With the playoff push among us and teams vying for position, the Humboldt Broncos have found their groove and are peaking at the perfect time. 

The Broncos are around the bend and sprinting down the final stretch of furlongs, currently riding a season-best eight game winning streak.

Since 2010, every single championship-winning team has won at least 7 of their final 10 regular season games, with five of the past eight champions winning 8 of 10 or better. All teams will have ups and downs throughout the season, the goal, however, is to ride a confident team into the playoffs in an attempt at a deep run. 

"I think it starts in practice, the way our habits have been. We want to play fast hockey, getting the guys moving all the time and chipping pucks, doing the little things right. I think we've been getting great goaltending. The defence has been playing well. All 22 guys are putting the work in, and when you have everyone putting the work in, good things can happen," said Head Coach Scott Barney.

The Ag Risk Division will prove to be a photo finish to determine the top three seeds. With the parity in the league, the team that finishes third could easily end up relegated into the survivor series and be forced to battle it out for the final two playoff spots. 

"Yeah, you put that winning streak together and don't really move too far up in the standings. When it comes to playoffs, I was talking with Troy (Assistant Coach Troy Smith) and we were saying that you can play any team ranked one to eight and anybody can win the series. It's good for the league, it's good for the players and I think good overall for hockey."

The Broncos have been able to compete with anyone 5 on 5. They find a way to emerge victorious in close contests, evident by an 18-3-2-1 record in one-goal games. They also have not succumbed to many, if any, collapses throughout the season, as they hold a 16-1-0-1 record when leading after the first period. Those are two categories that often separate the teams that advance in the playoffs, and the teams that are dusting off the golf clubs.

One area of concern at the midway point of the season was the powerplay. The unit struggled to find any consistency and was next to the bottom of the league floating around 13%. However, since January 1st, the powerplay has jumped out of the second half gates at a success rate of 30.4%, spurring the Broncos to an 11-3 record.

"The biggest thing is buying in and the daily practice of it. I believe as a player and coach you have to practice special teams frequently both ways. We've put a lot of time and effort into it because it can win or lose you games. Even if you only get one goal, its a big difference in a hockey game, especially with all the one-goal games we've played this year. The boys have bought into what we want to be done."

Seven games remain for the Humboldt Broncos, who currently sit two points back of the Kindersley Klippers for first place in the division. Saddle up the horses, we're in for furious final stretch.