A typical winter turned out to be anything but for the guardians of the Carillon Senior Hockey League.

Before the puck was even dropped to start the 2017-2018 season last October the Steinbach Huskies, La Broquerie Habs and Springfield 98's decided to take a leave of absence.

That was the bad news.

The good news - the St. Malo Warriors rejoined the league after a year off and the Lac du Bonnet Blues were accepted into the fold.

The Ste. Anne Aces, Red River Wild and Grunthal Red Wings went out and strengthened their teams by adding players from the Huskies, Habs and 98's to their respective rosters.

Despite the doom and gloom of operating with only having five teams - the CSHL survived.

And when Tanner Harms scored in overtime back on March 25th to give the Aces their fourth championship - season 15 was history.

"Considering we lost a couple of teams on the eve of the season back in October, I think we had a pretty decent season," said CSHL president Ray Laing. "St. Malo struggled a bit on the ice which is expected for a new team. Warriors manager Luc Carriere worked very hard at it and they expect to be back next year and the same for Lac du Bonnet. They actually got their team organized at the last minute. Mileage has always been an issue heading in that direction but the teams weren't complaining too much once the season was over. We expect to have both those teams back next season."

The Aces became the first Carillon Senior Hockey League team to win three consecutive championships and the first to capture Hockey Manitoba's Provincial Senior A title.

"We should be proud of them," said Laing. "They've worked very hard keeping their team organized and not just during the winter but also in the summer. For them it's a year-long commitment. They've shown some success there and it showed up with a provincial championship. We're pleased."

The start of the 2018-2019 season is more than six months away and Laing says it's important for the league to add one or two more teams this fall.

"Somehow I have a feeling that five is kind of a minimum for a league. Teams end up playing each other too often. The chances of more competition and better competition are a little bit better when you have six or seven teams. Teams won't be playing each other quite as often and it's generally more exciting. Especially when you get to the playoffs. The fans come out and it's a great community atmosphere."