Former Melfort Mustangs captains Justin Ball left and Ben Tkacuk right following their Canada West Title as U of S Huskies (submitted photo/Ben Tkachuk)

By Ben Tompkins

Going for another Gold

Former Mustangs captains eyeing National Championship following Canada West Title

Mar 21, 2025 | 2:37 PM

Two former Melfort Mustang captains begin their journey for a USport National Championship on Friday in Ottawa.

Ben Tkachuk and Justin Ball, members of the U of S Huskies, captured the Canada West title in Saskatoon earlier this month.

Ball is now the captain of the University of Saskatchewan and in his fifth and final year of eligibility, while Tkachuk is still pretty fresh, as he’s just in his second season.

“It felt unbelievable, there’s really no way to describe how I feel. I was a part of the team that won in 2020, so all I’ve wanted since then was to get back to the final and lift that trophy… to have that be my last game in Saskatoon, winning at home was a pretty special feeling, and I just couldn’t think of any better way to end it off,” said Ball.

“It was unbelievable, to say the least, a great group of guys here and a unique experience for us where we now have a chance to compete at Nationals. We’re in the mindset now where we got to celebrate for a couple of days but know that a lot of work still has to be done because the job’s not finished. We’re going to Ottawa with the hopes of coming back home with a gold medal,” Tkachuk added.

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Ball played for the Mustangs for three seasons from 2016 to 2019 and captained the team in a season where he put up 54 goals and 103 points in just 58 regular season games, earning MVP honours.

Meanwhile, Tkachuk was in Melfort for four years from 2019 to 2023, captaining in back-to-back seasons where he put up 56 points in both years.

Although the two never crossed over as Stangs’ teammates, the understanding of being a Blue and Green alum runs deep.

Now, beginning at 5 p.m. on Friday, Saskatchewan will play Queen’s University in a single-game knockout, in hopes of reaching the National Semifinals.

“We’ve been dialling in and getting back to work because there’s only been one National Champion in Huskie history and we want so badly to be the second team to bring it home… when we went to Nationals last time the tournament got shut down midway through, so I guess it feels right that we’re getting another shot at it,” Ball explained.

“It’s one game and win or you go home, so we have to be super dialled in, and there’s really no room for error. We’ve been hard at work and practicing and making sure that we fine-tune the little details. We believe that we didn’t really play our best hockey during the playoff run and that we have a higher potential,” Tkachuk concluded.

Another tie to the northeast area will be Huskie netminder Roddy Ross. Ross played one season with the Tisdale Trojans back in the 2017/18 season.

Now, the Meadow Lake native has been honoured with an Indigenous Achievement Award and a U SPORTS Second Team All-Canadian spot, ahead of competing alongside Ball and Tkachuk for a National Title.

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Ben.Tompkins@pattisonmedia.com

On X @BenTompkins_8