The Sea Bears and Alliance clash in their lone game of the season on Friday at 8 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. CT at Verdun Auditorium. Live streaming coverage is available on CEBL+, TSN+, RDS.ca and the RDS App.

It’s a battle of two teams heading in opposite directions. The Sea Bears have won four straight games, while the Alliance have dropped five in a row.

Yet due to Montreal’s automatic semifinal spot as host of Championship Weekend, there’s a chance Friday’s tilt could also represent a Finals preview.

At 7-5, Winnipeg sits third in the Western Conference, two games back of first-place Vancouver.

Its recent resurgence has been fueled by major roster changes, with reigning CEBL MVP Teddy Allen cut and essentially replaced by Justin Wright-Foreman, whose point-per-game average is nearly identical to Allen’s at just over 28.

The Sea Bears also released ex-NBA player Byron Mullens and brought in G League champion Noah Starkey, who saw 16 minutes of action in his CEBL debut on Wednesday.

Winnipeg’s winning streak hasn’t come easily, with a pair of double-digit comebacks mixed in with its most recent triumph over Edmonton in which it surrendered a 16-point lead before fighting back in Target Score Time to eke out the one-point victory.

All of those games came with the comfort of being home, too. The Sea Bears are just 1-4 away from Canada Life Centre.

“To really ensure we keep climbing up the standings, we need to get more wins on the road, and that’s the next challenge for our guys,” head coach Mike Taylor said after the win over Edmonton.

The challenge in Montreal, meanwhile, is to keep focused on the regular season even while knowing it’s automatically one win away from the Finals.

Alliance head coach Derrick Alston Sr., admitted after a recent loss that that knowledge could be affecting his team’s mindset.

“Just trying to find a way to keep them motivated,” he said. “I know a few guys in the locker room are a little nervous right now. Because at the end of the day it’s a job, and if you don’t do your job, change is coming. That’s from me all the way down to the last guy on the bench.”

Still, Alston Sr.’s team has been right in games – none of the losing during the skid have come by more than eight points, and Thursday’s defeat to the BlackJacks saw the Alliance come within a bucket of the win before Ottawa’s Lloyd Pandi ended the game.

Montreal seems close to snapping its drought – but a tough foe in Winnipeg awaits.

Player spotlight

As Wright-Foreman goes, the Sea Bears tend to follow.

In their most recent game, a 10-0 run surrendered just before Target Score Time came as the American started forcing shots and turning the ball over.

But it was also the league’s scoring leader who settled down after the clock turned off and hit three clutch free throws to push the Sea Bears past their rival Stingers.

Another steady game from Wright-Foreman could nudge him further into MVP consideration.

Milestone watch

·      Winnipeg’s Alex Campbell is four points away from 1,000 for his career, regular season only

·      Winnipeg’s Chad Posthumus is seven points away from 500 for his career, including playoffs

·      Montreal’s Alain Louis is 25 points away from 500 for his career, including playoffs