ESTEVAN - The first round of the SJHL playoffs will feature a rematch of last year’s league final.
The Estevan Bruins will face the Flin Flon Bombers in a best-of-seven quarter-final series. Estevan defeated Flin Flon in seven games in last year’s league final, with the home team winning each game.
As for this year’s quarter-final matchup between the two rivals, it will begin Friday night. Games 1 and 2 will be in Flin Flon, and Games 3 and 4 will be back in Estevan. Remaining games, if necessary, would be in Flin Flon for Games 5 and 7, and Estevan for Game 6.
(Dates for the games 2-7 have not been announced).
The Bombers won three of the four matchups with the Bruins this season. Estevan took the first meeting 8-6 in Estevan in October. The Bombers won the next two, 5-1 and 3-1, in Flin Flon in January. Then the Bombers won 7-6 in overtime in Estevan in February – a game the Bombers led 6-3 after two periods.
Estevan (27-23-3-2) sits sixth in the overall standings with 59 points, while the Bombers (36-15-2-2) are third. Each team won its respective division, but the SJHL uses seeding based on points, and doesn’t grant a higher seed to division winners.
The other playoff matchups will see the top-seeded Battlefords North Stars versus the No. 8 Weyburn Red Wings, the second-ranked Humboldt Broncos versus the No. 7 Nipawin Hawks, and the Melfort Mustangs against the La Ronge ice Wolves.
The fourth and fifth seeds have yet to be determined.
Meanwhile, the Bruins game against the Weyburn Red Wings that was scheduled for Saturday night in Weyburn has been postponed due to the blizzard that is hammering the southeast. A make-up date has not been announced. It was to be the regular-season finale for both teams.
