There are seemingly three guarantees in life.
Death, taxes and the Wilkie Outlaws will be on top of the Saskatchewan West Hockey League.
The Outlaws captured their fourth straight league title Friday on home ice as they cruised to a 10-2 win over the Kindersley Red Lions in game three of the best-of-five final as they went 9-0 in the post-season.
“We’ve had a good group of guys here for a number of years now,” Outlaws defenceman Bruce Yockey said.
“The majority of our core have been together for the last six seasons and we’ve become a pretty talented bunch. We have a lot of support from the community and everyone’s dedicated to putting in their best effort to try and win.”
It was another dominant campaign for the Outlaws as they went 19-1 in the regular season, with their loss coming in their final game against the Unity Miners.
They would then go on to sweep aside the Luseland Mallards and the Miners in the first two rounds of the playoffs before taking on the Red Lions in the final.
“I would say that things went pretty similar to how it had gone for us in previous seasons,” Yockey said.
“I know that it sometimes looks easy for us, but there’s a lot of work that goes on behind the scenes that allows us to put a good product out on the ice. That’s the approach we’ve had for a number of years and it’s allowed us to be champions.”
Although the final contest was a lopsided affair, Yockey was quick to point out that the Red Lions played them tough in the championship series, especially in a 3-2 overtime contest in the second game on March 14.
“Kindersley has a good lineup with a number of players who have either Junior A or WHL [Western Hockey League] experience,” Yockey said.
“There were a couple of nights where we didn’t have our best effort, but our goaltender Jared Herle played really well in the first two games and made the saves for us before we got some timely goals.”
Herle was rewarded for his efforts in the post-season by winning the playoff most valuable player honours after posting an 8-0 record with a 2.68 goals against average and a .906 save percentage.
“Jared’s been a big part of all of our championship runs,” Yockey said. “Once the playoffs come around, he’s totally locked in and focused on what needs to be done to win on a nightly basis.”
The Outlaws also had the top four scorers in the playoffs with Brock Harrison and Rory Gregoire leading the way with 24 and 20 points respectively, while Brett Harrison and Derek Keller had 17 and 15 points each.
The only drawback to their campaign came on the provincial scene, as the Outlaws lost in a hard-fought Senior A semifinal to the Prairie Outlaws of Waldheim.
“The last game was 2-1 for them and it really could have gone either way,” Yockey said.
“Jared and their goaltender [David Reekie] were in quite a battle in that series. Waldheim has a solid squad and it was a pretty good battle against them. The level of in Senior A is fantastic, and we can’t fault the effort that we put in to it this year.”
The Outlaws are expected to have a similar lineup next season on their quest for a fifth league title, though Yockey is planning to go out on top.
“I’ve had a lifetime of senior hockey so I’m good,” Yockey joked.
“As far as I know, everyone else is planning to come back, so I think you’ll only see some minor adjustments when it comes to the roster.”
