Above – Morinville Sting hit the ice this week for playoffs after wrapping up the regular season Sunday night. – Morinville News File Photo
by Stephen Dafoe
The Sturgeon Midget AA Sting ended the regular season this weekend with back-to-back road games. Unfortunately for the Sting who have had a solid season, the final two games were both losses with a 5-4 loss to the Sherwood Park Oilers Saturday night and a 5-3 loss to SSAC Don Wheaton Sunday night.
Despite the losses, the Sting ended the season with a respectable 20-10-2 record and second seat in the BESA Division.
“We had a really good season,” said Coach Gregg Northcott. “We have had a little hiccup the last few games, but I believe we can make a good push in playoffs.
The playoffs will start with a round robin round within the Sting’s Division. Playoffs start Tuesday night with a 6:45 p.m. game against Fort Saskatchewan in Stoney Plain, followed by a road trip to Leduc Wednesday night and a Friday night home game against PAC at 6 p.m. Saturday will see the team head to Sherwood Park to play the St. Albert Blues.
“We have a very tough division to come out of, but if we play together as a team we are one of the best if not the best team in the league,” Northcott said. “The boys just have to believe in each other and play as a team and we will be fine. It has been a great year and us coaches are really looking forward to having a good playoff.”
If The Sting winds up in the top four, they will play a semi-final game Mar. 11. A win there would place them in the final Mar. 12. From there the top two metro teams will play the top two rural teams in a best-of-three series. The final two teams will take a trip to provincials before battling it out for the league championship.
