Another Banner Will Grace the Rafters of the Weyburn Colosseum!

In what will go down as a memorable weekend in Weyburn Red Wing history, the Weyburn Red Wings took 3 of 4 points versus the rival Estevan Bruins and after all was said and done clinched the Sherwood conference pennant as neither the Melville Millionaires or Kindersley Klippers can now catch the first place Wings.

On Friday night, the Red Wings got a remarkable four goal night (plus one in the shootout) from Preston Shupe but that would not be enough as they fell 5-4 in the shootout. Bruins goaltender David Ritz was phenomenal throughout the third period and overtime to allow the Bruins to pick up the two points. Josh Bray and Stephen Simms added two assists each on Friday night for the Wings.Payden Benning forced overtime with a third period goal while Colton MacPherson, who has no goals this season, managed to pick up the shootout winner.

The Wings rebounded on Saturday night with a 4-2 win over the Bruins in Estevan. It was a wild first period which saw the Wings and Bruins exchange goals with Weyburn leading 3-2 after the first. Rhett Bly scored two first period goals and added an assist on a goal by Stephen Simms, the eventual game winner to pick up the three point night. Eric Calibaba scored an insurance goal in the third period to seal the deal for the Wings. Preston Shupe added two assists for the Red Wings who got single assists from Josh Bray, Torrey Lindsay, Bly, Scott Doody and Kyle Haines. Chad Filteau had a goal and an assist to lead the Bruins. Davis Brown also scored for Estevan. Kealin Wong and Brant Harris also picked up assists for the Bruins. The game featured a good scrap between Wings tough guy Justin Crockatt and Bruins captain Kyle Garagan who for some reason thought he was a heavyweight champion after the bout as he taunted the Red Wing bench. AJ Whiffen made 29 saves for the win while David Ritz stopped 18 of 22 shots he faced in the Estevan goal. The Bruins were without regular starter Karsten Felske for the weekend as he had some dehydration issues. Riley Hengen was called in as an emergency backup for the weekend.

Other Saturday Action....

The other game the Red Wings were keeping a close tab on was the game in Kindersley between the Melville Millionaires and the host Klippers. The Millionaires moved into sole possession of second place in the Sherwood as they disposed of the Klippers 4-2. Levi Lind had two goals to pace the Millionaires. Michael Jordan and Dion Campbell also scored for Melville. Daniel Hope and Aaron Decorby each had two assists for Melville while Tyler Murray, Austin Krahenbil, and Curtis Beech also had assists. Jerrett Bicknell and Casey Rempel replied for the Klippers. Kendall Holmes, Jonathan Redlick and Brett Leedahl all picked up assists. Joe Rodwell had the win in goal for Melville while Matt Weninger made 25 saves in the losing effort for the Klippers. Melville has three games remaining, while the Klippers have four remaining. This should be an interesting race for second place down the stretch. The Millionaires conclude their season with a home and home against the Estevan Bruins followed by a home game against Notre Dame. The Klippers head out on a three game southern road trip to Notre Dame, Weyburn and Estevan before finishing up at home against La Ronge.

In Flin Flon, the Bombers picked up a big win on home ice to move within one point of the third place La Ronge Ice Wolves as they dumped Melfort 5-1. Cole Wilson scored twice to lead the way for the Bombers. Dennis Kubat, Scott Day and Dustyn Clegg also scored for Flin Flon. Reid MacLeod and Barrett Penner each had two assists for the Bombers. Myles Masse, Matt Dyck and Kory Gursky all added single assists. Ryan Gareau had the lone goal for the Mustangs. Calvin Bartel stopped 18 of 19 shots for the win. Jesse Trach got a rare start for the Mustangs and made 30 saves. The Bombers and Ice Wolves each have four games remaining including a home and home this coming weekend. Chances are if one of the teams can sweep the home and home, that team will finish third and avoid the elimination series versus Nipawin.

The Nipawin Hawks continue to play some impressive hockey as of late as they fired 63 shots at La Ronge goaltender Jonathan Jobin in a 3-2 overtime victory over the Ice Wolves. Steve Mason scored twice for the Hawks, including the overtime winner. Mike Rey had the other Nipawin goal. Brent Ottmann added two assists while also getting helpers were Trent Rumpel, Jordan Bourgonje, Keldon Sanderson and Taylor Thiessen. Bruno-Pier Gosselin and Chris Jungwirth scored for the Ice Wolves. Jordie Johnston and Ryan Desjarlais added assists. Jobin was the true hero for La Ronge as he made 60 saves. Derek Kleinsteuber had 30 saves for the Hawks as he picked up the win.

So with a week to go in the regular season a few things are left to be decided. Who will finish second in the Sherwood - Melville or Kindersley? Who will avoid the elimination series in the Itech - La Ronge or Flin Flon? Will Jordie Johnston hang on to win the scoring title? Will either Weyburn's AJ Whiffen or Humboldt's Taylor Nelson pick up shutout number 7 on the season to set an all time SJHL single season record. Should be an interesting week ahead.

Wings this week - Tomorrow night in Notre Dame, Tuesday home against Yorkton, Friday home versus Kindersley and Saturday back to Notre Dame to finish off the season.

- Brad M.