For Estevan's junior lacrosse team, the Estevan Big Dogs, the more dates get crossed off the calendar, the closer they are to their season being canceled. There has been no official word yet, but with their season slated to open on April 16, the window to get the games in is shrinking.

"We got an email from the league on March 13," said Big Dogs' manager Roxanne Pratt. "They just said effective the 14th of March, everything is shut. No clinics, no practices, no nothing until further notice. They said there's no timeline as to when things will start back up."

With the first scheduled game now just over three weeks away, the team is preparing for the worst news from the league. And for the players who will no longer be junior-eligible after this season, the news hits particularly hard.

"There are some pretty disappointed players," said Pratt. "We have a few kids that this would be their last year of junior. And with us not having a senior team this year, it kind of puts an end to their lacrosse year. It's disappointing.

The senior Impact, who've been Estevan's men's box lacrosse team in recent years, are indeed taking a one-year hiatus. They struggled with numbers, according to Pratt, and so are taking a year off to try to get their house in order and attract more people.

Because the ice stays out in many arenas all through the summer, the temptation may be to push the season further back into the spring and summer to allow it to happen. But Pratt didn't think pushing the season back was likely.

"Playoffs were supposed to be June 19," she said. "If the season gets pushed back, it's hard to say. In the summer it's hard to get kids to commit... The season normally is done the first week of June, and then we have playoffs, and then we have nationals and stuff for teams that make it. I find by the beginning of June, kids are done. They want their summer, they want to be done."

Pratt did not have a timetable for when she expected to hear from the league, nor a date by which they would have to cancel the games, so as of now the season is still up in the air.