--Earlier in the season, I was wondering how the La Ronge Ice Wolves would fare if their top line of Doug Lindensmith-Marc Andre Carre-Travis Eggum was ever shut down. Well, they were shut down last night and they still found a way to score two goals. I'm beginning to think even as the games start to get tougher, these guys won't be shut down. Opposition teams are going to have to, simply, try to minimize the damage. Eggum, who's really benefited from playing with the high skill linemates, scored a goal last night whereby it wouldn't matter who his linemates were. Carre scored, perhaps, the second prettiest goal I've seen this year. He also scored the prettiest I've seen (Showcase against Battlefords).
--Another big thing that I like about La Ronge is that their player roles are very clearly and distinctly defined with very appropriate personnel in each of their assignments. The number one line is as good as you can get in Junior 'A' hockey. The second line of Logan Herauf-Justin Ducharme-Philippe Cliche is very well suited to being just that: a second line. Aaron Enns-Nolan Souchotte-Taylor Piller is probably the best third line in the league. Sure, there may be players in third lines roles with more talent than these guys, but those three play a very effective third line style and they know what their roles are. Dayton Fossum is clearly the main option on the powerplay as far as the defensemen go. Robert Monfore looks like the defensive shutdown guy, and the other four play solid, but unspectacular. Adam Bartko is the unquestioned number one netminder, but Myles Hovdebo provides underrated play as a back up and the Wolves would be fine if Hovdebo had to go a long stretch.
--Humboldt, while rebuilding, may not fall as far in the standings as people think. Their players are battling for jobs on next year's coveted team and they will play twelve of their final seventeen on home ice.
--Taylor Johnson has been named Humboldt's captain and he's getting a chance on the new top line with Ward Szucki and Adam Zbitniff. For my money, I thought Brendon Fornwald was their most dangerous forward last night and it will be interesting to see if he can carve out a key role going forward after a couple of other SJHL teams have passed him over. Troy Gasper and Matt Glowa are two other guys that are really going to be watched close for the rest of the season by the coaching staff. They are in top six roles at the moment. Adam Antkowiak is another guy that seemed to get prime minutes, so clearly there is an opportunity there for him too.
--Josh Roach has really stepped up his game from last year. He's only 18, but you have to consider him a top five defenseman in the SJHL; although late in the third period last night he looked like he tried to do a bit too much. That's going to be something he'll have to work on as he's, clearly, the Broncos' most talented player at the moment and he looks like he's going to be the 'go to' guy.
--Matt Hrynkiw played okay last night, but I can't help but wonder if Humboldt would have been big sellers this year had they received better goaltending over the last two months. Both Hrynkiw and veteran Andrew Bodnarchuk are sporting goals against averages close to 5.00 since the team opened 12-1-and-1.
--Yorkton is getting all the attention for snagging Justin Buzzeo and Jeremy Boyer from the Broncos; but Swan Valley's acquisition of Nick Keller is underrated. Keller has proven to be a clutch playoff performer and I suspect that he'll be as big a factor for his new team as Buzzeo and Boyer. In Humboldt's last two championship seasons, Keller emerged after uneventful regular seasons to be a major factor in the playoffs.
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