Kevin McBain
of The Clarion

The Red Lions advanced to the second round of the provincial senior A playoffs after sweeping the Shaunavon Badgers in two straight games.

They defeated the Badgers 5-1 in game one in Kindersley a week ago. Game 2 was played Friday in Shaunavon, and the Red Lions had to come back in this one to win 5-4.

They now await the winner of the Lumsden versus Milestone series. Lumsden leads this one 1-0 after a 4-1 win last Sunday. Game two is scheduled for this Sunday.

Coach Wayne Samson was unable to make the game on Friday but followed it thanks to some play-by-play announcing.

“They came out hard, which is what we expected,” he said. “Their backs were against the wall and they were playing desperate hockey.”

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The  Badgers took a 2-0 lead into the second period and things looked a little grim, but they fought back and had it tied up.

However, a couple of late penalties had them down five-on-three late in the second period and the Badgers took full advantage, scoring two goals.

However, the team bounced back again and it was 4-3 heading into the third.

The Red Lions scored near the midway mark of the third and Bryton Sayers potted the game winner with about 40 seconds remaining in the game to pull out the win.

Meanwhile, in the Sask West Hockey League playoffs, the Red Lions will take on the Macklin Mohawks in the second round.

They will be in Macklin for game one on Sunday night and will host game two on Wednesday at the Co-op arena beginning at 8:30 p.m.

The Mohawks finished second in the regular season and won both games that the two teams met in.

“We lost both games against these guys, same as we did with Biggar,” said Coach Samson. “We know what to expect and we know what we need to do to win.

“As long as we have learned from our past losses and play our game we should be okay,” he added.

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