(Photo courtesy/Broad Leaf Media, Facebook)

By Ben Tompkins

Coach's Thoughts

What to expect: Mustangs vs Bruins Round 1 preview

Mar 20, 2024 | 8:30 AM

The Melfort Mustangs will welcome the Estevan Bruins to the Northern Lights Palace on Friday, as the two teams battle in a best-of-seven series for the first round of the 2023/24 SJHL playoffs.

Melfort comes in as the number two seed, while Estevan occupies the seventh seed.

After guaranteeing home-ice advantage for the first two rounds of the postseason, while grabbing their 80th point of the season just this past weekend, Mustangs head coach Trevor Blevins had a lot to be proud of after a 56-game regular season.

“Very proud of the team, you think back to other years where maybe you sacrificed some points and maybe you had some games you should have won and there’s no doubt we kind of had that this year too, but I really felt that we didn’t leave much on the table throughout the regular season, which the boys should be extremely proud of,” he said.

“Flin Flon was pretty much unreachable, but to get second place I think is quite an accomplishment, given how tough our schedule was and the adversity we had to go through with injuries, and I think really how we played down the stretch was key.”

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Those injuries were a factor, as the club had 180 man-games lost from their top nine forwards and top six defencemen.

The club never used that as an excuse, as it only gave more opportunities for the guys in the lineup, which they took full advantage of.

“When there are injuries, there are opportunities for young guys to move up the lineup and they passed with flying colours just about every night. I think it was a huge experience and great for them to get that as a young player in the lineup,” Blevins told northeastNOW.

“It’s important down the stretch and in playoffs, we have that confidence that if players do get banged up and we do face some adversity with injuries, these guys can step right in.”

The Stangs have had to play that way against the Bruins this year, recently when they beat them 7-4 at the end of February.

They also beat them three other times, while losing a pair, as Estevan was one of only two teams outside their division that the Blue and Green played six times this season.

According to Blevins, the familiarity will help them a little bit, but regardless of their opponent, he knows his team has to focus on themselves and execute what they do best.

“We need to bring our strengths to the table and make sure we’re ready to go and play the way we want to play, I think we’ve shown that we’ve got some offence when it’s needed, but we want to focus more on the defensive side of the puck. The old cliche that defence wins championships, I think that holds true,” he said.

“We want to be stingy defensively, we want to be hard to play against and we don’t want to give up quality opportunities. We don’t necessarily have to sacrifice offence for defence, but when it’s time to defend, we have to buy in as a group and make sure that everyone executes as best as they can.”

Melfort outscored the Bruins 24-17, with both high-scoring games like 6-5, 6-4, and 7-4, as well as low-scoring affairs such as 4-0, 1-0, and 3-1 on the table.

Blevins mentioned his team is comfortable with either game and knows that Estevan can do the same.

“I think we’re a 200-foot hockey club and I feel that this group is built in a way where our forwards are very responsible defensively, while our defence gets involved in the offence as much as they can, and then we have two great goaltenders to be the last line. If it’s a tight game where we gotta be responsible, safe, and protect the lead, we definitely have an intelligent group that can do that,” he said.

“Their forward group can be dangerous and I think is a bit underrated, I like their work ethic and I think they play a heavy game, and we need to make sure that we combat that. We want to be heavy ourselves, so a high level of compete and physicality will be key for both teams. It’s playoff hockey and the intensity obviously ramps up a bit, so we have to have that edge to our game.”

The Mustangs enter the postseason on a 10-game point streak, collecting 19 of the last possible 20 points on the year.

They’ve been on a bit of a break, however, as they’ll have only played one game in two weeks, which most of their top guys did not suit up for.

They’re hoping the hot streak doesn’t end and the hometown crowd can boost them if needed for the opening weekend of games one and two.

“I think we focused on improving every day as the season went on and we obviously realize it’s a new season and situation, but in saying that, you take confidence in the fact that we know how to put the work in, we’re going to prepare mentally and physically, and for us, I think confidence is going to be key for this first round,” Blevins concluded.

“If we get the quick start and play well right off the bat it’s huge, we have to hold serve, come every day ready to work and know that each game is going to be a new day. Whether it’s here or at Affinity Place, we have to use all 200 feet, spread out the offence and make sure that we’re executing.”

Melfort was the second-best home team on the year with a 22 and 6 record, while posting the third-best mark on the road of 16-8-3-1.

The Mustangs will be the “healthiest they can be” to begin the playoffs, as day one of the postseason begins for this team at 7:30 p.m. on Mar. 22.

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Ben.Tompkins@pattisonmedia.com

On X @BenTompkins_8