A look at round two

Swan Valley Stampeders forward Myles Stevens will go down in history as one of the franchise’s all-time greats. He cemented that status with a great first-round playoff performance against the Portage Terriers.
Stevens had nine points in five games to help lead the Stampeders to a five-game victory over the Terriers.
It marked the second time in three years that Stevens has raised his game in the post season. Back in 2008 when the Stamps and Terriers did battle, Stevens recorded 12 points in seven games (as a rookie no less), giving him 21 career points heading into the second round against the Dauphin Kings.
Stevens also moved into second place all-time in Stampeder playoff scoring. He is only slightly behind Shaun McIvor, who scored 22 points in 22 games over three seasons. Stevens enters the second round one point back. He also recently passed former scoring greats Trevor Derlago and Tyler Czuba.
As Swan Valley’s unofficial statistician Craig Zamzow notes, at most levels of hockey, point per game trends tend to decline significantly when tight-checking playoff hockey arrives. This doesn’t apply to Stevens, who has a 1.18 point per game average in the regular season, and a 1.75 point per game average in the playoffs. He’s been elevating his game in the playoffs.
• Speaking of playoff performances, the clutch performance of the playoffs so far has to belong to Winkler’s Nick Lazorko.
The talented forward must now own the MJHL record for most overtime winners in one series after he scored three straight game clinchers against the Selkirk Steelers, helping the Flyers get back into the second round. One of the overtime winners was short-handed, making the performance that much more impressive.
Consider how difficult it is to even get a playoff game into overtime, and then score the winner in not one game, but three straight, and it makes Lazorko’s performance even more remarkable. By comparison, the NHL all-time leader for overtime winners in the playoffs is Joe Sakic. He scored eight overtime winners in 172 games.
The performance was enough to earn Lazorko the MJHL’s Potters Distillers Player of the Week honour.
Also considered for this award was Stevens, and Selkirk’s Brendan Baumgartner, who had five goals in four games.
• The MJHL also recently handed out their monthly award winners.
Dauphin Kings’ veteran forward Shane Luke has been named the RBC Player of the Month.
Luke, who hails from Ste. Rose du Lac, had 22 points (five goals, 17 assists) in the final month of the regular season. His offensive outburst also clinched the Mike Ridley Trophy for Luke. The trophy is awarded to the league’s top point getter. Luke led all MJHL scorers this year with 101 points, two better than linemate Ryan Dreger.
Also considered for this award was Portage Terriers forward Tyler Moore and Wes Pawluk of the Neepawa Natives.
The Sher-wood Hockey Defenceman of the Month is Patrick Kozyra from the Dauphin Kings.
The Sherwood Park, Alta., native had 10 points and was solid on the back end for the Kings.
Also considered for this award was Kozyra’s teammate Steven Shamanski (the MJHL’s defenceman of the year) and Caleb Suderman of the Neepawa Natives.
The GDI Prairies Goaltender of the Month is Portage Terriers netminder Jason Kasdorf. The 17-year-old puck stopper had a memorable February, helping the Terriers win 11 in a row by going 5-0 record, sparkling 1.40 GAA and .939 save percentage.
He also played well in the first part of the playoffs against the Stampeders, but was pulled after losing three straight one-goal games.
Also considered for this award was Joe Caligiuri of the Dauphin Kings and Matt Krahn of the Neepawa Natives. Caligiuri recently was presented with the MJHL’s RBC $1,000 scholarship.
Stephane Pattyn, 18, of the Portage Terriers is the Husky Energy Rookie of the Month. The rookie had 17 points (six goals, 11 assists) in aiding the Terriers in their undefeated month.
Also up for this award was David Conrad, 18, of the Winnipeg Saints and forward Brendan O’Donnell, 17, of the Winnipeg South Blues.
• Prediction time. After a perfect 4-0 record in the opening round, it’s now time for my divisional championship picks (made before the second round got under way).
Swan Valley versus Dauphin: The smart money is to take the Kings. As the RBC hosts, they built a team to win a national championship, so getting to the league final should be a formality. However, that’s why they play the games. Swan Valley and Dauphin actually split their eight games in the regular season, though Dauphin won the final two in convincing fashion. Swan Valley, though, seems to have shaken off their February funk and are playing great hockey. Swan Valley’s had to come from behind in these playoffs, and though they won in five games, most of their games were tight and competitive. Dauphin, by contrast, had an easier time disposing of the Neepawa Natives in four straight. I think this series will go six or seven, and I think fans are in for a treat. Both teams have dynamic scoring threats, so it will be up to the defence and netminders to hold the fort. These two franchises have never met in the playoffs before. The heart says Swan Valley in seven, while the brain says Dauphin in seven. Betting against the team you cover isn’t a great way to sell papers, but this is obviously one time where I’m hoping my heart knows something my brain doesn’t. Either way, it should be entertaining.
Prediction: Kings in seven.
Winkler versus Winnipeg Saints: Here’s another series where the top seed was barely challenged in the opening round, while the lower seed had to play their best hockey to advance. Winkler has to be full of confidence after three straight overtime wins to eliminate the Selkirk Steelers. The Saints might have the best goaltender in the MJHL in Justin Leclerc, but the Flyers have a clutch playoff performer to look to in Lazorko. Strength versus strength. And one intangible to this series – Winkler will likely have more fans at every game in this series, as a trip to Winnipeg isn’t much of a hardship for the Flyers faithful, and the Saints are not exactly the hottest draw in Winnipeg.
Prediction: Saints in seven.