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The Hafford Hawks finished first in the SWHL regular season going 10-2 (Hafford Hawks/Facebook).
SWHL Playoff Preview

Hawks hopeful for first league title

Jan 29, 2025 | 5:00 PM

After a very tight and close regular season, the playoff bracket has been announced for the Sask. West Hockey League (SWHL) and it kicks off this weekend.

The Hafford Hawks finished at the top of standings for the first time in SWHL league history and will get a bye in the first round of the playoffs. They finished the regular season with a 10-2 record for 20 points with their only losses coming from Wilkie and Kindersley, who finished the season tied in second, only one point behind the Hawks.

Head Coach of the Hawks, Greg Grzybowski said the reason for the team’s success this season is simply because of the hard work from the players.

“We got a good bunch of guys in the dressing room, the players are dedicated and work hard, and you know, we found a way to win. We’re happy when we win and we don’t get too hard on each other when we lose, we try and maintain an even keel.” he said.

However, even though the Hawks did finish first in the standings and are hopeful for a championship, they know what competition lies ahead and are taking it one game at a time.

“There are teams out there that are very good teams with lots of competitors on those teams and they don’t give championships away for free. It’s definitely a tight league this year and just because we got first place doesn’t mean we’re winning the thing. Our expectation and goal is that we just want to go out and compete every night.” Grzybowski said.

Hafford will faceoff against the team with the lowest seed coming out of the first round and will have home ice advantage for the series. All series will be best of five games.

#2 Wilkie Outlaws vs. #7 Unity Miners

In the first round of the playoffs, the #2 ranked Wilkie Outlaws will take on the #7 ranked Unity Miners. The Outlaws finished the regular season with a 9-2-1 record for 19 points and over the past eight seasons have been one of the most successful teams in the SWHL, making the final every single year and winning it four times since 2016.

Despite the success of the Wilkie this season and the past seasons, Outlaw forward Derek Keller doesn’t expect any easy games in their hunt for another championship appearance.

“No matter who you match up against, you’re going to have a tough series. And I think all the teams are a little bit different, so it should be a lot of really fast-paced hockey, I think that it’s going to be a lot of fun to play and we’re looking forward to it and hopefully we can end up on the right side of things,” said Keller.

For Unity, they saw a bit of struggles this season going 0-10-2, but that being said, they have had quite a few close games and could surprise some teams.

The first game of the series between Wilkie and Unity will be on Sunday, Feb. 2, 7:00 p.m. at the SaskCan Community Centre in Wilkie.

#3 Kindersley Klippers vs. #6 Biggar Nationals

The next matchup of the SWHL playoffs is going to be between the defending league champion, Kindersley Klippers and the Biggar Nationals. After coming off a championship, the Klippers finished the regular season with an impressive 9-3 record and will definitely have a chance to make a finals appearance.

This season, the Nationals ended the regular season with a 2-7-2 record for 9 points, but don’t let the record fool you as this Biggar squad can play with the best of them. They had a few one goal losses this season that could’ve easily been wins, including one against Kindersley which went to overtime and the Nationals lost 3-2.

The Klippers will host the Nationals for the first game of the series on Friday, Jan. 31, 8:30 p.m. at the West Central Events Centre in Kindersley.

#4 Edam 3 Stars vs. #5 Macklin Mohawks

For the final series of the first round, the Edam 3 Stars will take on the Macklin Mohawks. These two teams have faced off twice this season with both games going to the 3 Stars and them outscoring the Mohawks 9-3.

Edam finished off the season boasting a 7-4-1 record for 15 points with their biggest win coming over the Wilkie Outlaws, where they won a convincing 4-1. The Mohawks found themselves with a few more losses than the 3 Stars, going 5-7 with their biggest win being over the Kindersley Klippers, where they took the game 3-1

This series will kick off on Thursday, Jan. 30 at 8:30 p.m. at the Edam Community Recreation Centre.

To view the full playoff bracket for the SWHL, visit their website.

ausitn.mattes@pattisonmedia.com

On X: @AustinMattes