The Ste. Anne Aces will be playing for a championship trophy for a sixth straight season.

The Aces, who won four consecutive Carillon Senior Hockey League titles (2015-2019) before the league went on hiatus and eventually folded, will defend the South Eastern Manitoba Hockey League championship they captured last March.

“I think it’s a pretty impressive run,” noted Aces veteran forward Miguel Rondeau in a telephone interview. “It feels great. We built a great culture in this team and our expectation is to be competitive every year. We’ve got a great group of guys that’s really competitive and it’s all the way through the organization. We put a lot of effort into try to make a good atmosphere. The culture is really strong and that’s a culture of winning, working hard and doing what we have to do to be successful.”

Ste. Anne eliminated the Winkler Royals in three straight in round two of the SEMHL playoffs.

“It was closer that it sounds in a sweep,” Rondeau said. “The first game went to overtime and even though the second game was a bit more of a blowout score, the game was closer than that. We were down 1-0 and I think it was 2-1 after the first. It was a hard-fought battle and we just kind of kept working at it and kept chipping away and slowly wore them down. We’ve got really good depth this year and I think that really showed. As the series went on, or depth came through and proved to be an advantage for us.”

The game one winner was scored by the SEMHL’s Most Valuable Player and top scorer Brenden Walker who beat Royals netminder Jayme Janzen 4:20 into extra time.

“That was obviously pivotal,” said Rondeau. “We out shot them, but they played a really strong disciplined game. They kept us to the outside and they kept the game close. Brendan has been clutch for us ever since he joined the Aces. He’s a phenomenal hockey player. When the game is on the line and you’ve got a power play in overtime, you want that guy having the puck. He’s proven time-and-time again that he can put the puck in the net and make the other team pay. Pretty critical to get that win. Changes the series and changes the momentum and makes sure we’re starting on that strong foot to put the pressure back on the other team.”

The Aces finished in first place with a 15-3 regular season record and are 6-1 in the playoffs.

Rondeau says the addition of Cody Fowlie, Brett Lernout, Matt Bailey and Jordan DePape has paid huge dividends for the hockey club.

“We picked up a bunch of really good hockey players in the off-season. Some of the older guys retired after putting in great careers. A couple of guys moved, and one guy got injured. These new guys have been phenomenal. They fit right into the dressing room, and I think all these guys are former pros and they know what it takes to win. We’re all normal adults that love playing hockey. There’s no egos and that’s sort of continued year-after-year regardless of the changes that we’ve had. It’s been really fun, and they’ve been phenomenal additions.”

The Aces will meet either the Morden Bombers or Warren Mercs in the final.

The Mercs defeated Morden 4-3 Friday night in Warren and cut the Bombers lead in that semifinal to two games to one.

Game four goes Sunday night in Morden and if a fifth and deciding game is necessary, it will be played Tuesday night back in Warren.

“Both those teams are really good,” said Rondeau. “Morden took us to overtime, and Warren took a game off us this year. It’s been hard fought throughout the year and I’m sure that’s going to be a hard-fought series. It is what it is. We’re going to do what we can to prepare and make sure we’re ready regardless of who we’re facing.”