Mustangs hit the road for Game 1 against Battlefords (Ben Tompkins/northeastNOW staff)

By Ben Tompkins

Second Round Matchup

Mustangs take on North Stars for berth in CANTERRA SEEDS Cup final

Mar 31, 2023 | 12:56 PM

The Melfort Mustangs are headed to Battlefords today for game one of their second-round series, having now reached the final four.

Melfort will take on the number-one-ranked North Stars, as both teams fight for a spot in the CANTERRA SEEDS Cup final.

The Mustangs are coming off a 4-2 series win against the La Ronge Ice Wolves in round one, which ended on Sunday, a series where Melfort outshot them in every game, as the final total was 235-154.

“I thought we played as tough and as hard as we have all year, and it was consistent too,” said Mustangs head coach and general manager, Trevor Blevins. “I think the only negative would be on the discipline side, we took some bad penalties, and we’re gonna have to clean that up going into the next round.”

Melfort was on the penalty kill a total of 31 times in their series against La Ronge, however, stood tough and tall, as they only allowed four powerplay goals.

Football final

Melfort Comets and Tisdale Tornadoes to clash for provincial football supremacy

7h ago

Local election candidates

List of election candidates in the northeast

8h ago

Warm weather continues

Warmer-than-normal weather continues through the weekend

Nov 07, 2024

Meanwhile, the Mustangs went on the man advantage 30 times and scored seven times, which was broken open when they went five-for-eight in game six, as they clinched the series with a dominant 8-2 win.

They also proved they could win at home and on the road in round one, going 2-1 in both circumstances.

Meanwhile, as far as the Mustangs are concerned against the North Stars, they went 1-2-2 in five matchups, playing twice in Battlefords, twice in Melfort, and once in Warman at the SJHL showcase, with three of those matchups needing extra time.

“We played well against them all year, regardless of the venue, so I don’t think that’s going to play into it as much, more just how we defend,” added Blevins. “It’s going to be a big key, not only off the rush but in all three zones. There’s no secret they’ve got firepower in their lineup and we gotta be stingy defensively. On the other side, excellent goaltending and defensive plays, so we’re gonna have to earn our goals and pay the price to score them.”

This semi-final series will be a rematch of the 2019 final, which the North Stars won in five games.

For Battlefords they had one of the most memorable regular seasons in recent history, starting the year 33-0-2-1, and finishing with a 48-5-2-1 record.

They also had the four leading scorers in the league, two of which had 100+ points, who have stayed at the top of the leaderboard after round one.

“You’re gonna see an exciting series, both teams like the puck, both teams like to make plays, and both teams are creative, so I think you’re gonna see a lot of speed and a lot of creativity and it should be fun hockey to watch as a fan,” explained Blevins.

Games 1 and 2 go Friday and Saturday night at the Access Communications Centre, before returning to the Northern Lights Palace Tuesday and Wednesday for games three and four.

If necessary, game five will be April 7 (in Battlefords), game six will be April 9 (in Melfort), and game seven will be April 11 (in Battlefords). All game times are 7:30 p.m.

“The fact that we have the confidence that we are right there and we just do things a little better, then we should be okay,” Blevins mentioned. “We’re a very confident group, doesn’t matter what the venue is… so I think the big thing for us is competing against them when we don’t have the puck and doing a good job without it.”

–

Ben.Tompkins@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter @BenTompkins_8