The Humboldt Broncos have done it again. The class of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League have earned a berth in the league's Canalta Cup final after a 4-1 series win over the Flin Flon Bombers.
The Humboldt Broncos needed overtime in three of their four wins against Flin Flon and two of those wins came in double overtime including game five where Joey Davies punched his team's ticket to the league championship. The Broncos' captain scored in double overtime and gave the Broncos the 4-1 series win. Flin Flon's Devin Buffalo and Humboldt's Matt Hrynkiw combined for 99 saves in the final game of the series.
In the Sherwood Conference, the Melville Millionaires were looking to do what they did in the previous round of the playoffs - come back from a 3-2 deficit.
The Yorkton Terriers did not let that happen, as they beat Melville 5-1 in game six to earn the South Division championship.
This marks the ninth straight year that either Yorkton or Humboldt have played in the SJHL championship series, but the first time in that stretch that they will face off against each other.
The championship series gets started Friday in Humboldt with game two back in Yorkton Sunday. Game three will be back in Humboldt Tuesday and game four will be played Thursday, April 11 in Yorkton. If necessary games five, six and seven will be played Saturday, April 13 in Humboldt, Sunday, April 14 in Yorkton and Tuesday, April 16 in Humboldt.
The top two teams in the SJHL finished tied for points in the regular season with 76, but the Broncos earned home ice advantage in the championship series.
The Broncos won three of the four head-to-head regular season games against the Terriers and will be looking for their second straight Canalta Cup.
SJHL Players of the Week
The SJHL awarded Yorkton defenceman Brady Norrish with the player and defenceman of the week honour after play in the Sherwood Conference final. Norrish scored three goals and had an assist in four games, as the Terriers clinched a spot in the championship series.
Norrish's teammate Dylan Johnson won the Rookie of the Week honour, as he played just two games in the series with Melville. He filled a roster spot after injuries and illnesses in game five and stayed in the lineup to score two goals in the second period of the series clinching game.
The Goaltender of the Week has been eliminated, but not before an outstanding showing in the Flin Flon Bombers' net. Devin Buffalo shut out Humboldt in game three and posted a 1.12 goals-against average and .972 save percentage during the final three games of the series.
