SJHL POWER RANKINGS EDITION VII

By: Mike Stackhouse


1-NIPAWIN HAWKS 26-5-2-2 (1)
Unbeaten in 16, the Hawks weren’t in any hurry to break for Christmas.


2-BATTLEFORDS NORTH STARS 24-5-2-0 (2)
Defending champs are unbeaten in six, but did lose to the Hawks last week.


3-MELFORT MUSTANGS 22-7-4-1 (3)
Both the Stars and Hawks have defeated the Mustangs this month, but they go into Christmas on two straight wins.


4-NOTRE DAME HOUNDS 21-9-1-3 (4)
With a bit more consistency, the Hounds could turn this into a four-team race atop the league; but there isn’t enough of a gap between them and the next three teams in the ranking to make that statement yet.


5-WEYBURN RED WINGS 19-11-3-0 (6)
Unbeaten in four, including their last three of the pre-Christmas schedule (all of which played at home).


6-ESTEVAN BRUINS 20-12-2-1 (5)
Battling inconsistency despite what could be termed a fairly easy schedule to end the unofficial first half.


7-HUMBOLDT BRONCOS 19-11-3-2 (5)
They lost three last three before Christmas, two to Nipawin and one to Melfort.


8-KINDERSLEY KLIPPERS 14-14-2-2 (8)
They’ve dropped seven of eight in December and really do look like the 8th best team.  Too good to be 9th, not good enough to be 7th.  On an island as far as the rankings go.


9-MELVILLE MILLIONAIRES 12-21-0-2 (10)
The return of Brandon Wells, who is 1-and-1 with a 2.42-GAA in his two starts, gives the Mils a top three goalie in the league and that means a threat to win no matter what’s in front of him.


10-FLIN FLON BOMBERS 10-18-1-3 (9)
Badly needed the win against Kindersley to end the pre-Christmas schedule.  They are just 5-16-0-3 since a promising eight games to open the year.


11-YORKTON TERRIERS 7-23-2-1 (11)
While the playoffs are a long shot, the Terriers are 2-1-0-1 in their last four and play Melville twice to kick off the post-Christmas schedule.  These first two games will be like game sevens for them.


12-LA RONGE ICE WOLVES 7-23-0-2 (12)
What works against them is their lack of games against the Mils, the team that would occupy the final playoff spot.