Power Rankings (for the week ended Nov. 18)

Another week of action in the SJHL saw the top two teams for most of this season both take a bit of a drop as they struggled a bit this week and the parity in the league really shone through this week.

1. Melfort Mustangs (17-7-0-1) LW: 3

The SJHL's hottest team has made its way to the top of the power rankings this week as they have picked up at least one point in each of their last 13 games. All they did this week was win two tough road games in Melville and Yorkton, never an easy feat. The Mustangs were dealt a bit of a blow when it was found out that Clint Olson, currently in the top 10 in league scoring, will be out for up to 2 months with an injury. However, Taylor Watt, Matt Hill and the rest of the supporting staff have adequately filled the void. Brady Gordon, Tommy Brown, Riley Clark, Mike Kirby, Kassidy Collins and the rest of the crew give Melfort as good of a defense as any in the league. Ilia Ejov's only blemish on his goaltending record since arriving in Melfort is a shootout loss. Everything seems to be clicking right now in Melfort. The Mustangs will have a good test this week as they travel to Humboldt on Tuesday before hosting Weyburn Wednesday and Estevan on Saturday.

2. Weyburn Red Wings (15-8-2-2) LW: 4

The Red Wings won a pair of games over there Highway 39 rivals from Estevan this week as they climb a couple of spots in the power rankings. The Red Wings continue to get offense from a variety of different players as they continue to roll four lines for the most part. Josh Bray has kept up his fine play as of late and now has 15 goals on the season. Rookies like Rhett Bly, Joel Langevin and Luke Johnson have also all chipped in with offense every night. Defensively, in my mind, the Wings are as good as any team in the league. Kyle Haines, Stephen Simms, Connor Krukowski and Mick Pawlyshyn along with rookies Andrew Perrault and Ethan Gardner provide as solid of six as any team can offer. The Wings MVP in my mind though as been rookie goaltender AJ Whiffen. As an 18 year old I don't think anyone in Weyburn, or around the league, for that matter, expected to see Whiffen post the numbers that he has. As long as Whiffen can keep up with the workload that he has been receiving, this could be a special season for the Red Wings. This week the Wings will be tested as they play three tough games on the road. They will be in Nipawin on Tuesday, Melfort on Wednesday and head to Melville on Saturday.

3. Melville Millionaires (16-7-1-0) LW: 2

The Millionaires have been going in the wrong direction as of late after starting the season a perfect 11-0. This week they dropped a game versus Melfort before splitting a home and home with the Yorkton Terriers. The Millionaires bolstered their lineup this week with the addition of former Regina Pat forward Levi Lind. Lind had three points in his first three games in a Melville uniform. Derek Edwards has been putting up bigger offensive numbers from the blue line as of late. Kyle Cantlon's numbers have dropped a bit as of late but he continues to play strong in the Melville goal. The Millionaires have three important divisional games this week as they have home games versus Estevan and Weyburn and a road game to Notre Dame sandwiched between.

4. Humboldt Broncos (18-6-0-0) LW: 1

I may be a bit harsh on the Broncos this week having them drop three spots but I do not expect them to stay this low in the rankings for long. The Broncos lost their offensive touch this week as they only scored three goals in three losses to Nipawin, Flin Flon and La Ronge. Despite maybe the first adversity of the season he has faced, it was all in all a good week for Broncos goaltender Taylor Nelson as he accepted a scholarship to NCAA school Ferris State for next season. The Broncos play twice at home this week as they host Melfort on Tuesday and Kindersley on Saturday.

5. Flin Flon Bombers (15-9-0-1) LW: 6

Yes, the Bombers did lose to the Battlefords North Stars for the second time this season, but the followed that up with impressive wins over the Kindersley Klippers and Humboldt Broncos. Reid MacLeod, Pierre-Luc Boucher and Dennis Kubat continue to be 1-2-3 in league scoring and are showing no signs of slowing down. Barrett Penner has also proven to be a great pickup since being acquired from the Battlefords North Stars a couple of weeks ago. Calvin Bartel has really picked up his play and has regained the starting role in Flin Flon. The Bombers have a chance to distance themselves from some Itech Conference rivals this week as they have a home and home versus La Ronge and then host Nipawin on Saturday.

6. Kindersley Klippers (15-10-0-2) LW: 5

The Klippers swept a home and home set with the Battlefords North Stars and dropped a home game against Flin Flon earlier in the week. Ryan Sawka, Brett Leedahl and Casey Rempel, to name a few, have all picked up the scoring pace for the Klippers as of late. Scott Linnell and Milo Miller continue to lead a fairly young defensive unit. Matt Weninger has put pressure on starting goaltender Ryan Niesnzer for playing time, which is always a good situation for any team. In a scheduling rarity, the Klippers will host the Yorkton Terriers twice this week (Tuesday and Thursday) before hitting the road to Humboldt on Saturday.

7. La Ronge Ice Wolves (13-12-1-1) LW: 10

The Ice Wolves had a good week as they won games over the Nipawin Hawks and Humboldt Broncos. Jordie Johnston has been arguably the hottest player in the league as of late and is now 4th in league scoring. His linemates Jarrid Dowhay and Bruno-Pier Gosselin have also been putting up big numbers as of late. Forgotten in the mix is that Codie Pederson has been out of the Ice Wolves lineup for the entire season as of date due to injuries sustained in a car accident over the offseason. If Pederson can return to his form from last season, once he returns, it will be as good as making a big trade for the stretch drive. Jonathan Jobin and Brian Kaval continue to give the Ice Wolves a solid 1-2 punch in goal. La Ronge has a busy week as they play a home and home with the Flin Flon Bombers, before hitting the road for games in North Battleford and Notre Dame (in Gull Lake).

8. Yorkton Terriers (13-10-2-3) LW: 7

It was a mixed bag of results for the Terriers this week as they did manage to pick up three of a possible four points against rival Melville but lost a home game to Melfort. The Terriers were dealt a bit of a blow when Carter Smith announced early in the week that he was heading back to the WHL. Smith is now with the Red Deer Rebels where he has scored 2 goals in 2 games. With Bryan Hull still out due to injury, the Terriers will be leaning heavily on the likes of Kyle Block, Scott Jackson and Corey Silverson to provide the offense. Lynden Sammartino has continued to play well between the pipes for the Terriers as he is having a MVP type season. The Terriers hit the road this week for a pair of games in Kindersley and a game in the Battlefords.

9. Nipawin Hawks (10-11-0-2) LW: 9

The Hawks picked up three of a possible four points this week as they continue their climb back up the Itech standing after a period of mediocrity which led to some lineup changes. Those changes do not appear to be done though as Adam Schwark has apparently been moved on the the Bonnyville Pontiacs of the AJHL. Derek Kleinsteuber has picked up his play as of late and last week was the SJHL goaltender of the week. The Hawks have home games against Weyburn and Estevan this week before heading to Flin Flon for a game on Saturday.

10. Estevan Bruins (12-12-2-0) LW: 10

Uninspired play seems to have plagued the Bruins as of late and that was apparent again in a pair of losses against Weyburn this past weekend. The goal scorers have not been scoring and that is the biggest problem for Estevan right now. Kyle Stroh, Payden Benning and Kyle Ermel amongst others, have all saw there numbers decline as of late. One guy who can't be blamed for any problems though is goaltender Karsten Felske. Felske looked good in both games against Weyburn, despite the losses and also picked up a big win over Notre Dame earlier in the week. The Bruins will have to find their game on the road this week as they play three tough games in Melville, Nipawin and Melfort.

11. Notre Dame Hounds (7-17-0-1) LW: 11

It was a light week of action for the Hounds as they played only once, a 2-1 loss to the Estevan Bruins. The Hounds will hope the rest will give them the jump they need as they are currently 11 points out of a playoff position in a very tough Sherwood Conference. Despite the team's record, Mark Currie has been a great pickup in goal for the Hounds since his arrival from Yorkton. If the Hounds fail to get on a winning streak of some sort in the next couple of weeks, one has to think that Mike Vandenberghe may start to look to the future and move some veterans such as Tanner Vandesype, Eddie Gale and Chris Bratina. The Hounds host Melville before playing a neutral site game versus La Ronge in Gull Lake.

12. Battlefords North Stars (3-22-1-1) LW: 12

Although the Stars do deserve credit for a 3-0 win over Flin Flon, they followed that up with a pair of losses to the Kindersley Klippers. Ryan Kerpan has played well as of late and seems to have solidified the starting goaltending job in the Battlefords. Shawn McNulty has rediscovered his offensive touch in the last couple of games for the Stars. The Stars do not have a lot left that other teams would be interested in picking up for a late season pickup but one guy who may be on the move at some point is 20 year old forward Jason Walker. Walker could be a solid second or third line addition for some of the more upper echelon teams in the SJHL.

That's it for this week. As no comments have been left on the power rankings so far this season, I will assume that I am perfect in my predictions (Ha Ha)

- Brad M.