The reigning Allan Cup champions won their round robin opener Monday night at the T.G. Smith Centre in Steinbach.

Blair MacAulay and Terry Yake scored first period shorthanded goals and Shawn Limpright added a power play marker in the middle frame as the South East Prairie Thunder defeated the Shellbrook Elks 3-0.

Prairie Thunder goaltender Steve Christie was spectacular as he made 32 saves in recording the shutout.

"I felt really good," said Christie. "Our defenseman did a heck of a job. I was able to see everything from the point and in scrums they were clearing it if I didn't cover it. The puck was pretty big tonight."

Christie made a number of key stops especially in the first period when the Elks tried to cash in on more than a couple of South East neutral zone turnovers.

"He was unbelievable especially when we went up 1-0 and then we had to kill some penalties," said Prairie Thunder defenseman Dan Tetrault. "He got a couple of breakaway saves for us and a couple of two-on-one saves and that's the reason that we won. That was the turning point, those big saves early in the first when we were up 1-0. He deserved to be the First Star tonight."

South East can wrap up first place in it's division with a win tonight (8 p.m.) over the Grand Falls-Windsor Cataracts.

"It's critical," Yake said. "Very few teams, if you go back in history from what I know, have ever won it if they have to play that quarterfinal game. It almost always comes out of the team that gets the bye."

"It's very big for us because it will be two days off," added Yake. "You get a lot of guys who didn't play a lot of hockey this year and if they did they might have been done for a month so two days off is crucial for us getting that extra day of rest and not having to play three-in-three. Hopefully you can get through the semi's and then maybe have the advantage in the finals. We've got a good draw and it's a great opportunity for us now. We just have to take care of business Tuesday night."