The Mustangs celebrate their shootout win on Feb. 16 against the Battlefords North Stars. (Mat Barrett/northeastNOW Staff)

By Mat Barrett

Melfort Mustangs

Mustangs get set for Broncos, Klippers in crucial weekend

Feb 22, 2019 | 10:00 AM

Just a handful of games remain in the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League regular season for the Melfort Mustangs.

Two of their final six games take place Friday, Feb. 22 and Saturday, Feb. 23 as Melfort visits the Humboldt Broncos, and hosts the Kindersley Klippers.

Most recently, the Mustangs defeated the Melville Millionaires 6-4 on Wednesday, Feb. 20 to win their seventh game in a row. Mustangs Head Coach Trevor Blevins said even though they won, there were a few things that need to change.

“I think we got a little bit off of our defensive play [on Wednesday],” Blevins told northeastNOW. “I thought things were a little easy for them in the neutral zone, and coming into our zone. So, we just got to sharpen that up, keep the shots against down, that will be the focus.”

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Melfort led that game in Melville 2-0 after one period, and outshot the Millionaires 16-7 in the frame, before allowing Melville to claw back.

This season, Melfort has won four of the five meetings with Humboldt by a combined score of 25-13, and only allowing the Broncos to score more than twice just one time. Blevins said he knows what to expect from Humboldt.

“Humboldt is always good at home, they’re going to bring it, no doubt,” Blevins said. “It’s a big game for them in the standings, as it is for us. If we start like we did [on Wednesday] and keep the foot on the gas, that’s a situation I think we will like there.”

Blevins said the Broncos will be a bigger test for his club.

“They’ve got some dangerous forwards, decent defence, and great goaltending,” He said. “We’re going to have to be a lot sharper on Friday than we were [on Wednesday] defensively. Guys will adjust, we always have here.”

The Mustangs will then be on home ice on Saturday as they host the Kindersley Klippers, a team they have beaten in four of five meetings this season. After losing the first meeting of the season with the Klippers, Melfort has won 4 straight, including a 6-3 win on Feb. 13.

Heading into the weekend, the Mustangs have six games remaining and are jockeying for position with a handful of teams near the top. Just six points separate first place in points, and fifth place.

Friday’s game can be heard on CK750 with Winmar Tisdale SJHL Hockey getting underway at 7:15 p.m. from the Elgar Petersen Arena.

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Photo: The Mustangs celebrate their shootout win on Feb. 16 against the Battlefords North Stars. (Mat Barrett/northeastNOW Staff)

mat.barrett@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @matbarrett6