(Photo courtesy/Broad Leaf Media, Facebook)

By Ben Tompkins

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Mustangs ready for Round 2 against Broncos

Jan 12, 2024 | 4:38 PM

The Melfort Mustangs are set to welcome the Humboldt Broncos to town Friday night, for their second of three home-and-home sets of the season.

The first pair of weekend games were split back in late November, as the road team won on both occasions.

Tonight, however, the Mustangs hope the home team will come out victorious, as they ride the wave of confidence they picked up last Saturday against the Bombers.

“We’ve had that confidence all year, we beat Flin Flon in the first game of the year and they’ve just got us both times in between, but we knew we were ready for it and what they could bring, so it was good that we got that one,” said assistant captain Aidyn Hutchinson.

“Humboldt’s a good, hard team to play against, so we just got to be ready and come out hard and put the puck in the back of the net and hopefully good things will come.”

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Hutchinson is the reigning SJHL MVP of the Week, as he’s put up five goals in the last two games.

He will have to work hard to carry Melfort over the Broncos and Matthew Van Blaricom, who is coming off a gold medal last month and was just named in the top 150 mid-season rankings by NHL Central Scouting, ahead of the 2024 Draft.

“My teammates are finding me and I’m able to put it in the back of the net, so it feels pretty good,” added Hutchinson. “Van Blaricom’s a great player, first of all, he’s fast and he’s skilled, so we just got to be good on D, be ready for whatever he can bring and hope for the best.”

For both clubs, tonight’s contest will also mark their first since Wednesday’s league trade deadline.

The Green and Gold were quite busy on that day and during the past couple of weeks, while the Blue and Green have been on the quieter side of things ever since their big acquisition of Clay Sleeva, back in December.

“We’re confident in our group, I think that we have a good group to go far in the playoffs and do what we need to do to win,” Hutchinson told northeastNOW.

Friday night’s matchup begins at 7:30 p.m. at the Northern Lights Palace as the Mustangs will also celebrate their better together game.

Melfort became the seventh SJHL team to be fully dressed by Better Together SK Clothing, which hopes to connect generations within communities.

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Ben.Tompkins@pattisonmedia.com

On X @BenTompkins_8