After a big win on home ice Sunday night, the Richardson Pioneer Weyburn Red Wings will be looking to get their first road win of the postseason tonight as they take on the Broncos in Humboldt in a decisive game seven in their SJHL quarterfinal series.
“We knew we were going to have to win on the road at one point in this series,” said Red Wings head coach Cody Mapes after the game Sunday. “It didn’t matter if it was game one, two, five or seven, and now we’ve got a fourth chance here to give it a go.”
The Red Wings are carrying a lot of momentum after the big win on home ice Sunday. The 2-1 victory came with the team against the ropes, and was in the eyes of many, one of the best games played all season. The Red Wings held the Broncos to just 27 shots on goal while putting up over 40 themselves.
It was also a game where the Red Wings stayed disciplined, something that was an issue at times during the regular season for the league’s most penalized team. In fact, it was the Broncos who found themselves taking inopportune penalties, including a delay of game penalty with just over two minutes remaining that allowed Weyburn to score the game-winning goal.
When it comes to decisive game sevens, the Red Wings franchise has shown resilience. In the team’s history, they have had 18 playoff series go the distance, and they have won 11 of them. The most recent time was in 2012 when they went to seven with the Melville Millionaires in the league semifinals.
Goaltending is always a key factor when it comes to the playoffs, and this year the netminders for the Red Wings and the Broncos have been stellar. Dazza Mitchell has been turning in some of the best performances of his career, and made some big saves in game six at Crescent Point Place Sunday, including one that saw him stretch out his pad, securing the puck under his skate with just moments left in the first period.
One of the factors in the win Sunday was the home crowd at Crescent Point Place. While the Red Wings won’t have that complete atmosphere, there will at least be a part of it there, with a fan bus departing from Weyburn this afternoon carrying a group that will be looking to be loud throughout the game.
Those who aren’t making the trip to Humboldt for the game will be able to catch all of the action on Great Plains Ford Red Wing Radio, Country 106.7. Nick Nielsen and John Prette will have the call, starting with the pre-game show at 7:15 p.m. The puck drops at 7:30 p.m.