Four teams have moved on to the second round. Here's a look at how they match-up.

(5)Portage Terriers vs (1) Steinbach Pistons

Season Series: 5-1 Steinbach

The Pistons and Terriers both coming off series victories in six games.

This is a series that many fans wanted to see. Both teams have a strong dislike for each other and that will lead to some very entertaining games. Also, with both teams having series scoring, there could be some high scoring affairs as well.

Both power plays are very good at making opposing teams pay for taking penalties, so both clubs will need to walk the line and keep emotions in check. On the penalty kill, Steinbach blocks a ton of shots while the aggressive Terriers penalty kill can cause fits while trying to break out or set up in the zone.

The defenders of Steinbach were the difference in round number one. Guys were logging huge minutes and still able to dictate physical play in the defensive zone. Portage has also come alive and limited transition chances through the neutral zone. Both teams will have to pick their spots to try and jump start the offence.

The battle in goal will be an interesting one to keep an eye on. Roman Bengert struggled at times (though the goals against, one could argue were on the team more so then the 20 year old netminder), but looked more like himself in games 5 and 6. For Portage, Kurtis Chapman took over the crease after game 2 of round 1 and has played pretty solid, collecting 3 wins.

Players to watch:

Steinbach Pistons – Wyatt Hinson

Portage Terriers – Ryan Sokoloski

 

(3)OCN Blizzard vs (2) Winkler Flyers

Season Series: 3-3 tie

This has all the earmarks of being a physical, black and blue, back ally kind of series. Both teams like to play a physical brand of hockey and are not afraid to get into it after whistles.

Up front, both teams match up pretty well with speed and scoring forwards that don't need a ton of room to be dangerous. Both teams rely on depth scoring and the chess match between the coaches will be interesting to watch. Which lines match against the others will be quite the thing to keep an eye on.

Much like at forward, both teams have defenders that love to get involved in the offence. The defenders will be the ones that start a lot of the rushes and there could be a lot of transition rushes for both sides.

In goal, OCN's Brett Epp is coming alive in the post-season and was recently named the MJHL's player of the week. For Winkler, Troy Martyniuk has been solid, including holding his team in through several overtime games.

Players to watch:

OCN Blizzard – Justin Nachbaur

Winkler Flyers – Coltyn Bates