SOUTHEAST SASKATCHEWAN - The regular season is over and the match-ups are set for the first round of the playoffs in the Big Six Hockey League.
The Redvers Rockets won both of their games on the weekend, defeating the Kipling-Windthorst Oil Kings 6-1 on Jan. 25 and the Oxbow Huskies 6-3 in the season finale the following day - to finish the regular season in top spot in the standings at 14-0-2 and 30 points.
Redvers will play the eighth-seeded Wawota Flyers in the first round. Wawota finished the season with one point at 0-15-1, and lost 12-3 to the Carlyle Cougars on Jan. 25 in their final game of the regular season.
The No. 2 Moosomin Rangers (13-2-1, 27 points) will play the seventh-seeded Oil Kings (4-11-1, nine points) in another series. Moosomin, who won the league title last season, wrapped up the regular season with a 6-2 win over the Carnduff Red Devils on Jan. 24. Kipling's final game was the loss to Redvers.
The Carlyle Cougars (10-5-1, 21 points) clinched the third seed with their win over Wawota. They will play the Midale Mustangs (4-10-2, 10 points) who finished sixth overall, The Mustangs defeated the Oxbow Huskies 3-2 on Jan. 25 in their final game of the season.
The final series will be a clash of Highway 18 rivals, the No. 4 Red Devils (10-6, 20 points) and the No. 5 Huskies (9-7, 18 points). Carnduff's final game of the regular season was the loss to Moosomin, while the Huskies closed out the campaign with the losses to Midale and Redvers.
All playoff series will be best-of-five contests.
The Redvers-Wawota series starts Jan. 30 in Redvers. Game 2 is Feb. 1 and Game 3 is the following day. Dates have not been set for Games 4 and 5, which would only be played if necessary.
The series between the Rangers and the Oil Kings starts Jan. 31 in Moosomin. Game 2 is Feb. 1 in Kipling and Game 3 is Feb. 7 in Moosomin. Game 4, if necessary, would be Feb. 12 in Kipling and Game 5 would be Feb. 14 in Moosomin.
The five-game slate has also been set for Midale and Carlyle. Game 1 would be Jan. 31 in Carlyle. Game 2 is the following day in Midale and Game 3 would be Feb. 4 in Carlyle. Game 4, if necessary, would be Feb. 5 in Midale and Game 5 would be Feb. 12 back in Carlyle.
A schedule was not immediately set for Oxbow and Carnduff.
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Kenton Miller was the top scorer in the regular season with 26 goals and 26 assists for 52 points in 16 games. He finished four points clear of Moosomin's Bud Holloway, who had 48 points in 14 games.
Cody Matthewson of the Rockets had the top goals against average during the season at 1.80, well ahead of his teammate Thomas Bauche, who finished at 2.40.
SaskToday.ca will have coverage of the Big Six playoffs and Hockey Saskatchewan provincials.
