Power Rankings (For the Week Ended Oct. 21)

Another week of SJHL action sees a bit of moving and shaking this week. We see a new number one this week and big jumps by La Ronge and Melfort in the rankings. Perhaps unfairly, the Nipawin Hawks take a bit of a drop even though they were idle this week. That is the way the cookie crumbles sometimes though.

Without further adieu, here are my rankings:

1. Humboldt Broncos (12-2-0-0) Last Week: 2

It was a huge week for the high flying Broncos as they were a perfect 3-0 winning games over three pretty good opponents in Flin Flon, Melville and Estevan. The Broncos continue to get balanced scoring and this week saw Justin Stoski and Scott Schroeder return to the lineup. The only concern the Broncos may have is the depth at goaltending. If Taylor Nelson ever was to go down, the Broncos are a little thin at the backup position. Andrew Bodnarchuk has made a few starts with mixed results. That being said, he is young and should only get better with more experience. The Broncos play road games in Kindersley and Yorkton this week before returning home for a Sunday night game against the Klippers.

2. Melville Millionaires (11-3-1-0) Last Week: 1

The Millionaires find themselves out of the top position in the rankings for the first time this season. It was a tough week in Melville both on and off the ice. On the ice, the Mils could only manage to pick up one point in three games, an overtime loss to Humboldt. The Millionaires also lost road games in La Ronge and Flin Flon. Off the ice, they are dealing with an illness to goaltender Kyle Cantlon which has forced him to miss the last three games. He did not even make the northern road trip on the weekend. I am not sure of Cantlon's status at this time. I must say though that Travis Bosch did an admirable job of filling in for Cantlon. Although he lost all three starts this week, he faced over 40 shots/game on average and had a great save percentage for the week. Dion Campbell continues to be a force both offensively and defensively for the Mils. This week the Millionaires have home games against the Battlefords North Stars and Nipawin Hawks.

3. Estevan Bruins (10-5-2-0)Last Week: 3

The Bruins had a decent week as they went 2-1-1. Payden Benning continues to lead the way offensively. However, Benning did not dress for Sunday's night game in North Battleford. At this time, I am unsure of the reason for his absence in the lineup. Trevor Mock has been a nice pickup for the Bruins. Guillaume Perusse and Karsten Felske continue to split the goaltending chores. Will Karry Biette look to move a goaltender for an experienced d-men or more depth up front? In my opinion, the 19 year old Felske is going nowhere as he would still have another year of SJHL eligibility so if anyone was to go I would think it would be Perusse. The Bruins play at home twice this weekend as they host Flin Flon on Saturday and Yorkton on Sunday.

4. Flin Flon Bombers (8-5-0-1) Last Week: 4

The Bombers continue to bury their chances as the top line of Pierre-Luc Boucher, Reid MacLeod and Dennis Kubat seems unstoppable on some nights. Rookie defenseman Michael Young continues to play well while Carsen Chubak has started every game since Calvin Bartel was injured. One has to wonder if the rookie Chubak will get worn down with the large workload so early in the season. The Weyburn Red Wings hope so as they face Chubak and the Bombers on Friday night. The Bombers play four road games this week as they also head to Nipawin, Notre Dame and Estevan. The four games will be spread over five nights as they have Thursday night off.

5. La Ronge Ice Wolves (8-7-1-0) Last Week:9

Some people may think I am being to kind to the Ice Wolves by jumping them four spots in the ranking but I feel it is justified as they were able to win road games in two tough places to play - Weyburn and Estevan and followed that up with a huge home ice win over Melville on Friday night. The only blemish for the week was a 4-0 loss to Melfort on Saturday but not bad considering they played four games in five nights and spent a lot of time on the bus. Jordie Johnston had a good week for the Ice wolves who also have to be impressed with rookie Adam Moar who was named a game star twice last week. Jonathan Jobin remains steady between the pipes and Brian Kaval has proven to be a reliable backup to Jobin. The Ice Wolves have a lighter schedule this week as they play a road game in Melfort on Wednesday before returning home for a Saturday night tilt with the Kindersley Klippers.

6. Weyburn Red Wings (9-6-1-1) Last Week: 7

Although the Wings looked a bit sluggish on Wednesday versus La Ronge, they all but made up for it with a pair of impressive wins over the Yorkton Terriers on the weekend. Preston Shupe had a great week which saw himself move to the top of the team scoring list. The best player this week though had to have been defenseman Kyle Haines. Haines' defensive play was also rewarded this week with offensive statistics as he had six points in the two wins over the Terriers, doubling his season point totals. Kyle should be a shoo-in for SJHL defenseman of the week. I would not be surprised if Shupe was also not a strong candidate for player of the week. Is a goaltending controversy brewing in Weyburn as Tanner Erickson was given a start Friday and did not look out of place. AJ Whiffen has been spectacular in limited action and veteran Kyle McConnell adds experience to the position. It will be interesting to see what the Red Wings do at that position. The Wings play twice this week as they host the Flin Flon Bombers on Friday night before playing a rare Saturday matinee (3:00 start) as they meet the Notre Dame Hounds in Radville. This is a home game for the Hounds and should be interesting to see who the crowd gets behind as Radville product Tanner Vandesype plays for the Hounds and Radville's Eric Calibaba is a member of the Red Wings.

7. Nipawin Hawks (7-4-0-1) Last Week: 6

The only reason the Hawks drop is because they did not play. Nipawin will have had ten days off between games when they return to action Tuesday night at home versus Flin Flon. The Hawks head on the road for a pair of games on the weekend as they will be in Notre Dame and Melville. Danny Gagne should be back in the lineup for Nipawin after serving a five game suspension.

8. Kindersley Klippers (8-5-0-1) Last Week: 5

It wasn't so much that the Klippers had a bad week that sees them drop, but rather just not having as good of a week as some of the others. The Klippers won a game over the Battlefords North Stars and lost in a shootout to Estevan. They will also be the answer to a trivia question as they were the team that Yorkton goaltender Lynden Sammartino picked up his record breaking 9th career shutout against. Ryan Sawka had a great week offensively while Brett Leedahl seems to have regained his old form. The Klippers also welcomed back Scott Linnell to the blue line this week as he is arguably the Klippers top defenseman. The Klippers are similar to the Red Wings in that they have three goaltenders capable of playing at this level. I would suspect that Ryan Nieszner is untouchable so the Klippers may look to move one of Matt Weninger or Randy Willis. It;s a busy week for the Klippers as they host Humboldt on Tuesday and then embark on a three game road trip to Melfort, La Ronge and Humboldt.

9. Melfort Mustangs (8-7-0-0) Last Week:10

The Mustangs move up a spot as they went 2-0 for the week with wins over the Notre Dame Hounds and La Ronge Ice Wolves. The Mustangs have made a change at the goaltending position as Ilya Ejov joins the team after a couple of seasons in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. Ejov picked up a shutout in his second SJHL start. The Mustangs said goodbye to the personable David Ritz. Ritz struggled this season but here's hoping he gets a chance to redeem himself somewhere. Matt Hill, Taylor Watt and Clint Olson have been scoring at a dizzying pace recently which was an area the Mustangs were struggling in before the return of Watt from a concussion. The Mustangs have home games against La Ronge and Kindersley this week.

10. Yorkton Terriers (7-7-1-2) Last Week: 8

It was a bittersweet week for Terriers netminder Lynden Sammartino as he picked up the SJHL's all time shutouts crowd in a win over Kindersley before having a rough weekend against the Red Wings. Sammartino was pulled after allowing two goals on four shots on Friday night and then allowed six more goals against the Wings on Saturday in Yorkton. Ed Zawatsky has already pulled the trigger on a big trade this year as he acquired Bryan Hull from Notre Dame and I would not be surprised if more moves were on the horizon in Yorkton. Carter Smith has been superb for the Terriers since returning from Everett's camp and had provided a solid 1-2 punch with Hull. It is not panic mode in Yorkton yet but if Sammartino continues to struggle that may change. The Terriers host the Battlefords and Humboldt this week before heading to Estevan on Sunday night.

11. Battlefords North Stars (2-12-1-1) Last Week: 12

The Stars do move out of the basement of the ranking this week as they went 0-2-0-1 for the week. Decent outings against Yorkton and Estevan bumped the Stars ahead of the Notre Dame Hounds in the rankings. The Stars continue to struggle scoring goals as well as preventing them at times which of course is a recipe for disaster. That being said, the more this young team is together, the better they start to get. Goaltenders Ryan Kerpan and Adrien Lemay will continue to build confidence as they get more game action. The Stars have a tough mid-week road trip as they play in Yorkton and Melville.

12. Notre Dame Hounds (2-14-1-0) Last Week: 11

The Hounds only played once this week and they were hammered 7-3 by the Melfort Mustangs. Mark Currie had his first real rough outing for the Hounds in the game and head coach Mike Vandenberghe as to hope that was just a small blip on the radar. How long will the Hounds wait before starting to deal veterans? One has to wonder if veteran defenseman Tanner Vandesype and veteran forwards Eddie Gale and Chris Bratina will have the patience to stick with the rebuilding Hounds or desire to be moved to a contender. Vandenberghe has a history of making big trades so time will tell if he pulls the trigger again. The Hounds play 2 and a half home game this week. They host Flin Flon and Nipawin and then face the Weyburn Red Wings in Radville on Saturday afternoon.

There you have it for this week.

- Brad M.