(File photo/northeastNOW Staff).

By Mat Barrett

Hope and the Future: Hockey

Hope and Future: Local hockey teams hopeful for hockey in 2021

Jan 3, 2021 | 12:52 PM

The COVID-19 pandemic makes 2020 a year many may prefer to forget. While we’re not out of the woods yet, northeastNOW has chosen to produce our usual series of end-of-year stories with a focus on hope and the future.

Melfort Mustangs

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Melfort Mustangs looked primed for a long playoff run in the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League (SJHL).

On March 11, the Mustangs had just beaten the Estevan Bruins in Game Four of their SJHL first-round playoff series, giving them a 3-1 series lead with game five set for Melfort on Friday, March 13. However, that came to a screeching halt when leagues around the world shut down on March 12.

However, the Mustangs ended up winning the SJHL’s Virtual Canalta Cup Simulation that took place over the summer.

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The SJHL was in limbo for months until the league began its regular season on Nov. 6. Mustangs head coach and general manager Trevor Blevins said he was very pleased with how his team showed up and performed, even if it was just practicing for a while before games started. The league then paused again after games on Nov. 23 until the new year.

“Things need to line up,” Blevins said. “But, the hope for us is to obviously play some hockey as soon as possible.”

He added that whether it’s in February, or another date, they will play. Blevins had a pretty simple thought about what is going to happen in 2021.

“That we’re going to play hockey, that’s for sure,” he laughed. “As a league and an organization, we’re not going to give up.”

Blevins said that while they are working to bring hockey back, the main priority is everyone’s safety.

Melfort started the 2020-21 SJHL season 2-3-0-0.

Tisdale Trojans

The 2020 calendar year started off very well for the Tisdale Trojans in the Saskatchewan Under-18 AAA Hockey League (SMAAAHL).

It was their first season under new head coach Dennis Kubat, and the team finished the regular season in seventh place out of 12. That set up a matchup with the second-seeded Saskatoon Blazers in the best-of-five first-round series. Tisdale went on to upset the Blazers in four games to set up a semi-final matchup with the Regina Pat Canadians.

Kubat called it some of the best hockey he had ever been a part of, and credited the players on the ice who bought in at the right time.

The Pat C’s would end up winning game two of the semi-final series, which is how things paused, and was ultimately cancelled. Kubat said the whole season, and the pandemic was a learning curve for him, his staff, and the players.

“Kind of allowed them to see how they react in different situations they’ve never been a part of,” Kubat told northeastNOW.

He said moving into 2021, there’s a hope that hockey will return, and everyone needs to continue doing their part. Kubat said the message for his players is to stay positive during this time.

“Take it in stride,” he said. “It’s obviously not ideal, but have a good attitude. There’s a million things you could be doing right now to continue to get better and that’s your choice, and that’s the kind of attitude you want to bring to the rink, to the school, to just life.”

The Trojans were 2-1-0 when the league paused in November.

The Nipawin Hawks were unable to provide comment ahead of deadline.

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Melfort-News@jpbg.ca

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