The Weyburn Red Wings have officially clinched a playoff spot after they took both games of a home-and-home series with the Yorkton Terriers on the weekend. The Wings scored 14 goals over the course of the two games, and allowed just five, finding an offensive spark which they have lacked in recent weeks. The goals are coming at the most opportune time for Weyburn, as they look to shake things down in the league standings heading into the playoffs, which will be kicking off just over a month from now.

The eight goals Saturday night matched a season-high for the Wings, and the shutout Friday night was their second of the season. With three big games coming up as they take their final road trip of the season this week, the wins may be a boost needed for the team.

The road trip will start off in North Battleford Thursday night. The North Stars and Wings have won a game apiece in the season series, with the Wings taking a 1-0 win in The Battlefords in November, and the North Stars winning in the rematch back in Weyburn in November 5-3.

From there, the Wings will then head to Humboldt for a pair of games. The two teams have met twice already this season, both games in Weyburn. The Red Wings won both games, starting with a 5-2 win over the Broncos in November, and a 3-2 win in January.

The three games will go a long way in helping determine where the Wings will end up in the overall standings for the playoffs, with a lot still be decided. While the Wings have their playoff spot clinched, they still have 12 games to determine their seeding for the postseason.

The Red Wings currently sit in seventh in the league overall and are three points back of the Estevan Bruins for first in the Viterra Division. The Wings have two games in hand, and by the time their road trip starts Thursday, will have three games in hand, and possibly a five-point deficit. The Wings will be controlling their own destiny coming out of the weekend, as they will be making up all three of those games by Sunday, leaving the Wings and Bruins neck and neck for a showdown for first, with four games left on the season between the two storied rivals.

As for the number six seed for the playoffs, the Wings are right behind the Notre Dame Hounds for sixth, trailing them by two points. The Broncos occupy 5th place in the overall league standings and are five points up on Weyburn. Weyburn holds two games in hand on the Broncos.

This puts Weyburn in a pretty interesting position as the final month of the regular season starts to take off.

The Wings have a magic number of 23 to capture first in the Viterra Division. The number is a combination of points won by the Red Wings, and points lost by the Bruins. To put it into the perspective of how quickly the gap can close, the Wings entered the weekend with a magic number of 30 to clinch the top spot in the division, and it dropped by seven. Winning the division will put the Wings in the third seed for the playoffs, setting up a date with whichever team finishes in sixth place.

If the Wings fail to win the division, they can still move up the standings, avoiding the best-of-three survivor series by finishing outside of the seventh place. It comes down to the gap with Notre Dame and Humboldt. The magic number for the Wings to finish sixth overall is 26. This is also the same number as they will need for fifth, thanks to the fact the Broncos have played two more games than both Weyburn and Notre Dame. This puts a lot of emphasis on the two games against the Broncos for the Red Wings, as well as the final game the Wings have against Notre Dame, to be played on February 16th.

With a lot on the line over the next four weeks, the Red Wings will have their work cut out for them, as they control their own fate for the postseason. You can catch all the action on Red Wing Radio, K106, with every game from here on out, will be broadcast. With a number of home games to be played as well, you’ll also have the chance to cheer your Wings on at Crescent Point Place as well.