The Melfort Mustangs finished the week with a 1-2 record, finally snapping their long eight-game losing streak.
Against Nipawin
The Mustangs traveled to Nipawin Feb. 7 to take on their rival Hawks. They were routed 7-2 by the Hawks, who scored twice in the first and third periods and three times in the second. Reed Gunville answered with a second period goal and Rock Ruschkowski added a third period power play goal for the Mustangs.
Evan Plotnik was charged with the loss in the Mustangs goal giving up four goals on 17 shots, before being pulled in favour of Derrick Hucul, who gave up three goals on 30 shots.
Penalties were a problem for the Mustangs as they gave up ten power plays, with the Hawks scoring on four of them.
鈥淚t was a game where things just didn鈥檛 go right for us,鈥� said Trevor Blevins, the team鈥檚 head coach. 鈥淥ur frustration got to us early. It was a night that we needed to forget and regroup.鈥�
Against Battlefords
The Mustangs had a couple of days off before they returned to action on Feb. 10 against the Battlefords North Stars.
The first period sunk the Mustangs as they gave up a pair of goals and could not recover, with an empty net goal in the third period en route to a 3-0 loss.
Plotnik was charged with the loss in the Mustangs goal after giving up two goals on 34 shots.
Despite the loss, Blevins was pleased with how his team responded.
鈥淭here were a lot of chances both ways. They capitalized and we didn鈥檛, but it was an effort we needed to have to keep progressing.鈥�
Against Kindersley
The Mustangs wrapped up their week on Feb. 11 in Kindersley when they took on the Klippers.
To keep pace with them, the Mustangs came out with a great effort and were finally rewarded as they slipped past the Klippers 6-3 thanks to a pair of goals from Miles Warkentine and singles from Dakota Boutin, Matthew Hermary, Gunville and Carson Albrecht.
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Plotnik picked up his first win in nine games as he turned aside 26 shots.
Despite picking up the win, Blevins did not think his team played any better than they have been in a while. They were finally rewarded for some good effort.
鈥淲e just couldn鈥檛 get a break, couldn鈥檛 keep it out of our net or couldn鈥檛 score enough goals, but the effort was there and so was the attitude. That鈥檚 what鈥檚 most important.鈥�
Focus on play
Picking up the win was important for the Mustangs as it snapped the losing streak and kept them in the race for a top six seed in the playoffs, but Blevins said the team was not really focused on the losing streak, noting he has never been a coach to worry about winning or losing streaks.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 just a distraction. You鈥檝e got to focus on your process and what it takes to be successful every night. And it doesn鈥檛 matter what side of the coin you are on. It鈥檚 just a matter of improving and building and making sure you get better every day.鈥�
It has been a grueling schedule for the Mustangs, playing seven of their last eight games against the top four teams in the league. Although it was costly in terms of giving up valuable points in the playoff race,
Blevins thinks it will only serve to benefit his team down the stretch and into the playoffs.
鈥淚t鈥檚 great for our guys to get in playoff mode now and play tough opponents because if we鈥檙e playing top teams in the league we鈥檙e going to be that much more prepared when we have to play in the survivor series... I think we鈥檙e going to be more than ready.鈥�
Next week
The Mustangs now hit a lull in their schedule with just one game in 11 days as they take on the Battlefords at home on Feb. 17, which is great, said Blevins.
It will allow them to work on improving a few areas of their game.
鈥淥ur power play has slipped here and we need to get that back going with some different looks and just change the execution a little bit. But we could always be more committed defensively even though we鈥檝e seen improvement in that.鈥�
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