Monthly Round up - January

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All games in January are completed in he NWJHL, it leads us to the last month of the regular season. Its crazy that we already find ourselves in the home stretch. Some things we know about playoffs and where teams will finish.

Huskies can clinch regular season title this Friday:
The Huskies magic number to clinch 1st in the standings without any tiebreaker rules and receive a first round playoff bye is 2 (Huskies wins, or Kodiaks loses, or Wheat Kings loses). This could be finalized as early as Friday as the Huskies travel to battle the Wheat Kings.

Fairview will miss the post season:
Sitting 8th in the standings, Fairview will miss the post season. The NWJHL voted and approved a playoff structure where the 8th place team would not qualify. The Flyers will look for a strong end to their season with six games in the month of February

La Crete should finish fifth:
The Lumber Barons need 5 points in their finally 7 games and hope the Blades don't run the table and win their remaining 7 games to hold onto the 5th spot.

Although we are headed to the last month of regular season play, there is still lots to figure out

Battle for second:
The battle for second place in the standings between the Kodiaks and the Wheat Kings is the race to keep an eye on coming down the stretch. The Kodiaks recently beat the Wheat Kings 5-3 in Clairmont, the teams will battle again Thursday in Clairmont again.

Battle for sixth:
The battle for sixth and seventh between the Navigators and the Blades is separated by a single point, although the Blades do have 2 games in hand. Three of the Blades final 7 games are against the  Lumber Barons, including a trip up to La Crete for a double header.

Vipers looking to climb:
The Vipers will finish no lower than 4th in the final league standings, but will need to go on a roll if they want to catch the Kodiaks or Wheat Kings for 3rd. They will look to get that roll going against the Navigators on Saturday.

If the Playoffs started today we would see

(1) Huskies bye
(2) Kodiaks vs. (7) Blades
(3) Wheat Kings vs. (6) Navigators
(4) Vipers vs. (5) Lumber Barons

Could their be any upsets brewing in the first round? Time will tell.