Itech Conference
The Humboldt Broncos have already clinched first place overall and will have home ice advantage for as long as they stay alive during the playoffs.
The Flin Flon Bombers are the frontrunners for second place and home ice advantage in the Conference Semi-Finals. The Bombers are 3-and-2 against Melfort & 2-2-and-1 against the Hawks. They are not in the clear yet as their magic number is 6 ½ with nine games to go.
The Melfort Mustangs have a three point lead on Nipawin for third, but the Hawks have two games in hand. The Mustangs have gone 6-and-3 in January after sputtering through a tough month in December at 1-and-8. Third place is vital as it will give that particular team a first round bye.
The Nipawin Hawks have been the Itech Conference’s second best team since December 1st (12-5-and-1). However, they got off to a slow start and that is why they find themselves sweating it out to try and get into third. They are going to have a very good chance to overtake the Mustangs as they play Melfort twice, Battlefords three times, and La Ronge once more.
The North Stars are just 1-6-and-2 during the month of January, but have managed to hang on to fifth place. Should they remain in fifth, they’ll face either Nipawin or Melfort in a best of five Elimination Series (barring a Flin Flon collapse).
If Battlefords were to continue to struggle and win only twice in their final eleven, La Ronge would still have to put together a 5-and-2 finish to get into the playoffs.
Sherwood Conference
The Weyburn Red Wings have been hot, hot, hot. They lead Melville by eight points, although the Mils have four games in hand. Nevertheless, Weyburn will play five of their final six on home ice and they’ve won nine of their last ten overall.
Melville hasn’t looked like a first place team since the Christmas break. If they could win all four of their games in hand on the Red Wings, it would make for an exciting sprint to the end. The schedule is a tough one: two with Yorkton, two with Estevan, two with Humboldt, one with Kindersley.
The Klippers are six points back of the Mils for second, but have a game in hand. They play Notre Dame three more times, which should work in their favor. They can hold off Yorkton by winning both games against the Terriers.
Yorkton has a schedule that allows them to control their destiny: two with Melville, three with Notre Dame, two with Kindersley. They lead Estevan by two points for fifth place and trail third place Kindersley by one point. They have a game in hand on the Bruins, but have played three more than the Klippers (so they’ll need to win both of those home games against Kindersley).
The Bruins have been in fifth for most of the year, but are actually only three points out of third. The Klippers, however, have four games in hand. They have one game left with Kindersley and are done with Yorkton. They are 17-9-1-and-3 since early November. This includes a 7-and-2 run in January. Clearly, they are a team to fear at the moment.
The Hounds are any combination of three losses or three Estevan wins away from being eliminated.