Four teams remain and two best-of-three series remain.
The Winkler Flyers vs Virden Oil Capitals series has gone back and forth with both teams getting in punches while the same can be said about the Steinbach Pistons and Blizzard Junior 'A' Hockey Club series. Both are tied at two games apiece heading into game five on Saturday night.
Pistons vs Blizzard:
After a grueling seven-game series against Dauphin, most people are surprised by the Blizzard. In reality, there isn't much to be surprised about. While they faced a daunting task going from finishing off the Kings in triple overtime in game seven to playing game one against Steinbach with just one day rest, the Blizzard are used to very little rest and plenty of travel.
They are the most northern team in the league and no road trip is a short one, other than their trip to Swan Valley. Besides that, the Blizzard are very used to spending dozens of hours on the bus. The Blizzard may be the most impressive team remaining in the playoffs. They never seem to lose a step and now, they're two games away from advancing to the league final.
That; however, will not be an easy feat. After dropping game four, 4-2, their series against Steinbach now heads back to La Broquerie as the Pistons will host game five. Steinbach also holds home-ice advantage should the series go to seven games.
The winning team in this series scored four goals in the last three games. The losing team has given up two goals in the last two games. The Blizzard won 21 games away from home ice in the regular season and they proved in their first-round series with Dauphin that they can get the job done on the road.
Steinbach lost just three games on home ice in the regular season. They then won their first two home games of the playoffs before losing game one against the Blizzard.
Steinbach has all the experience in the world. They won a championship last year. The Blizzard does not have that same experience. But, they have the top goaltender in the league and a group that never quits and works harder than any other team.
This should be a fun best-of-three with the winner advancing to the league championship
Oil Capitals vs Flyers:
After winning game three on the road, the Virden Oil Capitals had a great opportunity to take a three-games to one series lead on home ice. They came within inches of doing so as they hit the crossbar twice in overtime against Winkler at Tundra Oil & Gas Place.
Dalton Andrew ended it. The 20-year-old, who led the MJHL in regular season scoring, finished the game just more than halfway into double overtime on Thursday night in a thrilling 5-4 win. What did Andrew do to celebrate the big goal? He immediately opened the bench gate and went right into the dressing room. He knows it is a big goal, but he knows the job is not done yet.
Both teams were great in the regular season on home ice. The Flyers went 24-4-0-1 while the Oil Capitals went 19-6-1-3. Neither team has won a home game in this round yet. Virden nearly put the Flyers on the brink of elimination. Instead, the Flyers now regain home-ice advantage as they get set to host game five on Saturday evening and if needed, they will also host game seven next week.
Surely, one of these teams will be able to win a game on their home ice. Virden has outscored the Flyers, 14-8 in the series. What do they have to show for outscoring their opponent by six goals? Nothing. it comes down to a best-of-three and the winner will advance to the championship series where a berth to the Centennial Cup in Oakville will be on the line.
Winkler is an extremely physical team and Virden has shown that they can play that way as well, even though that isn't their true identity. Both teams boast great offensive talents and both teams have solid goaltending.
It's a true toss-up regarding who will win this series; however, many fans still think the Flyers will win as they have home-ice advantage.
The second round of the MJHL playoffs has been a thrill and the ride continues Saturday evening in Steinbach and Winkler.
