These are the second-to-last power rankings before the new year, and most of the league’s power rankings picture is as clear as mud.
A group of SJHL media decides the power rankings.
1. Melfort Mustangs (23-4-0) (Last week 1st)
The win streak is now at 12, and it does not look like this team is slowing down. Two more wins this past week vs. local rival Humboldt, and nobody wants the Christmas break less than the defending champs.
2. Flin Flon Bombers (16-9-2) (Last week 2nd)
Flin Flon’s win streak was finally broken at 10 with an overtime loss this past weekend in Battlefords, but the unbeaten run is still going. The debate between the two league finalists as to which one is the better team right now is hot and potentially impossible to decide.
3. Yorkton Terriers (16-9-1) (Last week 3rd)
December’s three-game win streak for the Terriers hasn’t always been pretty, but still, six points from six look the same in the standings as three blowouts. This is the healthiest Yorkton has been all year, and if they can maintain that, they have become masters at winning at all costs. A quiet week was only interrupted by a come-from-behind victory in Nipawin.
4. Battlefords North Stars (15-8-5) (Last week 4th)
Battlefords is gaining a reputation as ‘streak killers,’ as they followed up their disruption of Weyburn’s long run earlier this year with a 10-game win-streak snapper at home to Flin Flon this past weekend. When Justen Maric is on, there are few game-changing goaltenders like him in the league, and a split with the mighty Bombers won’t have Coach Marty Smith up at night.
5. Assiniboia/Weyburn Red Wings (16-8-2) (Last week 5th)
Weyburn has found their new temporary home in Assiniboia for the rest of 2024, and a hard-fought split with the Kindersley Klippers showed resilience through the adversity of a whole bunch of injuries and absences up front. If you can get out to a game in Assiniboia, though, we highly recommend it: it’s gorgeous over there.
6. La Ronge Ice Wolves (14-15-1) (Last week 7th)
Whenever La Ronge gets knocked down this year, they have shown tremendous resilience to get back up again. They got taken to task this past weekend at home vs. Nipawin, but then, behind another solid night from Graham Brown, posted a shutout the next night at the home of the Hawks.
7. Melville Millionaires (14-13-3) (Last week, 6th)
Melville snapped its five-game losing streak at home this past weekend in a split with Estevan, and even better news, their new goaltender, Ben Laurette, looks terrific. He shut out the Bruins in his first career SJHL start and looks the part to help get this still-very-talented squad back on track.
8. Kindersley Klippers (14-15-1) (Last week 8th)
Kindersley played very well most of the two-game set with Weyburn in Assiniboia this past weekend and blew the doors off the Wings Saturday before a couple of late goals made the scoreboard look nicer. When this team plays their way, they are very hard to face for anyone; we’ve seen it repeatedly.
9. Humboldt Broncos (14-13-1) (Last week 9th)
Four defeats in five contests so far in December are very uncharacteristic for this Broncos team looking for consistency. Still, two hard-fought losses to the unbeatable Mustangs and a dominant win vs. Notre Dame in Wynyard last week have plenty of positives for Humboldt to take into the new week.
10. Estevan Bruins (10-12-4) (Last week 12th)
Coach Jason Tatarnic keeps seeing glimpses of what this group could be, such as in the third period at home Friday in a come-from-behind win vs. Melville. The next night’s offence was hard to come by on the road at the Mils, but with a potentially elite defence corps and plenty of experience up front, this team could still very well figure it out and be a menace late in the year.
11. Nipawin Hawks (7-17-4) (Last week 11th)
Head coach Tad Kozun’s young squad had their four-game unbeaten run snapped Saturday vs. La Ronge, but the ideas he has been preaching are starting to get through, and the remade defence-corps have especially started to shine. A big week upfront from Ashton Tait is also massive for a team searching for a star.
12. Notre Dame Hounds (8-17-3) (Last week 10th)
Notre Dame had a much-needed quiet week after their four-game unbeaten run was snapped from a tough effort in Wynyard vs. Humboldt. The loss of Vinny Palmarin on the back end is big for this young squad, but Spencer Borsos continues to play out of his mind in net.
