For the second straight year, the Battlefords North Stars will be going up against the Weyburn Red Wings to start their journey for a Canalta Cup title.
With the North Stars having earned a bye into the quarter-final round, they had to wait until Wednesday night to know who their opponent would be of the highest ranked team that advanced from a pair of best-of-three first round matchups.
In the end, it would be the seventh ranked Red Wings that punched their ticket in dramatic style as Cade Kowalski scored in overtime to give his team a dramatic 3-2 overtime win over the 10th seeded Melville Millionaires on home ice.
The full schedule for the best-of-seven affair will be announced by the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League Thursday, but the first two games will begin Friday and Saturday night at the Civic Centre.
Last season, the North Stars swept aside the Red Wings in four straight games in the quarter-finals on their way to an undefeated run in the playoffs and their first league championship since 2000.
The last time the Red Wings beat the North Stars in a playoff series was in 1997 as they won the SJHL final in four games.
During the course of this year, the North Stars won the head-to-head series over the Red Wings 3-1 and outscored their opposition by a 12-5 margin.
Layne Young paced the North Stars on offence with seven points in the four games against the Red Wings, while Taryn Kotchorek posted a 2-1 record with a dazzling 0.67 goals against average.
The Red Wings were led up front in the season by Kowalski's three points, with goaltender Arik Weersink having a 1-3 record and a 3.04 goals against average.
Weersink is coming of an excellent series against the Millionaires as he posted a 2-1 record with a 1.55 goals against average and a .962 save percentage.
Kowalski and Landon Walters led the way for the Red Wings in the opening round with a pair of goals, while Tyran Brown, Jordan Kazamyra and Cole Woodliffe also had two points in the three game series.
Meanwhile, the top-ranked Nipawin Hawks also now know who they will be facing in the quarter-finals as they will take on the ninth ranked Flin Flon Bombers.
The divisional rivals last squared off in the semifinals this past spring as the Bombers came back from a 3-1 series deficit to return to the league final.
A hat-trick by Donovan Houle-Villeneuve helped the Bombers move on to the next round as they picked up a 4-1 road win over the eighth seeded Notre Dame Hounds Wednesday in Wilcox.
The other quarter-final matchups will see the third ranked Estevan Bruins take on the sixth seeded Kindersley Klippers and the fourth ranked Melfort Mustangs go up against the fifth ranked Humboldt Broncos.
