Mustangs teammates crowd goaltender Kason Kobelka following first SJHL shutout (Ben Tompkins/northeastNOW)

By Ben Tompkins

Weekend Sweep

Kobelka shutout, perfect penalty kill lead Mustangs over Stars

Oct 5, 2025 | 12:40 AM

The Melfort Mustangs picked up the weekend sweep over the Battlefords North Stars on Saturday with a 2-0 shutout win.

Kason Kobelka made 21 saves in the win, picking up his first career SJHL shutout in the process.

“It’s tough for the team when we lose our starting goalie, but when we have a reliable backup, like Kason, and we play good in front of him, we know he’s got our back, and he’s given us an opportunity every single night. He’s just been unbelievable and I can’t say enough good things about him so far,” explained assistant coach Clarke Huxley.

“Obviously, it’s great to pick up the weekend sweep, but we just gotta keep working and not get too far ahead of ourselves. We don’t talk about results or the future too much, and we just take every single day and game at a time.”

The man-advantage seemed to be an issue for both teams on the evening, as Melfort was 0 for 5 on the power play and 6 for 6 on the penalty kill.

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“The kill was really good tonight, and definitely a bit of a point of emphasis in practice this week, we worked on it a lot. The guys were working really hard as a four-man unit, so it was tough to get by us,” Huxley added.

“On the powerplay side of things, we’ll continue to work on it. We have a lot of guys that are still new to the role, and they’re working hard at it, so it’ll just take some time. We had some opportunities, we just have to tighten up a bit.”

In the case of Melfort’s goals scored on the evening, meanwhile, both came from newcomers.

Recently acquired Reis Nyland scored his first in a blue and green uniform, while Lincoln Rogers netted the first of his Junior A career, with Trey Markus and Asher Watson picking up their first career assists.

“For those guys on a personal level, it’s nice to get that first one, get the monkey off your back, and then hopefully the floodgates can kind of open. We’ve kind of scored by committee off the bat, and those guys are no exception. They chipped in when they could, and that was all the result of hard work. They got in on the fore check, they worked it low, and they took her to the net. Good things usually happen when you do that,” concluded Huxley.

“As for Nyland, it’s good for him to get going like that. First one’s always tough, and he was in the right place, at the right time. He put himself in the right place, got the opportunity, and then he capitalized.”

Next weekend, the Stangs will be on the road again, when they head south to Weyburn and Estevan.

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Ben.Tompkins@pattisonmedia.com

On X @BenTompkins_8