Mustangs and Bruins First Meeting!
The Melfort Mustangs(7-3-1-0) hit the road today for a mini 2 game road swing in Southern Saskatchewan. Tonight the Mustangs meet the Bruins in Estevan for their first meeting of the season. Tomorrow night they head to Weyburn to meet the Red Wings.
Mustang Review: The Melfort Mustangs are riding a bit of a high right now after knocking off division rivals Nipawin twice last weekend. Thanks to 2-0 and 3-1 victories over the Hawks the Mustangs have leaped over Nipawin in the Standings and are now making a push for first in the Sher-Wood Division. Melfort has currently won 6 of 7 games, with the only blemish a 4-2 defeat in La Ronge two weeks ago.
Melfort – Estevan: The Mustangs and Bruins have not seen each other yet this season. Last year Melfort won 3 of 4 meetings over the eventual SJHL Finalists. Estevan played well into the playoffs last season losing in Game 7 of the Finals to the Hawks. The re-tooled and loaded up front Bruins have struggled slightly this year only winning 5 of 12 games. Following a 3-0 start the Bruins have dropped 7 of their last 9. One of the top Bruin forwards Michael McChesney has 1 game left on a suspension before he returns to the Bruin lineup. His 12 points in 9 games ranks him 4th in team scoring this season. He has been missed over the last 3 games.
2018-19 Season Series:
Melfort @ Estevan, Oct 19 2018
Estevan @ Melfort, Oct 27 2018
Estevan @ Melfort, Dec 1 2018
Melfort @ Estevan, Jan 25 2018
Penalty Kill Streak: The Melfort Mustangs Penalty Kill has been on fire lately! Over the last 3 games the Mustangs have killed off 20 straight penalties, including 15 last weekend against the Nipawin Hawks. Melfort’s Penalty Kill now ranks 6th in the SJHL clicking at 82%. On the other side of the puck, the Melfort power play has been great as well. With 14 man advantage goals on the season the Mustangs have the 3rd best power play at 24.6%. The flip side of the ice tonight sees the Estevan Bruins with the 8th best power play and 9th best penalty kill in the SJHL.
Top Guns: The Mustang top line of Tanner Zentner, Carson Albrecht and Justin Ball have been something to watch this year. the three 1998′ born forwards have combined for 46 points in just 11 games. Ball leads the trio with 20 points and 12 goals. His 12 goals have him 2nd in the SJHL, just one back of Brandson Hein in Flin Flon. Ball still remains the only player in the SJHL with more goals, then games played this season! Line mates Carson Albrecht and Tanner Zentner have been a huge part of the success this season. Albrecht scored on the power play Saturday night, which turned out to be the game winner in a huge road win over Nipawin.
Following tonight’s game with Estevan, the Mustangs head to Weyburn tomorrow to meet the Red Wings. Both games this weekend begin at 7:30pm, and can be heard on CK750 with Mat Barrett.