Was there ever a doubt?

It was by the slimmest of margins, but the Weyburn Red Wings clinched a playoff berth last week, maintaining their narrow lead over the Melville Millionaires for fifth place in the Sherwood Conference.

Called to comment on the Red Wings' victory over Melville, coach Dwight McMillan said he knows at least one thing: that Weyburn has scored 10 points in their last 13 games, meaning these boys worked very hard to get their shot at the playoffs.

Considering the funk that has hovered over this team since Christmas, that was no small hurdle to clear.

"We had a long way to get into the playoffs and the kids worked hard to be in the playoffs," he said. "They deserve to be in there because of their hard work."

All recent signs point to a team finally coming together, bolstered by growing confidence and new blood from the January trades. It's as simple as this: Weyburn was scoring more goals and letting fewer in, said McMillan. They were coming together offensively and defensively, and they were getting a lot more confident because of their successes.

Ultimately, what had won Weyburn a spot in the playoffs was a 3-0 shutout against Melville on Feb. 15. Weyburn dominated the match; Melville managed only 23 shots at goalie Brenden Cuthbert, who received the shutout.

Kai Magnussen tallied the first goal in the first period, assisted by Ryan Kuntz and Ryan Grona. Grona followed suit in the second with a shorthanded goal, assisted by Matt Wheeler; Rick Wood then tapped in an empty-netter to secure a 3-0 win at 18:10, assisted by Kuntz and Mark Schweitzer.

That victory catapulted Weyburn four points ahead of the Millionaires. With only two games left in Melville's schedule, the best they could hope for was a tie with Weyburn.

Unfortunately for them, they dug their own grave. On Friday, the Millionaires took a loss to Notre Dame, denying them even that slim hope of tying with Weyburn on their remaining schedule.

It was a good thing, too - had Weyburn needed an extra point, they wouldn't have gotten it out of Estevan. The Bruins, still riding their season-long high, maintained their winning streak over Weyburn on Friday and Sunday, handing them 3-1 and 3-2 losses.

On Friday, Estevan took a 2-0 lead out of the first period and kept it up for the rest of the game. Wood had a lone goal off Eric Tallent and Joe Pace in the second period, but Estevan scored another a few minutes later.

It was just an unlucky game for Weyburn. The second period nearly ended in a goal, but the buzzer beat the Wing moving the puck just as he was approaching the net. In the third period, Weyburn failed to solve Juliano Pagliero on a penalty shot.

On Sunday, Weyburn put in their rookie goalies Matthew Scott and Chris Bruno. Bruno got off to a bad start, letting in three goals before the end of the first period.

Jordan Stevenson led Weyburn's attack, scoring both of their goals in the first and second periods. Brendon Vertefeuille, Cody Wasik, Matt Fetzner and Wood assisted.

Survivor series

Now it is up to Weyburn to outwit, outlast and outplay the Humboldt Broncos in the best-of-seven survivor series, which begins with Game 1 this Friday, Feb. 25, in Humboldt.

Game 2 then comes to Weyburn on Sunday, Feb. 27, at 6 p.m. in the Colosseum.

The games then alternate between Humboldt and Weyburn, with Game 3 in Humboldt on March 1, Game 4 in Weyburn on March 3, Game 5 on March 5, Game 6 in March 6 and Game 7 on March 8.

Can Weyburn take the Broncos? The Wings haven't had a stellar record against Humboldt; their first four games ended in losses, and Weyburn had only two goals between the four.

However, that was back in the fall. Weyburn's last two games with Humboldt have ended in a tie and a victory for the Red Wings.

McMillan said he thinks it will be a tough series, but it's a new season for them and it begins on Friday. All that matters is who gets to eight points first.

Meanwhile, Notre Dame, Yorkton and Estevan will be playing a round robin. The winner of this match-up gets to select their opponent in the semi-finals of the Sherwood Conference playoffs.

McMillan said he doesn't have any idea who will come out on top of this series, but each of them are going to be tough.