The Weyburn Red Wings will return to the friendly confines of Crescent Point Place tonight, as they host the Battlefords North Stars for game three of their best-of-seven SJHL quarterfinal series. The North Stars won both of the games in The Battlefords on the weekend, and lead the series 2-0.

The Wings are coming into the game tonight with perhaps the hottest power play in the SJHL right now. So far in the postseason, Weyburn has gone 6-for-23 with the man advantage, including three power play goals in Saturday’s 6-5 loss. The penalty kill is just as strong, sitting at 90.0 percent, the highest among the eight teams still in the postseason.

The Battlefords, who had one of the most potent offenses in the league, and the country, during the regular season, were anemic with the man-advantage at times, and the trend has been continuing since the start of the playoffs. They have scored just one power play goal in eleven chances against Weyburn in the series. They also have the third worst penalty kill in the league.

Discipline has been an issue for the Stars in the latter half of the season, and it has continued into to playoffs. In Saturday’s game, two plays in the offensive zone resulted in two suspensions. Chaseton Braid was handed a two game ban for spearing, and Garan Magnes given one game for kicking. The suspension to Braid left a bit of a bittersweet taste in the mouths of many Red Wing fans, though, as Braid’s spear to Mike Eskra in the second period escaped the notice of the referees, and he would go on to score the eventual game winner.

Goaltending is always a key factor in the playoffs. Coming into the series, Arik Weersink was phenomenal, ending the three-game wildcard series with Melville with a GAA of 1.55, and a save percentage of 1.62. The hot start the North Stars push for each and every game, though, has brought those numbers down, as Weersink faced an onslaught of shots from the Stars from all angles in the two games.

At the other end, the Stars started the series without Taryn Kotchorek, the SJHL’s all-time shutout leader. He had injured himself in an off-ice incident, and wasn’t available for games one and two, with Joel Grzybowski starting in his place. The Stars now have the tough choice of inserting Kotchorek into the lineup and making him the starter for game three, or let the hot hand of Grzybowski ride through the rest of the series.

At Crescent Point Place, the Red Wings had a fairly strong year. They finished the regular season 16-9-3-1, and were +7 in goal differential. On the road, the North Stars finished the year 18-11, with a +31 goal differential, but they also took a number of penalties, averaging more than 22 minutes per game. If the trends continue into the postseason, the Stars could once again find themselves killing off a number of penalties, which the Red Wings have shown they can capitalize on.

The puck drops on the game tonight at Crescent Point Place at 7:30 p.m. You can listen to the game live on Red Wing Radio K106, starting with the pregame show at 7:20 p.m.