(Ben Tompkins/northeastNOW)

By Ben Tompkins

Gritty Escape

Venne and penalty kill lead Mustangs to victory

Jan 20, 2024 | 2:39 PM

The Melfort Mustangs escaped with a 1-0 victory on Friday night over the Estevan Bruins.

Mustang netminder James Venne and the penalty kill were the stars of the show, as the Bruins were shut out on home ice.

“We battled hard, everyone was blocking shots and big shoutout to Venner, he played a huge part of that role there and good to be on top,” explained Melfort assistant coach, Tye Scherger.

“We took a lot of penalties and therefore they saw a lot of good chances, and I thought Venner stood on his head, so good on him.”

In total, the Stangs killed off eight penalties and Venne stopped all 36 shots he faced.

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The Blue and Green were 1 for 4 on their own powerplays, as the only guy to score on the night was hometown boy Zac Somers.

Two other players, one for either team, thought they also had a goal on the night, but the refs immediately waved both off for goaltender interference.

With controversy, as well as some bad blood brewing for these teams, Scherger is expecting a battle again tonight and the refs will have to be on their toes.

“Love it when it gets heated a bit, obviously tomorrow is going to be a good one and we’re going to come out heavy,” he added.

“Penalties go both ways if you agree with it or not, so you just got to stay focused, fight through adversity, kill it off, gain momentum and go back to work.”

The rematch will be at the same time on Saturday as it was on Friday, with puck drop slated for 7 p.m. and the Suncrest College pregame show starting at 6:45 p.m.

The Mustangs will look for their 12th win in their last 14, while the Bruins hope to not drop all four of their games this week.

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Ben.Tompkins@pattisonmedia.com

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