By Mat Barrett

Another Overtime

Overtime woes strike again for Mustangs in loss to Klippers

Feb 9, 2020 | 3:29 AM

The Melfort Mustangs have fallen again in overtime in Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League (SJHL) action.

That happened for the sixth time this calendar year on Saturday, Feb. 9 as the Mustangs fell 3-2 to the Kindersley Klippers to wrap up their western road trip.

Mustangs Assistant Coach Trevor Logan said a stretch of falling in overtime like this has not many words to describe it.

“It’s tough. It’s getting hard on everybody, I think,” he said. “And yeah, it’s not enjoyable for sure.”

Once again, the Mustangs fell behind in the hockey game as the Klippers struck first thanks to Steven Avalone’s first of the year just about seven minutes into the contest. Then it was Ethan Mack who sprung on a breakaway, scoring his third of the season with just over a minute to play in the first period.

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Tanner Martin got the start in the hockey game but was pulled after the first period when he stopped 10 of 12 shots he faced. When Shawn Parkinson came in he seemed to give Melfort the boost they needed. An Alex Rondeau high-sticking penalty had the Mustangs shorthanded for four minutes, but they were the ones getting the offence. Seth McCulloch was able to break up a pass and went in on a partial break, beating Klipper netminder Steven Bacovsky for his second of the season, and it was 2-1.

Then, in the third period, Nolan Kadachuk tied things just 3:05 into the frame, leaving things tied for the rest of the third. Melfort was able to get multiple flurries of chances, but were unable to beat Bacovsky who stopped 11 of 12 shots in the period.

The overtime period saw the Mustangs control all of the possession for the first minute, before the Klippers were able to break up a play and give Brett Neumeier some space. He used it to beat Parkinson, winning it for the Klippers. Logan said the fight back was nice, but they can’t be playing from behind all the time.

“That’s huge character, but again we’re having the same conversation, we’re always chasing games,” Logan told northeastNOW. “That’s something that we need to figure out as a group and try to get ourselves ahead off the bat. For whatever reason, we’re not able to do that so it’s something we really have to figure out.”

The Mustangs get a single point out of the loss and move into a tie with the La Ronge Ice Wolves for fifth in the SJHL. Melfort is back in game action on Wednesday when they host Flin Flon.

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mat.barrett@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @matbarrett6