Five to seven games in, and we are still trying to get a sense of where all the teams fit in the league!
A group of SJHL media decides the power rankings.
1.Melville Millionaires (5-0-1) (Last week 3rd)
A win this past week at the house of the defending champion Melfort Mustangs and an overtime loss at home has the Money Men sitting pretty and still undefeated in regulation. Caden Drury and Ryan Roethke sit 1-2 in league scoring after the weekend.
2.Melfort Mustangs (5-1-0) (Last week 1st)
A win and a loss from a very competitive home-and-home series with the high-flying Melville Millionaires, has Trevor Blevins’ men slipped down to second. The combination of Logan Belton and Reilley Kotai has been impressive up front.
3.Yorkton Terriers (5-1-0) (Last week 2nd)
Yorkton continues to fly, but perhaps a Sunday afternoon home loss to the Humboldt Broncos is a wake-up call to a group of Terriers who have not done much wrong this year. Still, it was a terrific start for Emery Olauson’s team, especially given their muscular strength of schedule.
4.Humboldt Broncos (4-1-1) (Last week 6th)
The Broncos played three games in less than 48 hours this past weekend and emerged with five of six points, including wins over Kindersley and Yorkton. A busy stretch of six games in nine days continues for a Humboldt team that had a slow start to the campaign schedule-wise.
5.Flin Flon Bombers (4-3-1) (Last week 4th)
The Bombers’ southern swing of four games in five days this past week yielded mixed results, with rookie goaltender Massimo Urbani emerging as a potential star as Flin Flon went .500 on the trip.
6.Battlefords North Stars (3-2-0) (Last week 8th)
Battlefords’ run of six of their first seven games of the year at the Access Communications Centre has paid dividends lately as the Stars’ have found their home form and won three in a row, including a pair this past weekend vs. the La Ronge Ice Wolves.
7.Kindersley Klippers (4-2-0) (Last week 5th)
A home-and-home, competitive split with the Humboldt Broncos was fair given the balance of play this past weekend, and Clayton Jardine’s young pair of healthy goalies have done very well under challenging circumstances.
8.La Ronge Ice Wolves (2-3-1) (Last week 7th)
This last week, a tight set in North Battlefords indicates the up-and-down nature of the Ice Wolves’ campaign. They certainly had good spells of play but ended up dropping both in the problematic confines of the ACC.
9.Weyburn Red Wings (1-4-0) (Last week 9th)
Don’t fear Weyburn fans: this time outside the Top 8 seems short-lived. At least six new forwards have arrived at Crescent Point Place over the last ten days, including two men who should be expected to be among the most dangerous in the league for the rest of the year: Jerome Maharaj and Ethan Dekay. A big win over Nipawin was the first of the year, but with the talent Cody Mapes can now roll out, this team should only be expected to get better.
10.Estevan Bruins (1-3-1) (Last week 11th)
As much as Weyburn worked on its forwards this past week, the Bruins worked on their defence corps. Prominent veterans Kieran Ronan and Bo Doxtator are expected to impact this group enormously, and Ronan should be among the best blue-liners in the SJHL. The Bruins pulled out a signature win at home this past week against the Flin Flon Bombers after a disappointing loss to Nipawin.
11.Notre Dame Hounds (1-5-0) (Last week 12th)
The Hounds split the week at home with a tight loss to the Flin Flon Bombers and a dominant win vs. Nipawin. Vinny Palmarin’s return to the squad and the addition of Thomas Boynton-Fisher upfront from the MJHL have paid off immediately, while the power play is on fire.
12.Nipawin Hawks (1-6-0) (Last week 11th)
Nipawin grabbed its first win of the year in Estevan behind another excellent Tyson Endall performance on the net and got significant reinforcement from Ashton Tait from the WHL. Brighter days ahead for the Hawks.