First the bad news: the Battlefords have landed on top of yet another national ranking.
Now the good news: there is no bad news.
This is one ranking the Battlefords wants to be first on: after climbing all season, the Battlefords North Stars have now moved into first place in the national Canadian Junior Hockey League rankings released this week.
The reigning SJHL champions moved ahead of the number-two Brooks Bandits of the Alberta league this week after Brooks dropped their first game of the season. Both clubs now have identical 22-1 records, but the North Stars are ranked first on the strength of their current 15-game winning streak. Their latest triumph was a 5-1 win over Nipawin this weekend.
The only bad news is that there is still a long season left to go before a national Junior A champion is crowned, and no time for the North Stars to bask in the glory.