For the sixth straight year, the Fort McMurray Monarchs are playoff-bound.

The Monarchs capped off their regular season this weekend with a big 16-8 victory over the winless Airdrie Irish – improving their record to 3-and-5 on the campaign.

Head Coach Kevin Garbuio tells Mix News it’s been nice to see the team grow throughout the season.

“Seeing young guys from high school step up and be able to compete right away, whereas, five years ago when this team started – a local guy would’ve been seen as a major issue. Now, they are able to plug and play which is awesome.”

Garbuio adds the Airdrie win gives them much needed momentum heading into the playoffs.

As it stands, the Monarchs’ first-round opponent is still up in the air between the Calgary Wolfpack (5-3) and Cold Lake Fighter Jets (7-1).

However, Garbuio is confident that due to the record differentiation – they’ll be off to Cold Lake in a few weeks time.

“We’re hoping to have a similar game plan to the last time we played them (14-11 Monarchs win). They should have their quarterback who’s a great player. They’ve got good receivers for weapons so; we will have our work cut out for us if we hope to beat them.”

A league meeting takes place tonight to confirm who Fort McMurray will play.

We’ll have more information when it becomes available.