The 2022-23 GWMHL regular season has come to close, but not before some last-minute drama as teams vied for those last playoff spots.
In the Plante, the South Side‘s strong 11-4-3 fourth quarter helped them leapfrog both Baltimore and Parry Sound in the standings to grab third spot behind conference leaders El Dorado and Pittsburgh. Two teams on the bubble, Denver and Salem, both struggled in the quarter, but in the end Salem’s 6-9-3 record was enough to put it one point ahead of Denver for the sixth and final playoff berth.
El Dorado and Pittsburgh will get first-round byes as the playoffs begin next week. Third seed South Side will play sixth seed Salem, while fourth seed Baltimore will take on fifth seed Parry Sound.
In the Sawchuk, defending champion Adirondack parlayed a sparkling 16-1-1 quarter into a second place finish behind the mighty San Jose Hosers, who finished with 60 wins and whose 419 goals is the fourth most in league history and best since 2008-09. Otherwise, the standings didn’t change much in the quarter, as Boston held off a fading Vancouver for the final playoff spot.
San Jose and Adirondack will get some R&R during their first-round byes. Third seed West Virginia will play sixth seed Boston, and fourth seed Farmington will face fifth seed Ice Harbor in what is going to be a heck of a first round series.
Gump Worsley Memorial Hockey League 