With two games remaining in the regular season, it's the ideal time to be in rhythm ahead of playoffs - that's the exact scenario the Home Hardware Midget AAA Legionnaires find themselves in.

Playing their third game in as many days, Swift Current doubled up the Saskatoon Blazers 4-2 on the road for their fifth-straight win.

"It was a real big win for us - we got going, and we really just played consistent all the way through the game, and played really simplistic," said head coach Darren Evjen.

Reed Jacobson gave the Legionnaires a 1-0 lead after the first period, setting up an action-packed second frame.

Just under six minutes into the second, Boston Bird pushed the lead to 2-0, before Rhett Evjen made it 3-0 with 12:30 remaining.

The Blazers jumped on the board 26 seconds later to make it 3-1.

Two-and-a-half minutes later Maguire Scheidt struck on the power play for the commanding 4-1 lead.

Saskatoon went on to score the game's final goal with 7:22 remaining in the second.

"It was just a lot of battling," noted Evjen. "They're a really physical team and they can skate - their depth is really good."

"You've just got to win little battles all over the ice and get the pucks to the net, and win battles in front of the net. That's really what we did. There wasn't any TSN goals, it was just hard-working goals, and that's how you've got to beat a team like that."

Ethan Hein earned the win in net, steering 22 of 24 Blazers shots clear of the cage.

Both Jacobson and Evjen added assists for multi-point games - Riley Dekowny chipped in a pair of assists as well. Both he and Jacobson now have nine points in their last three games.

It would have been a tremendous effort for the usual Legionnaires lineup but, with two players out for Canada Winter Games, one for a game misconduct, and two for injury, it was an even more impressive result.

Four APs graced the lineup:

  • Cash Arntsen (Midget AA Broncos forward)
  • Ryan McCleary (Midget AA Broncos defenceman)
  • Kalan Lind (Bantam AA Broncos forward)
  • Jakin Lawrence (West Central Wheat Kings Bantam AA forward)

"They're good players. They're players that are going to play for us in the future," said Evjen. "It makes you feel good about where you're going in the future when they can come in and play, and not fall off. They pushed the game, all those kids played really good for us, and were a key in us winning."

Swift Current now sits alone in fourth place in the league standings with a big two points. The Legionnaires (27-13-1-1) are two points clear of the Notre Dame Hounds (25-12-2-2), though the Hounds have one game in hand.

"It's really big. We're trying to get fourth place, that's where we want to end up to get home ice advantage," said Evjen. "We knew coming into tonight that it's a three-in-three, and things are stacked against you. But the good thing about hockey teams is how hard they can pull together, and how they can find ways to win by all the guys doing as much as they can to make sure the train goes down the track."

Though home ice advantage is the ideal scenario in Round 1 of playoffs, the Legionnaires, who eliminated the fourth-seeded Tisdale Trojans as the fifth seed last season, know it's more about being in rhythm than a certain place in the standings.

"You always say you want to be playing good going into playoffs - wins like this... they catapult you," Evjen explained. "It really makes you dive into a deep game, and pushes you into it."

"You either fall out, or you dig in and you find a way to win. That's what we did tonight. Going forward we should feel good that we came into Saskatoon and knocked off the Blazers in a hard game. That's the hardness you want to see going into playoffs."

Swift Current goes for their sixth-straight win Friday night on the road against the Notre Dame Argos (8-30-3-1). That game is slated for an 8 p.m. puck drop.