(Photo courtesy/Broad Leaf Media, Facebook)

By Ben Tompkins

Double Duguay

Mustangs stay perfect at the Palace, go for 2-0 lead Friday against Humboldt

Apr 5, 2024 | 11:42 AM

The Melfort Mustangs continued to defend their home turf on Thursday night, taking Game 1 of their second-round series, 4-2 over the Humboldt Broncos.

With the victory, Melfort stayed a perfect 4 and 0 at the Northern Lights Palace this postseason.

“Obviously it was great to be back at home to start game one, kudos again to the crowd, we love that energy and the boys need that every night, so keep packing the Palace,” said assistant coach Tye Scherger.

“The first two periods weren’t up to our standards, it seemed like we weren’t heavy enough and we kind of let them get in our zone quite easy and we weren’t on top of pucks a lot of the time. We went into the second intermission, however, and we said it was time to go to work, and in the third period that’s exactly what they did.”

The hockey game was tied 1-1 after 40 minutes of play, but it was the Broncos who were controlling most of the play, along with heavily out-chancing the Mustangs as the shots were 27-15.

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It was the Stangs who flipped the script on Humboldt during the final frame though, as the Blue and Green found the back of the net three times, once on an empty net, executing in the clutch.

Ryan Duguay got it started with his second of the night early in that period, while Clay Sleeva capitalized on a beautiful coast-to-coast individual effort, just mere seconds after killing a penalty, to bury the game-winner.

“He (Duguay) was buzzing on all cylinders, those shots are placement shots that gold scores make and that’s exactly him, so it’s good to have him back going on all cylinders,” Scherger added.

“We can’t be taking selfish penalties because Humboldt’s got a good power play, so we got to stay out the box and smarten up there, but I mean Sleeva, he’s a warrior, he’s a workhorse and he was struggling a little bit during the start of the game, but in the third, he came out flying and boy oh boy he put on the wheels there and glad he got it in.”

The contest also felt like a bit of a redemption for Mustangs’ goalie James Venne, having previously struggled against the Broncos in the regular season.

Sporting a save percentage in the 830s, Venne shut the door on that storyline, stopping 33 of 35 in Game 1.

“The backbone is what he has been all season and in the playoffs so far, he’s dialled, he’s focused, and he’s ready to continue putting in the work so good on him,” Scherger told northeastNOW.

A 2-0 series lead is now available for Melfort’s taking as Game 2 goes on Friday night at 7:30 p.m.

The Stangs will look to add to Humboldt’s road woes, as they’re now 0 and 4 away from the EPA during this year’s playoffs.

“The third period is how we have to play the whole game, our start is key, especially coming out heavy, hitting everything and having a good forecheck. Let’s stay on top of the puck at all times and hopefully, this atmosphere keeps buzzing and we’re heading to Humboldt with a 2-0 lead,” explained Scherger.

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Ben.Tompkins@pattisonmedia.com

On X @BenTompkins_8