Two heavyweights of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League will meet for provincial supremacy, set to kick off the 2023 SJHL final on Friday in North Battleford.
After posting one of the best regular seasons in SJHL history with a record of 48-5-2-1, the Battlefords North Stars will be chasing their fourth championship in franchise history, but they have to get by the Flin Flon Bombers first.
“Everyone was wondering how we’d be when we got tested,” said North Stars head coach and general manager Brayden Klimosko. “Well we proved how we’d be in those situations, so I’m really happy (with) where our guys are at.”
Battlefords enter the league finals as the presumptive favourites, led by one of the most potent lines in all of Canadian Junior ‘A’ hockey in Kian Bell, Holden Doell and Jake Southgate.
For Bell specifically, who led the entire SJHL with 52 goals and 102 points in just 51 regular season games, it’s been a return to form after being cut from the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League’s Cape Breton Eagles before the start of the season.
“I kind of used what happened in the summer as firepower to come back and really wanted to prove some people wrong,” said Bell. “I think I’ve done that, but even more importantly it’s just been so much fun as a team.”
The North Stars have won eight consecutive games entering Game 1 of the final, a big response for the team after being upset 3-2 by the Weyburn Red Wings in their opening game of the post-season.
That loss shook up the Battlefords locker room, who have locked down their play at both ends of the ice and are coming off a sweep of the Melfort Mustangs in their recent semi-final series.
“It was a huge wake-up call,” said Bell. “We knew it wasn’t going to be easy, but I think that was just reassuring that we’re going to have to give it our all every night and it’s not going to come for free.”
Standing in their way is a Flin Flon Bombers squad peaking at the right time and looking to end a drought three decades in the making.
The Bombers are not only chasing their first Saskatchewan title since 1993, but are determined to erase the sting of a Game 7 loss in last year’s championship finals against the Estevan Bruins.
“When you get that close and you’re one game away from a championship… that burns,” said Bombers head coach and general manager Mike Reagan. “There’s no question that everyone within our organization felt that.”
Flin Flon already survived a Game 7 test against the Bruins in the opening round of this year’s playoffs, before eliminating the Humboldt Broncos in five games to face the North Stars.
Due to the six and a half hour drive between the two communities, the SJHL has made the decision to space out the series to keep both rosters fresh.
Battlefords will host the first two games this Friday and Saturday, while players will get six days off ahead of Games 3 and 4 in Flin Flon the following weekend.
“It makes it a little bit more manageable knowing that you’re going to have some days off in between and some extra days to rest,” said Klimosko. “You don’t sleep well when you’re on the bus, it’s never easy. So there is a little bit of jet lag in either you’re going up there or they’re coming here.”
The winner will not only be crowned Saskatchewan champion, but will punch their ticket to the Centennial Cup national championship in Portage la Prairie, Manitoba.
Dreams of qualifying for that Canadian championship tournament will begin in earnest in Battlefords on Friday, as both hockey-mad cities could be in store for another classic series.
“Both communities are going to definitely embrace this,” said Reagan. “I know there’s been some heated matchups and series in the past, which I think is a good thing. You want to bring out the best in both teams, fans are going to be passionate and obviously support their teams. But, that’s what makes it so exciting.”
Comments