SURVIVOR SERIES PREVIEWS

Estevan Bruins vs. Melville Millionaires

GOAL:
Joel Danyluk, if healthy, gives the Bruins a goalie with championship pedigree.  He was the difference in last year's final with La Ronge and also gave the Ice Wolves excellent netminding in the RBC Cup, finally succumbing to a knee injury.  Danyluk's numbers down the stretch indicate he's heating up for something special (2.81, .922).  Shea Cooper backs him up.

Zach Rakochy has become a 17-year-old workhorse and his play has greatly improved from a year ago.  He was the second-busiest goalie in the league from January 10th onward.  Still, he's prone to the odd bad goal and doesn't have a veteran team in front of him.  Alex Sirard backs him up.

DEFENSE:

Joel Kot has dealt with injuries in the second half, but if he can play effectively he gives the Bruins a number one defenseman with championship experience (Dauphin).  Tyler Spencer and Ty Ariss are very competent, while Dominic Perrault, Lucas Stubel, and Brett Rock provide excellent depth.  

There is no such thing as a number one defenseman on Melville.  In fact, they'll use five forwards on the powerplay with a great deal of regularity.  You may see Justin Hollinger suit up on defense, but he'll also be a regular up front.  Craig Karius is the shut-down guy that will play in key defensive situations.  Jordan Paddock is the future of this unit.

FORWARDS:
There shouldn't be a shortage of scoring when you look down the list and see Jonathan Ceci, Dylan Smith, Troy Hunter, Ryan Andersen, Ben Findlay, Calder Neufeld, Chris Daniels, and Mark Cross.  I just listed eight guys, so how come this team ended up in fourth place?

Rookie Roger Tagoona has taken over as the teams' best all-around player and Lucas Froese is the new captain and should continue in that role for two years beyond.  Head coach Jamie Fiesel will be hoping the experience will be beneficial for other players expected to be key next year, such as Mark Owen and Michael Sagen.  Nobody averaged a point per game after January 10th, although Michael Rogoschewsky (19-7-8-15) stepped things up in the wake of the trades of Brayden Metz and Cody Hanson.

Battlefords North Stars vs. Flin Flon Bombers

GOAL:
Ken Pearson hasn't been afraid to platoon Kyle Birch and Graham Hildebrand and there is every reason to think both will see action in the playoffs.  Birch has been the better netminder as of late (5-5 ,3.39, .910 since January 10th).  Still, Hildebrand got hot after being installed midway through the first round last year, so he has experience as well.

The most important player to any team in the playoffs is PJ Musico.  The Bombers don't have the horses to go with the top teams in the league, but if Musico gets hot, they are in excellent position to play spoiler.  Despite a 3.47-GAA after January 10th, Musico still posted a .914-SPCT during that time frame.  Randy Graham backs him up.

DEFENSE:

There is a lot of offensive potential on the back end for the Stars, so even if Cris Neurauter is rendered ineffective at some point, the Stars can always go to the likes of Brody Luhning, Cody Folstad, and Woody Klassen.  The test will be helping Birch and/or Hildebrand keep pucks out of their own net.

Without much fanfare, 17-year-old Tanner Clark stepped into the line-up after a January 10th trade from Humboldt and provided instant offense (18-2-9-11).  Tanner Korchinski is also playing the best hockey of his career (17-1-14-15).  Tyler Mah has stepped up to become a real presense physically.  Still, this group isn't deep and the powerplay has struggled mightily at times.

FORWARDS:
Battlefords will get their offense, pretty much exclusively, from six players:  Colin Phaneuf, Keith Grondin, Blake Tatchell, Kyle Hall, Cole Gibson, and Braeden Johnson.  Tatchell showed last year that he has an extra gear come playoff time and it wouldn't be a surprise to see him really come to the forefront if the Stars have success and go deep.  Tony Oak's presence gives every one else an extra inch and ten extra pounds while they are on the ice!

The Bombers, in years past, have had great regular seasons but sputtered come playoff time.  They have three guys from last year's disappointment that will be looking for redemption in Ryan Fox, Deven Stillar, and Andrew Johnston.  Their willingness to fight for their chances, which are not nearly as easy to come by in the playoffs, may be the difference.  The one thing they do have this year that they were missing in years' past are energy players like Dillan McCombie, Jesse Mychan, and Corey Tyrell.