The SJHL Power Rankings are decided each and every week by a group of SJHL broadcasters and will be released each Tuesday.
1. Battlefords North Stars 10-0-0-0 (Last Week 2nd) – The beat continues to go on for the Battlefords North Stars. The club continues to get contributions throughout their entire line-up and earned three wins this past week. Knocking off the La Ronge Ice Wolves on the road 6-3, and then winning a pair of home games against the Weyburn Red Wings which kicked off an 8 game homestand for the Stars. They were also named the top team in the CJHL Monday morning in their weekly Top 20 rankings. The Stars continue their lengthy stretch at home this weekend against Melfort and Estevan.
2. Humboldt Broncos 8-0-0-0 (Last Week 1st) – The Humboldt Broncos enjoyed some much deserved time off this past week following a stretch where they played 7 games in 10 days. The club remains undefeated and were ranked 3rd in the CJHL Monday. During their time off, the club also added 20-year-old forward and WHL veteran Jacob Boucher. The Broncos will be back on the ice Tuesday night as they host the La Ronge Ice Wolves.
3. Flin Flon Bombers 6-1-1-1 (Last Week 4th) – You couldn’t ask for a much better weekend for the Flin Flon Bombers. The Bombers swept their weekend series with the Kindersley Klippers, winning both games 4-0. Jacob Vockler was impressive in his return to the Bombers line-up registering 3 assists this weekend and Alex Von Sprecken made his Bombers debut picking up an assist in each game. Flin Flon will now hit the road for a busy week where they will play four games in five nights. They will be in Melville on Tuesday, Estevan Wednesday, Weyburn Friday and wrap up the trip Saturday in Wilcox against the Hounds.
4. Estevan Bruins 6-6-0-0 (Last Week 9th) – The biggest movers of the week are the Estevan Bruins as they jumped up five spots in the power rankings. The Bruins had a perfect week on the ice, going 3-0. This included a pair of wins on the road in Wilcox against the Hounds Tuesday and closed out the week with an overtime win in Melfort against the Mustangs. A big reason why for the Bruins five game winning streak is Cam Hrdlicka. The reigning Sasktel Goalie of the Week was incredible for the Bruins this past week, allowing just 2 goals in each game, and made 100 saves combined in those 3 contests. The Bruins will look to extend their winning streak when they host Flin Flon Wednesday at Affinity Place which marks the first time the two clubs have played since last year’s final.
5. Yorkton Terriers 5-2-0-0 (Last Week 3rd) – The Yorkton Terriers returned to the ice for the first time in 11 days Friday night and earned a 5-4 shootout win over their Hwy 10 rivals, the Melville Millionaires. However, they were then shutout at home the following night. Caleb Allen continues to be superb for the Terriers, boasting a 2.15 GAA and a .941 SV% in 6 games this season. Despite the loss and two games this weekend, the Terriers have played the least amount of games in the SJHL. They will take to the ice 3 times this week at home as they host Nipawin on Tuesday and welcome La Ronge Wednesday and Saturday at Westland Arena.
6. Melville Millionaires 4-3-1-1 (Last Week 7th) – It’s only fitting that after splitting their weekend series that the Melville Millionaires and Yorton Terriers are side by side in this week’s edition of the power rankings. Melville is coming off an impressive week where they earned 5 out of a possible 6 points. Noah Wills continues to rack up the points and sits at the top of the SJHL point leaderboard as he sits with 6 goals and 9 assists going into this week’s action. The Mills will have another busy week ahead of them with a trio of games on the schedule. Tuesday they host the Flin Flon Bombers, Friday they welcome the La Ronge Ice Wolves to the HCUC, and Saturday they travel to Humboldt for a battle with the Broncos.
7. Melfort Mustangs 3-4-4-0 (Last Week 5th) – The Melfort Mustangs had three games this past week and despite not earning a win in any of those 3 contests, the club did manage to earn 2 points. Melfort is dealing with some significant injuries and haven’t been healthy for most of the 22/23 season. However, they have been in most of their games . The Mustangs will look to snap their 3 game losing skid Tuesday night when they hit the road to face the Notre Dame Hounds. Melfort will also be in Battlefords and Kindersley this weekend.
8. Nipawin Hawks 4-5-1-1 (Last Week 8th) – The Hawks wrapped up their 3 games in 3 nights road swing Friday evening in Estevan against the Bruins where they dropped a 3-2 decision. However, the Hawks went on their southern swing and earned 3 out of a possible 6 points and are right in the thick of it in the Sherwood Division. Alex Johnson and Maguire Ratzlaff are leading the charge up front for the Hawks with 14 points each and Reid Lalonde, reigning Direst West Rookie of the Week is having a great start to the year with a 2-3-0-1 record, 2.65 GAA, and a .916 SV%. Nipawin will have a tough week as they travel to Yorkton Tuesday to face the Terriers and then be home to Humboldt on Friday.
9. La Ronge Ice Wolves 4-4-1-0 (Last Week 6th) – It was an up and down week for the La Ronge Ice Wolves. Tuesday, they dropped their 4th game in a row to the Battlefords North Stars, but they snapped their losing skid in a big way Friday night at home over the Melfort Mustangs. In the win, La Ronge product Sage Roberts made his SJHL debut for the club and scored his first career goal. Following their four game homestand, the Ice Wolves will now hit the road for 4 games in 5 nights. It begins Tuesday night in Humboldt against the undefeated Broncos.
10. Weyburn Red Wings 4-6-0-0 (Last Week 10th) – The Weyburn Red Wings had to play their 2nd consecutive week of playing 3 games in 3 nights and just like the previous week, they went 1-2. The busy stretch began Thursday night at home with a 3-2 shootout win over Nipawin, but then fell 2-1 Friday to Battleford and 7-1 in the re-match Saturday. Dazza Mitchell has quietly been one of the best goalies in the SJHL this season and it showed this weekend. Mitchell made 28 saves in the Wings win Thursday, made 40 stops in the loss to Battleford Friday, and stopped 9 shots in relief in the finale of the road trip. Weyburn will now get some rest as they don’t take to the ice until Friday at home when they host the Flin Flon Bombers. Friday’s game is their lone contest of the week.
11. Notre Dame Hounds 2-6-0-1 (Last Week 11th) – After opening the season with 7 games away from the Duncan McNeill Arena, the Notre Dame Hounds finally got to play on their home ice this past week. However, it wasn’t the results they would have liked as they dropped a 3-2 decision in a shootout to Estevan and then followed it up with a 5-2 loss the next night to Nipawin. The Hounds will have another two home games this week as they host Melfort Tuesday and Flin Flon Saturday as they look to snap a 3 game losing skid.
12. Kindersley Klippers 1-5-0-2 (Last Week 12th) – It wasn’t the trip the Kindersley Klippers were hoping for when heading up to Flin Flon for 2 games this weekend. The club was coming off of their first win of the season and also 11 days off. Unfortunately, the Klippers were unable to generate much offence as they were shutout in back to back nights and have only scored 3 goals in their last 4 games. One positive from the weekend though was the incredible play of goaltender Logan Falk. The 18-year-old was stellar in the two games against the Bombers this weekend, making 50 saves Friday and 48 on Saturday. Kindersley will return to the West Central Events Centre this weekend for a pair of contests as part of their alumni weekend. They will host Estevan on Friday and Melfort on Saturday.
