(Mat Barrett/northeastNOW Staff)

By Mat Barrett

SJHL Pre-Season

Mustangs split pre-season opening weekend against rival Hawks

Oct 26, 2020 | 2:56 PM

The Melfort Mustangs have wrapped up their first weekend of exhibition hockey in the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League as they await official word on a regular season.

On Friday, Oct. 23 the Mustangs battled their rival Nipawin Hawks in the first half of a home and home series. The Hawks took the 3-2 overtime win that night at Centennial Arena. Chase Pauls and Ty Albrecht scored for the Mustangs in the loss.

Mustangs head coach and general manager Trevor Blevins said he liked the compete level by his group in game one.

“It’s never a good place to play or an easy place to play,” he said. “I thought the lineup held its own with the physicality of it in the tight areas.”

The next night, Saturday, Oct. 24, the two teams took to the ice once again, but in Melfort at the Northern Lights Palace. Melfort jumped out to a 2-0 lead just 24 minutes into the contest. Tyler Moline scored a powerplay goal in the first period for the home squad before a shorthanded goal early in the second by veteran Vaclav Prospal. The Hawks got one back shortly after, but the Mustangs would hold down the fort for the rest of the game, coming away with the 2-1 victory.

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Blevins said with more ice at the Northern Lights Palace, his players were able to move the puck very well.

“Had some players maybe try and do a little too much,” he said. “But also, they want to get in the groove of making skilled plays, and that’s what we promote here.”

Special teams also looked sharp in the pre-season contests, Saturday especially where Melfort scored both of their goals on the powerplay or penalty kill. Melfort also killed all seven of the Hawks powerplays on Saturday. Blevins said while it was nice to see the special teams work with both the veterans and young kids, they’re still trying to evaluate players on the simple things.

“Our evaluation is still going to be on skill, and work ethic, and compete level for us,” Blevins told northeastNOW. “And wildling down the team.”

The goaltending battle was also an interesting storyline heading into camp for Melfort this year, as they brought in two netminders who have yet to dawn Mustang colours in their career. The 19-year-old Bacovsky started game one and by all accounts, looked very solid for his new club after coming over in a trade with Kindersley in the offseason. Eighteen-year-old rookie Joel Favreau got the start on Saturday and was tremendous in the contest, stopping 36 of 37 shots that came his way, including multiple Grade-A scoring chances. Blevins said he’s not ready to name a starter, and doesn’t think he needs to.

“I think both are very important to our lineup,” he said. “So they both need to play.”

Moving forward, the Mustangs and Hawks play another exhibition home and home set this coming weekend on Oct. 30 and 31 in Melfort and Nipawin.

“Definitely treat these games as regular season type games and the atmosphere,” Blevins said. “This week is about the preparation for that.”

There’s still no official word on when an SJHL regular season may begin.

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mat.barrett@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @matbarrett6