By Aaron Schulze

Albrecht scores twice, Mustangs beat Hawks again

Nov 13, 2018 | 2:35 AM

Saturday’s game between the Melfort Mustangs and Nipawin Hawks started out differently than the first three times these teams faced off.

In the previous three games, the Mustangs scored first and won every time.

Not on Saturday.

After a slower start, the Hawks turned the tables in the backend of the first period, controlling possession before capping it off with a wrist shot by Jordan Simoneau on the power play to open the scoring.

The Mustangs must have decided not to let a different beginning result in a different finish. They opened the second finishing their checks with more frequency and constantly testing Hawks goaltender Declan Hobbs.

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Even though multiple clear shots went wide or were stopped by Hobbs, the Mustangs tied it up when captain Carson Albrecht poked the puck in during a goal mount scramble on their own power play.

In a season series tight for scoring, the Mustangs had a surprise early in the third tied 1-1.

Justin Ball, the Mustangs’ leader in goals and points with 17 and 15 respectively, got in a fight with Hawks defenceman Colby Haugen.

It was a fight that even caught Albrecht by surprise.

“Obviously he’s not much of a fighter,” Albrecht told northeastNOW. “I turned around and I was shocked to see that.”

With their leading goal scorer now gone for the game, in a tied game with a division rival with the reigning SJHL goaltender of the year, Albrecht responded to Ball’s fight with his second goal of the game.

“I saw us going D to D and I saw a gap open for a pass,” Albrecht said. “So I called for the pass from Tosh and he gave it right to me for an open net.”

Albrecht admitted when Ball went off for fighting he had that ‘oh no’ moment when it came to how the Mustangs were going to score another goal, but said he other teammates to score goals with.

In Albrecht’s words: “you got to do what you’ve got to do.”

The Mustangs hung on for the 2-1 win, their fourth win in four tries against their rivals in Nipawin.

Heading into a quick road trip beginning Tuesday, Nov. 13 in Battlefords, the Mustangs still sit third in the Sherwood Division with 27 points and trail the division leading Flin Flon Bombers and Nipawin Hawks by three and two points respectively, but have a game in hand on Flin Flon and two on Nipawin.

aaron.schulze@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @SchulzePANow