(Ben Tompkins/northeastNOW)

By Ben Tompkins

No Sweep

Mustangs collapse against Ice Wolves; La Ronge stays alive

Mar 13, 2025 | 8:14 AM

The Melfort Mustangs had their first-round playoff matchup locked in…and then they didn’t.

Melfort led the La Ronge Ice Wolves 5-3 at the Northern Lights Palace Wednesday night with just over five minutes left in the third period.

In the last five minutes, La Ronge scored four times, en route to a 7-5 victory, officially extending their shot at a playoff spot.

Last night’s contest was fairly low-scoring in the first half, as Mustangs’ forward Tristin Ziola had the only goal in the opening 28 minutes.

Both teams traded goals in the following two minutes, as Ashton Hutchinson gave the Stangs a 2-0 lead before Owen Turner cut the deficit back to one.

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La Ronge’s Cole Thomas would then score a pair of powerplay markers four minutes apart, from nearly identical spots, before Ashton Paul tied it for the Blue and Green a minute before the end of the second period.

Ashton Hutchinson added his second of the game three and a half minutes into the final frame before Zayden Sadlemyer gave Melfort insurance almost six minutes later.

The Mustangs hadn’t yet lost a game to the Ice Wolves all season, going a perfect 7-0 against them previously, while outscoring them 35-16.

The Stangs had also just lost twice at home all year, with only one of those times being in regulation.

The Blue and Green had also entered the game on a 14-game point streak, having won 12 of those particular matches but the team from up north just wasn’t having it and rallied in what seemed like a Game 7 scenario for them.

La Ronge, who still needs things to go very right this weekend, as they now sit three points back of eighth place with just two games to go, wanted to keep the dream alive and pulled off the late comeback in statistically the hardest place to play in the SJHL this campaign.

They did so by a Cole Thomas hat trick to begin the rally, followed by an Aiden Meintz equalizer just 45 seconds apart.

The winning goal came courtesy of a Jacob Cossette breakaway after a Mustang went down at his own blueline, along with a Taite Donkin empty netter to seal the game with 15 seconds left, ending a potential Melfort game-extending goal.

The Ice Wolves extended their season, keeping the possibility of not only additional games in La Ronge this season, but a first-round run-in with, you guessed it, the Melfort Mustangs.

Regardless of this game’s outcome, the Mustangs are locked into first place and have two games remaining on their schedule before playoffs – both against a Notre Dame Hounds team which has just one win in their last 19 contests.

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Ben.Tompkins@pattisonmedia.com

On X @BenTompkins_8