(Photo courtesy/Broad Leaf Media, Facebook)

By Ben Tompkins

Home Ice Advantage

Mustangs look to hold serve in Game 2 against Bruins

Mar 23, 2024 | 6:18 PM

The Melfort Mustangs will look to do exactly the same thing on Saturday night that they accomplished in Game 1… win on home ice.

Melfort struck first on Friday against the Estevan Bruins, with a 5-1 victory, which gave them the 1-0 series lead in their best-of-seven first-round matchup.

Now, it’s about building off their performance and being ready for a Bruins group which will be highly motivated to even it up before the series shifts to Estevan.

“Hopefully our slightly shaky start on Friday was just nerves, again, we did settle in against Estevan, so hopefully tonight we’re a lot more comfortable with that atmosphere and make our game a little more crisp,” assistant coach Tye Scherger, told northeastNOW.

The Mustangs seemed to be the much more physical team in game one, which will have to continue if they want to head into game three with a 2-0 lead.

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That, along with the aforementioned quick start, is what’s top of mind for Scherger and his squad.

“Our keys to victory are a better start, being heavy and forechecking their D, obviously F1 has to be very physical, and then we gotta be on top of pucks in all three zones and defend well,” he added.

Offence was also key in game one as it came from every single level.

Five different guys scored for the Stangs, which included three defencemen, as Nolan Roberts, Leith Olafson, Aidyn Hutchinson, Chase Friedt-Mohr, and Ryan Duguay found the back of the net.

Meanwhile, six other members of the Blue and Green found their way onto the scoresheet, with Clay Sleeva being the only one to have a multi-point game, after racking up a pair of assists.

With the old adage of a series isn’t lost until a team loses at home, which is especially true for the organization with four games at home, a 2-0 series lead for this group would mean a whole lot.

“That’d be awesome, obviously getting the first two at home and then going to Estevan to try and take two, it’d be the best scenario,” Scherger explained.

Game 2 against the Bruins goes at 7:30 p.m. from the Northern Lights Palace and can be heard on CJVR, with the Suncrest College pregame show commencing at 7:15.

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Ben.Tompkins@pattisonmedia.com

On X @BenTompkins_8