CREDIT UNION CUP FINAL PREVIEW

Yorkton Terriers vs. La Ronge Ice Wolves

GOAL:
Every time someone wants to sell Adam Bartko short, he comes up with a big game or a big series.  He did it last year in the postseason against Flin Flon and he did it again this year against Melfort as he outplayed the more highly touted Charles Corsi and may have been the difference in the Bauer Conference final.  To, quickly, discredit him and suggest Yorkton has the edge with Devin Peters would be unfair.  Bartko is a championship caliber goalie and deserves more respect than he has received for the last two years.  Meanwhile, it's tough to argue against Peters, who is 5-0, 1.00, .970 in the postseason.  Folks, that's as close to unbeatable as you can get.  Still, Peters has not been needed as the Terriers have blown out the competition in four of his five starts.

DEFENSE:
Here's where La Ronge may be susceptible, but that is to nitpick.  Phil Belanger, Robert Monfore, and Dayton Fossum are the veterans that will have to be key in stopping Yorkton's speedy forwards.  Kindersley's defense was exposed for not being able to keep up and the Ice Wolves may have to make some adjustments to their game if the Terriers get in behind them.  Fossum and Byron Sorensen are underrated offensive performers, although we'll likely see four forwards on the ice when the Wolves go to the powerplay.  Like Yorkton's blueline, La Ronge's has flown under the radar all year in light of their high profile scorers.  Don't be fooled.  This is a well coached group of six and they are tough to play against.

The best defenseman for the Terriers, hands down, is Brant Remenda.  That's partially due to Blaine Tendler working his way back from injury, but also because Remenda has stepped up his game more than any other player on the Yorkton roster, which is saying something bold when looking at how well they are playing.  The Terrier defense has been underrated all year, but they'll either get the full credit they deserve or else be fitted for goat horns playing against a La Ronge forward group that is very much like Yorkton's.  A player like Kurtis Decker becomes a real key piece now as he'll need to continue to block shots and shut down the opposition's top threats.

FORWARDS:
Doug Lindensmith's health is a huge question mark.  If he can go, the Ice Wolves will be able to re-unite their big line with Lindensmith, Travis Eggum, and Marc-Andre Carre.  They are, without a doubt, the best line in the league.  When Lindensmith went down in the Flin Flon series, the Ice Wolves proved they were not just a one line team.  Enter the likes of Logan Herauf, who's playing the best hockey of his career, along with promising rookie Rhyse Dieno, tough guy Skyler Hladun, and the crafty Justin Ducharme.  That brings the total of offensive superstars to seven.  Nolan Souchotte and Aaron Enns are two of the best penalty killers in the league and then there's Nick Keller, who can play any role asked.  Keller also has some of that championship experience from his Humboldt days.  There is a ton of depth here.

Justin Buzzeo, Jeremy Boyer, Clarke Breitkreuz, and Robbie Ciolfi are four of the most exciting players you will ever see playing Junior 'A' hockey.  It's that simple.  The big question mark for them will be their compete level if a game is tight or if the Terriers fall behind by a couple of goals early in the game.  Still, they are almost impossible to defend.  Most teams just don't have four defensemen who can log big minutes against gifted athletes such as these four. Nevertheless, to this point, they have not had to get gritty.  Grit is the perfect word to describe the third line of Brenden Poncelet, Nathan Murray, and Riley Paterson.  Craig Eisenhut and Zak Majkowski will play on the top two lines somewhere, provided Brent Struble remains on the sidelines with an injury.

FINAL OVERVIEW
I've always felt that beating a champion is extremely difficult.  I remember when Yorkton's two year title run ended a few years back. Anthony Heuer had to, pretty much, steal game seven to eliminate them.  Humboldt appeared to be left for dead a number of times in their three-year stretch of glory, but always fought back.  I recall the big seven game series with Melfort in 2007, the 2008 final against Kindersley, the 2009 final against Melville, and the ANAVET Cup series against Portage in 2009 as well.  The Ice Wolves have a lot of players that remember how magical 2010 was.  I think of Lindensmith and how much he impressed me with his two-way play.  I look at Enns, Keller, and Souchotte who typify what playoff hockey should be all about.  Make no mistake.  La Ronge didn't have the best record in the league by accident.

The Terriers know this group was built for a championship.  Anything short of that will be a disappointment for them.  Buzzeo, Boyer, Tendler, and Remenda were brought in for this purpose and this purpose only.  Of their superstar players, only Tendler and Peters were members of last year's 2010 six game Credit Union Cup final series loss.  Still, there should be short memories on guys like Paterson, Murray, Vick, and Decker who are really looking for another crack at La Ronge.  Yorkton will have to guard against over confidence from embarrassing Kindersley.  Their complete dominance of the Klippers may have actually elevated them to slight favorites in this series even though La Ronge had the better regular season record.

No prediction from me on this one other than to say I think it could be one of the best Credit Union Cup finals of the last ten years.