(Photo courtesy/Broad Leaf Media, Facebook)

By Ben Tompkins

Home Opener

Somers, Mustangs ready to host La Ronge

Sep 22, 2023 | 2:00 PM

The Melfort Mustangs 2023/24 SJHL season begins Friday night when they host the La Ronge Ice Wolves for their home opener.

The two clubs haven’t faced each other since last year’s opening round of the playoffs when the Stangs sent the Wolves home packing after six games.

Melfort product and newly named assistant captain, Zac Somers, said La Ronge will likely be coming in with a bit of a chip on their shoulder because of that fact.

“Obviously, we met them in the playoffs last year, so they’re gonna come in and play their game. They have a lot of returning guys, so we got to respect that and I think it’ll be a good game.”

Both teams went 2 and 3 in the preseason, however, their groups are now at full strength and will be vying for another postseason berth.

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While Melfort had some of their key guys not participate in the exhibition games, Somers believes there won’t be too much rust and it won’t last long.

“There might be but I’m not too worried about it, I think we’ve all been skating for a while now, so practice I think will be all right for us to get into game shape here.”

The Ice Wolves held the season advantage in last year’s regular season 4-2 and will play Melfort a guaranteed at least six times again this season.

According to Somers, the key to preventing their division rivals from starting off in a similar fashion tonight is playing straightforward hockey.

“Just playing simple hockey, getting pucks deep, playing confident and not trying to wait because we know what kind of game they bring. I think if we play our game we will be okay.”

Somers is one of the key returning players for Melfort, who announced his return to the organization a month ago.

He told northeastNOW that this was one of the games he had marked on his calendar and that the rest of the group was just as excited.

“We’ve been putting in the work for the last couple of weeks, so obviously excited to get going here and get the season underway. I think we have a good group of guys and we’re really looking forward to it. Getting the fans into it early and obviously getting a win at home to start the season would always be a good feeling,” Somers added.

“Getting that right foot forward right from the get-go and getting in the win column, the first game is obviously a huge step. That’s what we love to do and we’re looking for a good effort tonight. I’ve been looking forward to it for a few weeks now for sure, so obviously very excited to get going here.”

Puck drop is slated for 7:30 p.m., as Ben Tompkins has the call on FloHockey.tv.

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Ben.Tompkins@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter @BenTompkins_8