Finally the moment we have all been waiting for the SJHL playoffs. This is what it is all about, and we should have a great seat for the best matchup in the opening round.
The Bombers and Hawks get set to square off in game 1 of the best of 7 affair tonight at the cage.
These 2 teams are very evenly matched with only 3 points separating them in the season. Both teams are very good defensively with the Hawks giving up 137 goals which was second best in the Sjhl. The Bombers gave up 143 which ranked them 4th overall.
Flin Flon won 34 games and Nipawin won 32, and the season series was 3-3. Both teams managed to take 2 out of 3 in each others building which is surprising considering both teams home records. Flon was 22-5 at the Whitney Forum and Nipawin was 20-6-1 at the cage.
The last time these 2 teams met was that thrilling OT game in Flin Flon Jan the 15th. Davis Jones was spectacular stopping 48 out of 50 shots he faced. Brett Penner had both goals for Flin Flon that night. I still consider that game from Davis Jones the best goaltending performance I have witnessed at the Junior A level.
Jones will be the key for the Hawks and if he can deliver more performances like that one, the Hawks will be very tough to beat. Flin Flon is deeper up front and will need their best players to be their best players. If Storzuk, Roach, Boehm and McCombie get going there is the potential for a lot of offence. Devin Buffalo played better the final month of the regular season and put up good numbers winning 23 games and finishing with a 927 SV %. He has limited playoff experience and will need to get on a roll early to get his confidence up.
Mike Reagan feels his team is ready and despite finishing third in the North finished the season 7-2-1 in their last 10. One concern may be their road record which was: 12-14-1, but home ice is often over-rated in the playoffs and Flin Flon only needs to win one game away from home in this series. Jones is the key player for Nipawin and Roach is the key guy for Flin Flon leading all defenseman in scoring with 54 points. He was only 15 points out of top spot for the overall lead, and his 22 points on the powerplay led the Bombers and was near the top of the league. He could very well be the differance for Flin Flon and the Hawks do not have anyone like him. Roach has the experience averaging a point per game for Humboldt on theit title run last spring.
Jesse Bernard and Wheaton King both had good seasons against the Bombers picking up 8 points apiece and could also be factors in this series.
I am expecting great crowds in both buildings and there is quite the buzz all over the SJ about this one. This is their first playoff meeting since 2001 when the Hawks bounced the Bombers in 5. Flin Flon was heavilly favoured that season hosting the RBC and had their hearts broken and there are still some Bomber fans that have not forgotten that series and are hoping history does not repeat itself. These 2 teams are a lot more evenly matched this time, and some feel Flin Flon may be the underdog.
No matter what go's down CFAR-590 and flinflononline.com will have every single exciting minute including games 1 and 2 from Nipawin tonight and tomorrow starting with the Murray GM Coach's Show at 7:15 and play by play at 7:30.
It is playoff time and this is going to be one great series!!!
Thanks for reading
Rob Hart
