Ste Anne Aces claim back-to-back SEMHL championships

The rest of the South East Manitoba Hockey League may be regretting letting the Ste Anne Aces join their ranks.

In the two years the Aces have been a part of the league, they’ve won the league championship, capping off back-to-back titles with a dominant 7-0 victory over the Warren Mercs in game four of the finals March 23.

“We knew what we needed to do,” Ste Anne captain Brenden Walker said after the game.

“We knew what was at stake, and we just couldn’t give them life. You give a team like this some life and they can take it and run with it.”

Walker and the Aces know better than most how tough it is to eliminate a team in the SEMHL finals, and were eager to flip the script from last year. The Aces fell behind 3-0 to the Morden Bombers before storming back to win the series.

Warren was in a tough spot when starting goalie Mitch Adamyk was suspended after getting ejected late in game three March 20.

A 1-1 tie mid-way through the third period turned into a 4-1 Ste Anne lead after Matt Bailey and Cody Fowlie combined to score three goals in three and a half minutes.

A clearly frustrated Adamyk lost his cool after Caleb Paisley brushed by his pad after covering up a dump in. Ste Anne had poked at the goalie’s glove throughout the game, but not late enough to cause the referee to penalize it.

Adamyk left the referee no choice in the major call, winding up with his stick all behind his back before swinging it at Paisley’s head after the whistle. Despite the efforts of Scott Corbett, who tried to get in between his goalie and Paisley before the slash, the stick made contact, and Adamyk was ejected and suspended for game four in Warren.

In game four, the Aces looked dominant and Warren looked defeated without their starter in net. Ste Anne directed 42 shots towards backup Jared Hogue, with Jordan DePape scoring the series-winning goal seven minutes into the game.

DePape was named the SEMHL’s playoff most valuable player, which is selected by the winning team’s coaching staff.

“Honestly, I kind of forgot about that,” DePape said, while laughing when asked if he expected to get the award.

“I think that could have gone to a handful of our guys, especially my teammates (Walker) and Cody Fowlie. I certainly wouldn’t have had success without them.”

DePape led the league in playoff goalscoring with 13, chipping in with an additional 13 assists. He said his key to find success was to “not overthink” his game, especially in game four with Adamyk out.

“It was in the back of our minds, but we didn’t talk about it too much,” DePape said on Warren’s goaltending situation.

“We know anything can happen. Credit to (Hogue), he made some nice saves tonight. It’s not easy to come in game four of the finals and play against a team like ours.”

The only player with more points in the playoffs was line-mate and league MVP Walker.

“We came out hard, and really gave them nothing,” Walker said, reflecting on the series.

“We just had a great dressing room, with a good group of guys that bonded really well. Everyone was in it together. There’s nothing better than winning with a great group.”

While Ste Anne cruised to victory in game four, the series may have been flipped in game two. With the game tied late in the third period, Walker blasted home a short-handed goal to give Ste Anne the lead. The Aces would never trail in the series after his shot hit the back of the net.

“That was a huge goal,” Walker said.

“It felt really good. The puck came out to me and I buried it, and there’s nothing better than that.”

With Ste Anne winning the SEMHL they’re waiting for the winner in the Tiger Hills Hockey League to see who they’ll be playing at provincials. A series between the Killarney Shamrocks and last year’s provincial champion Minota/Elkhorn C-Hawks is currently tied 1-1.

The Aces came up short last season, losing the best-of-three provincial final after winning the first game.

“We’ll enjoy this night, but we know the job’s not done,” DePape said.