Feb 04, 2010 - 04:30 AM

By Shawn Cayley

PETERBOROUGH -- When the season started, Curtis Hodgins didn't exactly envision his Bowmanville Eagles challenging for first place.

But here they are, heading into the final weekend of the Central Canadian Hockey League season with 67 points, two points up in the battle for top spot in the East Division with the Wellington Dukes.

One of the big reasons the Eagles (31-12-5) are in the hunt has been the play of rookie netminders Jackson Teichroeb and Luke Bierworth.

"We kind of brought it together. Me and Biersy, we push each other," Teichroeb said Tuesday night after a 23-save effort in the Eagles' 2-1 overtime win against the Peterborough Stars. "It's good when you have a good battle between the two (goaltenders). The whole team has been stepping up great and getting the wins when we need them."

Both have given the Eagles quality netminding, but it's been Teichroeb emerging to grab hold of the No. 1 gig. Through 32 games, the London native has compiled a 20-8-4 record with a goals against average of 2.23 and a .918 save percentage.

And it sounds as though his efforts will garner him the starting assignment come playoff time.

"He's been playing really well. We've been running with him a little bit here and tried to build him for the playoffs and make sure he is ready," said Eagles coach and general manager Curtis Hodgins. "You know, we've got a pretty good luxury here in having two really good goaltenders. As it looks now though, Jackson is going to run with it down the wire here and probably start the playoffs. He's been solid and gives us that confidence back there."

First things first, however, with a pair of games this weekend to close out the regular season.

Friday night, the Eagles will host the Ajax Attack (7 p.m.) in a possible first-round playoff preview before closing things out with the visiting Pickering Panthers Sunday (1:30 p.m.).

With just those two games to go, Hodgins admits that, despite being in line to finish first, he's not sure the club is quite ready for the post-season.

"I don't know. I don't think we're playing out best right now, but I am a tough coach," he says. "I am a detail-oriented coach. I look at everything and am their toughest critic no doubt. We've got a point in eight straight games here, so I can't be too tough on them. We're not giving up much. Are we playoff ready? I think we can get a little bit better."

One area he hopes to see improved is the team's power play. The lone regulation goal Tuesday was short-handed by Michael Markovic and while Adam Place's game winner came on the power play, just 17 seconds into overtime, in its previous four games, the club went 3-for-32 with the man advantage.

If playoff success is in the offing, the power play must be righted.

"We're struggling on our power play, no doubt," he says. "The last three or four games we haven't been good at all. We need a good practice or two to get back at it and get it settled down."