HJHL - The Heritage Junior Hockey League regular season wraps up this weekend, and aside from a couple of races, there's not much to be decided.
In the South Divsion, everything is set. The Okotoks Bisons are the top seed and will face off against the High River Flyers in the first round, while the #2 ranked Medicine Hat Cubs will play host to the Coaldale Copperheads to kick off the South's other series.
The Central Division is ready to go, though one series has one more decision to make. The Airdrie Thunder clinched first place and will take on the Mountainview Colts in the opening round, and it's determined that Three Hills will face Cochrane...but who will get home ice advantage? The Thrashers have two games remaining and sit with 45 points, while the Generals need to play three times and currently hold 40 points in the standings. If the Gens cane win all three remaining games and Three Hills drops both of their remaining games, then Cochrane can slide into that second seed, earning home ice.
The final seed in the North Division is the biggest race coming down to the wire. We already know that Red Deer will face Stettler in the opening best of five...but who will take on the Blackfalds Wranglers? The Wranglers clinched first overall in the HJHL on Tuesday with a win over Mountainview...but the race for the final seed continues this weekend. Currently, the Rimbey Rock are poised to play Blackfalds in the first round with 13 points and two games remaining. With a win over the Rock on Wednesday, the Ponoka Stampeders have three games remaining and only sit three points back of Rimbey. The Stamps are in tough with three games to finish in the next five days...but a couple of wins combined with a pair of Rimbey losses could change the standings dramatically.
Whatever happens, the HJHL playoffs will begin Tuesday night, February 16th across the league.