Huge Start to 2017 for the Mustangs

The Melfort Mustangs open up the New Year with a bang against the visiting Yorkton Terriers. In the first period alone, Melfort hung up four goals, all within seven minutes of one another. Lucas Fraulin opened the scoring (assisted by Dakota Boutin and Andrew Thompson), followed by Tanner Zentner on the power play (assisted by Reed Gunville nd Rock Ruschkowski), then Gunville scored another power play goal (assisted by Boutin and Kalem Zary) and to finish the first period assault Matthew Hermary netted his second of the year (assisted by Tyson Meyers and Zary). Melfort’s defense was equally impressive, allowing only seven shots and one goal in the frame.

The second period was significantly slower on the goal front, with Melfort’s only goal coming from Hermary as he notched his second of the night (assisted by Zentner and Justin Ball). Yorkton managed another 15 shots and a goal to make the score 5-1 going into the third.

The final frame saw another Melfort surge as three more markers found their way to the back of Yorkton’s net. Ball opened the period with a goal (assisted by Hermary and Zentner), followed by Gunville 10 minutes later (assisted by Ruschkowski and Tyler Heidt) and Thompson finished off the scoring drive on a power play (assisted by Zary and Heidt). Yorkton stayed consistant and added one more goal in the third to result in a final score of 8-3 for the hometown Stangs.

Derrick Hucul was strong between the pipes for Melfort, making 32 saves to earn his first win of 2017. The skaters for the Mustangs had an impressive night, with several getting multiple points. Hermary (2g, 1a), Gunville (2g, 1a), Zentner (1g, 2a), and Zary (3a), all had career nights with three points apiece, while Ball (1g, 1a), Thompson (1g, 1 a), Boutin (2a), Ruschkowski (2a), and Heidt (2a) all managed two points. The Mustangs will be back in action January 11th, as they host the visiting Nipawin Hawks.