March Mayhem has arrived, but the weekend of Feb. 27-March 1 began with one last dose of the February Frenzy.

On the night of Thursday, Feb. 27, the first round of the Manitoba Female Hockey League Playoffs continued, with the fourth-seeded Yellowhead Chiefs getting a second-period goal from Presley Hodson and 26 saves from Clair Merckx in a 1-0 shutout victory that evened their series against the Brandon Wheat Kings at two games apiece. The fifth and deciding game is set for Saturday, March 1, at 9:30 p.m. EST and will be played at Shoal Lake Communiplex.

Elsewhere in the MFHL, the top-seeded Eastman Selects, second-seeded Winnipeg Avros and third-place Winnipeg Ice all have advanced to the semifinal as they continue their quest for the U18 AAA Manitoba provincial championship.  

Eastman is ranked 10^th in our latest MHR Canada Girls U18 Tier 1 rankings, while the Avros are No. 4 and the Ice are No. 14.

 

MFHL Playoffs Round 1 Matchups (best of five):

#1 Eastman Selects def. #8 Interlake Lightning, 3-0

#2 Winnipeg Avros def #7 Westman Wildcats, 3-1

#3 Winnipeg Ice def #6 Pembina Valley Hawks, 3-1

#4 Yellowhead Chiefs (2), #5 Brandon Wheat Kings (2)

Game 5 Saturday, March 1 9:30 p.m. EST at Shoal Lake Communiplex

 

That’s just the tip of the iceberg as far as this weekend’s Canadian youth hockey playoffs are concerned, however, especially in Western Canada. This document will continue to be updated as teams advance through the postseason in Canada. Ontario, Quebec and Eastern Canada playoff coverage will be added in the days and weeks ahead.

 

Manitoba U18 AAA Hockey League Playoffs

The MBU18 AAA Playoffs (boys) begin Saturday, March 1. MBU18 AAA is a 13-team league operating in Manitoba and northwestern Ontario. Each rural minor hockey region in Manitoba operates one U18 AAA team, Hockey Winnipeg operates three teams, and Kenora operates one.

The top eight regular-season teams advanced to the playoffs and will compete in best-of-five series. Play gets underway on Saturday, March 1, and runs through March 8 or 9, pending any necessary deciding fifth games.

CLICK HERE for the final MBU18 AAA standings.

CLICK HERE for the MBU18 playoff schedule

 

MBU18 AAA Quarterfinal Matchups

#1 Brandon Wheat Kings vs. #8 Eastman Selects

#2 Winnipeg Wild vs. #7 Interlake Lightning

#3 Winnipeg Bruins vs. #6 Pembina Valley Hawks

#4 Winnipeg Thrashers vs. #5 Southwest Cougars

 

The Winnipeg Wild are ranked 24^th in Western Canada, while the Brandon Wheat Kings No. 31 and the Winnipeg Bruins are No. 35.

 

British Columbia Elite Hockey League Playoffs

Playoffs for some age groups of the British Columbia Elite Hockey League, which includes boys U15, U17 and U18 AAA and girls U18 AAA teams, began Thursday, Feb. 27, at Twin Rinks in Langley, B.C., as 15U AAA pool play got underway.

Here is a breakdown of the upcoming BECHL postseason schedule:

 

BCEHL U15 Boys AAA

All eight teams in the U15 league are at Langley Twin Rinks the weekend of March 1 to take part in the U15 BCEHL Championship, which began Feb. 27 and runs through March 2. Teams are divided into two pools, with four teams in each. 

Following the end of the group stage, the teams will be re-seeded for quarterfinal play, with quarterfinals and semifinals both scheduled for March 1 and the championship game set for March 2. In the quarterfinals, the top-seeded team in each group will cross over and play the fourth-seeded team from the opposite group, with the second and third seeds doing the same.

The Okanagan Rockets are ranked 26^th in our Week 23 MHR Western Canada Boys U15 AAA Rankings, while the Vancouver North West Hawks are No. 48, the Cariboo Cougars are No. 57 and the Thompson Blazers are No. 60.

 

BCEHL U15 AAA Pool A

(1) Okanagan Rockets

(4) Vancouver North West Hawks

(5) Vancouver North East Chiefs

(8) Greater Vancouver Canadians

 

BCEHL U15 AAA Pool B

(2) Thompson Blazers

(3) Cariboo Cougars

(6) Fraser Valley Thunderbirds

(7) Valley West Giants

 

CLICK HERE for the full schedule of BCEHL U15 first-round games

  

BCEHL Boys U17 AAA

The BCEHL U17 AAA playoffs began Friday, Feb. 28, with four quarterfinal matchups. Teams play in a best-of-three series, with the first two games taking place on Friday and Saturday. If necessary, a third and deciding game will be played on Sunday to determine the series winner.

The Okanagan Rockets are ranked eighth in the latest MHR Western Canada Boys U17 AAA Rankings. The Fraser Valley Thunderbirds are No. 27, the North West Hawks are No. 30 and the North East Chiefs are No. 32.

 

Boys U17 AAA Playoff Format

Quarterfinals – Feb. 28-March 2 (best of three)

(1) Okanagan Rockets vs. (8) Thompson Blazers

(2) Fraser Valley Thunderbirds vs. (7) Greater Vancouver Canadians

(3) Vancouver North West Hawks vs. (6) Cariboo Cougars

(4) Vancouver North East Chiefs vs. (5) Valley West Giants

 

Semifinals – March 7-9 (best of three)

Highest remaining seed hosting the lowest remaining seed

Second-highest remaining seed hosting the third-highest remaining seed

 

Championship Series – March 14-16 (best of three)

Winners of the two semifinals, hosted by the highest remaining seed

 

BCEHL Boys U18 AAA Playoffs

There is a bye week for the U18 Boys AAA league, with the playoffs starting on March 7.

 

BCEHL Girls U18 AAA Playoffs

There is a bye week for the U18 Girls, with the playoffs starting on March 7.

 

Alberta Elite Hockey League Playoffs

The 12-team Alberta Elite Hockey League U18 AAA Boys playoffs began Wednesday, Feb. 26, with the opening game of one first-round series, while the puck dropped on the remaining three series Feb. 27.

Four teams earned first-round byes and automatically advanced to the quarterfinals after finishing among the top two regular-season teams in each division. The league-leading Calgary Flames went 27-6-4-1 to pace the South Division with 59 points. The Calgary Northstars finished second in the South with 49 points and a 21-10-2-5 record. In our latest MHR U18 AAA Western Canada Rankings, the flames are No. 12 and the Northstars are ranked 26^th.

The fourth-ranked St. Albert Raiders finished first in the North Division, scoring the most goals this season (192) finishing with a league-best goal differential of plus-84. St. Albert finished with a record of 27-7-1-3 for 58 points, six better than the No. 16 Sherwood Park Kings (23-9-2-4). 

 

CLICK HERE for the final AEHL U18 AAA standings

All first-round series are best-of-three. The first-round matchups are as follows:

 

North Division AEHL U18 Quarterfinals

(3) Edmonton Jr. Oilers Blue vs (6) LJAC Oil Kings – tied 1-1

(4) Edmonton Jr. Oilers Orange vs (5) Fort Saskatchewan Rangers – tied 1-1

 

South Division AEHL U18 Quarterfinals

(3) Okotoks Bow Mark Oilers vs (6) Calgary Royals – Calgary leads, 1-0

(4) Calgary Buffaloes vs (5) Airdrie Bisons – tied 1-1

 

CLICK HERE for the complete AEHL U18 playoff schedule

 

The AEHL U17 AAA Playoffs have yet to begin. The bracket and results can be found here once the tournament beings.

The AEHL U15 AAA Playoffs have yet to begin. The bracket and results can be found here once the tournament beings.

 

Alberta Female U18 AAA Hockey League Playoffs

The AFHL U18 AAA playoffs begin Tuesday, March 4, for the teams that are locked into their final seedings. Other first-round schedules still are pending.

Regular-season play concludes Saturday, March 1, with the third and fourth seeds yet to be determined. The Red Deer Chiefs are in third place with 46 points, two ahead of the Lloydminster Steelers, and those two teams play March 1 at 3 p.m. EST at the Red Deer Polytechnic Centre Arena to decide their final seeds.

The AFHL is made up of eight teams: the Lloydminster Steelers, Red Deer Chiefs, Rocky Mountain Raiders, St. Alber Raiders, Edmonton Jr. Oilers, Calgary Fire Red, Calgary Fire Black and SPKAC Revolution Hockey Reign. It is one of Canda’s top U18 Girls leagues, with two teams – the Edmonton Jr. Oilers White and St. Albert Slash – ranked among the most recent MHR Canada Girls U18 Tier 1 top 10. Edmonton currently the top-ranked team in Canada, while the Slash are fourth, Lloydminster is 11^th and Red Deer is 15^th.

All eight teams participate in the quarterfinals, which are a best-of-three format.

CLICK HERE for the AFHL U18 AAA standings

CLICK HERE for the complete AFHL U18 AAA playoff schedule

 

 

Saskatchewan Male U18 AAA Hockey League Playoffs

SMU18AAAHL Playoffs get underway Sunday, March 2, as the puck drops on three best-of-five quarterfinal series. The fourth series begins March 3.

The SMAAAHL has 12 teams from 10 communities across Saskatchewan. Each team is a member of its local hockey association, which serves as the governing body for Midget AAA teams in that community.

Eight of the 12 teams advance to the league’s best-of-five quarterfinals, with seedings based on the final regular-season standings.  

The top-seeded Regina Pat Canadians are ranked second in the Week 23 MHR Western Canada U18 Boys AAA Rankings. Other highly ranked teams include the Moose Jaw Warriors (9^th), the Swift Current Legionnaires (11^th), Saskatoon Blazers (13^th) and Warman Wildcats (14^th).

 

CLICK HERE for the final SMU18AAAHL standings

CLICK HERE for the SMU18AAAHL playoff schedule

 

SMU18AAAHL Quarterfinal Matchups

#1 Regina Pat Canadians vs. #8 Prince Albert Mintos

#2 Moose Jaw Warriors vs. #7 Estevan Bears

#3 Swift Current Legionnaires vs. #6 Warman Wildcats

#4 Saskatoon Blazers vs. #5 Tisdale Trojans

 

Saskatchewan Female U18 AAA Hockey League Playoffs

SFU18AAAHL Playoffs begin Saturday, March 8, with all seven teams participating in postseason play.

The seven participants compete in the best-of-three quarterfinals, with the first-place team earning a bye to the semifinals. The Battlefords Sharks, No. 2 in our Week 23 Canada Girls U18 Tier 1 Rankings, have clinched the top seed with 69 standings points, seven better than the second-place Saskatoon Stars.

Saskatoon, ranked No. 8 in Canada, is locked into second place with a 19-point advantage over the third-place Regina Rebels, who are ranked 19^th. Regina has 43 points, one more than fourth-place and No. 22 Swift Current.

 

CLICK HERE for the SFU18AAAHL regular-season standings

CLICK HERE for the SFU18AAAHL playoff schedule