Written By Brian Lockhart

The final two teams playing for this year's 2026 Junior Provincial Schmalz Cup will be decided this week as the semi-finals wrap up.

The Fergus Whalers have already clinched their semi-final series and will be going to the cup.

Fergus emerged as a powerhouse team this season after finishing in first place in the North Pollock division with a 14-point lead over the second-place Hanover Barons.

The Whalers got a bye in the first round of the playoffs as the winning team in a seven-team lineup.

They went on to sweep the Kincardine Bulldogs in four games in the division semi-finals, then eliminated the Hanover Barons in five games to win the division title.

In the Conference finals, Fergus dispatched the North Carruthers champion Stayner Siskins in a series that went just four games.

This sent them up to meet the Frankford Huskies in the semi-final round of the Schmalz Cup playoffs.

The Huskies were a come-from-behind team this year. They finished in second place in the East Tod Division with a 30-12 record, then advanced through the division and conference championships to earn the right to meet the Whalers in the semi-final.

In the Schmalz Cup semi-final, the Whalers won the series in five games, with the final game being played on Fergus' home ice on Sunday, April 26.

They will be going to the Schmalz Cup championship.

In the other Schmalz Cup semi-final series, the Tavistock Braves are leading the Lakeshore Canadiens 3-1.

This was a bit of a surprise, as Lakeshore also has a powerhouse team reputation.

Both teams finished in second place in their divisions in the regular season.

Tavistock went undefeated in the first two rounds of the division playoffs.

They eliminated the Dundas Blues in five games in the Conference finals.

The Canadiens won their first division series in four games, but had a tougher time in the second round when their division semi-final against the Blehneim Blades went the full seven games.

Lakeshore's division championship series against the Essex 73s also went the full seven games.

During the West Conference final series, Lakeshore hammered the Mt. Brydges Bulldogs with a dominant performance, winning the series in four games.

In the Schmalz Cup semi-final between the Canadiens and the Braves, the Lakeshore team won Game 1 of the series, 3-2.

The Braves took over and have now come out on top in the next three games to lead the series 3-1.

That series was scheduled to have three games over three nights this week to finish it.

Results were not available at press time.

Dates for the provincial Schmalz Cup championships series have not yet been announced.