Both the Lacombe Generals and the Red Deer Rustlers are moving onto to the second round of the North Central Senior AA Hockey League (NCHL) playoffs.
In their quest for their second straight Vanberg Cup, the Lacombe Generals swept the Wetaskiwin Longhorns 3-0 in the best-of-five series.
The Generals captured a 5-3 victory in Game 1 on Feb. 9 on the road followed by 5-4 overtime win at home on Feb. 10. Lacombe wrapped up the south division semi-final series in Game 3 on Feb. 14 at home 4-2 to sweep the series.
Meanwhile, the Red Deer Rustlers series nearly went the distance but they defeated the Camrose Bruins 3-1 in the best-of-five series.
The Rustlers fell in Game 1 on Feb. 9 in Camrose 6-2 but rebounded in Game 2 winning 2-1 at home on Feb. 10.
In Game 3 the Rustlers blew out the Bruins 6-1 in Red Deer and in Game 4 the Bruins put up a good fight in overtime but lost to the Rustlers 4-3 in Camrose.
As a result, the number one-seeded Rustlers will play the second-seeded Generals in the division finals with a trip to the Vanberg Cup Finals on the line.
The two teams had plenty of good battles throughout the season with the regular season series ultimately ending tied 2-2.
A schedule for the best-of-seven series has yet to be announced.