The Weyburn Red Wings swept the opening two games of the SJHL championship in North Battleford on Saturday and Sunday to take a commanding 2-0 lead in the MemberCARE Cup final series.

The Wings qualified for the SJHL final by beating the Melville Millionaires 5-3 on Wednesday in front of over 1,750 fans at the Colosseum.

"You never get tired of winning championships," said Red Wing coach Dwight McMillan as he relaxed in his office after the game.

McMillan's motivation soon became clear.

"If you get tired of winning, it's time to give up that chair," said a jovial Red Wing general manager Ron Rumball.

Weyburn lost a 3-1 lead when Melville's Mike Markell, a thorn in Weyburn's side throughout the series, scored twice in the period, including one short-handed goal.

"Our play in the third period after Markell scored those two goals shows we fought hard," said Red Wing coach Dwight McMillan, over the celebratory screams being overheard from the Red Wing locker room. "Our play may not always look like much. The boys may be tired, but the effort they give is always 100 per cent."

As has been the case throughout the playoffs, any player who has filled in for a regular Red Wing player has not looked out of place.

"Brad Shambel replaced Greg Garner in this game and scores the game and series-winning goal," said McMillan. "When you have depth like that, it means a hell of a lot."

"Players win games, but teams win championships," added Rumball.

Weyburn travelled up to North Battleford for Saturday's game and matched the North Stars in a close-checking, defensive style of play.

Weyburn opened the scoring on the power-play caused when North Battleford's leading scorer, Cody Loughlean was called for a checking-from-behind minor penalty. Loughlean was also given an automatic game misconduct and was forced to leave the game. Near the end of the man-advantage, James Laux's slap shot, on a feed from Brian Kerr, beat Stars goalie Steven Nelson on the stick side.

North Battleford tied the score in the third period, sending the game to overtime. Mike Weisgerber became the overtime hero when he picked up Christian Cote's rebound on his backhand and quickly shot the puck past Nelson's glove to win the game.

In Game 2, the Red Wings fell behind 1-0 three minutes into the game. They more than made up for the deficit in the second period. Weyburn scored four unanswered goals and a fifth goal in the third period, to win the game 5-1.

"We started chipping the puck up the boards and past their defencemen," McMillan said. "They are a tough team to do that on, but if you can get the puck past their defencemen, you will get chances."

Neutralizing North Battleford's speedy offensive talent by strong team forechecking efforts was seen as a key by Rumball.

"We maintained our discipline and kept to the game plan as much as possible," Rumball said.

The Red Wings started to see more power-play goals, scoring two goals on 11 chances.

"You always want to see the power-play produce more, but they are creating more chances for us," said McMillan.

But more importantly, the Red Wings have become the Road Wings, having given up only three goals in their last three games played away from the Colosseum.

"We've had some exceptional goaltending from Terry Denike," said Rumball. "We've also had some strong defensive play."

Having a 2-0 lead in the series is seen by the Red Wings as an advantage coming home, but not a reason to be complacent.

Weyburn hosted Game 3 on Tuesday (game results were not available before presstime) and will host Game 4 tonight, April 12. About 1,300 tickets have been sold for tonight's game, with most seats available being in the bottom three rows.

If necessary, Game 5 will be played in North Battleford on Friday, April 14. Game 6 will be in Weyburn on Sunday, April 16. Game 7 will be in North Battleford on Tuesday, April 18.

Hay claims scholarship

Weyburn Red Wing Peter Hay has signed on to play with the NCAA's University of Massachusetts - Lowell for the 2000-2001 season. He will still be eligible to finish the current season with the Red Wings. As Hay is 21 years-old, under NCAA rules, he will not be able to play on the team for one year of the four-year scholarship.