The Stettler Imperials finished the season with an 11-3-2 record heading into the playoffs. They had unfinished business as they looked to win the Ralph Wiest Memorial Trophy for the first time.
In round 1, the Hughenden Jets forced a game three back in Stettler. Stettler eliminated Hughenden with a score of 5-3 in front of another packed Stettler Rec Centre.
The next opponent for the Imperials was Irma. Now a five game series, Stettler and Irma split the first two games heading back to Irma. In an overtime thriller, Stettler took the 2-1 series lead with a 4-3 win and could eliminate Irma at home.
Irma had other plans as they shut down Stettler’s offense and tied the series at 2 with a 2-1 victory. Stettler’s offense ended up winning them that series though. Down by one early in the third period, Stettler scored 4 unanswered goals to win the game 8-5 and stamp their ticket to the finals against the Sedgewick Sabres.
The first game of the five game series was in Sedgewick. The Sabre’s goalie Travis Child stopped all 30 shots from the Imperials leading to a 2-0 Sedgewick victory.
In game two, Stettler let in 4 goals early and couldn’t come back losing 6-4. The series sweep was completed when Sedgewick won 6-1 at home to win the championship.
Author: Alex Mykyta
Alex is the owner of Hometown Productions and Media. He has worked in media for over 10 years.
