The Manitoba Junior Hockey League Playoffs begin tonight!

The Portage Terriers'(1) and Steinbach Pistons'(2) opponents have been decided, with the 8th place Selkirk Steelers, and the 7th place Swan Valley Stampeders advancing from the Survivor Series. Portage will host Selkirk in Series A, the Pistons will host Swan Valley in Series B.

Series C begins tonight as Winkler(3) hosts OCN(6) starting at 7:30.

Series A and B and D will begin tomorrow. The Terriers host Selkirk, and the Steinbach Pistons host Swan Valley, and Winnipeg visits Virden. Series C will play game 2 tomorrow night as well.

Here is the Round 1 Playoff Schedule.

Series A - Portage Terriers (1) vs. Selkirk Steeler (8)
March 11 - Selkirk Steelers at Portage Terriers, 7:30 pm
March 13 - Portage Terriers at Selkirk Steelers, 7:30 pm
March 15 - Selkirk Steelers at Portage Terriers, 7:30 pm
March 18 - Portage Terriers at Selkirk Steelers, 7:30 pm
March 19 - Selkirk Steelers at Portage Terriers (if necessary)7:30 pm
March 21 - Portage Terriers at Selkirk Steelers (if necessary)7:30 pm
March 23 - Selkirk Steelers at Portage Terriers (if necessary)7:30 pm

Series B - Steinbach Pistons (2) vs. Swan Valley Stampeders(7)
March 11 - Swan Valley at Steinbach Pistons, 8:00 pm
March 12 - Swan Valley at Steinbach Pistons, 8:00 pm
March 16 - Steinbach Pistons at Swan Valley, 7:30 pm
March 17 - Steinbach Pistons at Swan Valley, 7:30 pm
March 19 - Swan Valley at Steinbach Pistons, (if necessary)7:30 pm
March 22 - Steinbach Pistons at Swan Valley, (if necessary)7:30 pm
March 23 - Swan Valley at Steinbach Pistons, (if necessary)7:30 pm

Series C - Winkler Flyers (3) vs. OCN Blizzard (6)
March 10 - OCN Blizzard at Winkler Flyers, 7:30 pm
March 11 - OCN Blizzard at Winkler Flyers, 7:30 pm
March 14 - Winkler Flyers at OCN Blizzard, 7:00 pm
March 15 - Winkler Flyers at OCN Blizzard, 7:00 pm
March 18 - OCN Blizzard at Winkler Flyers, (if necessary)7:30 pm
March 21 - Winkler Flyers at OCN Blizzard, (if necessary)7:00 pm
March 23 - OCN Blizzard at Winkler Flyers, (if necessary)7:30 pm

Series D - Virden Oil Caps (4) vs. Winnipeg Blues (5)
March 11 - Winnipeg Blues at Virden Oil Capitals, 7:30 pm
March 13 - Virden Oil Capitals at Winnipeg Blues, 7:00 pm
March 15 - Winnipeg Blues at Virden Oil Capitals, 7:30 pm
March 17 - Virden Oil Capitals at Winnipeg Blues, 7:00 pm
March 19 - Winnipeg Blues at Virden Oil Capitals, (if necessary)7:30 pm
March 21 - Virden Oil Capitals at Winnipeg Blues, (if necessary)7:00 pm
March 23 - Winnipeg Blues at Virden Oil Capitals, (if necessary)7:30 pm

In Series A, the Portage Terriers went 5-1 against the Selkirk Steelers in 6 meetings, and won 20 games in a row to end the season. The Steelers' only victory came back on December 11th in Selkirk, they defeated the dogs 6-4. The following night though the Terriers breezed past them 7-2 at the PCU Centre.

The Steinbach Pistons were nipping at the heels of the Portage Terriers all season long, but couldn't catch them down the stretch-run toward the playoffs and finished second. They'll face off against Swan Valley Stampeders, after sweeping the season series. Swan Valley was able to push Steinbach to overtime twice, but weren't able to seal a victory either time.

The Winkler Flyers and OCN Blizzard make up Series C. The Flyers have a 4-2 record against the Blizzard this season, with 22 goals for and only 15 goals against. OCN was the real wild card team this season, as they were able to beat every team -- except the Steinbach Pistons -- over the course of the season. The Flyers lost their final game of the season to Neepawa in a shootout, while OCN fell in their final 2.

Series D is between the Virden Oil Caps and Winnipeg Blues. Virden's record against the Blues is 2-3-1, but the goal differential is quite close at 14 goals for Winnipeg and 15 for Virden. Virden's goaltender Sean Kuehn will be the difference in the series, as he has many accolades this season. He won the Week 18 Player of the Week, Goalie of the Month for November, December, and February. Virden's also got some great young talent, so expect them to play a factor as well.