Mustangs earn SJHL’s fourth seed, home-ice advantage against Ice Wolves

“Finishing in the top four is definitely a bonus, but I think given the league and how things are this year, there are quite a few teams that could be in the mix at the end of the playoffs, so we gotta be consistent and we got to be ready to go every day,” Blevins said.

And fourth place in the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League was something both teams had to battle for until the end, as the two teams were tied in points entering the final week of the season, with La Ronge holding the tiebreaker.

Melfort won their final two contests, both of which were on the road against divisional playoff opponents. When they beat the Flin Flon Bombers (3rd seed) 6-3 on Mar. 7, and the Nipawin Hawks (7th seed) 3-0 on Mar. 10.

That put the pressure on the Ice Wolves, who finished their season with a home and home set against the Bombers. La Ronge won the first matchup 5-1 on Mar. 10, on home ice, before losing their final game of the regular season the next night (Mar. 11) in Flin Flon, 3-2.

“You always think every team would look back and think maybe they dropped a few games, more than they should have,” explained Blevins. “One thing we have in this group is that we’ve always shown up for the big ones, I think we’ve played pretty well in a lot of the meaningful and highly competitive games.”

For the 31-16-5-4 Mustangs, four of their losses this year have come against the 32-19-3-2 Ice Wolves, compared to just two wins.

Melfort beat La Ronge once at home (5-1) and once on the road (4-3) this year, while the Ice Wolves beat the Mustangs twice at home (7-2 and 4-1) and twice on the road (4-2 and 6-1).

And while Blevins isn’t exactly thrilled with the results of those matches, he said he believes they were closer than meets the eye, which will make for quite the series.

“I think there were some other factors involved in some of those losses and were not affected by that one bit. I think we played well against them and maybe came out on the wrong end of it a couple of times, but we’re okay where we’re at, in fact, we like our game and we think it matches up well, and same with them, they’re gonna take that confidence with them too,” Blevins said.

“It’s two evenly matched teams and to be honest, all six games could’ve gone either way,” added Blevins. “I know some of the scores are maybe a little bit lopsided but when you look at the actual gameplay and how things were in the game with the shots and the possession time, it’s two evenly-matched teams, so it’s gonna be fun and exciting.”

Game 1 is Friday, Mar. 17 in Melfort at 7:30 p.m., Game 2 is Saturday, Mar. 18 in Melfort at 7:30 p.m., Game 3 is Tuesday, Mar. 21 in La Ronge at 7:30 p.m., Game 4 is Wednesday, Mar. 22 in La Ronge at 7:30 p.m., and if necessary, Game 5 is Friday, Mar. 24 in Melfort at 7:30 p.m., Game 6 is Sunday, Mar. 26 in La Ronge at 5 p.m. and Game 7 is Tuesday, Mar. 28 in Melfort at 7:30 p.m.

Blevins mentioned the keys to a successful series for the blue and green, however, he didn’t want to reveal all his tips.

“One of the big keys for us is making sure we’re highly competitive every shift… it’s as simple as playing consistently, the way we can play every day.”

–

Ben.Tompkins@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter @BenTompkins_8

by Ben Tompkins

Mustangs earn SJHL’s fourth seed, home-ice advantage against Ice Wolves

What's Trending