MELFORT — The Melfort Mustangs recorded a split at home on the opening weekend of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League playoffs.
In Melfort, the No. 3-seeded Mustangs galloped to a 4-1 victory on opening night over the No. 6 Yorkton Terriers. The Terriers triumphed, 4-3, in double overtime on Saturday. The series now heads to La Ronge and Yorkton, respectively.
“I think we have to be a little more consistent as far as playing with an edge,” Mustangs head coach Trevor Blevins said. “I think [Saturday] we had spurts of being hard in the hard areas. I think we just need to focus on being harder in those areas.
“It’s going to be obviously a tough place to play. They are back at home. We have to find a way to get back home ice as quick as we can.”
The Mustangs were strongly supported by their fan bases over the weekend, as they have been all season. Melfort averaged 772 fans over the two games at the Northern Lights Palace.
“The atmosphere at the Palace is incredible,” Mustangs forward Trenton Curtis said. “Every night we know that we have a ton of support from the community and that’s what makes it so fun to play here, especially in playoffs. You know you got all the little kids making signs or bring air horns and it’s pretty awesome to be able to hear how much support the town of Melfort brings to every game.”
In front of 735 last Friday night, the Mustangs jumped out to a 2-0 first period lead and led 3-0 early in the third. Yorkton was able to score once, but Melfort responded. The Mustangs’ 4-1 lead at the second intermission turned out to be the final score. Clarke Huxley led Melfort with two goals while Curtis Hammond recorded two assists.
“I thought we played with a lot of pace, a lot of speed,” Blevins said. “I think we definitely controlled a lot of the play on Friday night. … The Friday night game I thought we were competitive all game, more consistent. We just got to get back to it again.”
With 808 fans in the Northern Lights Palace on Saturday, Yorkton got out to a 3-1 lead with less than five minutes remaining in the first period. Melfort cut the lead to 3-2 by the first intermission on a Marco Lopez marker. In the second frame, Lopez struck again – this time on a power play – to knot the game at 3-3. Neither team was able to score again until 5:54 into the second overtime session. That’s when Kishaun Gervais found the back of the net for Yorkton.
“I really liked our overtime,” Blevins said. “We had some chances to end it. I thought we were maybe a little more assertive then. Just a bounce away. That’s the way it goes sometimes.
“That’s what it came down to – kind of a bouncing puck in front of the net on a rebound and sure enough, it just kind of popped over our goalie … It was just kind of one of those games where it was going to be one of those goals that was probably going to make the difference.”
The Mustangs last week
SJHL Playoffs Round One
Mefort vs Yorkton
Series tied 1-1, as of Sunday
Game 1
Friday, March 18 in Melfort
Melfort 4, Yorkton 1
Mustangs Scorers: Clarke Huxley (2), Thomas Moore, Zac Somers
Terriers Scorer: Tanner Sklaruk
Goalies: Joel Favreau, Melfort, 27 saves on 28; Kael DePape, Yorkton, 27 on 31
Attendance: 735
Notes: Melfort led 2-0 after the firs period and went up 3-0 in the second. Yorkton got one back but Huxley scored shorthanded to make it 4-1 Yorkton before the second intermission. Neither team scored in the third.
Game 2
Saturday, March 19 in Melfort
Yorkton 4, Melfort 3 2OT
Mustangs Scorers: Marco Lopez (2), Boston Maxwell
Terriers Scorers: Cade Kennedy, Karsten Kruska, Zach McIntyre, Kishaun Gervais
Goalies: Joel Favreau, Melfort, 54 saves on 58; Kael DePape, Yorkton, 45 on 48
Attendance: 808
Notes: Yorkton held a 3-2 first period lead. In the second frame, Lopez’s second goal of the night tied the contest. No one would score again until Gervais’ goal at the 5:54 mark in the second overtime session.
