Kyle's Comments

I caught up with Captain Kyle Haines yesterday, just before the afternoon skate and right before he was announced as this week's SJHL Defenceman of the week. Here is what he had to say about his play on the weekend and what the team has to do versus Flin Flon on Friday.

TK: You had a break out night offensively versus Yorkton last Friday night, were you waiting for a game like this to happen?

Kyle Haines: I was hoping it would happen soon. I just put the puck on the net and my forwards banged in the rebounds for me during the game.

TK: Has wearing the ‘C’ for the Wings put any added pressure on you to perform this season?

Haines: Certainly there are expectations that come with the letter on my jersey. I am trying to meet those expectations and try to contribute each and every game. I am feeling more and more confident in my game and hope to get better as
I progress.

TK: How are you preparing for Friday’s game with the week off?

Haines: I am gonna get some rest, keep my focus, work hard at practice and make sure I am prepared mentally for the game.

TK: Prediction time, What’s going to be the score versus Flin Flon on Friday?

Haines: If we play our best, stay out of the penalty box and shut down their top line we can definitely beat them. I am going to say 4-2 for us.

- Troy Kramm

Captain Kyle Rewarded For Great Week!

(Courtesy of sjhl.ca)

SJHL FORWARD OF THE WEEK: Reid MacLeod, Flin Flon Bombers

Highlights: The 1988 born MacLeod continues to be an unstoppable offensive force after a week that saw him score 3-goals and 3-assists in 2-games. He leads the SJHL in scoring with 17-goals and 12-assists in 14-games. Seeing as how he has more points than any player chosen to Canada West for the WJAC, his absence from that team is a major mystery.
Runners-up: Payden Benning & Kyle Ermel, Estevan; Ryan Sawka, Kindersley; Preston Shupe, Weyburn; Kyle Block, Yorkton; and Taylor Watt, Melfort.

SJHL DEFENSEMAN OF THE WEEK: Kyle Haines, Weyburn Red Wings

Highlights: Haines, the 1987 born captain of the Red Wings, helped the team to two wins in three games and was also an integral part of the Wings keeping their goals against down to seven over the course of the three games. He also had a goal and four assists over the course of those three games to lend a hand to the offense.
Runners-up: Russell Nielsen, Humboldt; Kassidy Collins, Melfort; Tyler Karst, La Ronge.

SJHL GOALTENDER OF THE WEEK: Taylor Nelson, Humboldt Broncos

Highlights: Nelson went 2-and-0 with a 1.97-GAA and .922-SPCT over the last seven days. One of those wins came on the road, in Melville, against the top statistical teams in the SJHL at that point in time. At 8-and-1, 1.45, and .934 numbers for the season, Nelson is enjoying a year that is, actually, better than his past week in which he earned Goaltender of the Week honors.

Runners-up: Ilia Ejov, Melfort; AJ Whiffen, Weyburn; Tanner Erickson, Weyburn; Brian Kaval, La Ronge.

Other SJHL notes: Forward Matt Hill of the Melfort Mustangs was suspended four games for receiving a match penalty for checking to the head last week which caused an injury to the recipient. Hill has already sat out one game and is not eligible to return until October 31 when Melfort travels to Kindersley.

- Brad M.

Weekly Stats Pack!

Top Five Red Wing Scorers:

1. Preston Shupe (5 - 12 -17)
2. Torrey Lindsay (8 - 7 - 15)
3. Josh Bray (7 - 7 - 14)
4. Brayden Nargang (8 - 4 - 12)
5. Stephen Simms (3 - 9 - 12)

Weyburn goaltenders:

Kyle McConnell (633 MP, 3.41 GAA, .895 save pct., 4-5-0-1)
AJ Whiffen (340 MP, 2.29 GAA, .929 save pct., 3-1-1-0)
Tanner Erickson (60 MP, 2.00 GAA, .933 save pct., 1-0-0-0)

SJHL Top 10 Scorers:

1. Reid MacLeod - Flin Flon (17-12-29)
2. Pierre - Luc Boucher - Flin Flon (9-19-28)
3. Dennis Kubat - Flin Flon (9-14-23)
4. Laurent Benjamin - Humboldt (9-13-22)
5. Payden Benning - Estevan (7-15-22)
6. Bryan Hull - Yorkton (7-14-21)
7. Kyle Stroh - Estevan (13-7-20)
8. Dion Campbell - Melville (10-10-20)
9. Clint Olson - Melfort (8-11-19)
10. Jarrid Dowhay - La Ronge (6-13-19)

Top 5 Defenseman Scoring:

1. Tanner Vandesype - Notre Dame (6-7-13)
2. (tie) Russ Nielsen - Humboldt (4-8-12)
Kealin Wong - Estevan (4-8-12)
4. Stephen Simms - Weyburn (3-9-12)
5. Michael Young - Flin Flon (2-10-12)

Top 5 Rookie Scoring:

1. Rylan Schwartz - Notre Dame (8-10-18)
2. Michael Young - Flin Flon (2-10-12)
3. Luke Johnson - Weyburn (5-6-11)
4. Joel Langevin - Weyburn (3-8-11)
5. Nick Needham - Weyburn (4-6-10)

Top 5 Penalty Minutes:

1. Cam Oliphant - Melfort (91 PIM)
2. Barrett Penner - Battlefords (89 PIM)
3. Eric Calibaba - Weyburn (81 PIM)
4. Michael Seib - Weyburn (75 PIM)
5. Nick Kalnicki - Battlefords (61 PIM)

Top 5 Goals Against Average:
(minimum 360 Minutes played)

1. Taylor Nelson - Humboldt (1.45)
2. Kyle Cantlon - Melville (1.61)
3. Karsten Felske - Estevan (2.43)
4. Lynden Sammartino - Yorkton (2.81)
5. Travis Bosch - Melville (2.85)

Top 5 Save Percentage
(minimum 360 minutes played)

1. Kyle Cantlon - Melville (.947)
2. Taylor Nelson - Humboldt (.934)
3. Travis Bosch - Melville (.923)
4. (tie) Karsten Felske - Estevan (.918)
Jonathan Jobin - La Ronge (.918)

Bruins Inch Closer to First in Sherwood!

The Estevan Bruins completed their three game road trip tonight in North Battleford as they dumped the North Stars 5-2. Two of the newer acquisitions, Liam Brennan and Trevor Mock, each had two goals for the Bruins. Kyle Ermel added a goal and an assist for the Bruins who also got assists from Riley Tetreault, Kyle Garagan, Brody Haygarth, Brennan Wrigley, Niko Grose and Chad Filteau. Payden Benning, the Bruins leading scorer, was not dressed on Sunday night. John Midtdal, with his first SJHL goal, and Tony Oak scored for the Stars. Makstr Lacoursiere added an assist. Guillaume Perusse made the start on goal for the Bruins and turned aside 23 of 25 shots he faced. Adrien Lemay also made 23 saves for the Stars. The game saw it's share of power play opportunities but neither team did a lot with the PP on this night. The Bruins improve to 10-5-2-0 and are now only one point back of the Melville Millionaires for first. However, the Bruins have played two more games than Melville. The Stars struggles continue as they are now 2-12-1-1.

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.

Can we play the Terriers Every Game?

For whatever reason, the Weyburn Red Wings have the Yorkton Terriers number this year. Weyburn improved to 4-0 versus the Terriers this season following a 7-4 win Saturday night in Yorkton. For the second straight night, the Wings managed to get to Lynden Sammartino and tonight overcame a 4-3 deficit after two periods and scored four unanswered goals in the third on their way to victory. Brayden Nargang led the scoring attack for the Wings as he picked up goals #7 & 8 and now had 12 points in 13 games since his return from WHL training camp. Nargang's second goal proved to be the game winner. Preston Shupe, Torrey Lindsay, Luke Johnson and Nick Needham (empty netter) each had a goal and an assist for the Red Wings. Scott Doody also picked up a goal, his second of the season. Michael Seib, Josh Bray and Kyle Haines each chipped in with a pair of assists. Joel Langevin and Craig Cornelson each added an assist as the Wings as usual, spread the scoring around. Kyle Block had a goal and an assist for the Terriers. Michael Trebish, Carter Smith and Scott Jackson also scored for Yorkton. Chris Cook, Drek Derkach, Bryan Hull and Greg Coburn all had assists. Kyle McConnell got the start for Weyburn and made 23 saves. His counterpart, Lynden Sammartino also made 23 saves. As a side note to the game, Michael Seib and Eric Calibaba were involved in fisticuffs for the second consecutive game as both were involved in late first period tussles. Seib fought Michael Trebish while Calibaba battled with Kirk Byczynski. Apparently some bad blood most of boiled over from Friday's game. Just want to take this opportunity to congratulate the guys on a very well earned four points this weekend against a tough opponent whose goaltender happens to be the SJHL's alltime shutout leader. The Wings are now 9-6-1-1 and are tied with the Estevan Bruins for second place in the Sherwood with 20 points each. The Terriers drop back to fifth in the Sherwood as they are now 7-7-1-2.

The Estevan Bruins got back in the win column tonight as they got by the Kindersley Klippers 5-4 in a shootout. Kyle Ermel was the shootout hero for the Bruins and also had an assist in the game. Payden Benning led the way offensively for the Bruins as he had a goal and two assists. Brennan Wrigley and Riley Tetreault each had a goal and an assist for the Bruins while Trevor Mock also had a goal. Ryan Sawka had a pair of goals for Kindersley while Ben Ritchie and Jayde Dunser added singles. Brett Leedahl and Jonathan Redlick each had two assists for Kindersley. Karsten Felske made his second consecutive start for the Bruins and stopped 34 of the 38 shots he faced. Randy Willis made his second start of the season for Kindersley and this time made it through the entire game. Willis stopped 25 Estevan shots. The Bruins are now 9-5-2-0 while the Klippers now have a record of 8-5-0-1.

The Melville Millionaires have all of a sudden found themselves in their first slump of the season as they fell 7-4 to the Flin Flon Bombers at the always tough Whitney Forum. Complicating matters for the Mils is they continued to be without the services of Kyle Cantlon as the reins have been handed over to Travis Bosch while Cantlon recovers from illness. Pierre - Luc Boucher had a two goals and an assist to lead the way for the Bombers. He and his linemates combined for nine points as Reid MacLeod had a goal and two assists and Dennis Kubat contributed three assists. Dustyn Clegg added a goal and an assist for Flin Flon. David Linsley, Brennan Cox and Michael Young also scored for Flin Flon. Dion Campbell scored twice for the Millionaires who also got goals from Justin Klassen and Jordan Reeve. Carsen Chubak picked up the win as he made 16 saves for the Bombers. Bosch was much busier as he faced 45 shots at the other end, stopping 38 of them. The Millionaires drop to 11-3-1-0 and now only have a three point lead over the Bruins and Red Wings but do have games in hand on both clubs. The Bombers improve their record to 8-5-0-1.

Finally, in La Ronge, the Ice Wolves three game winning streak came to a screeching halt as they were shutout 4-0 by the Melfort Mustangs. The Mustangs addressed goaltending concerns recently with the addition of QMJHL veteran Ilya Ejov. The final shots were not available byt Ejov had stopped 12 shots through two periods and was made the games first star. Brett Slobodzian and Clint Olson each had a goal and an assist for the Mustangs. Kyle Fraser and Bo Lenard also picked up goals for the Mustangs while Kassidy Collins added two assists. The Ice Wolves' Sterling Bear was given a five minute major for cross-checking and a game misconduct later in the third period.Jonathan Jobin was in goal for the Ice Wolves and suffered the loss. The Mustangs are now 8-7-0-0 while the Ice Wolves are now 8-7-1-0.

Tonight's Three Stars:
1. Brayden Nargang - Weyburn Red Wings (2 goals including winner)
2. Ilya Ejov - Melfort Mustangs (first SJHL shutout for experienced goaltender)
3. Payden Benning - Estevan Bruins (goal and two assists)

There is only one game in the SJHL tomorrow night as the Estevan Bruins complete their road trip as they head to North Battleford to face the Stars. With a Bruins victory, they would move within a point of Melville for first in the Sherwood.

Reminder - Wings next game is not until Friday now as they get a bit of a break before welcoming the Flin Flon Bombers.

- Brad M.

The Mob Has Spoken!

Keep an eye out on www.weyburnredwings.ca for a story on AJ Whiffen. His newfie fans put him over the top in our latest poll and as a result I will sit down with AJ and interview him for a feature story that will be posted sometime next week.

I would just like to say, I thank everyone who voted and is still voting. I hope to have stories on almost every player if not all of them by the end of the year, so don't worry if your favorite didn't get selected this time.

- Troy Kramm

Wings Tame Puppies!

Two different nights - two different teams. The Wings were skating, hitting and playing smart hockey as they throttled the Yorkton Terriers 7-2 on Friday night. Dwight McMillan rewarded Tanner Erickson's patience by dressing and starting him in goal for the first time this season and he did not disappoint. Erickson made 28 saves to earn his first SJHL victory. The Wings chased SJHL all time shutout leader Lynden Sammartino from the net just over the half way point of the first period after he allowed 2 goals on only 4 shots. Joel Danyluk relieved Sammartino and went the distance. Kyle Haines had a huge game for the Wings as he was a leader defensively and also put up a career high four points with a goal and three assists. Preston Shupe had a goal and two assists for the Wings. Rhett Bly, Torrey Lindsay, Michael Seib, Josh Bray and Nick Needham also scored for the Wings. Stephen Simms had a pair of assists for the Wings who also got helpers from Needham, Connor Krukowski, Brayden Nargang and Luke Johnson. Corey Silverson and Jock Sutter each had a goal and an assist for the Terriers. The Wings special teams were deadly as they went an astounding 3/5 on the power play while potting a pair of short-handed goals (including the game winner by Lindsay). The Wings improve to 8-6-1-1 and leap frog the Terriers into a share of second place with the Estevan Bruins. The Terriers are now 7-6-1-2. The two teams renew acquaintances Saturday night in Yorkton. I should note that the game featured a spirited affair between Wings forward Michael Seib and Terriers forward Derek Serdachny which I will call a draw. The Terriers Kyle Block was ejected in the first period for a checking from behind infraction.

Side Note: If anyone was wondering why the Terriers were using a south side dressing room tonight, the reason was that the hot water was not working in the north side dressing rooms. This also affected the officiating crew as they were forced to use a dressing room in the Sports Arena.

*** UPDATE ***

In La Ronge, the Ice Wolves continued their winning ways of late as they knocked off Sherwood division leading Melville 3-2 in La Ronge last night. Jordie Johnston and Bruno - Pierre Gosselin led the way for the Wolves with a goal and an assist. Adam Moar had the game winner for the Ice Wolves, his second game winner in consecutive games. Jarrid Dowhay, Jules Boucher, David Lawrence and Joel Belair all added assists for La Ronge. Justin Klassen had a goal and an assist for Melville. Derek Edwards had the other Melville goal while Kale Dolinski added an assist. Brian Kaval got the start for La Ronge and stopped 26 of 28 shots he faced. Travis Bosch got the start again for Melville as Kyle Cantlon continues to recover from illness. Bosch was busy again tonight as he faced 39 shots. The Ice Wolves continued their climb up the standings as they now sit in second in the Itech with a record of 8-6-1-0. The Millionaires drop to 11-2-1-0.

In Humboldt, the Broncos outscored the Estevan Bruins by a score of 6-4. The Broncos led 5-1 at one point and had to hang on for the win. Evan Bryksa and Tory Allan each had a goal and an assist for the Broncos. Russ Nielsen, Scott Schroeder, Laurent Benjamin and Dane Lindskog also scored for Humboldt. Matthew Kirzinger added three assists while Justin Stoski and Steven Schroeder each had a pair of assists. Trevor Mock and Kyle Ermel each had a goal and an assist for the Bruins. Brennan Wrigley and Kyle Stroh also scored for the Bruins. Payden Benning contributed two assists. Andrew Bodnarchuk picked up the win for the Broncos as he made 18 saves. Karsten Felske started for the Bruins and stopped 34 pucks. The Broncos now have the SJHL's top record as they improve to 12-2-0-0. The Bruins are now 8-5-2-0 and tied with the Wings for second in the division.

In North Battleford, the Kindersley Klippers improved to 8-5-0-0 as they dumped the Stars 5-2. Ryan Sawka led the way offensively for the Klippers as he had four assists. Brett Leedahl scored a pair of goals for the Klippers. Jerrett Bicknell, Ben Ritchie and Milo Miller also scored for the Klippers. Scott Linnell added a pair of assists while other assists went to Casey Rempel, Miller, Matt Sawa and Jonathan Redlick. Nick Kalnicki and Brody Malek replied for the Stars. Ryan Nieszner stopped 29 of 31 shots faced to pick up the win. Ryan Kerpan made 22 saves for the Stars who drop to 2-11-1-1. One has to think that Stars boss Gary Clark is looking at moving some of his 20 year olds like Jason Walker or Barrett Penner to build towards the future much like I expect Notre Dame to do in the next little while as well.

Saturday's Three Stars:

1. Kyle Haines - Weyburn Red Wings (1 G, 3A, solid defensive game)
2. Ryan Sawka - Kindersley Klippers (4 point night)
3. Preston Shupe - Weyburn Red Wings (3 point night, strong offensive prescense in one of his best games of the year)

There are four games tonight in the SJHL as the Wings head up to Yorkton for the return game of the home and home. Meanwhile, Estevan continues there northern road trip as they are in Kindersley, Melfort heads to La Ronge to play the red hot Ice Wolves while Melville looks to rebound as they visit the Flin Flon Bombers.

- Brad M

Wake Me Up At the Buzzer!; Record Night for Sammartino!

Wow. That was painful to watch. Sloppy passes, lack of intensity, lack of creativity could all sum up the Red Wings performance tonight at the Colosseum. I will give kudos to a couple of players that I thought had superb games - Captain Kyle Haines was probably the best Wing tonight as he played solid on the blue line while goaltender AJ Whiffen made some great saves only being beat once. The La Ronge Ice Wolves got a good performance from goaltender Jonathan Jobin (pictured) as he made 43 saves in a 1-0 win over the Wings. The Wings tended to make it easy for Jobin though as many pucks were shot right into the center of his crest. Adam Moar had the lone goal for La Ronge with David Lawrence and Calvin Fiddler picking up the assists. The Wings did a good job of shutting down La Ronge star players such as Jordie Johnston, Jarrid Dowhay and Bruno-Pierre Gosselin but just could not beat Jobin. AJ Whiffen made 27 saves in the Weyburn goal. The Ice Wolves complete a successful southern road trip as they win two games in as many nights. The Ice Wolves are now 7-6-1-0 and are in a logjam with two other teams at 15 points and a share of second in the Itech Conference (the others being Nipawin and Flin Flon). The Wings are now 7-6-1-1 and have fell to fourth in the Sherwood as a result of Yorkton's win tonight. This sets up a very important home and home series between the two teams this coming weekend. Let's hope the Wings can come out with some spark on the weekend.

Speaking of those Terriers, they were 3-0 shutout winners over the Kindersley Klippers in Kindersley tonight. With the shutout victory, Lynden Sammartino (pictured) picked up his ninth career shutout which now gives him the all time SJHL record for shutouts. Sammartino passes several players including ex-Wing Terry Denike. Sammartino made 27 saves in the shutout victory. Kyle Block scored a pair of power play goals to lead the Terriers while adding an assist. Carter Smith assisted on both of Block's goals. Alfie Bear also scored for Yorkton. Ryan Nieszner made the start for Kindersley and stopped 22 of 25 shots. The Terriers moved into third place with the win, one point back of second place Estevan. The Klippers are now 7-5-0-0 and in sole position of fifth in the Sherwood but have three games in hand on both Weyburn and Yorkton.

The heavyweight battle took place in Melville tonight with the visiting Humboldt Broncos coming out on top after a 2-1 overtime victory. A side note to this game was the fact Melville goaltender Kyle Cantlon was taken to hospital last night with an undisclosed illness and was not available for tonight's game. All Travis Bosch (pictured) did in his place was make 42 saves, not a bad night for the backup tender. Taylor Nelson picked up the win in goal for the Broncos as he had a rare night facing over 30 shots as he made 34 saves. Nelson tends to face less than 20 shots a game on the average night. Matthew Kirzinger was the overtime hero for Humboldt as he scored 2:16 into the extra frame. Russ Nielsen also scored for the Broncos. Mitchell Stretch, Evan Bryksa and Dane Lindskog all added assists for the Broncos. Defenseman Curtis Beech had the lone goal for the Millionaires. Dion Campbell and Brad Johnston assisted on the goal. Millionaires forward Daniel Hope was ejected for checking from behind. The Broncos improve to 11-2-0-0 while Melville is now 11-1-1-0.

In Melfort, the Mustangs welcomed new goaltender Ilya Ejov, a Russian who played the last couple seasons in the QMJHL. Ejov made 24 saves to pick up his first SJHL victory as the Mustangs downed the Notre Dame Hounds 7-3. It was an interesting night to say the least for Mustangs forward Matt Hill (pictured) as he had a hat trick and added an assist for the four point night. However, he was ejected with a match penalty late in the third period and will now likely face a three game suspension from league disciplinarian Laury Ryan.Taylor Watt also had a four point night for the Mustangs (goal and three assists). Gary Childerhose (goal and an assist), Kyle Fraser and Cory Buffin were the other scorers for Melfort. SJHL player of the week Clint Olson added two assists. Tanner Vandesype had a goal and an assist for Notre Dame. Travis Janke and Eddie Gale also scored for the Hounds. Mark Currie had a tough night as he only stopped 22 of 29 shots faced. The Mustangs improve to 7-7-0-0 and are in fifth in the Itech, but only one point out of second in the tight division. The Hounds have fallen to a dismal 2-14-1-0 as the long season continues for the Hounds and their young roster.

Tonight's Three Stars:
1. Lynden Sammartino - Yorkton Terriers (record setting night)
2. Jonathan Jobin - La Ronge Ice Wolves (43 saves for shutout)
3. Travis Bosch - Melville Millionaires (42 saves in overtime loss, thrown into fire with illness to starter Kyle Cantlon)

Honorable Mentions - Matt Hill (Melfort), Taylor Watt (Melfort), AJ Whiffen (Weyburn), Kyle Block (Yorkton), Taylor Nelson (Humboldt)

- Brad M.