We’re in the home stretch of the regular season! Two more weeks until the playoffs. Battlefords has punched its ticket to the dance, so only two spots remain!
A group of SJHL media decides the power rankings.
1. Melfort Mustangs (41-7-2) (Last week 1st)
Melfort got the three out of four points they needed in Saturday’s clash of the titans with Flin Flon to clinch first overall and home-ice advantage throughout the playoffs. Like many teams, the injury bug has bitten the Mustangs as the season is late, but the opportunity to rest key pieces heading into the post-season should be huge for them.
2. Flin Flon Bombers (35-12-4) (Last week 2nd)
The Bombers took two points from a weekend set with Melfort this past week but bounced back from their tough loss Friday with a solid shootout victory Saturday. Flin Flin is two points for, or two points dropped by Weyburn (or one by Yorkton), away from clinching second overall heading into the post-season.
3. Melville Millionaires (29-19-3) (Last week 3rd)
The Mils picked up in March where they left off in February, grinding out a victory at home in a shootout over the Humboldt Broncos. Their win streak sits at 11 in a row at the time of writing, and they have realistic hopes of having home-ice advantage in Round 1 with a lot of their destiny in their own hands.
4. Yorkton Terriers (31-19-1) (Last week 4th)
A little quiet part of the schedule came at a good time for the Terriers to regroup after a mini three-game losing streak to end February. Their lone game of the week was a loss at home to Humboldt, but this team has rebounded well from adversity all year. Like Melville, home-ice advantage in Round 1 can be theirs with a strong finish to the regular season.
5. Weyburn Red Wings (31-17-2) (Last week 5th)
The Wings are coming off a mixed week. They were brilliant in Humboldt last Wednesday but ran into the Melville buzz saw Friday. Whenever this team is healthy, they can beat anybody, and they have proven it time and time again this year. What a battle the Viterra Division has been this season!
6. Battlefords North Stars (27-20-5) (Last week 6th)
The Battlefords’ offence showed up in a big way this weekend with two wins over Estevan, scoring a combined 13 goals. A four-game winning streak is coming at a perfect time, as the Stars are desperate to hold on to sixth and even move up. Health is a concern.
7. Humboldt Broncos (26-21-5) (Last week 7th)
Humboldt showed those guts that their coach, Brayden Klimosko, has traditionally brought out of his teams in a 3-2 shootout loss in Melville Saturday. The Broncos also showed their quality in Yorkton Saturday, pulling out a win on the back of a terrific Dazza Mitchell performance, so the Broncos have it all in front of them to improve their spot heading into the playoffs.
8. La Ronge Ice Wolves (22-25-5) (Last week 9th)
La Ronge’s never-say-die attitude has undoubtedly come to the fore lately, and while they could have heaped even more pressure on Kindersley had they hung on at home Friday night, they still have hope for a playoff spot. A 1-0 victory over the same Klippers Saturday meant they nabbed five of six points from the week and sit a single point outside the playoff picture with four games left. Hold on to your hats, folks; they have Melfort and Flin Flon to end the season.
9. Nipawin Hawks (15-31-6) (Last week 10th)
The Hawks have not quit relishing the spoiler role and did some damage to Kindersley’s plans with a win over the Klippers at home Friday night. They should have hope after a tremendous February overall and only one Hawk ages out this year.
10. Kindersley Klippers (23-25-4) (Last week 8th)
Kindersley did the bare minimum on their three-in-three road trip this past weekend, smash-and-grabbing two points in La Ronge on Friday night. They hold on to the final playoff spot by one point over La Ronge, with what should be a slightly more favourable schedule than the Wolves the rest of the way.
11. Estevan Bruins (16-29-6) (Last week 11th)
The Bruins have played a much freer form of hockey under Drew Kocur, although wins against anyone other than Notre Dame have been tough to come by. They will have a great chance to play spoiler the rest of the way, though, with two against divisional rivals Yorkton and two against Weyburn to end the regular season.
12. Notre Dame Hounds (11-35-4) (Last week 12th)
It’s been a tough go lately for ND. They are still playing hard for each other, though, and Coach Brett will have a lot to think about heading into Warman next year.
