Mustangs score at will against Millionaires, continue hot stretch

Dec 15, 2022 | 11:54 AM

The Melfort Mustangs have now gone 11 straight games without a loss in regulation. On Wednesday night, the victory came in a 9-1 win over the Melville Millionaires at the Northern Lights Palace.

“The whole team was clicking tonight, our offence was really rolling, it’s what we worked on in practice,” said Mustangs defenceman Kevin Minnoch. “Kind of just came together.”

And come together it did, as the Mustangs exploded for four first-period goals to lead 4-0. Dawson Leroux started the Melfort goal-scoring party with a pair in the first, followed by Minnoch’s fifth of the season. Then it was Luc Fortier, the call-up from the Yorkton Mauler U18 AAA club, who scored his first career SJHL goal.

In the second, after Zach Cain scored Melville’s lone goal on a powerplay, it was David Rioux and Tye Evans adding to the Melfort onslaught. Clarke Huxley, Hayden Tuba, and Boston Maxwell all got their two cents with goals in the third period to end the beatdown.

Minnoch notched a total of five points on the night, and Ben Tkachuk added three assists. James Venne stopped 34 of 35 in net for his eighth win of the season.