to Birch Hills in four games, before making it three finals losses in a row in 2019, losing in four games to Warman. Following the COVID-19 pandemic, it took Rosthern a couple seasons to get their footing under them again and they made the finals for the fourth time in 2024, when they lost in Game 5 overtime to Birch Hills. 

Senior Hockey

Rosthern, Shellbrook look to capture first TRHL title as finals start Friday

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For Shellbrook, they enter the dance having been there twice before while using their former branding as the Silvertips. The first time they made the finals was in 2020 when they met Birch Hills, however because of the pandemic, the finals were forced to be cancelled after just one game which saw the Blackhawks prevail 5-3. They would make a run at the championship again in 2022, facing Birch Hills again, but this time Shellbrook was swept in three straight games.  

Elks’ forward and TRHL Top Scorer of the Year Cole Duppereault leads the playoff scoring table with 13 points (10G-3A). Behind him is Rosthern’s Ben Zultok with 12 points (8G-4A) and Brayden Anderson with 11 (1G-10A), while Shellbrook’s Kaiden Couture rounds out the double-digit point scorers with 10 (4G-6A).  

Between the pipes, the combo of TRHL Goaltender of the Year Kristjan Johnson and Nathan Dancy have been almost impenetrable, where Dancy leads the way with a 3-0-0 record, 1.67 goals against average (GAA) and a .937 save percentage (SV%). Johnson, on the other hand, posts a 2-0-0 record with a 3.00 GAA and a .889 SV%. The Elks have relied on Alex Bell in goal for the majority of their run in the postseason as he’s posted a 4-0-1 record to pair with a 3.68 GAA and a .899 SV%, while backup Todd Bazley has appeared in just one game collecting a win with a 7.74 GAA and a .795 SV%. 

Game 1 of the TRHL finals is set for Friday, March 13, at 8 p.m. at the Rosthern Jubilee Sports Centre. A full playoff bracket and finals schedule can be found by clicking here.   

Hague looks to stay alive in provincials after dropping Game 1 

As the TRHL finals get underway, the Hague Royals are fighting for their provincial playoff lives. 

The Royals dropped Game 1 of the north semifinal provincial ‘D’ series on Saturday, 3-1 to the Macklin Mohawks in Macklin. The best-of-three series now shifts to Hague for Game 2, where the Royals have their backs against the wall and are on the verge of elimination. 

The Royals are searching for their first provincial title since 1983, when they won the senior ‘C’ title. Meanwhile, the Mohawks are looking for their second senior ‘D’ title in three years, as they last won it in 2024. Macklin also won the senior ‘C’ title in 2009.  

Provincials is the only thing that either club has left in the hockey seasons as both have finished play in their respective leagues. Macklin lost out in the first round of the Sask West Hockey League (SWHL) playoffs via a 2-0 sweep from Biggar, while Hague was bounced by Rosthern in the first round also in straight games.  

Game 2 of the senior ‘D’ provincial semifinal is set for Saturday, March 14 at 7:30 p.m. in Hague. A series deciding Game 3, if necessary, is set for the following evening, Sunday, March 15, at 6 p.m. in Hague. The winner will advance to the provincial finals, where they will face either the Milestone Flyers or Cupar Canucks. 

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loganc.lehmann@pattisonmedia.com