By Mat Barrett

Mustangs look to get back on track with home and home against Humboldt

Jan 17, 2019 | 4:00 PM

The Melfort Mustangs will look to get back on the winning track this weekend as the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League (SJHL) gets back to regular season play.

Teams are now back home after the SJHL/MJHL Showcase in Regina that saw the SJHL win four out of six games. A total of 12 games between Friday, Jan. 18 and Sunday, Jan. 20 are set to take place.

One of the bigger weekend sets features the Melfort Mustangs taking on the Humboldt Broncos in a home and home. Melfort currently sits tied for fourth place heading into the weekend with a record of 25-13-2-0 (52 points). However, the Mustangs have struggled since the calendar turned to 2019, losing four of their five games so far in January. Mustangs Head Coach Trevor Blevins said it’s a matter of refocusing without the puck.

“It’s going to be just a little bit more attention to detail defensively in all three zones,” Blevins said. “It is what it is. It’s just got to be a bit more commitment level here to finish off the regular season.”

The Mustangs are coming off a weekend against the Flin Flon Bombers where they lost by scores of 5-3 and 5-4. Blevins said he isn’t concerned about their current slide.

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“There’s lots of time yet,” Blevins told northeastNOW. “We’ve got the pieces that we are confident in. We’ve got everything in all three positions, we’re proud of. So, we’ll get it done here over the next week and two weeks and we’ll get things on the right track.”

That next week or two weeks for the Mustangs will feature this weekend against Humboldt, and then a game on Tuesday, Jan. 22 in Yorkton, followed by a weekend road trip to Estevan and Weyburn.

As for the Humboldt Broncos, they have seemed to turn the page, just as the calendar has. In their five games since parting ways with former Head Coach Nathan Oystrick on Dec. 28, the Broncos are 3-2-0-0 after only winning two games in the month of December.

On Friday, Jan. 18, the teams will meet in Melfort at the Northern Lights Palace, while on Saturday, the rivals will converge at the Elgar Petersen arena in Humboldt. The game on Saturday can be heard on CK750 with Winmar Tisdale SJHL Hockey taking over the airwaves at 7:15 p.m.

By the Numbers: Melfort v.s Humboldt

• Mustangs owning the horse race: The rivals have met three times this season so far. Melfort has won all three meetings, and have outscored the Broncos 16-7. The closest of the three games came in Melfort on Oct. 26 when Melfort stormed back in the third period to win 3-2 in overtime.
• Mustang big line against Broncos: Melfort’s big line of Justin Ball, Carson Albrecht, and Tanner Zentner has been tremendous all season, but in particular against the Broncos. The line has combined for 22 points in just three games. Ball leads the way with seven goals, and two assists. Albrecht has two goals, and five assists, while Zentner has six assists.
• Head to Head Special Teams: In the three meetings this season between the two squads, there have been a total of four powerplay goals scored. The Mustangs are three for seven (42.9%) with the extra man, while the Broncos are just one for 12 (8.3%), and have also given up a shorthanded goal to Melfort.
• Score first?: In the three prior meetings, the team that opens the scoring has a 2-0-1-0 record, but the two teams sit second and third when it comes to their records when scoring first. Melfort has the second best points percentage at .813 (19-4-1-0 ), while Humboldt is not far behind in third at .810 (16-3-1-1).

mat.barrett@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @matbarrett6