(Photo courtesy/Broad Leaf Media, Facebook)

By Ben Tompkins

Battle before the Holidays

Mustangs hope third time’s a charm against rival Hawks

Dec 15, 2023 | 1:56 PM

The Melfort Mustangs will host the Nipawin Hawks on Friday night, as they look to tie their season-long winning streak at seven consecutive victories.

Melfort is a perfect 6 and 0 in the month of December and is coming off their first win against the Melville Millionaires this season, on Tuesday.

For the Mustangs, that contest was their third of four matchups against the Mills, which means the third time was a charm as they came away with two points.

Now, the Stangs are hoping that rings true again against their bitter rival Hawks tonight, as Nipawin is 2 and 0 in the season series so far.

“Hopefully, we can pull out two points,” explained the newest member of the Herd, Clay Sleeva, who suited up for the first time with his new team on Tuesday.

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“Nipawin has a skilled forward set, but I think if you can pick away, forecheck, chip it in and grind hard, then you can really wear them down, and I think with the skill group we have…we could do that pretty easily.”

Sleeva had an assist during his group’s 4-2 win earlier this week, which also marked his first point with Melfort.

Now, the former Yorkton Terriers’ captain will get his first taste of the Mustangs and Hawks’ hatred for each other, while also competing in front of the Northern Lights Palace faithful as someone to cheer for, not against.

“I thought it was a good first game, obviously a little bit nervous being on a new team, but that’s a tough barn to go. Melville defends and plays really hard, but I think Sums, Hutch and I started to get a little chemistry going and hopefully, we stay together and we can keep it rolling here against Nipawin,” Sleeva added.

“It’s definitely different when you’re playing against Nipawin with Yorkton, it’s just kind of another game, but I guess it’s a big rivalry here in Melfort, so as a home player for the first time as a Mustang, I’m pretty excited to see what the fans are like.”

Friday night’s contest will be the first of a home-and-home against the two organizations this weekend, as well as the end of the 2023 calendar year.

Following tomorrow’s tilt on the Hawks’ playing surface at the Cage, the two won’t play an SJHL game again until Jan. 3 and 5, respectively.

“Christmas break is always pretty big, especially in the SJ, the first half kind of beats your body up pretty good, so I think these two weeks for us, especially with our injuries, can get us to come back after Christmas fully healthy, get ready to roll and make a really big push,” Sleeva told northeastNOW.

“Obviously, it would be awesome to get these four points before Christmas break, keep our run going, hopefully make a big push towards playoffs, and see if we can catch up to Flin Flon.”

Tonight’s matchup begins at 7:30 p.m. at the Northern Lights Palace, while Saturday’s game is scheduled to start at 7 p.m.

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Ben.Tompkins@pattisonmedia.com

On X @BenTompkins_8