The Turtleford Tigers and Meota Combines will battle it out in a pair of games this weekend, tied in a 1-1 series heading in. (Martin Martinson/battlefordsNOW Staff)

By Martin Martinson

Senior Hockey Playoffs

SPHL semis resume with pivotal weekend slate

Feb 23, 2024 | 8:00 AM

The Saskatchewan Prairie Hockey League (SPHL) semi-finals resume play this weekend, opening with a pair of pivotal games Saturday night.

The Meota Combines and Turtleford Tigers will play the third and fourth games of their best-of-five series Saturday and Sunday; while the Glaslyn North Stars will host Neilburg for the fourth game of their series with a chance to close things out in St. Walburg.

Meota Combines (#2) vs Turtleford Tigers (#3)

Meota and Turtleford enter the weekend in a 1-1 series through the opening two games.

After Turtleford took Game 1 by a 2-1 score, the Combines responded with a 4-3 victory of their own last weekend. Battling back from a one-goal deficit late in the third, the tying goal was scored by Jayden Nachtegaele with under six minutes to go (on his way to a one-goal, three-assist night), followed by the game-winner just minutes later from Battlefords’ local, Ryan Taylor to deliver the team to victory.

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“We were down one in the third when they got a penalty shot and [goaltender Cam Taylor] stopped them, and then they got a full two-minute 5-on-3, so we were happy to squeak that one out on the road and now it’s a best-of-three,” Combines forward, Aaron Cadrin said.

“Game 3 is huge, it’s a swing game in any series, so hopefully we can get a good crowd out and get some momentum. I think we’re in a really good spot, we’re healthy and everyone’s in the right mindset right now, so we’re hoping to get Game 3 and then get two stabs at it to close things out.”

Puck drop for Game 3 Saturday night in North Battleford will be at 8 p.m., with Sunday’s Game 4 at 4 p.m. the following afternoon.

Neilburg Monarchs (#1) vs Glaslyn North Stars (#5)

Glaslyn holds a 2-1 series lead thanks to back-to-back 8-4 and 8-5 wins through the first two games, before Neilburg answered back with a 6-5 overtime triumph of their own to keep their season alive, Wednesday.

North Stars’ forward, BJ Carey said with another chance to close out the series and punch their ticket to the finals, the team must stay focused on the task at hand and play the way that’s made them successful all season.

“We came up short in Game 3, and the biggest thing was we didn’t play our roles and didn’t play our game,” Carey said, reflecting on the defeat. “Heading into Game 4, we have another chance to finish it off and we’ve all got to be drivers. We can’t have any passengers, we’ve got to know our roles and play our roles and if we can do that there’s no reason we can’t come out victorious.”

Game 4 of the series will be a home game for Glaslyn, but due to the team’s home arena being natural ice, the game will be played in St. Walburg. Puck drop Saturday will be at 8:30 p.m.

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Martin.Martinson@pattisonmedia.com

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