By Mike Stackhouse /

FLIN FLON BOMBERS
The Bombers clinched first place in the Bauer Conference with a handful of games remaining in the regular season schedule, but they fizzled against La Ronge in the last two contests and it cost them first place overall.
The Bombers, despite their lofty standing, can’t be looking forward to facing the winner of the Survivor Series as the Ice Wolves won five of eight head-to-head meetings with them, including the last three. Humboldt and Flin Flon have played seven one-goal games against each other. It’s hoped Brody Haygarth (concussion) will have fully recovered in time for the opening round.
 
BATTLEFORDS NORTH STARS
The Stars go into the playoffs with enforcer Tony Oak serving a five-game suspension as a result of a fan altercation during a game in Flin Flon in mid-February. The Stars will face Melfort in the Bauer semifinals. The Mustangs won four of six head-to-head meetings and quietly got to within three points of the second-place Stars by the end of the year. Who plays goal will be a tough call for head coach Ken Pearson as Kyle Birch just about stole the Humboldt series last year. However, he was outplayed by Graham Hildebrand this season. Hildebrand won seven of his last eight starts.
 
MELFORT MUSTANGS
Melfort dealt high-scoring forward Deven Stillar to Flin Flon on Jan. 10 and it was thought the Mustangs may hit full-blown rebuild mode. Instead, the opposite occurred. The team changed its style of play from a finesse group to more of a crash-and-bang outfit and the results have been extremely favorable. The duo of Todd Chinova and Gary Childerhose have carried the offence with Chinova averaging close to two points a game over his final 15. Brant Harris, brought in from Estevan on Dec. 1, has also stepped it up. Blake Hietala has been a lethal weapon on the powerplay. Rookie Jesse Mireau played his best hockey down the stretch as well.
 
LA RONGE ICE WOLVES
La Ronge fired warning shots to the rest of the league over the Christmas break with a couple of major deals that saw them bring in Aaron DeCorby from Melville as well as Liam Brennan and Colton MacPherson from Estevan. Marc-Andre Carre, a dynamic rookie from Quebec, was lost to the QMJHL but he returned Jan. 10 to further boost the attack. Many observers feel this is the club to watch as they may be the most playoff-ready in the Bauer Conference. A blueline with Dustin Stevenson, Mike Alexander, MacPherson, and Kirk Moore as a top four may be unmatched in the league. Adam Bartko has provided all-star caliber goaltending and Joel Danyluk has a proven playoff history. Working against them is the long road to the Credit Union Cup as they’ll have to win the Survivor Series against Humboldt (three time league champs) and then go up against first-place Flin Flon (who will have had rest).
 
HUMBOLDT BRONCOS
This club will likely go as far as netminder Andrew Bodnarchuk can take them. Bodnarchuk has had some of his best performances against first-place Flin Flon and he’s also kept his team in games against the Ice Wolves despite a GAA of 3.24 in head-to-head competition, as his .924 save percentage attests. Rookie Justin Buzzeo burned La Ronge with nine points in six head-to-head games and each club won three times against the other. The team will also rely on carry over players from last year’s championship squad, which include Bryce Walker, Spencer Braaten, Nick Keller, Kyle Cowan, Kenton Valliant, Shawn Hunter, Colton Allan, Garrett Leedahl, and Bodnarchuk. Top centreman Cam Gibson was on last year’s roster but missed the entire playoffs with an injury.
 
NIPAWIN HAWKS
A season that started with promise ends with questions as the Hawks set themselves up nicely for the future by moving a number of veterans throughout the season. But now they are left with a void at head coach following Colin O’Hara’s late-season resignation.
Duane Thorpe took over to end the year, but the Hawks are advertising for a new bench boss as of press time.
A brutal 3-20-5-1 road record is what did this team in. They also went 1-9 in the final 10 games (most of which were played on the road).
Before O’Hara left, he had acquired most of Flin Flon’s 2010 recruiting class through deals for Mike Rey and Taylor Thiessen. Those players make up next year’s nucleus along with Matthew Spafford, who was a top-five scorer. Forwards Jeff Lorenz and Tanner Dusyk as well as blueliners Scott Brkich and Patrick Howey will have prominent roles. Rookie Jonathan Ceci also shined after the Christmas Break with 28 points in 22 games.
 
WEYBURN RED WINGS
The Wings finished first in the conference and also first overall to ensure home-ice advantage for as long as they play in the SJHL playoffs.
Armed with an offensive attack that is four lines deep, the Wings also have the benefit of the league’s top goalie going into the second season. AJ Whiffen led the league with a 2.24-GAA and he also set an SJHL record for career shutouts (11) by registering four this year.
Rookie Drew George put up 26 points in 20 games following a trade from the BCHL. Brennan Wrigley, who has been a catalyst on the top line, missed the final games of the regular season due to an ankle injury, but he’s expected to return in time for the playoffs. In typical Ron Rumball fashion, the Wings added little-known forward Brendon Grube for the final half-dozen games and the former Estevan minor hockey star should be nicely rounded into shape for the playoffs after serving as a coach in his hometown all year.
 
NOTRE DAME HOUNDS
The Hounds are traditionally a team that fades in the second half as their young core shores up scholarships and then look toward going home for the offseason. That cannot be said this year as the team has been built with homegrown veterans who have bought into head coach Darren Evjen’s program.
One opposing coach said the Hounds are, uniquely, a team that is ‘short on skill and high on character’ instead of vice versa. That is not to say the team cannot put the puck in the net as Travis Janke won the SJHL scoring title and he combines with Kyle Ireland and Thomas Williams to form an extremely dangerous top line. Andy Smith and Trevor Cameron also supply point-per-game offense. Notre Dame fell out of contention for first late in the year but that was mainly due to injuries.
 
KINDERSLEY KLIPPERS
Talk about dealing with adversity. The community of Kindersley lost the majority of its arena to fire in early January and it forced Kindersley to move all home games to Eston for the rest of the year.
The Klippers went 8-0-1 in their new digs down the stretch. Goalie Josh Thorimbert, 17, a contender for SJHL Rookie Of The Year, took the bull by the horns and led the team with veteran-level netminding (2.44, .925) after the blaze.
Head coach Larry Wintoneak can’t help but be happy with his team’s record despite struggles from veteran captain Jordan Braid, who had just two goals in his last 17 games, as well as WHL veteran Sanfred King, who had one goal in his last 18. The team was being carried by the likes of Andrew Dommett, Johnny Calkins, Braeden Adamyk, and Taylor Duzan.
In recent years, no coach has done a better job than Wintoneak when it comes to playing his top players a lot and then picking appropriate times during games to spot in his depth players to provide much-needed rest for his stars.
 
MELVILLE MILLIONAIRES
A fourth-place team with a first- or second-place roster? The Millionaires scuffled all year and then reeled off a nine-game winning streak in late January and early February to send a message to the rest of the league that they will be heard from before the year is over.
Additions up front in the form of SIJHL scoring star Colton Kennedy and former WHL veteran Cody Gross have allowed the Mils to balance their lines better. Matt Kinnunen also wielded a hot stick with an average of a goal per game over his final 12.
The defence was bolstered by the return of Jordan Reeve from injury layoff and the shrewd acquisition of rookie Tyson Newell from the MJHL. The powerplay, anemic through the first 40 games, was operating at a near 30% efficiency during the team’s hot spell. However, no change sparked the team as much as that of adding Deszi Wiens in goal. Wiens won eight of his last nine starts and posted a GAA of 2.37 to go with a .929 save percentage. The Mils have home-ice advantage against Yorkton in the Survivor Series and have beaten the Terriers in each of the last three years in post-season meetings.
 
YORKTON TERRIERS
The Terriers made a change behind the bench with eight games left, saying good-bye to Ed Zawatsky, who had been with the club for eight years, six as head coach.
Assistant Trent Cassan assumed the role of interim head coach and he was put in the position to deal with a very serious hardship immediately as it was revealed goalie Luke Boechler was diagnosed with leukemia.
Before Zawatsky left, he made bold moves at the trade deadline. Ryan Griffiths was brought in from Swan Valley, Troy Smukowich was acquired from Winnipeg South, and Kyle Miller joined the team after sitting out most of the year. Miller was a former captain with the Camrose Kodiaks of the AJHL.
 
ESTEVAN BRUINS
The Bruins fell out of the race early and purged their team of veterans throughout December and January. Head coach Karry Biette has positioned the team to receive very good futures from the Dauphin Kings and La Ronge Ice Wolves after moving out Devin Mitzner, Colton MacPherson, and Liam Brennan.
With Chris Neamonitis graduating from the junior ranks, goaltending will be an immediate concern.
Dylan Smith, Kyle Johnson, and Ryan Andersen are all back to shoulder some of the offence. The entire blueline is eligible to come back as Neamonitis was the only graduate on the roster by year’s end.