(Photo courtesy/Broad Leaf Media, Facebook)

By Ben Tompkins

Third time's a charm?

Mustangs presented with yet another opportunity for 3-0 series cushion

Apr 24, 2024 | 3:00 PM

For the third time in a row, the Melfort Mustangs have put themselves in position to grab a 3-0 series lead.

In Rounds 1 and 2, they were unable to take that stranglehold but thankfully walked away with wins in Game 4.

Now, in the SJHL Finals, against the league-best Flin Flon Bombers, the stakes are bigger, which means more importance on getting their opponent’s backs up against a wall.

“We’re yet to win a game three here in playoffs and I think we’ve learned from that. We’ve kind of gotten ahead of ourselves the past few series, but coming home, it’s gonna be a different atmosphere here and we’re just looking forward to it,” said Mustangs netminder James Venne.

“It’d be huge to put their backs right up against the wall, facing elimination. Game 3 is the biggest game of our lives so far, so we’re just going to go out and play hockey. Either way, whoever the pressure may be on, we’re just playing hockey.”

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Melfort dominated in games one and two, outscoring the Bombers by a 13-3 margin, in Flin Flon.

During that span, Venne has stopped 81 of the 84 shots that have come his way.

He explained, however, that it’s easy when his team is letting him see the puck, along with putting up a boatload of offence in front of him.

“If they can keep putting up six a game, that’d be incredibly nice, but it’s what we do on the defensive side of the puck that allows us to do that, we retrieve pucks well, we get pucks out, and we battle in front of our net, which allows us to have the ozone time and rushes that we do get,” Venne told northeastNOW.

“The boys kept them to the outside, forced them to a lot of point shots, and when there were some in the slot, they battled in front and blocked shots, so they’ve been playing huge in front of me.”

Both Wednesday’s and Thursday’s games have sold out, so a raucous crowd, like the team felt in Game 7 against Humboldt is all but guaranteed.

Now, it’s about using that energy for good, blocking out any negative noise, and getting the Bombers on their heels early.

“We don’t look at the outside pressures or outside factors, we’re just playing hockey, we’re having fun out there and we’re just trying to win as many games as possible,” added Venne.

“Hopefully, the atmosphere is the same as it was against the Broncos and it gets the guys pumped up. It gives us energy, we feed off it, and we’re just looking forward to seeing another packed house.”

Puck drop is 7:30 p.m. at the Northern Lights Palace.

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Ben.Tompkins@pattisonmedia.com

On X @BenTompkins_8