With just three games remaining in their regular season, the Estevan Bruins sit in first place in the Viterra Division, which they will have ample opportunity to secure in the coming weeks. While their division title win is not assured yet, they move closer to it with every game. 

Even if the Bruins win the division for the third straight year, however, there is still the matter of their first round opponent to be decided. With five teams vying for playoff positioning around that sixth spot, the Bruins likely won't know who they face until the very end of the season.

With that in mind, we broke down three of the five potential first round opponents for Estevan in our previous piece. Now we examine the remaining two, beginning with Kindersley.

Kindersley Klippers

The Klippers are another team the Bruins have not seen since November, though their record against the Klippers is far more favorable. The Bruins split the season series, winning the only game at Affinity Place on November 3 in a 3-2 shootout thriller, and once at the West Central Events Center in Kindersley 4-2. 

The Klippers wins came 4-2 with an empty netter at the SJHL showcase, and a 3-2 win over the Bruins in their most recent game on November 10. The Klippers lack the offensive firepower of the other teams on this list, as their leading scorers Kyle Bosch and Austin Nault have just 41 points apiece, but Junior-A veteran Ty Enns has posted 36 points in 28 games since being acquired from the AJHL's Bonnyville Pontiacs.

The true strength of the Klippers is in their stalward defense and stellar goaltending. Justen Close is once again a candidate to be the SJHL's goalie of the year with an impressive 2.14 GAA and .929 save percentage on the year.

The Bruins faced the Klippers last year in the first round of the playoffs, and according to Bruins head coach and GM Chris Lewgood it helped push them over the top.

"The physicality last year was a key component to the Kindersley series," he said. "Then you get into the Battlefords series and they had that but you add the speed to it. I think it was a natural progression for it. This year our job is to be up to speed on our own but whoever we see in the first round is going to be a stiff test and we'll have to approach it with a lot of focus and attention to detail."

If the Bruins do draw Kindersley in round one they can expect more physicality. That matchup, however, seems a longshot as the Klippers hold first place in the Global Ag Risk Solutions Division with two games in hand on Humboldt, their next closest opponent. 

Melfort Mustangs

On paper, this would seem to be the match-up the Bruins want most. They swept the season series against Melfort, hammering them 5-1 and 6-1 in the two games at Affinity Place and downing them 9-4 and 4-3 in Melfort. Lewgood cautioned against taking them lightly.

"In the middle of tough road trips we found a way to be at our best against the Mustangs," he said. "In all honesty, there were a couple of those games where maybe they weren't at their best. I think we've got to flush a lot of what we saw in those games and focus on the positive things we did." 

The Mustangs certainly won't lack for scoring punch. Justin Ball has 50 goals on the year, the most by any player since 2010-11, and is the clear leader in the SJHL in both goals and points. Mustangs Captain Carson Albrecht is right behind him with 32 goals and 80 points, and has recently commited to the University of North Dakota. 

Kayle Tosh, meanwhile, leads all defensemen with 54 points on the year in 49 games. Tanner Zentner, the third head of the Mustangs's three-headed monster, has 51 points of his own, while George King has been over a point per game since being acquired from the MJHL's Dauphin Kings. 

In net, the Mustangs have had some difficult luck with injuries but have found a steady tandem in Shawn Parkinson and Noah Giesbrecht. They have used six goaltenders this year due to injury concerns and trades. 

If the playoffs began today, the Mustangs, who are two points up on the Battlefords North Stars for fifth overall, would play yet another series against their closest rivals, the Humboldt Broncos. 

The only thing clear about the Bruins first round opponent is that they will be a handful. Much like last season, the Bruins are poised to finish third and be faced with a tough matchup in the opening round. Now it's just a matter of which opponent they'll face.