Well the day is here. After three long years, the Waywayseecappo Wolverines are back in the playoffs for the first time since 2022.
The Wolverines held on to their final spot in the last week of the season, holding off the Virden Oil Capitals. It was a nerve-wracking couple of days, but the Wolverines clinched their spot with a last-second Ryley Cyca goal against the Dauphin Kings.
Their prize for finally getting into the playoffs? A first round matchup against the same Dauphin Kings.
The Kings have been in the driver seat for the first seed in the West Division for most of the year, but after a little bit of a scare in the final two weeks, they were able to clinch the first seed in a win against Waywayseecappo in the final week.
The Wolverines-Kings series will have the biggest gap in points between two teams of all the first round series with 24 point gap. But the two teams have actually split the season series. After a lopsided first game that went to the way of the Kings, the rest of the five games were pretty tight.
Regular Season Series: Tied 3-3-0-0
October 13, 2024- Waywayseecappo 0, Dauphin 8
October 15, 2024- Dauphin 5, Waywayseecappo 4
November 21, 2024- Dauphin 2, Waywayseecappo 4
December 10, 2024- Waywayseecappo 7, Dauphin 5
March 11, 2025- Dauphin 3, Waywayseecappo 2
March 15, 2025- Waywayseecappo 2, Dauphin 1
GAME BREAKERS
Waywayseecappo Wolverines: The Wolverines will be led up front by Jaxon Grosdidier who has a team leading 25 goals and 26 assists on the year. He plays on a line with Aidan Herring (3rd on the team in scoring) and Jack Clarke, who led the team in scoring in 2023-24, and returned to Wayway at the start of the second half of the year. Grosdidier finished the year on a four game goal streak, and plays on the top penalty kill as well.
Dauphin Kings: He only played 38 games this season, and hasn’t played since the last game in January, but Cayden Glover is apparently back for the first round series. He led the Kings in points and goals with 52 and 33, and will be a force on the powerplay as he comes back. Glover was a 1.37 point per game player, which was second in the league, just behind the league MVP, Connor Paronuzzi.
GOALTENDING
Waywayseecappo Wolverines: Mariko Bercier has taken over the pipes in the second half of the year, finishing the season with a 14-11-1 record and a .927 save percentage (2nd in the league). He was named the top goaltender for the month of February in the MJHL. The Wolverines have gone the way of their goalies this year with Bercier and Jase Wareham routinely stealing games for the team throughout the year. But Bercier has started the Wolverines last 10 games of the season, finishing with a 7-3 record.
Dauphin Kings: The Kings will rely on their star goaltender, Cole Sheffield, who had 30 wins on the year. Sheffield play a large chunk of games for the Kings, suiting up in 47 of 58 Dauphin games, leading the league in minutes played. He was excellent in last year’s playoffs when they took on the OCN Blizzard, having a 1.91 GAA and .941 Save Percentage in 7 games.
X FACTOR:
Waywayseecappo Wolverines: The Wolverines have their first two lines locked in, with the Grosdidier-Clarke-Herring and Hicks-Perrin-Duzan lines basically in place for the last month. But down the depth chart, the younger players are led by 16-year-old Cole Hunter. The Oakburn, MB product had 9 goals and 19 assists this year, and finished the final month with six points in the last month. He plays on the powerplay as well, and is one of the hardest workers on the team.
Dauphin Kings: Another returning player to the lineup is the X-Factor for the Kings as Havryil Simchuk is set to return for the playoffs. The Ukrainian has 24 points in 32 games this, but hasn’t played since late February. Before leaving the lineup, he had goals in five straight games,
SERIES SCHEDULE
| Game | Date | Away | Home | Time |
| 1 | Friday, March 21 | Waywayseecappo | Dauphin | 7:30 p.m. |
| 2 | Sunday, March 23 | Dauphin | Waywayseecappo | 7:30 p.m. |
| 3 | Tuesday, March 25 | Waywayseecappo | Dauphin | 7:30 p.m. |
| 4 | Thursday, March 27 | Dauphin | Waywayseecappo | 7:30 p.m. |
| 5* | Saturday, March 29 | Waywayseecappo | Dauphin | 7:30 p.m. |
| 6* | Monday, March 31 | Dauphin | Waywayseecappo | 7:30 p.m. |
| 7* | Wednesday, April 2 | Waywayseecappo | Dauphin | 7:30 p.m. |