By Voice staff
Four teams were left standing to advance to the next round of Zone 4 high school hockey playoffs this week.
The Morris Mavericks are squaring off against the Carman Cougars while the NPC Nighthawks face the Morden Thunder in round two of the post-season.
WC MIller Aces’ captain Nolan Franz leaps to avoid a point shot as Carman Cougars goaltender Robby Keith tracks the puck during Zone IV playoff action Feb. 13 in Altona
Last week’s Survivor Game saw the PCI Trojans advance after knocking out the GVC Zodiacs 3-1.
The Cougars then downed the WC Miller Aces 5-3 twice to earn a seat in round two, while the Nighthawks won their series against the Pembina Tigers with wins of 4-2 and 5-4, Morris fell to the Mountain Mustangs in game one 6-4 but then bounced back with 3-0 and 7-0 wins, and Morden swept their series against the Trojans 6-0 and 6-2.
The next round gets underway with games Wednesday night.
On Sunday the league announced its award winners, and a number of local players were honoured.
The Heavy Metal Designs MVP Award went to Dwight Sawatzky of the Pembina Tigers, with Carman’s Grant Friesen getting the runners up nod.
Tyson Mullin of the Morden Thunder won the Lloyd C. Orchard Most Sportsmanlike Player award. Runner up was Carman’s Nathan Froebe.
The Lew Mueller Defenseman of the Year Award went to Morden’s Connor Olson. Mark Schefer from the GVC Zodiacs was runner up.
The Eddie Belfour Top Goaltender Award was won by Kali Hildebrand of the Morden Thunder. Runner up was Kyle Gee from the Pembina Tigers.
Top scorer honours went to Tegan Fehr from the NPC Nighthawks (34 goals and 19 assists in 21 goals played). Runner up was Grant Friesen from the Cougars (24 goals, 24 assists in 23 games).
The Morden Thunder were the top defensive team with 38 goals against while the Morris Mavericks were runner up with 58 goals against.
The W.C. Miller Aces earned the Charlie Market Fair Play Award for least penalty minutes with 278 overall for an average of 11.56 per game. Runner up were the Carman Cougars at 12.08 PIM per game.
Earning the Coaching Staff Award were Carman’s Mike Hetherington and Derek Wood. Runner up was Morden’s Kyle Nixon, Steve Mullin, and Jason Vanrobaeys.
Finally, the Official of the Year was James Nelson. Runners up were Shane Froebe, Lance Nault, and Jacob Michelson.
