With the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League's regular season wrapping up, the Weyburn Red Wings are making a strong push for first place in the Sherwood Conference.

"With a young team, I think a lot of people ruled us out early, but we have come together in the last few months," said assistant captain Preston Shupe.

For the majority of the season, the Wings were playing with only two 20-year-old players, yet continued to battle for top spot. As the season wore on, they picked up 20-year-olds Erick Ruud, Justin Crockatt and Adam Feniak through trades.

For assistant captains Michael Seib, Shupe and Eric Calibaba, they weren't surprised at how well they fared with the young team.

"I know we started out pretty good, even with a young team, and we continued to build from there," said Seib.

Captain Kyle Haines thought it was a bit of a surprise how well the team came together early in the season, and he was really impressed by the way the rookies have played.

"It was a bit of a surprise to see our new guys playing as well as they have," Haines said. "Picking up a few 19 and 20 year olds will definitely help us in the long term going into the playoffs."

Although the squad is made up of a lot of 18 and 19 year old players, their young guns have stepped up and played well, particularly goaltender A.J. Whiffen. His teammates and coaching staff can't say enough about the way he has played this year.

"He has played really well for a rookie," said Seib. "He had a lot of pressure on his shoulders and he has dealt with it well."

The Wings started the season with an up-and-down first couple of months, but broke out in November picking up points in 11 out of 12 games, including seven victories. They continued that streak going into December when they took four out of seven games.

While Seib couldn't pinpoint one game or moment as a turning point in the season and Calibaba spent most of the season injured, Shupe and Haines had a couple of different opinions on a turning point.

Shupe felt his teammates started to pick up after taking a 10-4 loss to the last place Notre Dame Hounds on Oct. 27 in Radville.

"After the Notre Dame game in Radville, that became an eye-opener. Since then we have been playing strong hockey," said Shupe.

Losing four straight games in late September and early October was the turning point, according to Haines.

"After the slump everyone checked themselves out and started to improve," said Haines.

As the season winds down, the odds-on favourites to join the Red Wings in the selection series in the playoffs are Kindersley and Melville.

"They are definitely pretty good teams, but everyone (in the locker room) thinks we have a chance," said Calibaba.

The SJHL regular season wraps up on Monday, Feb. 18, and the playoffs will begin the following weekend.