Fort Frances Jr. Sabres
Coach: Wayne Strachan
Record: 30-17-3
Special teams: The Sabres hold the third-best rating in the SIJHL in both categories, with the power play clicking at 17 percent and the penalty kill at 87 percent.
The skinny: The Sabres come into the playoffs riding a three-game win streak and will have home-ice advantage for the series, beginning Friday and Saturday.
SIJHL player of the month for February, goalie Ryan Faragher, will be counted on to shut the door and the Sabres will need to play as a cohesive unit if they expect to go deep into the playoffs.
Brendan Baumgartner has rekindled his scoring touch, scoring six goals in his final three games, and consistent production from throughout the lineup also will key a successful playoff run.
Colton Kennedy is a long shot to return from a collarbone injury so Kalib Thunderchief will be expected to fill his role alongside Chris Sinclair and Baumgartner while the second unit of Mitch Cain, Kyle Turgeon, and Dan Usiski will stay intact.
Graham Dyck will centre the checking unit alongside Ryan Witherspoon and Colin Moberly while Riley Caul and Logan McDonell will add grit as the extra forwards on the fourth line.
Jon Sinclair may be a wild card who could produce offensively after his Midget season ends with the Kenora Thistles.
Ever since Will Morrisseau’s injury, the defensive six has remained largely intact and was solidified by the acquisition of Zach Morton in January.
Morton and Rod Bouchard will be charged with the task of shutting down the opponents’ best forwards while Kenny Carpenter, Mario Boivin, Mike Boese, and Patrick Bobczynski will need to continue to contribute in both ends of the rink for the Sabres to be successful.
The Sabres’ stingy defence gave up the second-least amount of goals in the league (139), and will need to take care of their own end first and foremost.
Top three scorers:
Chris Sinclair (18-54-72)
Brendan Baumgartner (35-35-70)
Mitch Cain (26-36-62)
Sioux Lookout Flyers
Record: 2-46-2
Coach: Randy Lulashuyk
Special teams: The Flyers are dead-last in most every category, and that is no different here. The power play connected at just 9.42 percent during the regular season while the penalty kill was successful at a 71.32 percent clip.
The skinny: If there’s one thing the Flyers can hang their hat on going into Friday night’s opener, it would be their 7-4 upset win over the Sabres back on Jan. 27. The fact they lost the other nine meetings convincingly will be ignored, including a 6-0 defeat most recently on March 3.
Jeff Bienvenue has been a welcome addition, scoring 25 points in 16 games since his acquisition, including a five-point effort in that win over the Sabres.
Former Sabres Adam and A.J. Wensley, along with goalie David Novak, will be highly-motivated to beat their former team while Kevin Paul will be another player to keep an eye on.
The Flyers gave up a league-worst 367 goals this season, and will need a monumental goaltending effort to pull off the upset.
To put that in perspective, the next worst defensive team, the Schreiber Diesels, let in 220 goals against.
Top three scorers:
Brad Mailman (13-16-29)
Kevin Paul (5-24-29)
Jeff Bienvenue (14-11-25)
