For the first time since the 2005-06 season, the Parkland Rangers are moving on in the Manitoba U18 AAA Hockey League playoffs.
The Rangers beat the Yellowhead Chiefs, three-games-to-one in their best-of-five quarterfinal series and will now face the league-leading Brandon Wheat Kings in the semifinals.
Parkland took a one-game advantage in the series with a 5-2 win in Shoal Lake, Friday.
Will Munro led the way with three goals, with Jayce Legaarden and Kyan Grouette adding singles.
Ben Roulette and Owen Riffel scored for Yellowhead.
Brenden Birch-Hayden stopped 28 shots in the win, while Nathan Braun had 26 saves for Yellowhead.
The Rangers clinched the series with a 3-1 win in game four, Sunday in Dauphin.
Rylan Gibbs opened the scoring with 1:03 left in the first period and Grouette made it 2-0 just over four minutes into the second.
Foxx McColl pulled the Chiefs to within a goal when he scored on a power play at 12:28, but Legaarden sealed the win with an empty-net marker with 16 seconds remaining.
Rangers head coach Tyler Carefoot said it was a team effort that led to the series victory.
“All credit to the fellas. We dug down deep and I thought the last two games to go into their barn and steal one there kind of set the tone,” he said. “At the end of the day, we thought we were a little deeper than them. But it came down to just as simple as we had to out work them. And I thought the last two games we did that. I’m so proud of the boys.”
The last time the Rangers won a playoff series was in 2005-06 when they beat the Chiefs two-game-to-none in a best-of-three preliminary series, before losing to the Pembina Valley Hawks in the quarterfinals.
For a program which has struggled for success, winning a playoff series will give a boost.
In a moment of reflection, Carefoot looked back at the time, commitment and dedication put in by every single one of the players.
“It’s just a grind and to be able to win a round is very special for the program. And it just proves that there’s some hockey players in our region that want to play hockey at the highest level possible and want to get better. Right now, we’re just getting better every day. So it’s just sweet and I’m very proud,” he said.
The series with Brandon is set to begin, Mar. 20, in Brandon at 4:30 p.m. Game two will be back in Dauphin, Mar. 25, at 7:30 p.m., with game three back in Brandon, Mar. 27, at 1:30 p.m.
Game four, if necessary, will be Apr. 1 in Swan River, with game five, if needed, back in Brandon, Apr. 3.
The Rangers will prepare for the series with a ‘why not us?’ attitude.
“We went into their barn and shocked, really, the entire league,” Carefoot said. “Obviously, they’ve got next-level firepower, for sure. But we’re going to enjoy tonight and maybe tomorrow and we’ll re-evaluate for next week and beyond.”
The team appreciates the support it is getting from fans across the region.
“You can go anywhere uptown and it’s exciting. People are talking Kings and they’re talking Rangers. You just look up into the stands and there’s support for both teams. It’s exciting and we’re feeling the energy,” he said. “At the end of the day, it’s the fellas and they deserve everything they’re getting right now.”
The Rangers, Carefoot said, will have to be more physical than the Wheat Kings.
“We can have more work ethic than them and manage the puck a little bit better, slow their guys down, stay away from penalties, because those guys are lethal on the power play,” he said. “Time will tell, but will beats skill when skill has no will, so we’ll see.”
