Qualifying for a provincial championship game is usually a time for celebration.

But Sturgeon Heights head coach Tyler Metcalfe wasn’t in a mood to party Saturday night — the thrill of victory was tempered with exasperation.

His Huskies advanced to Monday’s Milk AAAA provincial boys hockey championship final in a penalty-filled 6-1 semifinal win over Transcona at the Bell MTS Iceplex, but needed to survive 10 Titans power plays (allowing only one goal) along the way. Sturgeon Heights was nursing a 2-0 lead after 40 minutes, but killed off five power-play chances in the third period alone.

“I thought all the calls that the refs made were penalties,” said Metcalfe, whose No. 2-ranked squad will face the No. 1 St. Paul’s Crusaders in Monday’s final. “And there’s two (referees) out there and they’re catching everything. Our discipline was not good tonight. It’s a little disappointing. But at the same time, I thought we played really well, but the penalty side of things was disappointing for sure.”